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☆ Dilemma for France’s Macron: to Govern, or Not to Govern, as an Imperious ‘Jupiter’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Stacy Meichtry | Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—When French President Emmanuel Macron was re-elected last year he vowed to turn the page on his tendency to exercise power in a style he once described as “Jupiterian,” a reference to the king of the gods in ancient Roman mythology. Mr. Macron said he would govern as a consensus builder in his second term, piecing together majority votes in a highly polarized Parliament.

☆ Macron Government Bypasses France’s National Assembly to Pass Pension Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—The government of French President Emmanuel Macron invoked a special provision of France’s constitution Thursday to bypass parliament and increase the country’s retirement age, an act of defiance that escalates the leader’s standoff with street protesters and opposition lawmakers. The use of Article 49 of the French constitution allows the Macron government to enact a contentious overhaul of France’s pension system after it struggled to cobble together enough votes in Parliament. But the maneuver comes at a high political price: Protesters and opposition parties that have painted Mr. Macron as an authoritarian now have more ammunition to mobilize the masses.

☆ French Protesters Pour Into Streets Ahead of Parliament Vote on Pension Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Protesters attend a demonstration Wednesday in Escaudoeuvres, France, against the government’s pension reform plan. PARIS—Hundreds of thousands of protesters poured into the streets across France on Wednesday, piling pressure on President Emmanuel Macron to ditch his plans to raise the country’s retirement age as the measure heads for a crucial vote in Parliament. Teachers, nurses, train drivers and other workers walked off the job and marched in demonstrations from Paris to Nice, the eighth such protest since unions launched their campaign to oppose Mr. Macron’s overhaul.

☆ Protests Erupt in France Over Plan to Raise Retirement Age
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Striking public sector workers have hobbled swathes of the French economy. Garbage collection in Paris has come to a complete halt in parts of the city. For more than a week, trash has been piling up on sidewalks and avenues that are usually manicured. Nathan Laine/Bloomberg News

☆ French Strikes Escalate Campaign Against Macron’s Pension Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Protesters, in Paris on Tuesday, hope to force the French government to reverse course on its proposed pension overhaul. PARIS—Workers across France walked off the job and took to the streets Tuesday, kicking off what unions are touting as an open-ended standoff with President Emmanuel Macron over his plans to raise the retirement age. Tuesday’s mobilization marks a major escalation in the campaign to stop Mr. Macron’s overhaul. The French leader has withstood several daylong strikes since the start of the year, with two demonstrations each drawing as many as a million protesters.

One of the large shareholders of Adani Power, the energy firm at the core of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s business empire, is an offshore company called Opal Investment Pvt. Ltd.Adani Power described Opal in its latest quarterly report as an independent shareholder that has no ties to the ports-to-power conglomerate beyond its 4.69% stake in Adani Power.

AHMEDABAD, India— Gautam Adani is ubiquitous in this country. His name is plastered on roadside billboards and on the airports and shipping docks he operates. His power plants light Mumbai office towers and irrigate rural fields, fueled by coal he imports from mines as far away as Australia. He recently expanded into defense and media.

☆ Russian Deaths in Indian Jungle Followed Days of Binge-Drinking
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Stacy Meichtry | Krishna Pokharel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BHUBANESWAR, India—Pavel Antov holed himself up in his hotel room, refusing food and drink for two days, after the death of a longtime friend who had accompanied him on a trip deep into the jungles of east India. The last time the staff at the Hotel Sai International recall seeing the 65-year-old Russian—a prominent regional lawmaker who owned a sausage-making company—he was alone on Dec. 24, swinging his fists in the air and heading for the hotel roof.

☆ France’s Macron Seeks Bigger Military, Leaner Pension System
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Stacy Meichtry | Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

French President Emmanuel Macron ‘s pledge to increase military spending, a day after a million people hit the streets to protest his planned pension overhaul, illustrates the test facing European welfare systems as the costs of war in Ukraine pile up. On Friday, Mr. Macron vowed to raise military spending to 400 billion euros, equivalent to $433 billion, between 2024 and 2030, up from €295 billion between 2019 and 2025. France currently spends around 1.9% of its gross domestic product on defense, just shy of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s target of 2%.

☆ In Nepal Crash, Black Box Is Recovered From Yeti Airlines Plane
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Krishna Pokharel | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Nepalese authorities have recovered flight recorders from a plane crash that killed 69 people, a key step in their probe into what brought down the Yeti Airlines flight. Gen. Krishna Prasad Bhandari, the spokesman for the Nepalese army, said search teams located the black box of flight YT-691 on Monday, a day after it crashed into the gorge of the Seti River as it was approaching the international airport at Pokhara, Nepal’s second-most-populous city after Kathmandu.

☆ Nepal Recovers Black Box From Yeti Airlines Plane Crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Krishna Pokharel | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rescuers on Monday were searching for three people still unaccounted for in the plane crash in Pokhara, Nepal. Nepalese authorities have recovered flight recorders from a plane crash that killed 69 people, a key step in their probe into what brought down the Yeti Airlines flight. Gen. Krishna Prasad Bhandari, the spokesman for the Nepalese army, said search teams located the black box of flight YT-691 on Monday, a day after it crashed into the gorge of the Seti River as it was approaching Pokhara International Airport.

☆ Macron Renews Call for Russia to Receive Security Guarantees to End War in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

French President Emmanuel Macron has doubled down on his call for the West to provide Russia with security guarantees as part of any negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and prevent the conflict from spreading across Europe. “Peaceful times will require talks. First and foremost for guarantees for Ukraine for its territorial integrity and its long-term security. But also for Russia as it will be party to an armistice or peace treaty,“ Mr. Macron said during a TV interview aboard an aircraft carrier that was broadcast late Tuesday.

☆ French Police Raid Offices of Macron’s Political Party
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Nick Kostov | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—French police have raided the headquarters of Emmanuel Macron ‘s political party, prosecutors said Wednesday, as part of two probes into possible ties between consulting firms and France’s presidential campaigns in 2017 and 2022. France’s national prosecutors said police also searched the Paris offices of consulting giant McKinsey & Co. as well the headquarters of an association dedicated to funding Renaissance, Mr. Macron’s party.

☆ Balenciaga Pushed Boundaries Before Ads With Kids Went Too Far
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Nick Kostov | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—Balenciaga rocketed to the heights of the fashion world with risqué designs and runway stunts, but now that edgy approach has backfired on the brand amid a public furor over the portrayal of children in its ads. For almost two weeks the brand has been scrambling to address criticism over two ad campaigns that have angered its customers and tested the loyalty of reality TV star Kim Kardashian , its biggest ambassador. One ad campaign released in mid-November showed children holding bags in the shape of teddy bears clad in what some people said looked like bondage gear. Another, released a few days later, featured a document related to a Supreme Court ruling against child pornography.

☆ Kim Kardashian Reevaluates Balenciaga Ties After Ads With Teddy Bears in Bondage Gear
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Nick Kostov | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kim Kardashian appeared on a Balenciaga advertising billboard near Times Square, New York, in February. Kim Kardashian said she was re-evaluating her business ties with Balenciaga after the fashion brand ran a controversial campaign featuring children holding teddy bears clad in bondage gear. Ms. Kardashian, a reality TV star who founded the undergarment and apparel business Skims, weighed in on the controversy after critics and fans demanded over social media that she condemn the brand.

☆ Kim Kardashian Re-Evaluates Balenciaga Ties After Ads With Teddy Bears in Bondage Gear
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Nick Kostov | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kim Kardashian said she was re-evaluating her business ties with Balenciaga after the fashion brand ran a controversial campaign featuring children holding teddy bears that appear to be clad in bondage gear. Ms. Kardashian, a reality TV star who founded the undergarment and apparel business Skims, weighed in on the controversy after critics and fans demanded over social media that she condemn the brand.

☆ The Science for Determining Climate-Change Damage Is Unsettled
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Eric Niiler | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Flooding in Pakistan was cited in an agreement to set up a fund for nations harmed by the effects of climate change. Delegates at the recent COP27 climate summit in Egypt agreed to set up a fund to compensate poorer nations harmed by the effects of climate change. But figuring out the extent to which climate change causes the harm, and to which countries, is testing the limits of a new field known as attribution science. The United Nations loss-and-damage fund aims to transfer money from wealthy nations to poor nations deemed especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Some analysts expect the annual financing needs of the countries to reach $290 billion to $580 billion by 2030.

☆ At COP27, Poorer Countries Secure Climate-Damage Fund Without Pledging Faster Emissions Cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Matthew Dalton | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt— Poorer countries secured a deal at United Nations climate talks to create a fund for climate-related damage as part of a broader agreement that failed to yield faster cuts in global emissions. The accord at the COP27 summit in this Egyptian seaside resort hands a victory to poorer nations that have demanded that money since the first U.N. climate treaty was signed three decades ago.

☆ COP27 Sets Up Climate-Damage Fund for Poorer Nations but Rejects Faster Emissions Cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Matthew Dalton | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt— Poorer countries secured a deal at United Nations climate talks to create a fund for climate-related damage as part of a broader agreement that failed to yield faster cuts in emissions sought by wealthy nations to avert more severe global warming. The accord at the COP27 summit in this Egyptian seaside resort hands a victory to poorer nations that have demanded that money since the first U.N. climate treaty was signed three decades ago.

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt — Governments from more than 190 countries struck a deal Saturday to set up a fund that would pay for climate-related damage in vulnerable countries, officials said, handing a victory to poorer countries that for years have pushed for the move and removing a major sticking point in United Nations climate talks. Negotiators representing developed and developing countries agreed to the measure in the final hours of the COP 27 United Nations climate summit held in this Egyptian seaside resort.

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt—A deal was struck at United Nations climate talks on Saturday to set up a fund that would pay for climate-related damage in countries deemed particularly vulnerable, officials said, handing a victory to poorer nations that have pushed for the move for years and removing a major sticking point in broader negotiations to address global warming. The fund would earmark money for what is known as loss and damage: When rising seas, more powerful storms and other effects that scientists link to climate change cause destruction that is sudden or potentially irreparable.

☆ Europe, Canada Willing to Back Climate Damage Fund—but Only If China Helps Pay
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Matthew Dalton | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt—The European Union and Canada are willing to back the creation of a fund that would pay for damage linked to climate change in the most vulnerable countries—but only if wealthier developing nations such as China contribute. The proposal, made by the EU at United Nations climate talks in Egypt, calls into question China’s status as a developing economy that traditionally receives climate funds from the wealthy world. China has been pushing for this climate-damage fund as part of a coalition of 133 developing countries.

The energy crisis that has closed steel mills and aluminum smelters across Europe is now spreading to the continent’s fashion industry. Thousands of small factories and workshops that supply brands such as Gucci and H&M have watched their business models unravel amid the surge in natural-gas and electricity prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its decision to reduce the flow of gas to the continent. Energy costs for many textile makers have risen from about 5% of production costs to around 25%, slashing their profit margins, according to data from European textiles and apparel trade group Euratex.

☆ Marine Le Pen Wants France to Chart Its Own Course Between U.S. and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Stacy Meichtry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—After securing her party’s biggest-ever gains in elections to France’s National Assembly, Marine Le Pen is now reflecting on whether she can steer the country toward what she calls a strategic midpoint between the U.S., Russia and China. Her hard-right National Rally party is now the single largest opposition party after securing 89 seats in June’s election, helping to deprive President Emmanuel Macron ’s Renaissance party of a majority. That makes her one of the more prominent voices in Western Europe to question the way the region’s security arrangements work.

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