Browsing: France

‘I feel totally useless’: Anguish grows among Lebanese diaspora in France EU

Hundreds of Lebanese people demonstrated in Paris on Sunday to demand an immediate ceasefire since clashes between Israel and Hezbollah began a year ago.

They are more than 4,000 kilometres away from Lebanon but the conflict still hits close to home.

Since clashes between Israel and Hezbollah (an Iran-aligned Shia militant and political group) began a year ago, more than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon.

The thousands of Franco-Lebanese nationals who are watching the conflict from afar say they’re filled with anger and guilt. Hundreds of them gathered in Paris and around other cities in France on Sunday with the main demand of an immediate ceasefire.

Warning: This text contains descriptions of sexual violence. At first glance, with its medieval city walls and charming alleyways, the French town of Avignon…

Police Raids and Their Impact EU

On 28 November, it will be one year since a SWAT team of around 175 policemen wearing black masks, helmets, and bullet proof vests,…

European news bulletin today – Spanish flash floods, drugs shootout in France, EU clashes with WHO EU

Many of the stories dominating the European headlines are related to the catastrophic flooding in Spain, which has so far killed at least 158 people. More bad weather is expected throughout Friday, increasing fears that the death toll will continue to rise. 

A teenager and four others have been seriously wounded in a shootout in the city of Poitiers in western France, which erupted into a fight involving “several hundred people”
EU countries clash with WHO over trans rights and access to healthcare

Nearly half of European Union countries consider ‘transsexualism’ a psychiatric diagnosis

Cabinet will reassure the business world EU

“Barnier’s cabinet is likely to reassure the business world. … First in terms of method: the prime minister is consulting experts widely and has undertaken to continue doing so in preparation for his government policy statement. This marks the beginning of a culture of compromise that is quite foreign to France. And secondly in the choice of personnel: there are few or no big names in this team, but the ministers are experts in their fields and will be careful not to break with the dynamic created over the past seven years. … With the cast, the method and the direction now set, the 2025 budget will be the acid test.”

“Barnier and Macron want to accommodate French voters on the right and prevent them from voting for far-right parties in even greater numbers in future elections. But paradoxically, the support of Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National must also be secured. The RN is the second-most important opposition party in parliament after the left-wing camp, and will play a crucial role in determining how long the new government remains in office. This shows, in turn, how powerful Le Pen’s party has become in France – even if it is still being kept out of the centre of power.”

“If you zoom out of France and look at the whole of Europe, you see that by appointing Michel Barnier as prime minister the once moderate Emmanuel Macron has brought his country into line with many of its neighbours. On the same weekend, the AfD only narrowly lost to the SPD in the Brandenburg elections. … In Belgium, a poll published on Saturday showed a Flanders that is further to the right in its voting preferences than ever before – Vlaams Belang is on form. … Above all, these events mark the end of a week in which the new EU Commission has been dominated by the right.”

Michel Barnier becomes new French PM Veteran French conservative Michel Barnier has been named France’s new Prime Minister, almost two months after the country’s snap…