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☆ Hundreds of candidates drop out of French election runoff in last gasp bid to keep far right from power
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( Saskya Vandoorne | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

They’ve put aside their differences with one goal in mind: to keep the far right firmly away from the 289 seats required for an absolute majority currently within their reach. By Tuesday, as the deadline to drop out closed, fewer than 100 remain, after centrist and left-wing candidates strategically dropped out in individual seats. This tactic could stop some RN candidates from winning, according to analyst Antoine Bristielle. Macron’s Ensemble allies also called on their supporters to prevent the far right taking office, but some warned against lending their votes to the hard-left France Unbowed, a party inside the NFP. “I’ve taken the difficult decision to withdraw … leaving it up to my voters to position themselves against the far right or far left,” Samuel Deguara, a candidate from Macron’s camp said after withdrawing.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron’s, They’ve, Antoine Bristielle, Nathan Laine, ” Bristielle, Leslie Mortreux, Gérald Darmanin, Bruno Le Maire, “ I’ve, ” Samuel Deguara, Pen, ” Le Pen, Perpignan Louis Aliot, Dimitar Dilkoff, Jordan Bardella Organizations: CNN, Republique, Bloomberg, Getty, National, NFP –, NFP, Macron’s, France Unbowed, . Finance, …, Rassemblement National, Perpignan Locations: Antoine Bristielle ., Paris, France, AFP

☆ France’s far right may be on the brink of power after Macron’s gamble backfired. Here’s what comes next
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-01 | by ( Saskya Vandoorne | Camille Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance was crushed on Sunday after the far-right National Rally (RN) party surged in the first round of the country’s parliamentary elections. It would then become the first far-right party to enter the French government since World War II – although nothing is certain ahead of Sunday’s second round. “Tonight is not a night like any other,” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said solemnly in an address to the French. The left-wing New Popular Front has announced that it will withdraw all candidates who came in third to help prevent far-right candidates from getting elected. A loss would force Macron to nominate a prime minister from whichever party wins – putting a political opponent in charge of running the government.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron’s, Gabriel Attal, It’s, “, Italy’s Giorgia, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, Vladmir Putin, Le Pen, Vladimir Putin, Macron, Jordan Bardella, Bardella Organizations: Paris CNN, New, Ensemble, ”, European Union, Russian, NATO, National Assembly Locations: Sunday’s, Europe, Ukraine, Russian, France

☆ French elections: Macron on course to lose big as far right surges in first round
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-30 | by ( Saskya Vandoorne | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party has taken the lead in the first round of France’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, initial projections showed, as President Emmanuel Macron’s party slumped to third place. The RN election party in the northern town of Henin Beaumont erupted in celebration as the results were announced. “Nothing has been won – and the second round will be decisive,” she said. Sunday’s vote was held three years earlier than necessary and just three weeks after Macron’s party was trounced by the RN at the European Parliament elections. Total voter turnout on Sunday is expected to be 65.5%, the highest in a first round of parliamentary elections since 1997 – according to Ipsos estimates.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron’s, IPSOS, Pen, Jean, Marie Le Pen, Henin Beaumont, Le Pen, ”, Jordan Bardella, –, – France’s, Macron Organizations: CNN, Front, Rally, National Assembly Locations: Henin, France

☆ Paris Olympics 2024: Inside the landmark Olympic Village
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Paris CNN —When Paris last hosted the Summer Olympics 100 years ago, organizers were so keen to bring athletes under the same roof that they built the first-ever Olympic Village. Athletes sitting in front of a cabin in the Olympic Village at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The site for the Olympic Village was chosen in the hopes it would revitalize some of the city’s historically impoverished northern suburbs. A stool made from recyclable cardboard on display in the athletes' accommodation in the Olympic Village in Saint Denis, France. Nathan Laine/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesA cardboard bed inside an athletes' room at the Olympic Village in Saint Denis, France.

Persons: ”, Georgina Grenon, Denis, Saint, ‘, Nathan Laine, Grenon, Joshua Berlinger, ” Grenon, Jerome Giacomoni, Giacomoni, ” Sebastian Coe, Laurent Michaud, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, “, ” Hidalgo, Vandoorne, Derek Van Dam Organizations: Paris CNN —, Paris, Topical, Hulton, Olympic, Organizers, Games, BBC, Bloomberg, Getty, CNN, World, Paralympic, International Energy Agency, Reuters, Paris Mayor Locations: City, Paris, France, Saint, Ile, London, Seine, Tokyo, Saint Denis, Europe

CNN —Allegations that three boys gang-raped a 12-year-old Jewish girl in northern France have triggered an outcry over surging antisemitism in the country, a key issue in the looming French parliamentary elections this month. The Nanterre prosecutor’s office announced Wednesday that it has launched an inquiry into the alleged “aggravated rape” of a minor, after receiving “reports from a 12-year-old girl” of the incident on June 15. The third boy has been placed under “assisted witness” status in relation to the alleged rape, the prosecutor added. The alleged attack took place as the girl tried to return home after meeting a friend. Protesters carried placards with slogans such as “Raped at 12 because she was Jewish,” and “Anti-Semitism is not residual,” and listened to speeches from Jewish rights activists in attendance.

Persons: Emmanual Macron, “, BFMTV, Gerald Darmanin, Jordan Bardella, ” Bardella, Pen, Emmanuel Macron, André, Gabriel Attal, Jean, Luc Melenchon, ” Attal, ” Melenchon Organizations: CNN, French, Senate, National Rally, Getty, TF1, BFMTV, Conseil, juives de Locations: France, Nanterre, Gaza, Elysee, Paris, Israel, Paris’s, juives, juives de France

☆ How Jordan Bardella has helped give the far right an acceptable face in France
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Saskya Vandoorne | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

He’s poised to become the next prime minister if the French president loses his gamble in the upcoming snap election. Bardella, the National Rally party leader, grew up an only child in social housing in Seine-Saint-Denis, a working-class suburb in the northeast of Paris. Le Pen handpicked the young politician to head the party in 2022 – ending a 50-year-rule by the Le Pen dynasty – and bring a fresh boost to the French populist right. Le Pen, a self-described Bardella groupie, has said she’s always been a great admirer of his and that he shows great maturity. Bardella and Le Pen attend the National Rally party's Congress in Paris, France, November 5, 2022.

Persons: Jordan Bardella, Emmanuel Macron’s, He’s, Denis, ” Bardella, ”, Macron, Le Pen, Le, Marine’s, Jean, Marie Le Pen, Bardella, Jeff Pachoud, Dominique Moisi, “, relatable, Luc Mélenchon, Critics, Eric Ciotti, France’s, Pen, Bardella –, –, she’s, Christian Hartmann, Emma Leyo Organizations: Paris CNN —, National Rally, Sorbonne, France, National, Macron’s, BFMTV, Republicans, Rally party's Locations: French, Seine, Paris, France, AFP, East, Africa

☆ France’s Macron bets big and stares down the far right
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Saskya Vandoorne | Joseph Ataman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

When Jordan Bardella, the leader of the far-right National Rally party, called on Macron to dissolve the French national parliament on Sunday night, it seemed like political posturing, riding high on his victory in European polls. Calling the far right’s bluffMacron will try to rally the right and left, urging their supporters to come together and vote against the far right, but there’s no knowing if it’ll pay off. The last time a French president dissolved the country’s lower house, the National Assembly, was in 1997. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at the National Rally party headquarters on Monday, June 10, 2024 in Paris. This could see voters of different stripes banding together to oppose a candidate from the far right.

Persons: parry, Emmanuel Macron, Jordan Bardella, ”, Macron, Jacques Chirac, Stephane Séjourné, Séjourné, ” Manon Aubry, Jean, Luc Mélenchon, Marine Le Pen, Thomas Padilla, Le Pen, Pen, Bruno Le Maire, Hannah McKay, he’ll, It’ll, ” Macron, Bardella, Yaël Braun Organizations: Paris CNN, National Assembly, French, Radio France, France, National Rally, French Finance, National, RTL, Getty, Macron’s, “ Locations: France, Republic, Macron, Gaza, Paris, Europe, Macron’s, Le Touquet

☆ Rouen, France: Police shoot dead armed attacker trying to set fire to synagogue
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Saskya Vandoorne | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Paris CNN —Police have shot dead an armed attacker who was trying to set fire to a synagogue in the northern French city of Rouen, according to authorities. A male suspect entered the building early Friday morning and threw what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail, the local mayor said. “He was [quickly] brought down by security forces before trying to wrestle with them. He then tried to assault security forces with a knife, a long knife,” the mayor said, adding it was then when security forces opened fired and killed the suspect. “Early this morning, police officers in Rouen killed an armed individual clearly intent on setting fire to the city’s synagogue.

Persons: Nicolas Mayer, Rossignol, “, Mayer, Gerald Darmanin, ” Darmanin, Darmanin Organizations: Paris CNN — Police, Rossignol . Police, France’s Locations: French, Rouen, Israel, France, Gaza

Paris CNN —At least two gunmen ambushed a prison convoy and broke out an inmate in Normandy on Tuesday, killing two prison guards and wounding three others, according to French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti. The violent incident, extremely rare for that part of northern France, took place as the vehicle was transporting a prisoner from court to a nearby prison, Dupond-Moretti said. Video from the scene showed a black SUV in flames that appeared to have crashed into a prison van near a motorway toll booth, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported. Dupond-Moretti told reporters that the incident was the first time a French prison employee had died while working since 1992. A forensics team inspects the site of a prison convoy ambush in France on Tuesday in which two guards were killed.

Persons: Eric Dupond, Moretti, Dupond, ” Dupond, Alain Jocard, Gerald Darmanin, Emmanuel Macron, ” Organizations: Paris CNN —, French, CNN, BFMTV, Getty Images Locations: Normandy, France, AFP

☆ Nanterre, France: Police officer held after 17-year-old fatally shot near Paris during traffic stop
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Mylene Loubiere-Anderson Saskya Vandoorne Alex Stambaugh Oliver Briscoe Helen Regan | Mylene Loubiere-Anderson | Saskya Vandoorne | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Paris CNN —French authorities investigating the fatal police shooting of a teenager during a traffic stop near Paris on Tuesday have detained one officer, as clashes broke out overnight between law enforcement personnel and youth angered over the death. The police officer is in custody on suspicion of “culpable homicide,” following the incident at around 8:18 a.m. local time on Tuesday in the suburb of Nanterre, according to a statement from the local prosecutor’s officer. Three people were in the car, a Mercedes AMG, at the time of the incident, it said. The death of the 17-year-old was pronounced at 9:15 a.m. local time “following at least one gunshot wound” and despite the intervention of emergency medics, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office said. Earlier, Paris Police Chief Laurent Nunez told CNN affiliate BFMTV in an interview that the officer fired when the teenager refused to follow police instructions.

Persons: Paris CNN —, Mercedes, Gerald Darmanin, ”, Laurent Nunez, “, Zakaria Abdelkafi, Nunez, CNews Organizations: Paris CNN, French, Twitter, Paris Police, CNN, BFMTV, Firefighters, Getty Locations: Paris, Nanterre, AFP, Nanterre Tuesday

☆ Sudan: Testimonies detail atrocities by Wagner-backed militia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Nima Elbagir Tamara Qiblawi Barbara Arvanitidis Gianluca Mezzofiore Pallabi Munsi Ingrid Formanek Saskya Vandoorne | Nima Elbagir | Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

“I sat next to her in the car,” said Butheina Nourin, describing her perilous escape from Sudan’s Darfur region alongside the dead woman. A months-long CNN investigation uncovered an increase in Wagner supplies to the RSF that began in the run-up to Sudan’s conflict. Reports of atrocities committed by RSF fighters and their allied militias, clearly identified by their uniforms, are consistent across dozens of testimonies. Then-President Bashir was charged by the International Criminal Court in 2010 with crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in relation to the Darfur conflict. “Nobody in Sudan has more blood on their hands than Hemedti,” said Sudan analyst Eric Reeves.

Persons: wailed, “, ”, Butheina Nourin, Fatima, I, Nourin, Zohra Bensemra, Abdul Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Wagner, General Burhan, entrenching, –, Omar al, Bashir, Hemedti, Sergey Lavrov, Hussein Haran, ” Haran, Khamis Abbakar, Kholood Khair, ” Khair, Gen, Mahmoud Hjaj, Hala, SIHA, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalos, Hussein Malla, ” “, Gueipeur Denis Sassou, Eric Reeves, Al Jazeera, Karib, “ It’s, RSF –, Wagner –, Yeveny Prigozhin, Sudan ”, Hussein Organizations: CNN, ” Fighters, Sudanese, Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Central African, Russian, Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, UN, Strategic Initiative, Women, International Criminal Court, ICC, United Arab, United Nations, SIHA, Getty, European, US State Department, State Department Locations: Chad, Sudan, Sudan’s Darfur, Darfur, Borota, Latakia, Libya, Bangui, Central African Republic, Moscow, Ukraine, Khartoum, el, Geneina, Horn of Africa, State, Sudan’s, Yemen, Saudi, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Daman, AFP, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Europe, EU, ”, Africa

Paris CNN —An 11-year-old British girl was shot dead in Saint-Herbot, a hamlet in Brittany, western France, on Saturday, according to the local prosecutor. Her 8-year-old-sister escaped and was found “unharmed but in a state of shock,” Quimper prosecutor Carine Halley said in a statement on Sunday. Sophie Pr√©Vost/Maxppp/ZUMA“We thought they were playing with firecrackers,” Yannick, a neighbor who heard the gunfire, told CNN affiliate BFMTV. “The youngest girl came running to the neighbors shouting: ‘My sister is dead, my sister is dead,’” Yannick said. Marguerite Bleuzen, the mayor of Plonévez-du-Faou, a town bordering Saint-Herbot, told BFMTV Sunday she had been made aware of a dispute between neighbors several years ago.

Persons: ”, Carine Halley, Halley, Sophie Pr √, Maxppp, ZUMA, ” Yannick, “, ’ ” Yannick, Marguerite Bleuzen, BFMTV, ” Bleuzen, “ I’m Organizations: Paris CNN —, CNN, BFMTV Locations: Saint, Brittany, France, ” Quimper, Quimper, Plonévez

Azamat Uldarov, a former convict, made his retraction in a video call with Russian news agency RIA-FAN. I had to say it because I had no choice.”“I said whatever I was told to say,” Uldarov then said. Osechkin also claimed that both interviewees, Uldarov and Savichev, had been threatened with murder if they didn’t retract their statements to him. Savichev told Gulagu that his unit was ordered to kill any men 15 years old or older. Wagner has been seeking Savichev for the past 24 hours, according to Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Paris CNN —Air France and Airbus have been found not guilty of involuntary homicide in a criminal trial over the 2009 crash of a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris that killed 228 passengers and crew. The acquittal was confirmed in an abstract of the court’s ruling provided by the Paris prosecutor’s office. The court did find Airbus and Air France both liable for civil damages for certain failings, though they lacked a “tie of certain causality” with the accident. The 2009 crashMystery initially surrounded the crash of Air France flight 447, in part because it occurred while the plane was flying over the Atlantic Ocean. Problems with pitot tubes had affected Airbus aircraft in the past, but the company had not corrected the problem.

Paris CNN —France’s top court on Friday approved the government’s unpopular plans to raise the age of retirement by two years to 64, a huge win for President Emmanuel Macron in the face of mass protests across the country. The Constitutional Council – akin to the US Supreme Court – struck down some elements of the new law, but the most controversial element remains: the gradual upping of the retirement age. Sweeping protests have paralyzed major services across France year this year over Macron’s proposed changes to the pension system. Ahead of the ruling, heightened security was in place in Paris amid expectations of spontaneous protests. With regular, incremental increases, by 2030 the retirement age will have reached 64.

A ban on protests in the area is in place from Thursday evening until Saturday morning local time. Loic Venance/AFP/Getty ImagesViolence also broke out at Paris’ Place de la Bastille as riot police clashed with angry protestors. Up to 600,000 people were expected to take to the streets across France for the latest protests. Protesters gain entry inside the LVMH headquarters during a demonstration against pension reform in central Paris. Femimist activists dressed as Rosie the Riveter icon perform during a demonstration in Paris on April 13, 2023.

☆ Drugovich replaces Stroll at Aston Martin for F1 testing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Brazilian reserve driver Felipe Drugovich will stand in for injured Canadian Lance Stroll at Formula One testing in Bahrain this week, Aston Martin said on Tuesday. The 22-year-old reigning Formula Two champion will drive the new car first on Thursday morning with Spain's double world champion Fernando Alonso taking over in the afternoon. Stroll, son of team owner Lawrence, was ruled out of the three-day pre-season test after he was injured in a bicycle accident while training in Spain. read moreThe team has not given details about what it called a minor accident but said the driver was expecting to make a quick recovery. Aston Martin also have Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne as a reserve driver but the reigning Formula E champion is due to race in Cape Town, South Africa, on Saturday.

☆ France: Young boy killed after being hit by car following semifinal win over Morocco
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Saskya Vandoorne | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

CNN —A young boy died after being hit by a car Wednesday evening in the southern French city of Montpellier following France’s win over Morocco in the World Cup semifinal on Wednesday. The boy was rushed to the hospital after the incident but died shortly after being admitted, Herault’s police chief Hugues Moutouh said in a statement. The statement said that a vehicle found near the scene of the accident has been seized. Herault’s police chief said the police investigation is “progressing rapidly” and is being overseen by the prosecutor’s office. The statement did not name the boy or his age.

Paris, France CNN —A subsidiary of French construction firm Vinci was placed under formal investigation Wednesday over allegations of abusive working conditions on building sites in Qatar linked to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a spokeswoman with the Nanterre prosecutor’s office told CNN Thursday. “There are a lot more elements, so the judge decided there’s now enough for an investigation into Vinci,” Sherpa’s lawyer, Ingrid Metton, told CNN Thursday. “I am thrilled with this decision … it would have been very wrong for this World Cup to go ahead without pushing this investigation forward,” Metton added. Sherpa said it collected testimonies in 2014 about the working conditions on some of the construction sites linked to the World Cup and operated by Vinci’s Qatari subsidiary. Qatar will host the World Cup from November 20 until December 18.

☆ France tries to break oil refinery strike as drivers line up for gas
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Under French law, workers who ignore such an order could face a €10,000 ($9,700) fine or six months imprisonment. The rarely used measure can be imposed by the government when the country’s national security is at risk because of strike action. Striking workers have blockaded ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies (TOT) refineries for several weeks, disrupting supply to thousands of gas stations. Nearly one in three gas stations reported difficulties with supplies on Monday, according to France’s energy minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher. CNN affiliate BFMTV reported miles-long tailbacks at gas stations, with drivers at one site on the edge of Paris queuing for nearly two miles earlier this week.

☆ Campionul mondial la Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton, testat pozitiv la COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-01 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +1 min

Campionul mondial la Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton, a fost testat pozitiv la COVID-19. Pilotul echipei Mercedes va rata penultima cursă a sezonului, programată pentru 6 decembrie în Bahrain. Totodată, se precizează că pilotul a fost testat de trei ori pe parcursul săptămânii trecute, ultima oară duminică după-amiază, rezultatul fiind de fiecare dată negativ. Pentru cursa de pe circuitul Sakhir, Hamilton va fi înlocuit cu unul dintre piloții de rezervă - belgianul Stoffel Vandoorne sau mexicanul Esteban Gutierrez. Hamilton a câştigat duminică Marele Premiu al Bahrainului, obţinând a 11-a victorie din acest sezon şi a 95-a din cariera sa.

Persons: Lewis Hamilton, Hamilton, mexicanul Esteban Gutierrez . Hamilton, obţinând, Michael Schumacher Organizations: Mercedes Locations: Bahrain, mexicanul, Bahrainului

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