Europe

Tens of thousands protested in Tirana against plans for a luxury tourist resort linked to the Trump family, marking 35 consecutive days of demonstrations. Initially an environmental campaign, dissatisfaction has expanded to anti-government sentiment, demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation amid accusations of corruption and ecological threats.

Thousands protested across France following the rape and murder of 11-year-old Lyhanna, demanding urgent government action against sexual violence. Criticism centred on systemic failures in the justice system, with Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin pledging to review 70,000 unresolved child abuse cases by mid-July.

“Perhaps, if one is permitted to draw a lesson at such a dramatic moment, his excess of programmatic Europeanism, coupled with a lack of pragmatic Europeanism, has ultimately turned against him. If he had succeeded in realising at least some of the projects he announced, if he had really dared to share with his allies the military and nuclear supremacy he wields in Europe, France and Europe themselves would not be reduced to this pitiful state today.”

“Interest rates would rise. The financial markets are worried about France. They don’t know which way our country is headed. … France’s attractiveness would decline. In recent years, since 2015, France has become more attractive to foreign investors. … But since the dissolution of parliament, investors have been asking themselves: should they invest elsewhere? Should they wait and see if France remains hospitable? Some projects have already been cancelled, others have been scaled back or postponed. The fall of the Barnier government would only fuel this spiral of mistrust.”

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