France

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France’s Macron risks his government to raise retirement age

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron ordered his prime minister to wield a special constitutional power Thursday that skirts parliament to force through a highly unpopular bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a vote.

https://apnews.com/article/france-retirement-age-strikes-macron-garbage-07455d88d10bf7ae623043e4d05090de?

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French protesters march past garbage piles, resisting Macron

PARIS (AP) — A smattering of protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise France’s retirement age from 62 to 64 took place Saturday in Paris and beyond, as uncollected garbage reeked in the streets of the French capital amid a strike by sanitation workers.

https://apnews.com/article/pension-macron-france-protests-f37b065364be17db72e27dffc2a96d2d?

Macron’s leadership at risk amid tensions over pension plan

PARIS (AP) — A parody photo appearing on protest signs and online in France shows President Emmanuel Macron sitting on piles of garbage. It’s both a reference to the trash going uncollected with Paris sanitation workers on strike — and to what many French people think about their leader.

https://apnews.com/article/france-retirement-macron-protests-fc83d442c8ddbd1b0eb456c956623a47

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Garbage: In Paris streets, heaps of it become protest symbol

PARIS (AP) — Garbage. Heaps, mounds and piles of it are growing daily — and in some places standing higher than a human being.

https://apnews.com/article/paris-garbage-france-strike-protest-macron-57fe5ff3ce7652cb930608b568213f13?

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In Macron’s France, streets and fields seethe with protest

PARIS (AP) — A big day has come for French high school student Elisa Fares. At age 17, she is taking part in her first protest.

https://apnews.com/article/macron-protests-retirement-paris-garbage-french-revolution-4d00958cfbb1035dd8a6c3dc645a1362?

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Hundreds of thousands of people take to French streets amid fears of violence

Minister says 13,000 police deployed as Macron vows not to waver on unpopular pensions policy

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/28/strikes-protests-france-macron-pensions-clashes?

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Marine Le Pen Surges as Macron's Star Fades

The intense protests against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform in France have put him on the defensive. Right-wing populist Marine Le Pen is reaping the benefits.

https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/the-beneficiary-of-bedlam-marine-le-pen-surges-as-macron-s-star-fades-a-061d85c4-98a6-4efd-836f-5eacd315d5ba?

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Macron’s new pension age overcomes last hurdle amid protests

PARIS (AP) — France’s Constitutional Council on Friday approved an unpopular plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 in a victory for President Emmanuel Macron after months of mass protests that have damaged his leadership.

https://apnews.com/article/france-retirement-age-constitutional-7b104135e43250d1eb3617230738a6bb?

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Storm Ciarán whips Western Europe, blowing record winds in France and leaving millions without power

PARIS (AP) — Record-breaking winds in France and across much of Western Europe left at least seven people dead and injured others as Storm Ciarán swept through the continent Thursday. The storm devastated homes, causing travel mayhem and cut power to a vast number of people.

https://apnews.com/article/storm-ciaran-uk-france-winds-climate-61b722101874e7f0610961c03c509229?

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French prime minister resigns following recent political turmoil over immigration

PARIS (AP) — French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne resigned Monday following recent political turmoil over immigration, paving the way for President Emmanuel Macron to seek fresh momentum by appointing a new government in coming days.

https://apnews.com/article/france-politics-borne-resigns-macron-immigration-975e54234d83be393eda8150aaf8402c?

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Protesting farmers have France’s government in a bind

PARIS (AP) — Farmers have captured France’s attention by showering government offices with manure and besieging Paris with traffic-snarling barricades of tractors and hay bales.

https://apnews.com/article/france-farmers-protests-macron-explainer-e57ff0b4a4e1d4c11460a10825d71fb1?

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The windmill sails at Paris’ iconic Moulin Rouge have collapsed. No injuries are reported

PARIS (AP) —The iconic windmill sails of the Moulin Rouge, a vibrant emblem of Paris’s bohemian lifestyle, collapsed Thursday after a show. No injuries were reported.

https://apnews.com/article/paris-moulin-rouge-sails-collapse-cd1e86b1b560e95063a65ff8b17d8731?

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Gérard Depardieu will be tried for alleged sexual assaults on a film set, French prosecutors say

PARIS (AP) — French actor Gérard Depardieu will face a criminal trial in October over the alleged sexual assaults in 2021 of two women on the set of a film, prosecutors announced Monday.

https://apnews.com/article/depardieu-assault-metoo-police-french-actor-1a4970f3b7e177a6682314f87579a5dd?

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France imposes emergency in Pacific territory of New Caledonia as violent unrest turns deadly

PARIS (AP) — France imposed an emergency Wednesday in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia for at least 12 days, boosting security forces’ powers to quell deadly unrest in the archipelago where indigenous people have long sought independence.

https://apnews.com/article/new-caledonia-france-pacific-unrest-46729a7c6922c0cd0e82eb3a78102c64?

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‘The Fly’ has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What’s his criminal history?

PARIS (AP) — A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy in which two guards were killed.

https://apnews.com/article/france-prison-break-fly-who-is-he-babab367f9955510798f4c6b066b8c7e?

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French police fatally shoot a man suspected of setting fire to a synagogue

ROUEN, France (AP) — French police shot and killed a man armed with a knife and a metal bar who is suspected of having started a fire that charred and blackened the insides of a synagogue in the Normandy city of Rouen early Friday, an attack the interior minister said was “clearly” antisemitic and which infuriated Jewish leaders facing a surge in hate crimes since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

https://apnews.com/article/france-synagogue-attack-suspect-killed-08a1aaf0f60d5aa4bee9ef2c5e48e411?

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Sacré bleu! The French Open banned alcohol in the stands after fans were called out for rowdiness

PARIS (AP) — One player said a French Open spectator spat chewed gum toward him. Another, No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek, chastised the crowd at the main stadium for making too much noise during points.

https://apnews.com/article/french-open-gum-crowds-swiatek-goffin-58d814994ca03a238375d22ecb7649cf?

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France files preliminary terrorism charges against teenager accused of plan to attack Olympic fans

PARIS (AP) — French authorities on Friday raised preliminary terrorism charges against an 18-year-old accused of a plot targeting spectators attending soccer games at the upcoming Paris Olympics. The interior minister said it was the first such thwarted plot targeting the Games, which start in eight weeks as France is on its highest threat alert level.

https://apnews.com/article/paris-olympics-st-etienne-foiled-plot-b802119bfa66922c774573acdac37247?

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As France reels from alleged rape of a Jewish girl, antisemitism comes to fore in election campaign

PARIS (AP) — The alleged rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a suspected antisemitic attack has sent shockwaves throughout France and thrust concerns about antisemitism to the forefront of campaigning for the country’s legislative elections.

https://apnews.com/article/france-antisemitism-election-campaign-d7abcccdc89650190723e55a1716228d?

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French voters propel far-right National Rally to strong lead in first-round legislative elections

PARIS (AP) — The far-right National Rally leaped into a strong lead Sunday in France’s first round of legislative elections, polling agencies projected, bringing the party closer to being able to form a government in round two and dealing a major slap to centrist President Emmanuel Macron and his risky decision to call the surprise ballot.

https://apnews.com/article/france-election-far-right-macron-f07061a929ed8eaad0e714e948159cab?

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French far right ahead in 1st round of snap elections. Here’s how runoff works and what comes next

PARIS (AP) — French voters face a decisive choice on July 7 in the runoff of snap parliamentary elections that could see the country’s first far-right government since the World War II Nazi occupation — or no majority emerging at all.

https://apnews.com/article/france-election-far-right-macron-193233ade08821a71731980d8a17eb4a?

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Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party has taken the lead in the first round of France's parliamentary elections, projections showed on Sunday, as President Emmanuel Macron's party slumped to third place. While the RN is on track to win the most seats in the National Assembly, it may fall short of the 289 seats required for an absolute majority, suggesting France may be heading for a hung parliament and more political uncertainty. Macron has pledged to see out the remainder of his final presidential term, which runs until 2027, but he now faces the prospect of having to appoint a prime minister from an opposition party in a rare arrangement known as "cohabitation."

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At 28, Bardella could become youngest French prime minister at helm of far-right National Rally

NICE, France (AP) — At just 28 years old, Jordan Bardella has helped make the far-right National Rally the strongest political force in France. And now he could become the country’s youngest prime minister.

https://apnews.com/article/france-election-bardella-far-right-e6429b0e26ca29baedf6a72351999282?

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Renowned Nazi hunter in France advises Jews to choose far right over far left in elections

PARIS (AP) — Days ahead of France’s crucial parliamentary elections, renowned Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld is sticking to his advice that if voters are faced with a duel between Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and a far-left competitor, they should choose the far right.

https://apnews.com/article/france-election-far-right-nazi-hunter-antisemitism-dbe220c915894f6aded6f3547c05aae0?

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France’s government spokesperson is attacked on the campaign trail, days before decisive election In the final stretch before France’s high-stakes parliamentary elections Sunday, several candidates have reported being attacked on the campaign trail, including government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot. Read more.

Why this matters: Tensions are high as left-wing and moderate groups try to prevent the anti-immigration, nationalist National Rally from winning an absolute legislative majority, which would be a first and a major historical shift for France.   Politicians on all sides condemned the attack and others on candidates from various parties. But many people have voiced concerns that the surge in voter support for the fiercely anti-immigration National Rally has made people feel more comfortable using racist, xenophobic and antisemitic language in public.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Far-right National Rally candidates, including one who wore Nazi cap, scrutinized in French election   Election anxiety curbs Olympic enthusiasm among Parisians ahead of the Summer Games   Le Pen first had success in an ex-mining town. Her message there is now winning over French society

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A coalition of the French left beats the far right in France A French left coalition won the most seats in high-stakes legislative elections Sunday, beating back a far-right surge but failing to win a majority. Read more.

Why this matters: A hung parliament is unknown territory for modern France. All three main blocs fell far short of the 289 seats needed to control the National Assembly, with the New Popular Front leftist coalition placing first, ahead of Macron’s centrist alliance and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally was restricted to third place.   While the National Rally took more seats than ever, the anti-immigration party with historical links to antisemitism and racism fell far short of its hopes of securing an absolute majority that would have given France its first far-right government since World War II.   The outcome left France facing the stunning prospect of a hung parliament and political paralysis. The political turmoil could rattle markets and the French economy and have far-ranging implications for the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ France’s elections end up with no clear majority. This is what could happen next   Here’s what France’s left-wing coalition has promised