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Thousands of police officers were deployed across Paris, seeking to avoid a repeat of last week's violence in Amsterdam involving locals and Israeli fans. Outside Stade de France, soccer fans filed into the stadium amid a heavy police presence. Theo Petit, 23, who came out to support France, said he was invited to the game by a friend. “We are a little stressed about coming here but it’s a game, a football game,” said Petit, who is studying to become a dietician. The ramped-up security presence comes after the violence surrounding the soccer match between Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax of Amsterdam put authorities across Europe on high alert.

Persons: Theo Petit, “, ”, Petit, Ian Langsdon, Denis, Laurent Nunez, David, Irene Karalis, there's, ” Karalis, I'm, instrumentalization, Franck Fife, Nunez, Emmanuel Macron, Francois Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy, Urgence, Israel, Bezalel Smotrich, ” Smotrich, Dimitar Dilkoff, Omar, Lazare Organizations: Stade de France, Gaza, Getty Images Paris, NBC, RTL, Reuters, Ligue des, Human Rights League, NBC News, Zionist, Guard, Police, National Gendarmerie, Nations League, Urgence Palestine, Israel’s Maccabi Tel, Ajax, Israel, Getty, Paris ’ Saint Locations: PARIS, Israel, France, Paris, Europe, Lebanon, Amsterdam, Aubervilliers, AFP, Saint, “, Betar, Beirut, Gaza, Palestine, Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, Netherlands

☆ Marine Le Pen court case: French far-right leader’s next bid for presidency threatened as prosecutors seek political ban
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( Kathy Rose Obrien | Pierre Bairin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —French prosecutors have asked for prison time and a five-year ban from politics for far-right leader Marine Le Pen, potentially derailing her bid to become president in 2027. The prosecution also asked that the RN should be fined €2 million ($2.1 million) and Le Pen herself €300,000 ($316,000). Le Pen outside the courtroom on November 13, 2024. “Fighting Madame Le Pen is done at the ballot box, not elsewhere,” Darmanin added. The General Assembly, the French Parliament, holds a question time session on November 12.

Persons: CNN —, Marine Le, Le Pen, Pen, Geoffroy van der, …, ” Patrick Maisonneuve, “, Let’s, ” Maisonneuve, Matteo Salvini, ’, Gerald Darmanin, ” Darmanin, France’s, Andrea Savorani Neri, NurPhoto, François Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Le Pen’s Organizations: CNN, €, Getty, National, General Assembly, Front Locations: France, Paris, Geoffroy van der Hasselt, AFP, French

☆ Antisemitic violence rocked Amsterdam, Paris doesn’t want more of the same
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( Joseph Ataman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Last year’s French soccer cup final saw some 3,000 police and 1,400 staff deployed, reports CNN affiliate BFMTV. This Thursday’s UEFA Nations League match between France and Israel will take place in the Stade de France, the centerpiece of Paris’ 2024 Olympic Games. The minister set an aggressive tone in his first months in office and his response to the Amsterdam attacks was no different. Just this week, the Israeli ambassador in Paris was summoned to the French foreign ministry after two French policemen were briefly detained in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem. Yet, in the light of recent events in Amsterdam, it is keen to show its commitment to protecting French Jews: Thursday’s match offers the perfect opportunity.

Persons: Laurent Nunez, ”, Bruno Retailleau, he’s, Retailleau, Emmanuel Macron, “, Francois Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy, Denis, Franck Fife, Germain, Marie Mesmeur, Macron, North America – Organizations: Paris CNN —, Israel, Maccabi, Tel, CNN, BFMTV, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s, Ajax, ” Maccabi, Palestinian, UEFA Nations League, Stade de France, French, Amsterdam’s Maccabi, –, Palace, Stade, UEFA Nations League football, Getty, Paris Saint, Champions League, North America Locations: Paris, France, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, French, Netherlands, Israel, Gaza, Saint, AFP, “, Europe, North, Lebanon, East Jerusalem

☆ Opinion: Trump is now in a club no one ever wants to be part of — convicted former leaders
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Opinion Chris Good | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The criminal trial and conviction of (mostly former) national leaders has happened in stable, mature democracies, just as it has in former dictatorships. The track record of convicted leaders shows just how risky it is to try to predict what will happen. In 2017, South Korea impeached and later criminally convicted now-former President Park Geun-hye in a bizarre corruption scandal involving the influence of a friend and confidante. After a scandal emerged involving the state oil company Petrobras, Lula was convicted in 2017 of corruption and money laundering. “Political leaders can choose how they will speak about these institutions.”

Persons: Chris Good, Donald Trump, —, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Sebastian Kurz, ” Kurz, Park, “, Nicole Bibbins Sedaca, Nicolas Sarkozy, Bertrand Guay, Bibbins Sedaca, Jacques Chirac, ” Bibbins Sedaca, Sarkozy, Moammar Gaddhafi illicitly, Silvio Berlusconi, Yara Nardi, Berlusconi “, ”, Berlusconi, Matteo Salvini, Giorgia Meloni, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Nelson Almeida, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Lula, Jair Bolsonaro, Oliver Stuenkel, Fundação Getulio Vargas, ” Stuenkel, Politicization, Stuenkel, didn’t, Lula “, Mark Peterson, Ariel Edwards, Levy, Lula —, Chirac, Trump’s Organizations: CNN, ABC News, Economist Intelligence Unit, Freedom House, Getty, Freedom, Reuters, Forza Italia, Five Star, AFP, Brazil, Petrobras, Bolsonaro, School of International Relations, Fundação, NEW, Manhattan Criminal, Trump, Twitter, Facebook Locations: The, Manhattan, Argentina, Austrian, South Korea, Washington, DC, France, Italy, Brazil, Paris, AFP, Moroccan, Milan, Trump, America, São Paulo

☆ Opinion: Why Gérard Depardieu hasn’t been ‘canceled’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Opinion Caroline Séquin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Accusers stepped forward in 2018, as the #MeToo movement was taking off. Victims of sexual violence, consequently, often say they feel less isolated than they used to. Join us on Twitter and FacebookThere is, perhaps, one way in which the detractors of the #MeToo movement have a point. All of them — colleagues, neighbors or blood relations — more often than not, are able to maintain their status and privilege of their professions, despite allegations of sexual violence. It remains unclear whether the French will at long last “cancel” Gérard Depardieu, even if one or both trials find him guilty of sexual violence.

Persons: Caroline Séquin, ”, Gérard Depardieu, Caroline Sequin, Depardieu, Jacques Chirac, “ Depardieu, —, Le Figaro, it’s, ” Depardieu, Emmanuel Macron, “ I’m, he’s, …, ” Macron, Carla Bruni, Nicolas Sarkozy, Harvey Weinstein’s, Sandra Muller, “, she’s, Le, Catherine Deneuve, men’s, that’s, MeToo, Camille Kouchner’s, ” Gérard Depardieu Organizations: Lafayette College, CNN, CNN —, Legion, Mediapart, France, Le Monde, French Interior Ministry, Twitter Locations: Easton , Pennsylvania, France, French, Colonial Senegal, CNN — France, United States, Familia Grande

☆ Sarkozy’s Prison Sentence Halved to 6 Months
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Roger Cohen | More About Roger Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Paris appeals court upheld on Wednesday the 2021 conviction of former President Nicolas Sarkozy for illegal financing an election campaign but cut his sentence from one year to six months with a further six months suspended. Mr. Sarkozy’s lawyer, Vincent Desry, immediately said that Mr. Sarkozy would appeal to France’s highest court. Nicolas Sarkozy is fully innocent,” he said. “He has taken note of this decision and decided to appeal to the Court of Cassation.”The appeal could take years to be resolved, ensuring that Mr. Sarkozy remains free for the foreseeable future. The former president, known for his irrepressible energy and blunt style, hurried out of court and did not take questions.

Persons: Nicolas Sarkozy, Sarkozy’s, Vincent Desry, Mr, Sarkozy, “ Mr, ”, “ Organizations: Cassation Locations: Paris, France

☆ More than 180,000 demonstrators march in France against antisemitism
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Radina Gigova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In Paris, an estimated 105,000 demonstrators joined the march, making it the largest mobilization against antisemitism since the protest against the desecration of the Jewish cemetery in Carpentras in 1990, according to CNN affiliate BFM TV. Protesters were joined in the French capital by political figures including Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and former presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy. Tensions have been rising in France, and particularly in the capital, over the Israel-Hamas war, resulting in a surge in antisemitic incidents, according to French President Emmanual Macron. Pro-Palestinian rallies in EuropeThe marches against antisemitism in France came as pro-Palestinian demonstrators also rallied in multiple European capitals over the weekend. A pro-Palestinian demonstration also took place in Germany’s financial capital Frankfurt on Sunday, as well as in Barcelona and Brussels on Saturday.

Persons: Elisabeth Borne, Francois Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy, Emmanual Macron, Macron, ”, ” Macron, Issac Herzog Sunday, Macron’s, Penny Wong, “, Israel, Matt Twist Organizations: CNN, BFM TV, Protesters, BBC, Hamas, Corner, Police Locations: France, Israel, Paris, Carpentras, Republic, Nice, Lyon, Marseille, Gaza, Elysee, Australia, Europe, London, London’s Hyde, Palestine, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Brussels

☆ Crowds Join Lawmakers in Paris March Against Antisemitism
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS (Reuters) - Thousands of marchers joined lawmakers in Paris on Sunday to condemn a surge in antisemitic acts in France during the conflict in the Gaza Strip, but arguments over political participation clouded an intended show of unity. Political figures, including Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and former presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy, headed the march, holding a banner with the slogan "For the Republic, against antisemitism". Left-wing lawmakers have joined pro-Palestinian protests in recent weeks, including a march in Paris on Saturday. Protests against antisemitism also took place in other French cities on Sunday, including in Marseille where some 7,000 people turned out according to a police estimate. Elsewhere in Europe, concern is running high over antisemitism and other forms of extremism being whipped up.

Persons: Elisabeth Borne, Francois Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Benjamin Netanyahu, Gus Trompiz, Tangi Salaun, Lucien Libert, Marc Leras, Barbara Lewis Organizations: PARIS, . Police, . Locations: Paris, France, Gaza, Israel, Republic, Sunday's, Marseille, Europe, Britain

☆ Crowds join lawmakers in Paris march against antisemitism
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Political figures, including Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and former presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy, headed the march, holding a banner with the slogan "For the Republic, against antisemitism". They led several renditions of the French national anthem. Left-wing lawmakers have joined pro-Palestinian protests in recent weeks, including a march in Paris on Saturday. Protests against antisemitism also took place in other French cities on Sunday, including in Marseille where some 7,000 people turned out according to a police estimate. Elsewhere in Europe, concern is running high over antisemitism and other forms of extremism being whipped up.

Persons: Yael Braun, Elisabeth Borne, Gerard Larcher, France Francois Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy, Francois Hollande, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Benjamin Netanyahu, Gus Trompiz, Tangi Salaun, Lucien Libert, Marc Leras, Barbara Lewis Organizations: National, . Police, ., Thomson Locations: France, PARIS, Paris, Gaza, Israel, Republic, Sunday's, Marseille, Europe, Britain

☆ France's Sarkozy in witness tampering probe linked to 2007 election campaign investigation - media
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives for his appeal trial on charges of corruption and influence peddling, at Paris courthouse, France, December 5, 2022. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was placed under formal investigation on Friday for alleged witness tampering and fraud, as part of a probe into the funding of his successful 2007 election campaign, local media reported. Lawyers for Sarkozy could not be immediately reached for comment on the reports, which cited judicial sources. Sarkozy is accused of "interfering with a witness" and "criminal association with a view to committing fraud", media said. Sarkozy, who denies any wrongdoing, is suspected of complicity in moves to falsely exonerate him in the Libyan case, which will go to trial in early 2025.

Persons: Nicolas Sarkozy, Pascal, Sarkozy, Ziad Takieddine, Dominique Vidalon, Jon Boyle Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Lebanese

He is charged with illegal campaign financing, embezzling, passive corruption and related counts. Investigators examined claims that Gadhafi’s government secretly gave Sarkozy 50 million euros for his winning 2007 campaign. The sum would be more than double the legal campaign funding limit at the time and would violate French rules against foreign campaign financing. After becoming president in 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gadhafi to France with high honors later that year. In an unrelated case, Sarkozy was sentenced to a year of house arrest for illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 reelection bid.

Persons: Nicolas Sarkozy, Sarkozy, ”, Moammar Gadhafi, Ziad Takieddine, Takieddine, Gadhafi, Gadhafi’s Organizations: PARIS, Sarkozy, NATO Locations: Libya, Lebanese, France

☆ Gabon military coup: What to know about the overthrow of the Bongo dynasty
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

International leaders have expressed concern and condemnation of the coup, some warning their citizens in Gabon to shelter in place. The military’s power grab began Wednesday, shortly after Gabon’s election authority said Bongo had been re-elected president following last weekend’s election. People celebrate following a military coup in Libreville, Gabon, on August 30. Coups in Africa were rampant in the early postcolonial decades, with coup leaders offering similar reasons for toppling governments: corruption, mismanagement and poverty, according to political analyst Remi Adekoya. The Gabon coup has been widely criticized by other African nations and in the West.

Persons: –, Ali Bongo Ondimba, Ali Bongo, Bongo, ”, president’s, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, Brice Oligui Nguema –, Bongo’s, Oligui, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, “, Brice Oligui Nguema, there’s, Omar Bongo, Gabon's, Omar Bongo Ondimba, Nicolas Sarkozy, Frederic SOULOY, Ali Bongo’s, Remi Adekoya, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Ali, General Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Matthew Miller Organizations: CNN, Agence France, Presse, ” Residents, Bongo PDG, Reuters, Gabonese, Gabon Wednesday, African Union, ” United Nations, US State Department Locations: African, Gabon, Libreville, Ayong, Gabonese, Dakar, Senegal, Span, France, United States, Paris, Africa’s, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Tunisia, Africa, West, United Kingdom, Spain

☆ A Former French President Gives a Voice to Obstinate Russian Sympathies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Roger Cohen | More About Roger Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS — Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, was once known as “Sarko the American” for his love of free markets, freewheeling debate and Elvis. Of late, however, he has appeared more like “Sarko the Russian,” even as President Vladimir V. Putin’s ruthlessness appears more evident than ever. “European interests aren’t aligned with American interests this time,” he added. His statements, to the newspaper as well as the TF1 television network, were unusual for a former president in that they are profoundly at odds with official French policy. They provoked outrage from the Ukrainian ambassador to France and condemnation from several French politicians, including President Emmanuel Macron.

Persons: PARIS — Nicolas Sarkozy, Elvis, Vladimir V, Mr, Sarkozy, ”, me Vladimir Putin isn’t, I’ve, Le Figaro, Emmanuel Macron Organizations: European Union, NATO, TF1 Locations: Crimea, Ukraine, Russia, France, Ukrainian

☆ French minister Darmanin warns of risk of Marine Le Pen victory in next election
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Aug 25 (Reuters) - French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin - whom President Nicolas Sarkozy said would be a good future head of state - warned on Friday of the risk that far-right politician Marine Le Pen could win the next presidential election in 2027. Le Pen lost to President Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the 2022 election, echoing an identical outcome in the 2017 vote. "The fact of the matter is that in five years' time, a victory for Madame Le Pen is quite probable," Darmanin told La Voix du Nord, in an interview published in Friday's paper. "If we let a large part of the working class and middle class go over to Marine Le Pen, the professional classes will not support us in the second round. That is what could get Marine Le Pen elected in 2027, not questions on migration," he added.

Persons: Gerald Darmanin, Gonzalo Fuentes, Nicolas Sarkozy, Darmanin, Le Pen, Emmanuel Macron, Madame Le Pen, Bruno Le Maire, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Bertrand Boucey, Ingrid Melander Organizations: Overseas, REUTERS, Rights, RTL, du, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, French

But officially colour-blind France has long refused to acknowledge any racial factor was at play. "From that point on, unions were involved in everything that's co-managed, including the managing of human resources," he told Reuters. But these fines are rare and rights groups say police officers often end up with light sentences, fuelling a sense of impunity. A rise in lethal police shootings over the last few years has been linked to a law reform in 2017, which broadens the circumstances in which an officer can use their firearm. "It is completely vague, and it allows to shoot much more freely," said Caille of the left-wing CGT police union.

Persons: Cedric Mas, Olivier Cahn, that's, " Cahn, Christophe Castaner, Gerald Darmanin, Franck Louvrier, Nicolas Sarkozy, Darmanin, Ravina Shamdasani, Anthony Caille, –, Sebastian Roche, Michel Rose, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Rights, Twitter, Cergy University, Reuters, Socialists, United Nations, Police, CGT Police, of, Society, CGT, Thomson Locations: PARIS, Britain, France, United States, Paris, Moroccan, – France, U.S, Nice

☆ Silvio Berlusconi obituary: former Italian PM brought burlesque to politics
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

[1/3] Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi looks on during a news conference at Chigi Palace in Rome, Italy, August 4, 2011. As with his political party, so with his business empire, Berlusconi left no single heir apparent. After Barack Obama was elected the first African-American president of the United States, Berlusconi congratulated him for being "tall, handsome, and suntanned". Berlusconi himself had no regrets about his political career, although he clearly felt he was often betrayed. "But when I come to think about it, I cannot recall the name of a single friend in politics."

Persons: Silvio Berlusconi, Tony Gentile ROME, Brash, ebullient, Berlusconi, Donald Trump, Il Cavaliere, Bettino Craxi, Vladimir Putin, Alan Friedman, Nicolas Sarkozy, BUNGA, Karima El Mahroug, Hosni Mubarak, Veronica Lario, Marta Fascina, Barack Obama, Mark Heinrich, Andrew Heavens, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Chi, AC Milan soccer, Forza Italia, Senate, Roman, Socialist Party, Moroccan, Union, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, U.S, Milan, Ukraine, United States

☆ Françoise Gilot, artist whose career transcended relationship with Picasso, has died at 101
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Benjamin Sutton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Françoise Gilot, a tireless artist who defied simple categorization — and efforts to define her merely as a footnote in the story of her former lover Pablo Picasso — died Tuesday in New York. The early years of her career coincided with World War II and the Nazi occupation of Paris. In 1970, Gilot married her second husband, Jonas Salk, a virologist who developed one of the first polio vaccines. "Paloma à la Guitare" by Francoise Gilot (1965) was part of Sotheby's (Women) Artists Sale in 2021 in London, England. In 2012, Gagosian staged the first exhibition of Gilot’s work alongside Picasso’s, “Picasso and Françoise Gilot: Paris–Vallauris 1943–1953,” which focused on works made during their relationship.

Persons: Françoise, Pablo Picasso —, Aurelia Engel, Gilot, Engel, Madeleine Decre’s, Picasso, Carlton Lake, ”, Picasso’s, Pablo Picasso, Francoise Gillot, Roger Viollet, ” Gilot, —, Claude, Paloma Picasso —, Luc Simon, Paris ’ Galerie Louise Leiris, York’s David Findley, Simon, Engel’s, Jonas Salk, Salk, Paloma, Francoise Gilot, John Phillips, Gerald Joyce, Jonas Salk —, Jonas, Gagosian, “ Picasso, John Richardson, Richardson, John Bright, “, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy, WHYY’s Terry Gross Organizations: The Art, CNN, The New York Times, Paris ’ Galerie, United, Galleria Santo, Galerie Coard, Salk, Salk Institute, Acatos Publishing, New York, Penske Media, Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, ville de, New Orleans Museum of Art, National Museum of Women, Arts, of Arts, National Merit, Legion Locations: New York, Paris, Neuilly, Seine, Nazi, Europe, United States, Venice, Dantesca, Turin, Pierre, ”, San Diego , California, Sotheby's, London, England, California, Antibes, ville de Paris, Washington , DC, France

☆ Nicolas Sarkozy: Former French president ordered to wear electronic tag after losing corruption appeal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Dalal Mawad | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has lost his appeal against a 2021 conviction for corruption and influence-peddling at the Paris court of appeals. The court on Wednesday upheld his initial sentence of three years of prison, with Sarkozy being required to wear an electronic bracelet under house arrest for one year, and two years suspended. “Nicolas Sarkozy is innocent,” his lawyer Jacqueline Laffont ttold CNN affiliate BFMTV on her way out of court. Sarkozy, who served as president between 2012 and 2017, has been convicted twice in separate cases since leaving office, both of which he has appealed. He also faces a number of other investigations including one into allegations of illegal campaign funding from Libya.

Sarkozy, 68, who served one term as French president from 2007 to 2012, has constantly denied any wrongdoing. In 2013, investigators looking into the Libyan connection decided to wire-tap two of Sarkozy's phone lines. As they did, they discovered a secret phone line used by the ex-president and his lawyer, ultimately leading to the corruption investigation. During the appeals trial, Sarkozy said "I'm here to defend my honour, which has been violated. The only other president during the course of France's 64-year-old Fifth Republic to be convicted by a court was Sarkozy's conservative predecessor, the late Jacques Chirac, who was found guilty of corruption in 2011.

Jeremy Selwyn/WPA Pool/Getty Images Camilla stands next to Queen Elizabeth II during a Diamond Jubilee pageant on the River Thames in June 2012. Chris Jackson/Getty Images From left, Camilla, Charles, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attend the state opening of Parliament in May 2013. From left are Camilla, Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Louis, Duchess Catherine, Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince William. Frank Augstein/WPA Pool/Getty Images In pictures: Britain's Queen Camilla Prev NextShe reportedly met Prince Charles at a polo match in Windsor in 1970 and they became friends. From left are Camilla, Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Louis, Duchess Catherine, Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince William.

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech during the National Conference on Disability at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 26, 2023. "You talk a lot of nonsense everyday," the man told Macron, after the president, barely able to squeeze in an answer, said he should get his numbers right. Such direct confrontations, the president reckons, are essential to give people a cathartic release after weeks of anger directed at the government's pension bill and Macron himself. Before the pension reform protests, the government managed to pass legislation on issues such as nuclear energy and renewables with the help of both left-wing and right-wing lawmakers outside Macron's centrist alliance. That was apparent again this week, when his prime minister Elisabeth Borne was forced to give up on an immigration bill.

☆ Trump and his sons say his indictment makes the US like a 'third world' country, but plenty of other democracies have prosecuted ex-leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Trump and his sons are decrying his indictment as a sign the US is now a "third world" country. But other democracies across the world have prosecuted, convicted, and even jailed former leaders. Trump's sons offered similar takes, portraying the charges against the former president as a political attack orchestrated by his opponents. Trump is the first former US president to be criminally charged, and his indictment comes amid a period of historic political polarization. The researchers said that in "mature democracies, prosecutions can hold leaders accountable and solidify the rule of law."

☆ Explainer: Why is Macron in so much trouble over pension reform?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Richard Lough | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here is why:WHAT CHANGES TO THE PENSION SYSTEM DOES MACRON WANT TO MAKE? Failure to act would see the pension system record an annual deficit of 13.5 billion euros by 2030, the government forecasts. The government calculated that "accompanying measures" to smooth the way would cost 4.8 billion euros, creating a 0.3 billion euros surplus in 2030. France's pension system costs nearly 14% of GDP, the third highest within the OECD behind Italy and Greece. He could call a referendum on the pension reform and risk it becoming a plebiscite on his presidency.

☆ Analysis: Macron wins Pyrrhic victory on pension bill, risks fuelling anger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Michel Rose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

By using special constitutional powers instead of risking lawmakers rejecting the reform, Macron has given ammunition to the opposition and to trade union leaders who cast the reform as undemocratic. LE PEN AMBUSHTo be sure, claims of authoritarianism by the pension bill's critics are far-fetched. Political observers say Le Pen played her hand well. "Mrs Le Pen is ready for the ambush," Laurent Berger, the head of the moderate CFDT union said on Thursday, hours before the vote. But the end of debates in parliament may do little to quell anger on the streets.

☆ France's Macron faces third round of pension reform strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A member of CFDT labour union prepares placards on the eve of the third day of national strike and protests in France against French government's pension reform plan, in Nice, France, February 6, 2023. "Our pension system is structurally in deficit," Labour Minister Olivier Dussopt told parliament on Monday afternoon as lawmakers began debating the bill. The government says the reform will allow gross savings of over 17 billion euros ($18 billion) per year by 2030. Conservative opponents, whose support Macron needs for a working majority in the National Assembly, want concessions for those who start working young. "The reform will never be accepted if the most wealthy don't contribute," former Socialist president Francois Hollande told BFM TV.

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