Author: Frank Deux

Newly appointed Prime Minister Francois Bayrou walks in Paris, France, December 13, 2024. STEPHANIE LECOCQ / REUTERS French President Emmanuel Macron appointed François Bayrou as prime minister on Friday, December 13, over a week after lawmakers voted to oust conservative ex-prime minister Michel Barnier. A heavyweight politician, Bayrou heads the centrist MoDem party who has been allied to Macron since he swept to power in the 2017 election campaign. “The President of the Republic has appointed Mr. François Bayrou as prime minister and tasked him with forming a government,” the French presidency said in a statement, giving no more details.…

The Conference of Presidents concluded as it began: without a hint of agreement to address the immigration issue, specifically the situation of unaccompanied foreign minors who remain overcrowded in the Canary Islands and Ceuta. Neither between the autonomous communities, nor with the Government. “It has been a missed opportunity,” said the Canary Islands president, Fernando Clavijo. “I don’t want to say that we have wasted time, because I think we have to talk about these issues, but it is frustrating,” said Murcia leader Fernando López Miras. The leaders’ complaints about the transfers of immigrants to their territories and the lack…

The president of Catalonia proposes holding another Conference of Presidents in Barcelona to develop the financing reform Read Illa says she wants one "solidarity financing" and warns Ayuso that he will not accept "lessons" of whom "they practice fiscal lack of solidarity"

Ratings agency Moody’s downgraded France’s credit rating to Aa3 with a stable outlook Saturday over what the group described as France’s “political fragmentation”. French President Emmanuel Macron appointed his centrist ally François Bayrou as prime minister Friday after the previous premier Michel Barnier fell to a no-confidence vote the week before. Moody's downgrades France credit rating over 'political fragmentation'

It was a fleeting moment. A rare sign of empathy. On January 11, 2015, after the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdoa teacher from the northern French city of Arras, wearing a hat, pulled away from the body of the republican march that had been organized that day, to go and hug a CRS officer, a sturdy 32-year-old who hailed from the French overseas department of Martinique. It was a moment of communion and gratitude. The crowd applauded the police vans that had been sent to secure the march. Read more Subscribers only Ten years after the attack on Charlie Hebdo:…

François Bayrou arrives at the Elysée Palace in Paris on August 23, 2024. LAFARGUE RAPHAEL/ABACA In 2015, Nicolas Sarkozy won the prize for political humor attributed by the Press Club de France for a dig at the MoDem president: “To despair over François Bayrou, I would have to have once placed hope in him…” Nine years on, what hopes do Les Républicains (LR) have in the centrist’s appointment as prime minister, announced on Friday, December 13? Even before the motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Michel Barnier, a member of LR, reactions were cold on the right when Bayor’s…

An ERC activist exercises her right to vote, last November 30, at the party’s headquarters in Barcelona.Marta Perez (EFE)Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) celebrates this Saturday the second round in the election to elect its leadership. Militància Decidim, the candidacy of the party’s former president and re-election candidate Oriol Junqueras, is the favorite against Nova Esquerra Nacional, headed by Xavier Godàs and which brings together supporters of the party’s until now general secretary, Marta Rovira. In a process where participation will be key, a little more than 8,000 militants are called to vote. The results will be known at eight…

The Second in the line of succession has presided over her first act in one more step to assume responsibilities Read Infanta Sofía makes her solo debut with the presentation of an award and institutional prominence

New French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said on Friday he faced a “Himalaya” of a challenge to tackle France’s deficit, as opponents gave lukewarm reactions to his appointment. He replaces Michel Barnier, who was ousted by lawmakers last week for trying to pass a cost-cutting 2025 budget. New French PM François Bayrou to grapple with national debt, budget

An innocent “How’s it going?” can be interpreted by some people as the perfect occasion to dump their misfortunes on the unsuspecting inquirer. Such venting can be sincere, but even real problems can wind up being over-emphasized in these situations. There are many life stages in which we can run up against complicated moments, difficult patches — sometimes, it’s impossible to overstate how bad we feel. But that’s different from the outbursts of drama addicts, people who are experts in making mountains out of molehills. The folks for whom any everyday inconvenience becomes a huge roadblock, because they’ve taught themselves…

On the long wooden table reserved for consulting the riches of the Fraternité des Capucins library in the Montparnasse neighborhood of Paris, the in-house archivist placed two dark gray boxes and an old photo album. They elucidate the little-known life of Abbé Pierre before he was a Resistance fighter honored by Charles de Gaulle, the founder of the solidarity organization Emmaüs, or a sexual predator accused of assaulting 24 women including at least three minors. Read more Subscribers only Women come forward to accuse famous French priest of sexual assault No, there’s nothing of the sort in these boxes, which…

Pope Francis at a mass at the Stade Velodrome, Marseille, September 23, 2023. VATICAN MEDIA VIA ABACA For the third time, Pope Francis is preparing a trip to France. After visiting the European Parliament in Strasbourg in 2014 and taking part in the Rencontres Méditerranéennes in Marseille in September 2023, he will head for Ajaccio, Corsica, on Sunday, December 15. As with his previous trips, the Pontiff is not making an official state visit, but will be taking part in a conference on popular religiosity − the Vatican press release, issued on November 23, didn’t even mention France. Read more…

Miguel Juan tells, Councilor for Health, Citizen Participation, Animal Welfare and Sports of Enguera (Valencia, 4,911 inhabitants), that an 80-year-old resident of the town “every Friday, at noon, waits for the volunteers who collect the biowaste that accumulates in a paint can that she has in the garage.” Vegetable peelings, fruit skins, even leftover macaroni, meat, bones or fish scraps. Like her, 70 families in the Valencian municipality separate what they leave on their plates and put it in municipal containers, which are emptied every week in a Bodegas Enguera composter. There, they are mixed with animal manure, waste from…

The Government chooses a route of regional relief that favors a prosperous and more financed community than that of Ayuso, according to Fedea, the College of Economists of Madrid and the Generalitat itself. Read Since the financial crisis, Catalonia has gone into debt 175% more than Madrid, despite having received more resources from the system

In tonight’s edition, the BBC vows to continue reporting on the Sahel region, after Niger announced it’s taking the British broadcaster off the airwaves for three months. Also, Rwanda bids to bring Formula One back to Africa for the first time since 1993. And we’ll take a look closer at the place of traditional medicine in Senegal. Niger junta suspends the BBC accusing it of spreading 'false news'

A court in France on Friday, December 13, jailed three rugby players formerly with French side Grenoble for 12 to 14 years over the 2017 gang rape of a student. It sentenced Irishman Denis Coulson, 30, and Frenchman Loick Jammes, 30, to 14 years behind bars, and New Zealander Rory Grice, 34, to 12 years in jail. It handed four years in jail, including two suspended, to ex-Ireland international 31-year-old Chris Farrel over failure to prevent the crime. New Zealander Dylan Hayes, 30, received a two-year suspended sentence, also for not intervening to stop it. In the small hours of…

Signage is seen outside the Moody’s Corporation headquarters in Manhattan, New York on November 12, 2021. ANDREW KELLY / REUTERS Ratings agency Moody’s downgraded France’s credit rating Saturday, December 13, to Aa3 with a stable outlook, following months of political crisis and the appointment of centrist Francois Bayrou as prime minister. Moody’s cited France’s “political fragmentation” in its decision, which comes after parliament ousted Michel Barnier’s government in a historic no-confidence vote following a standoff over an austerity budget. “The decision to downgrade France’s ratings to Aa3 reflects our view that France’s public finances will be substantially weakened by the…

Bolaños asks the PP to “put the interests of the citizens first” in the Conference of PresidentsThe Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, Félix Bolaños, has described as “good news at the beginning” that the Conference of Presidents will be held in Santander and has expressed his hope that the Popular Party (PP) “will put the interests of citizens” at the meeting, opening up to agreements on immigration and housing.“I hope that the Popular Party and its presidents put the interests of the citizens first and, therefore, we can reach agreements on immigration and housing, because…

The President of the Government proposes a system that limits the fiscal autonomy of the autonomous communities and challenges Madrid Read Sánchez makes the new financing subject to ending the ‘Ayuso model’

The parliamentary week began under the shadow of Carles Puigdemont, with his demand that Pedro Sánchez submit to a vote of confidence, and ended this Thursday with up and down moment for the Government. The legislature, the second decree of aid for those affected by the dana was validated, with the only vote against Vox. The Government saves Congress The investiture bloc worked to defeat the attempt of this last group and the PP to stop the reform of the gag law, and the rule to protect live organ donors was ready, after the rejection of an amendment that the…

The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) warns the Government not to try to mask the energy tax in an omnibus decree because they will overthrow it. There leader warns that he will not support anything that entails approving the tax hike, even if this means dropping measures such as the increase in pensions. The PNV warns the Government not to try to mask the energy tax in an omnibus decree because it will overthrow it

During a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Erdogan to protect Syrian civilians after Turkish-backed rebels toppled the Bashar al-Assad regime. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments. Live: Blinken tells Erdogan 'all parties' must ensure protection of Syrian civilians

José Luis Ábalos worked hard this Thursday in the Supreme Court to disassociate himself from the possible irregularities committed by his former advisor in the Ministry of Transportation, Koldo García, and the businessman Víctor de Aldama. The former socialist leader, currently a deputy for the Mixed Group, denied before the judge that he had collected cash or any type of compensation from companies supposedly favored by public contracts, accusations that Aldama has borne as proof of his commitment to collaborate with justice. The businessman’s legal strategy will be put to the test next Monday, when he is summoned to testify…

The leak of the reproach to Felipe VI for not going to Notre Dame when he had already begun his state visit to Giorgia Meloni’s Italy, a way of telling him that here no one jumps over the wall. Read The Kings in Italy and the ‘vendetta’ of Paiporta

In a traditional custom for lame-duck presidents, Joe Biden announced he would grant a record-breaking 1,500 commutations and 39 pardons on Thursday, weeks after he controversially pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, after promising not to grant him clemency.