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☆ France becomes world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in constitution
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | Xiaofei Xu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Paris CNN —France became the world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution on Monday, the culmination of an effort that began in direct response to the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The amendment states that there is a “guaranteed freedom” to abortion in France. While abortion is a highly divisive issue in US politics that often falls along party lines, in France it is widely supported. The measure’s passage is a clear victory for the French left, which has been pushing for years to guarantee abortion rights in the constitution. The vote marks the 25th time the French government has amended its constitution since the founding of the Fifth Republic in 1958.

Persons: Roe, ”, Gabriel Attal, ” Attal, Emmanuel Macron, Simone Veil, Emmanuel Macron’s, —, Wade, Eric Dupond, Moretti, perviously, CNN’s Joseph Ataman, Christopher Lamb Organizations: Paris CNN —, Wade, French Senate, National Assembly, ” Lawmakers, France, Health, US, Fifth, Catholic, Pontifical Academy for Life Locations: Paris CNN — France, of Versailles, Paris, France, United States, Europe, Hungary, Fifth Republic

☆ Opinion: Neither Russia nor the West know how this war will end
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Opinion Anna Arutunyan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It is doing so in part because the plans and intentions of Ukraine’s Western allies are so vague. Just as the Kremlin is doing, Ukraine’s Western allies are signaling their resolve to “defeat” Russia without actually articulating what that defeat means. The military support Ukraine’s allies are willing and capable of offering stops precisely where Ukraine’s most pressing shortages lie: manpower. But Ukraine’s Western allies are failing to reckon with these realities and, amid growing reluctance by right-wing parties in the US and Europe to shoulder the costs, are resorting instead to triumphalist rhetoric. Western allies need to start recognizing their limited resources, or at least the limits to what they can or will offer Ukraine.

Persons: Anna Arutunyan, Mark Galeotti, Prigozhin, Putin, Read, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin’s, ” Putin, Anatolii Stepanov, Dmitry Peskov, Ukraine’s, ”, Emmanuel Macron’s, Zelensky, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Donald Trump Organizations: CNN, Ukraine, Kremlin, Getty, EU, Munich Security Conference, Estonian Ministry of Defense, Law Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Switzerland, ”, Moscow, Kyiv, Ukrainian, AFP, Ukraine’s Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson, Crimea, NATO, Luhansk, Europe

☆ Opinion: Trump’s making America irrelevant to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

He formerly was a foreign correspondent and bureau chief for The New York Times in Europe and Asia and for CBS News in Paris. CNN —Madeline Albright famously called America the “indispensable nation.” Is former President Donald Trump making America the irrelevant nation? The first steps toward a new direction for such a Europe — without America — are already being taken. Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu/Getty ImagesVon der Leyen has also said that upping European defense production would be a top priority for her second term — not to mention sorting through vastly divergent budgets of the various countries. Still, as a bloc, Europe at about 85 billion euros ($92 billion) has already passed the United States at 66.2 billion euros ($71.6 billion) in total commitments to Ukraine.

Persons: David A, Madeline Albright, Donald Trump, Alexey Navalny’s, Vladimir Putin, Mike Johnson, Johnson, Joe Biden, ” haven’t, Mette Frederiksen, ” Frederiksen, Ursula von der Leyen, Europe’s, Christine Wormuth, Peter, Paul, Kaja Kallas, Dursun, Leyen, Emmanuel Macron’s, Macron, David Lammy, unflinchingly, who’s, ” Kallas, Alar Karis, ” Karis, we’re, Der Spiegel, ” Organizations: CNN, French Legion of, The New York Times, CBS News, Trump, Republicans, NATO, Security, Danish, America, Africa Command, Getty, Germany’s Kiel Institute, US, Union, Munich Security Conference, British, Labour Party, Estonian, Politico Europe, Kremlin, “ Locations: Europe, Asia, Paris, America, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, “, United States, Munich, Berlin, Brussels, Poland, Estonian, Anadolu, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, France, Russia’s, Sweden, Britain, German

Many worry that a second term for Trump would be an earthquake, but tremors already abound — and concerns are rising that the U.S. could grow less dependable regardless of who wins. Photos You Should See View All 21 ImagesBiden, in contrast, has made support for Ukraine a key priority and moral imperative. But many of America's European NATO allies are worried that with or without Trump, the U.S. is becoming less reliable. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was “currently on the phone a lot with my colleagues and asking them to do more” to support Ukraine. Dalton, a former U.K. ambassador to Iran, said prospects for the Middle East would be “slightly worse” under Trump than Biden.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron’s, Trump, Germany’s Angela Merkel, Britain’s Theresa May, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orbán “, ”, Biden, Richard Dalton, Olaf Scholz, “, Scholz, Macron, ” Macron, Boris Johnson, ” Johnson, Putin, Johnson, ” Bronwen Maddox, ” Trump, hasn't, —, Dalton, implore Biden, Itamar Ben, Israel, Turkey’s Erdogan, Sergey Lavrov, George W, Zhao Minghao, ” “, Jiwon, Kirsten Grieshaber, Dasha, Suzan Fraser, Nomaan Merchant Organizations: U.S, Trump, NATO, Congressional Republicans, Centre, Politics, University College London, Mail, Associated Press, Hamas, White, Russian, CBS, Biden, Fudan University Locations: U.S, gridlock, Congress, Ukraine, Europe, United States, British, German, Germany, ” Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Tehran, Dalton, Israel, Gaza, Turkey, Shanghai, Seoul, South Korea, Berlin, Dasha Litvinova, Tallinn, Estonia, Ankara, Washington

☆ Top Council Rejects Much of France’s Tough Immigration Law
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Aurelien Breeden | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

France’s Constitutional Council struck down large chunks of a tough new immigration law on Thursday, in a widely expected ruling that said many measures that were added by President Emmanuel Macron’s government under right-wing pressure were unlawful. The nine-member council, which reviews legislation to ensure that it conforms to the Constitution, said in a statement that it had partially or completely struck down over a third of the 86 articles in the law, which was passed in December — including restrictions on foreigners’ access to government subsidies, limitations on the reunification of migrant families and the creation of yearly immigration quotas set by Parliament. Overhauling France’s immigration rules was one of Mr. Macron’s second-term priorities, and under ordinary circumstances, the council’s decision could be seen as a stinging rebuke. The French leader had called the new law a necessary “shield” to deal with the pressure of migrants illegally entering the country. But because of the way the law came to pass and the nature of the measures that were rejected, Thursday’s ruling may paradoxically give Mr. Macron some relief.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron’s, Macron’s, Thursday’s Organizations: France’s Constitutional Locations: France’s

☆ French senator under investigation in MP drugging case
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Paris CNN —A French senator has been placed under formal investigation over suspicions that he drugged a member of parliament with the intention to sexually abuse her, the senator’s lawyer and the Paris prosecutor’s office said. In a separate statement, Guerriau denied the charges. It was not clear why Josso was in the senator’s flat at the time of the alleged incident. The Paris prosecutor confirmed late on Friday that an investigation has been opened, adding that Guerriau had been placed under judicial control and is not allowed to contact Josso or witnesses. A spokesman for the senator’s conservative Horizons party, which is also part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling coalition, told Radio France Info on Saturday that Guerriau had been suspended with immediate effect.

Persons: Paris CNN —, Joel Guerriau, Sandrine Josso, ”, Remi, Pierre Drai, Guerriau, Josso’s, Julia Minkowski, Emmanuel Macron’s Organizations: Paris CNN, Paris, Conservative, Reuters, BFM, Horizons, Radio France Locations: French, Paris

☆ Opinion | The Israel-Hamas War Will Reshape Western Politics
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

In that fairly distant past, the politics of Israel-Palestine broke down into alignments that were familiar and decades-old. On the pro-Israel side in the U.S. were three broad factions: Zionist Democrats, centrist and liberal; neoconservative hawks; and evangelical Christians. But 2023 may be remembered as the moment when Arab and Muslim discontent began to really matter inside Western countries as well. And the tacit alliance between this diaspora and a secular, feminist, gay-affirming Western progressivism — “Islamo-gauchisme” in the French phrase — raises big questions for both progressives and conservative Muslims about who is using whom, and how the Western left and Western Islam might ultimately co-evolve. This isn’t the George W. Bush-era version, with its world-bestriding confidence in American power and its hawkish grand strategy.

Persons: It’s, —, Pat Buchananite populists, Islamicization, Aris Roussinos, Emmanuel Macron’s, it’s, George W, Bush Organizations: Israel, Zionist Democrats, Democratic, Channel, Hamas, Likud Locations: Israel, Gaza, Palestine, U.S, Western Islam, Europe, British, Britain, progressivism

☆ What you need to know about Europe’s bedbug panic
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Blane Bachelor | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“Since I am a dermatologist and I post a lot on my clinic account, I thought it would be nice to post a reel on bed bugs,” she told CNN Travel. “I was like, ‘I find that very hard to believe’,” Starkey told CNN Travel. Yet in Belgium, doctors in Antwerp are “sounding the alarm” about the spread of bedbugs from Paris, according to The Brussels Times. Colleen Oakley, a bestselling novelist in Atlanta, told CNN Travel she would “absolutely not travel” to Paris right now based on her “awful” experience with the creepy crawlies in 2006. It sounds silly to have panic attacks over bugs, but they are really invasive critters.

Persons: Zeina Nehme, bedbugs, Nehme, “, ” Cynthia Starkey, Starkey, texted Starkey, she’d, ” Starkey, Mikayla, I’m, ’ ” Starkey, ” Zach DeVries, ” DeVries, Stella McCartney, Marc Piasecki, Emmanuel Macron’s, Paris Emmanuel Grégoire, Aurélien Rousseau, bedbugs ”, hasn’t, Sadiq Khan, ”, Joe Rominiecki, I’ve, Richard Pollack, Pollack, Paris –, Apple bedbugs, “ Bedbugs, –, Naomi Campbell, “ bedbugs, Colleen Oakley, Oakley Organizations: CNN, City, CNN Travel, Paris, University of Kentucky’s, bedbugs, Fashion, French, Monde, Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance Party, French Health, France Inter, Eurostar, French Agency for Food, Occupational Health, Safety, Entomological Society of America, Harvard Campus Services, Apple, NL Times, Brussels Times, Air, World Health Organization, telltale, American Academy of Dermatology Association, Travelers, Orkin Locations: Paris, London, City of, Beirut, Lebanon, Phoenix, Europe, France, New York, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Antwerp, bedbugs, Air France, Orkin Canada, Atlanta, New, West Village

Bedbugs go where you go, and they have become a nightmare haunting France for weeks. Still, bedbugs have plagued France and other countries for decades. The French public began moving into panic mode about a month ago after reports of bedbugs at a Paris movie theater. “All human population movements are profitable for bedbugs because they go with us, to hotels, in transport," said Berenger. Beaune, the transport minister, is hopeful that steps can be taken to ease the public's fear.

Persons: Elisabeth Borne, Clement Beaune, bedbugs, that's, ”, Jean, Michel Berenger, they’ll, Berenger, Ipsos, It’s, Kevin Le Mestre, Lutte Antinuisible, Lucas Pradalier, Emmanuel Macron’s, Mathilde Panot, “, Alex Turnbull Organizations: PARIS, Olympic Games, Metro, Mediterranee University Hospital, National Agency for Health, Food Safety, Paris Olympics, Associated Press Locations: France, Beaune, Marseille, Paris, New York

☆ King Charles makes historic speech at French senate
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

When his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, visited in 2004, she made her speech from the adjoining Salle des Conferences. Queen Camilla plays table tennis during a visit to France's national stadium and venue for next year's Olympic Games. Hannah McKay/Pool/AFP/Getty ImagesQueen Camilla delivers a speech next to French President's wife Brigitte Macron at the national library in Paris. Queen Camilla and King Charles III are welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron to a state dinner in Versailles on September 20, 2023. Christian Liewig/Corbis/Getty ImagesBritain's King Charles with the French first lady Brigitte Macron at the Palace of Versailles, west of Paris, on Wednesday.

Persons: Paris CNN — King Charles III, ” Charles, Queen Camilla, Emmanuel Macron’s, Queen Elizabeth II, Charles, King ”, King –, “, ”, Russia’s, France's, Emmanuel Dunand, Brigitte Macron, Camilla, l’Entente, Denis, Hannah McKay, Bertrand Guay, Macron, Hugh Grant, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Emma Mackey, Mick Jagger, Arsene Wenger, French King Louis XIV, King Charles III, Emmanuel Macron, Christian Liewig, King Charles, Daniel Leal, Rishi Sunak’s Organizations: Paris CNN, Palais du, Rugby, National Assembly, Getty, Senate, Bibliotheque Nationale de, Notre Dame, Twitter, Mirrors Locations: France’s, France, Paris, Bordeaux, Salle, Ukraine, Europe, Palais du Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Bibliotheque Nationale de France, French, Franco, British, Saint, Paris ’, Notre, of Versailles, Versailles

☆ Protesters descend on French Embassy in Niger shouting 'long live Putin'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Omar Hama Saley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Niamey, Niger CNN —Tense and sometimes violent scenes played out in front of the French Embassy in Niger Sunday as thousands of people who support a military coup voiced anger over France’s influence in its former colony. Some protesters tore down a plaque identifying the Embassy, stomped on it and then replaced it with Russian and Nigerien flags. Shouts of “long live Putin,” “long live Russia” and “down with France” could be heard among the crowds. President Emmanuel Macron’s office said France would immediately retaliate against anyone who attacks French nationals or facilities in Niger. Niger’s military leaders may have found one potential ally: the country’s eastern neighbor, Chad.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Mohamed Bazoum, Putin, ”, Emmanuel Macron’s, Bazoum, Stringer, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, ‘ We’re, I’ve, Karimou Sidi, “ Organizations: Niger CNN, Embassy, Kremlin, Russian, Nigerien, Niger, National Council for, Homeland, Reuters, West African States, Sunday, ECOWAS, European Union, ” Locations: Niamey, Niger, stomped, Nigerien, Russia, France, Reuters Niger, Republic of Niger, ”, Chad, Niger’s, Africa ’ Niger, French, Kanto, Africa, ” Kanto, St, Petersburg, Ukraine, Sahel, Burkina Faso

☆ Shipping tax could yield $100 bln climate windfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

TINOS, June 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The shipping industry emits 2.9% of the world's greenhouse gases. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsPOLLUTER PAYSThe shipping industry uses fossil fuels to power its boats. That said, industry leaders such as container giant Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) are moving into green shipping. This potentially large sum is attracting the attention of people outside the shipping industry, especially those focused on climate change. If a country refused to apply an agreed tax, the international shipping industry would effectively be unable to operate from its ports.

Persons: TINOS, Emmanuel Macron’s, Tristan Smith, Marshall, UCL’s Smith, Al Qaeda, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, International Maritime Organisation, United Nations, European Union, EU, Reuters Graphics Reuters, University College London, Shipping, Climate Fund, World Bank, International Chamber of Shipping, Marshall, Al, Trade Center, Thomson Locations: Paris, Danish, Marshall

☆ French March in New Pension Protests, but Are They a Final Stand?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Street demonstrations and transport strikes disrupted France again on Tuesday as another day of protests against a widely unpopular pension overhaul took place, in what appeared to be a last-ditch effort to pressure the authorities into scrapping the changes. Tuesday’s protest, the 14th day of nationwide demonstrations since January, reflected the lingering anger at the government’s decision to raise the legal retirement age to 64 from 62 — a move that put France on edge and led to the biggest political threat in President Emmanuel Macron’s second term. But after months of exceptionally large protests that have failed to budge Mr. Macron, and with key parts of the overhaul already enshrined in law, opponents of the reform acknowledge that the chances of turning the tide now are slim and that Tuesday’s actions may be a last stand. “The game is about to end whether we like it or not,” Laurent Berger, the leader of the French Democratic Confederation of Labor, the largest union in France, said on Tuesday as he was getting ready for the march in Paris.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron’s, Mr, Macron, ” Laurent Berger Organizations: French Democratic Confederation of Labor Locations: France, Paris

☆ Fact Check-Audio translation of Emmanuel Macron’s 2022 UN speech is altered
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The faked audio also says he was speaking in April 2023, but Macron was in fact speaking on September 20, 2022. There was no session of the UN General Assembly in New York in April 2023. The 78th session of the UN General Assembly is scheduled to open on September 5, 2023 (here). Emmanuel Macron did not apologize to African nations for wrongs committed during the French colonial period. Audio of a 2022 speech to the UN General Assembly has been altered.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Macron, “, MACRON, France, Read Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, UN, Assembly, Facebook, “ AS, WE, Reuters Locations: New York, French Republic, France, Ukraine, Kigali

☆ France in 'very close discussions' with S&P ahead of rating update
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire speaks at a joint news conference after his meeting with World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, April 1, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/Pool//File PhotoPARIS (Reuters) - French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire is in “very close discussions” with credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s, which put France on notice in January for a possible downgrade, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Sunday. “There are very close discussions between Standard and Poor’s and Bruno Le Maire,” Borne told Radio J. “I think there were detailed explanations from Bruno Le Maire to Standard and Poor’s on everything we’re doing to control our public finances and I think that we act in this direction,” she said. Le Maire explained France’s reforms and its objective of cutting the country’s budget deficit to 2.7% of gross domestic product by 2027, she said.

☆ Justine Triet: French film director attacks Macron during Palme d'Or acceptance speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —French film director Justine Triet condemned what she called French President Emmanuel Macron’s “shocking” repression of the pension reform protests during her Palme d’Or acceptance speech at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday. “The commodification of culture that the neoliberal government defends is in the process of breaking the French cultural exception,” Triet continued. Triet is just the third woman to win the Palme d’Or, one of cinema’s tpp prizes, after New Zealand’s Jane Campion and France’s Julia Ducournau. “Happy to see the Palme d’Or awarded to Justine Triet, the 10th for France! France’s social unrest has cast a shadow over this year’s instalment of the film festival.

The most recent innovation has been tamer: People have banged pots whenever the president has appeared. Indeed, France’s labor unions — though representing a smaller share of the work force than elsewhere in Western Europe — have been united in their opposition, making them a redoubtable force. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who leads the left-wing coalition NUPES, has been a central figure in the parliamentary fight against Mr. Macron, nearly bringing down his government with a no-confidence vote in March. And yet it is not France’s left that has benefited from the popular rebellion. In a situation that seems tailor-made for a resurgence of the left, how is it that, for the moment at least, it is not just the right but the far right that has benefited?

☆ How US and allies can find common ground on China
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

That said, the U.S. and its allies have many common values and interests with regards to China. Reuters GraphicsJapan, Australia and other Asian countries also need American support to counter the challenge from a more assertive China. The G7 finance ministers last week took a step to address this concern. But it is unclear how much headway the G7 will make as China has already invested heavily in many poorer countries. It is not just the group’s finance ministers who are seeking to coordinate their approach.

☆ Macron Wins Approval to Raise France’s Retirement Age
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension-overhaul plans have left his parliamentary ranks in disarray. PARIS—President Emmanuel Macron ’s plan to raise the country’s retirement age cleared the final hurdle to becoming law with the approval of France’s Constitutional Council, providing relief to his embattled government after a monthslong battle with unions and millions of protesters. The court’s nine judges ruled that Mr. Macron’s government didn’t violate the constitution in passing the legislation in March.

☆ LMVH: China reopening gives Tiffany and Dior owner a boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Shares in LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury group, jumped to a record high after it reported strong first-quarter sales buoyed by the economic re-opening in China. The stock of Europe’s most valuable company rose 4.6% Thursday to hit €875 ($965) apiece, boosting the fortune of its owner Bernard Arnault, already the world’s richest man. The owner of brands such as Tiffany & Co. and Dior reported late on Wednesday sales of €21 billion ($17 billion) in the first three months of the year, up 17% from the same period in 2022. In Europe and Japan, first-quarter sales were strong, rising 24% and 34% respectively, thanks to “robust demand” from local consumers and international travelers. In the United States, sales rose 8%.

☆ China investment drowns out decoupling rhetoric
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, April 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - International companies are reinforcing President Xi Jinping’s message that China is open for business. Japan Display’s (6740.T) shares soared 21% on Monday after the Apple (AAPL.O) supplier said it would provide its OLED technology to China’s HKC. And Europe’s Airbus (AIR.PA) just moved to double capacity in China, agreeing to push ahead with a second China assembly line despite failing to win any new orders during French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent state visit. The new commitments provide a reminder that multinational companies are making – and want to make more – money in the People’s Republic. At least some of the decoupling rhetoric is being drowned out.

☆ Fact Check-Video of French police clashing with firefighters is from 2020
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Footage of a face-off between French police and firefighters during a protest in 2020 has been falsely linked online to demonstrations in 2023 against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the pension age. “An astonishing video of French firefighters taking on police in Paris four days ago,” wrote one user sharing the video on Facebook on March 28 (here). But the video was originally shared by French news agency Hors-Zone Press in January 2020 (here). According to a Reuters report, the 2020 clash broke out while French firefighters were demonstrating over their working conditions and demanding more pay (here). The video shows a clash between French police and firefighters during a demonstration in 2020.

☆ Fact Check-Video of police personnel dropping their handcuffs predates the protests against Macron’s pension changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Video of French police personnel discarding their handcuffs in a protest in 2020 has been shared online as depicting the officers joining protests in France against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the pension age. A tweet sharing the miscaptioned video has been viewed more than 128,000 times at the time of writing (here). The clip can be seen at the 00:30 mark of a video shared by Russian news agency Ruptly in 2020 (here). The video was filmed during widely reported demonstrations in France in June 2020 in response to tougher measures imposed on the police force. The video shows French police personnel discarding their handcuffs in a demonstration in 2020.

☆ France pension reform protests turn violent following national day of action
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Aurore Laborie Dalal Mawad Oliver Briscoe Allegra Goodwin Pierre Bairin Helen Regan | Aurore Laborie | Dalal Mawad | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Paris CNN —More than a million people took to the streets across France on Thursday with protests turning violent in some areas as demonstrators voiced their fury at proposed pension reforms. At least 80 people were arrested and 123 police officers injured in France on Thursday during the nationwide protests, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. The gate of the Bordeaux city hall after it was set on fire during a demonstration on a national day of action, on March 23 in Bordeaux, southwestern France. French riot police apprehend a protester amid clashes during a demonstration against pension reform in Paris on March 23, 2023. It rammed the legislation through the French National Assembly last week using a constitutional clause that allows the government to bypass a vote.

The country’s generous pension system and early retirement have long been a point of pride since they were enacted after World War II. Railway workers hold a banner reading "Until the withdrawal" during a demonstration a few days after the government forced the pension reform through parliament without a vote. Macron and his government have defended the retirement reform as necessary to keep the pension system funded. He also defended the decision to push through the reform as financially necessary, no matter how unpopular it was. Between opinion polls and the national interest, I chose the national interest,” Macron said.

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