DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ 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

☆ French voters head to polls in first round of parliamentary elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-29 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Minutes after the humiliating defeat, in an apparent attempt to call voters’ bluff, Macron said he could not ignore the message sent by voters and took the “serious, heavy” decision to call a snap election – France’s first since 1997. The first round of votes eliminates weaker candidates ahead of the second round next Sunday. Typically, only a handful of deputies will be elected this way – but most will go to a second round. Only those who win more than 12.5% of ballots cast by registered voters are allowed to stand in the second round. Attal was reportedly among the last of Macron’s inner circle to learn that a snap election was imminent.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron’s, Macron, – France’s, France’s, –, Jacques Chirac, Lionel Jospin, Jordan Bardella, Gabriel Attal, Manuel Bompard, Dimitar Dilkoff, Le Pen, Jean, Marie Le Pen, Luc Melenchon, Raphael Glucksmann, Gabriel Attal –, Attal Organizations: CNN, Assembly, National Assembly, French, France Unbowed, Front, Macron, Ensemble Locations: France, Europe, Paris, AFP, –

“Hard to watch” is how multiple foreign diplomats described Thursday night’s debate between Biden and Trump to CNN. I had difficulties understanding what he was saying, and I understand English pretty well,” said a second European diplomat. Biden’s debate flop was front-page news across Europe, with left- and right-leaning newspapers excoriating the president – even in France, where the country has its own elections coming up this weekend. “There are many options that are discussed, but we don’t see, any that are self-evident,” the first European diplomat said. Moscow’s state TV station, Russia 1, lampooned Biden’s debate performance.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump, Trump, Biden, ”, “ Trump, “, –, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ” Trump, Radek Sikorski, “ Marcus Aurelius, Commudos, didn’t, Kamala, Harris, Trump’s, Volodymyr, Zelensky, Biden pilloried, Joe’Matosed ”, “ Biden, Biden’s, Emmanuel Macron’s, Ansa, Russia’s, Olga Skabeeva laughingly Organizations: CNN, Biden, NATO, Democratic Party, ”, “, strongmen, Arab, Financial Times, Sun, Guardian, Monde, TV Locations: Europe, East, Asia, European, Arab, Asian, France, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Afghanistan, Polish, California, Israel, British, Atlanta, Greece’s, Italy, Puglia

☆ A Tiny Circle of Advisers Helped Prod Macron to Take a Giant Risk
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Roger Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

His prime minister was among the last to know. That is how secretive, how confined to a small group of advisers President Emmanuel Macron’s shock decision to dissolve Parliament and call French legislative elections was. Gabriel Attal, 35, was a personal favorite, his wunderkind, when Mr. Macron named him prime minister in January. Mr. Macron’s style has always been intensely top-down, but this time he has played with the possibility of ushering in the once unthinkable in the form of a far-right government. A photograph posted by Mr. Macron’s official photographer on Instagram captured the dismay when, on June 9, Mr. Macron told his government of his decision.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron’s, Gabriel Attal, Macron, dumbfounded, Instagram, Attal, Darmanin Organizations: National Rally

☆ France is set for its most consequential election in decades. Here’s what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —France’s snap parliamentary election is one of the most momentous in decades, for both the country and the rest of Europe. Politicians rarely call an election when their party trails in the polls and there is no need to do so. Although Macron was elected to a second presidential term in 2022, his party failed to win an outright parliamentary majority. One theory about why Macron called an election now is that France might soon have been forced to the polls anyway. With Le Pen seeming increasingly likely to succeed him as president in 2027, this election may force her party to take up responsibility beforehand.

Persons: CNN —, Emmanuel Macron, he’ll, ” Kevin Arceneaux, …, France’s, Macron, Pen, Antonio Masiello, –, Laure Boyer, Hans Lucas, Gabriel Attal – Macron’s, Jordan Bardella, Bardella, Le Pen, Denis, Eric Ciotti, Jordan Bardella's, Julien De Rosa, Jean, Luc Mélenchon, Raphaël, Sylvain Thomas, Mujtaba Rahman, “, Rahman, ”, Jordan, we’re, Macron –, I’m Organizations: CNN, Paris hamstrung, –, Sciences Po, Fifth, Assembly, National Assembly, Palais Bourbon, Getty, Sorbonne university, Socialists, New, Eurasia Group Locations: Europe, France, Paris, Fifth Republic, Italy, AFP, Seine, Montpellier, Brussels, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia

☆ No punches land in France’s first major election debate
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Paris CNN —Three of France’s highest-profile candidates in the country’s upcoming legislative elections sparred in the first major debate of the campaign on Tuesday. Bardella led the National Rally to a dominant showing at the European elections on June 9. He was elected to the French National Assembly in 2022 representing Marseille and is a member of the far-left political party France Unbowed. The move took the French political establishment and society at large by surprise. He’s also assuming that French voters use the runoff, as they have historically, to keep the far right out of power.

Persons: Gabriel Attal, Jordan Bardella, Manuel Bompard, Attal, Bardella, ”, Jean Petaux, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, He’s, pollster IFOP Organizations: Paris CNN —, National, French National Assembly, National Rally, National Assembly Locations: Marseille, France, French

☆ France’s Far-Right National Rally Rebranded Itself. Here’s How.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Catherine Porter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For decades, the National Rally was the pariah of French politics — deemed so dangerous that politicians from other parties refused to engage with its members. Mr. Macron soon called a surprise snap election for the powerful National Assembly, and polls suggest that the National Rally might be poised to win those, too. Jordan Bardella, the party’s president, is jockeying to become the country’s next prime minister — something that just 10 years ago would have been unthinkable. He is scheduled to face off against two adversaries, including Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, in a much-anticipated debate on Tuesday night. If his party manages a big win in the election, Mr. Bardella could become prime minister, name cabinet members and derail much of Mr. Macron’s domestic agenda.

Persons: —, Emmanuel Macron’s, Macron, Jordan Bardella, Gabriel Attal, Bardella Organizations: National, National Assembly Locations: France

☆ Why Europe’s youth are flirting with the far-right
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

In this month’s European Parliament elections, far-right parties performed predictably well – but especially, and unexpectedly, among young people. Far-right parties enjoyed a similar uptick in support in the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Austria, and continued to do well in Italy. Gonzalo Fuentes/ReutersBut young voters appear less concerned by these roots, says Simon Schnetzer, author of a recent survey of Germany’s youth. But the burst in support for far-right parties could spell a darker trend. This success of far-right parties should be a warning to Europe’s mainstream.

Persons: CNN — Pollsters, “, –, ”, Roberto Foa, ” Foa, “ I’m, Alice Weidel, Tino Chrupalla, Annegret Hilse, You’d, Le Pen, Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, Jordan Bardella, Arthur Prevot, Macron’s, Prevot, Macron, Jonathan Verbeken, Gonzalo Fuentes, Simon Schnetzer, “ Young, Lee Heinrichs, ” Heinrichs, Ursula von der Leyen, Maximilian Krah, ” Nigel Farage, Maja Smiejkowska, Nigel Farage –, Farage, Andrew Tate, emasculated, Tate –, Tate, shouldn’t, vociferously, Foa Organizations: CNN, Centre, Democracy, University of Cambridge, National, Confederation, Reuters, White House, German Green Party, Greens, Reform UK Locations: United States, United Kingdom, Brussels, Europe, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Italy, Berlin, Britain, Jordan, Paris, France, Paris ’, Marseille, Ukraine, Syria, Sylt, Deutschland, London, Romania

☆ France’s Far-Right Leader Says the National Rally Is Ready to Govern
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Aurelien Breeden | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jordan Bardella, the president of France’s far-right National Rally, insisted at a news conference on Monday that he would be a prime minister for all French people if his party won the country’s upcoming snap elections, even as he defended his party’s proposal to bar French citizens with dual nationalities from certain “sensitive” jobs. Mr. Bardella spent much of the event focusing on his priorities should he become prime minister — drastically reducing immigration, toughening sentences for those convicted of certain crimes and lowering energy prices — if his nationalist party won a snap election for France’s lower house of Parliament. The election was called this month by President Emmanuel Macron and is being held in two rounds, on June 30 and July 7. “We are ready,” Mr. Bardella told journalists at a marble-adorned venue in a plush neighborhood of Paris, as he sought to dispel criticism from Mr. Macron and from a new alliance of left-wing parties that the National Rally is unfit and unworthy to govern. While the National Rally is leading in the latest polls, ahead of the left-wing alliance and of Mr. Macron’s centrist alliance, it is unclear if the party will win enough of the lower house’s 577 seats to secure an absolute majority and form a government.

Persons: Jordan Bardella, Bardella, Emmanuel Macron, Mr, Macron Locations: France’s, Paris

☆ The Nation Resurgent, and Borders, Too
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-23 | by ( Roger Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That feeling, a vague but potent malaise, has many elements. The National Rally, whose anti-immigrant position lies at the core of its fast-growing popularity, has benefited from all this. “Well, it’s the same thing with a country.”In other words, nations need effective borders that can be sealed tight. This message, echoed by rising nationalist parties across Europe, and a central theme of Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign in the United States, has proved potent. In France, it propelled Marine Le Pen’s National Rally to victory over President Emmanuel Macron’s party in voting for the European Parliament this month.

Persons: ” Jordan Bardella, Donald J, Emmanuel Macron’s Organizations: France Locations: France, North Africa, Europe, United States

And what everyone sort of expected to happen seems to be roughly what’s happening, which is that the populist right has consolidated a lot of support. So that’s sort of three-dimensional chess of one sort. That gets at the definition of populism, right? michelle cottleYeah, so but that kind of then lends itself to a backlash when you feel like things aren’t going right. carlos lozadaWell, I mean —ross douthatI think that’s all sincere.

Persons: lydia polgreen Ross, carlos lozada, lydia polgreen, michelle cottle, carlos lozada That’s, lydia polgreen That’s, Lydia Polgreen, michelle cottle I’m Michelle Cottle, ross douthat I’m Ross Douthat, carlos lozada I’m Carlos Lozada, We’ve, Ross, michelle cottle Woo, — ross douthat, lydia polgreen —, I’m, ross, — michelle cottle, ross douthat —, ross douthat, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Silvio Berlusconi, Giorgia, Meloni, Brexit, It’s, populists, ”, Lozada, it’s, don’t, we’ll, that’s, we’ve, JD Vance, He’s, — carlos lozada, polgreen, Trumpist, who’s, Vance, we’re, Trump, — michelle cottle Woo, carlos lozada —, —, decries, — ross, won’t, carlos lozada Well, carlos lozada Don’t, Don’t, it’s — michelle cottle, I’ve, Trumpism, Donald Trump, michelle cottle Huey Long, Carlos, William Jennings Bryan, Michelle, Huey Long, George Wallace, Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, Bernie Sanders, you’ve, Charles Coughlin, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Biden, unquote, nobody’s, he’s, JD Vance don’t, Robert Penn, Warren, Long, lydia polgreen Wow, ross douthat — Carlos Lozada, George Packer, lydia polgreen Go, carlos lozada Oh, that’s — carlos lozada —, lydia polgreen We’ll, carlos lozada It’s, lydia polgreen It’s Organizations: “ New York, Trump, Tories, National Health Service, Republican, Social Security, Republican Party, Chamber of Commerce, “ Times, Aspen Ideas, Nebraska Democrat, Tea Party, Occupy, Belt, Star Locations: “, Europe, France, United States, Italy, United Kingdom, South, British, Ohio, Middletown , Ohio, America, Sun Valley, Middletown, Louisiana, Alabama, China, Connecticut, Belt America, Florida , Texas, California, American, Texas, Mexico, Arizona

☆ French Business Leaders See Threat to Economy From Macron’s Opponents
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Both the far-right National Rally party in France and its competing left-wing New Popular Front coalition are promising to save the country from financial ruin. But French executives gave a chilly reception Thursday to competing economic platforms from the rival parties, warning that both could endanger the French economy and distance France from the European Union. With less than two weeks before pivotal legislative elections, members of MEDEF, the main employers association in France, held an “audition” for candidates from the main political parties that are vying to seize power from President Emmanuel Macron, whose government has been severely weakened after his party was battered by the far right in European Parliament elections. Mr. Macron called for snap parliamentary elections, gambling that voters would reject extremes and embrace his centrist Renaissance party. The first round of voting is slated for June 30, and the final round for July 7.

Persons: MEDEF, ”, Emmanuel Macron, Macron Organizations: Popular Front, European Union, Renaissance Locations: France

☆ E.U. Warns France Over ‘Excessive’ Deficit, Adding to Political Risks
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Add an entry to the list of troubles facing President Emmanuel Macron of France less than two weeks before pivotal legislative elections: potential financial penalties by the European Union for failure to rein in the nation’s ballooning deficit and debt. Mr. Macron threw French politics into disarray earlier this month by calling for snap parliamentary elections after his party was battered by the far right in European Parliament elections. The fiscal warning by E.U. authorities set the stage for a possible confrontation between Brussels and Paris. institutions, and want to ease rather than tighten fiscal policy.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Macron Organizations: European Union, National, Marine, National Rally, New Locations: France, Brussels, Paris

☆ Paris loses stock market crown to London as political upheaval looms
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —London’s stock market has edged ahead of its rival in Paris as fears grow over the outcome of France’s looming parliamentary elections. The first round of the French elections is scheduled for June 30, followed by a second round on July 7. Hubert de Barochez, a senior market economist at consultancy Capital Economics, said investors might be concerned that a parliament run by the National Rally would penalize banks. In contrast with the political and financial turmoil in France, UK financial markets are “relatively stable,” said Rudolph at IG Group. Credit ratings agencies are already keeping a close eye on France, one of the EU’s three most-indebted countries.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Axel Rudolph, you’ve, ”, OpinionWay, Macron, Hubert de Barochez, Rudolph, Richard Hunter, Mohit Kumar Organizations: London CNN, Bloomberg, CAC, FTSE, European Union, “, CNN, National, BNP, Credit, Capital Economics, IG Group, Labour Party, Interactive Investor, National Rally, Jefferies Locations: Paris, France, United Kingdom, Europe’s, Britain

☆ America’s top central banker says the job market is back to normal. Is that true?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Washington CNN —America’s top central banker recently said the job market now looks the way it did before the Covid-19 pandemic drastically upended society. Before the Bell spoke with Julia Pollak, chief economist at jobs site ZipRecruiter, about her views of the job market. Before the Bell: Do you agree with Chair Powell’s view that today’s job market is back to a pre-pandemic normal? Why is the job market slower now? The number of job openings is higher than it was by around 15% or so, but online job postings are actually lower by ZipRecruiter’s count.

Persons: Washington CNN —, “, Jerome Powell, Powell, it’s, Bell, Julia Pollak, they’re, They’re, Olesya Dmitracova, Emmanuel Macron, Read, Patrick Harker, Lisa Cook, Tom Barkin, Susan Collins, Adriana Kugler, Lorie Logan, Alberto Musalem, Goolsbee Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, Washington CNN, Fed, Labor, EU, National, New York Fed, Manufacturing Index, Reserve Bank of Australia, US Commerce Department, Federal Reserve, National Association of Home Builders, Accenture, Kroger, Darden, Bank of England, US Labor Department, Philadelphia Fed, Richmond Fed, Global, National Association of Realtors Locations: Washington, France, Wells Fargo

☆ Barricades, betrayal and bust-ups: Macron triggers a wild week in French politics
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Joseph Ataman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

French President Emmanuel Macron promptly turned the country on its head by announcing a snap legislative election. Marine Le Pen addresses her supporters alongside National Rally President Jordan Bardella during an event on Sunday following the European elections. Marion Marechal addresses supporters of her party, Reconquest, alongside party president Eric Zemmour, left, on Sunday. In his statement on X, formerly Twitter, he refuted Marechal’s accusations that he had sunk a deal with National Rally. The fact of Ciotti’s endorsement, even if rejected by others in his traditionalist party, indicates how far National Rally has moved into mainstream politics.

Persons: defenestrated, Emmanuel Macron, “, ”, there’s, acolyte Jordan Bardella, Macron’s, Jordan Bardella, Julien de Rosa, Eric Ciotti, Republicans –, –, Le Pen’s, Valerie Pecresse, Ciotti, Stephane de Sakutin, Marion Marechal, Eric Zemmour, Marechal, Zemmour, “ Let’s, BFMTV, “ She’s, Ian Langsdon, Le, Julen Chavin Organizations: Paris CNN —, National, National Rally, Republicans, Paris, Facebook, “, Getty Locations: France, France’s, AFP, Paris, Thusrday

Israel’s defense minister on Friday rejected a diplomatic effort by France aimed at ending months of cross-border strikes between Israel and Hezbollah that have been intensifying this week and raising fears of a full-blown war. More than 150,000 people on both sides of the border have been displaced by the fighting. And Israel has warned that it is prepared to take stronger action to dislodge Hezbollah militants from southern Lebanon. On Thursday, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said France and the United States had agreed in principle to establish a trilateral group with Israel to “make progress” on a French proposal to end the violence. But Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who has called for Israel to take a harsher tack against Hezbollah, rebuffed Mr. Macron’s overture on Friday.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Yoav Gallant, Mr, Gallant Organizations: Hezbollah, Hamas Locations: France, Israel, United States, Iran, Lebanon, Gaza

☆ A France in Turmoil Mourns Françoise Hardy, Its Voice of Melancholy Cool
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Roger Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was like Françoise Hardy, the wistful singer and songwriter of a certain French melancholy and style, to slip away in the midst of a political storm, for it was never the clamor of power struggles that interested her, but rather an inner world of solitude, love betrayed and loss. With France in turmoil after President Emmanuel Macron’s sudden plunging of the nation into an unexpected legislative election campaign, the country’s leading newspapers nevertheless devoted much of their front pages to Ms. Hardy’s death this week at the age of 80, hailing “the icon” of French music. For Gabriel Attal, the prime minister, it was the loss of “this singular voice of a fierce tranquillity that cradled generations of French people” that felt overwhelming. For Brigitte Bardot, “France has lost with her a little of that nobility, of that beauty and that luminous talent, of that elegance that she conveyed all through her life.”It was as if the country through Ms. Hardy’s life had come full circle, from her birth during an air raid in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944, seven months before the city’s liberation, to a moment when a far-right party once led by a man who belittled the Holocaust is now possibly on the brink of power.

Persons: Françoise Hardy, Emmanuel Macron’s, Gabriel Attal, Brigitte Bardot, “ Locations: France, “ France, Nazi, Paris

☆ French Stocks Tumble to Worst Week in Two Years Over Election Fears
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A growing realization that President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to hold snap elections in France may backfire sent the French stock market tumbling on Friday to its lowest level in two years, and prompted warnings from the French finance minister that the economy risks stumbling into a financial crisis. Amid growing signs that Marine Le Pen’s far-right party may be ushered to the brink of power, France’s benchmark stock index, the CAC 40, slumped 2.7 percent. The losses capped a weeklong losing streak that sent shares down more than 6 percent, wiping out all the bourse’s gains since the start of the year. Among the hardest hit stocks were France’s biggest banks, including BNP Paribas and Société Générale, which hold hefty amounts of French sovereign debt. Equally worrisome, the risk premium that investors demand to hold French government bonds over Germany’s, a eurozone benchmark, rose to the highest since 2017, the biggest weekly jump since 2012, when the euro debt crisis was underway.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron’s, Société Organizations: CAC, BNP Locations: France

☆ Markets fear the French far right could trigger a financial crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

President Emmanuel Macron called the snap elections Sunday after his party lost to the far right in a vote for EU lawmakers, a shock move that rattled markets for French stocks and government bonds. There has been widespread speculation since then that the National Rally, the party of far-right doyenne Marine Le Pen, is poised to become the most powerful force in parliament, unseating Macron’s centrist bloc. The risk of something similar happening in France is real, according to the country’s finance minister, Bruno Le Maire. “This comes down to the (parties’) plans that are on the table, whether we can, yes or no, finance this debt,” Le Maire said. The National Rally has promised to raise public spending and slash VAT on electricity and fuel.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Pen, ”, Truss, Bruno Le Maire, Le Maire, “, ” Le Maire, ’ jitters, Ludovic Marin, La Tribune Dimanche, Frank Gill, Moody’s, ” Joseph Ataman, Mark Thompson Organizations: London CNN —, EU, National, ‘, AAA, Getty Images Stock, haven’t, CNN, BFMTV, La Tribune, National Rally, European Central Bank, ECB Locations: France, ‘ France, French, Portugal, Europe, Italy, AFP, Paris, London

☆ France, With Elections, Is in Danger - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Cole Stangler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly and hold snap legislative elections on June 30 and July 7 has given the far right its best shot at governing France for the first time since the Vichy regime of World War II. The move stunned the country’s political class, including high-ranking Macronists from whom the president’s plans were reportedly heavily guarded. And for much of France, the decision remains perplexing. But make no mistake: France is in danger. Since the 2022 legislative elections denied his electoral alliance a majority in the National Assembly, his coalition has been forced to seek support from other parties, namely the right-wing Republicans.

Persons: it’ll, Emmanuel Macron’s, Macronists, Macron Organizations: National Assembly, France, Republicans, Republican Locations: Vichy, France

☆ Opinion: The G7 ‘family photo’ of world leaders tells a bigger story
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —The annual G7 summit, a gathering of leaders of some of the world’s wealthiest democracies, used to be a staid, predictable affair. Tensions were about to explode in 2018, when G7 leaders met in Canada. Behind the smiles and waves, a fraught 2018 G7 summit in Canada. German Chancellor Angela Merkel deliberates with US president Donald Trump on the sidelines of the 2018 G7 summit in Canada. German Chancellor Angela Merkel chats with a relaxed US President Barack Obama outside during the 2015 G7 summit in southern Germany.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Read, Joe Biden, Pope Francis, Volodymyr Zelensky –, —, Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, Cole Burston, Trump, Angela Merkel, Merkel, Angela Merkel deliberates, Jesco Denzel, Barack Obama, Michael Kappeler, George W, Bush, backrub, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Covid, ” Biden, ” Macron, Boris Johnson, Ludovic Marin, Biden, Emmanuel Macron’s, autocrats, Lady Melania Trump, Trudeau, Andrew Parsons, Giorgia Meloni, ” Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Frida Ghitis CNN, European Council, Canadian, Bloomberg, Trump, Getty, Deutschland, Kremlin, Parliamentary, United, Brothers Locations: Puglia, Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Bavarian, AFP, St Petersburg, Russia, Russian, St . Petersburg, Handout, Crimean, Washington, United States, British, Ukraine, Biarritz, Italian, Europe

☆ 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

☆ Macron’s Call for Elections in France Adds to Fears of Financial Woes
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Investors made clear on Tuesday the depth of their concerns over President Emmanuel Macron’s gamble to call for new elections in France, driving up the nation’s borrowing costs, pushing down stock prices and prompting the Moody’s ratings agency to warn it may downgrade French sovereign debt as risks of political instability rise. Mr. Macron’s dissolution of the lower house of Parliament on Sunday after his party was battered by Marine Le Pen’s far-right party in European Parliament elections has ignited concerns that the government could grind to a stalemate. The turmoil has focused attention on France’s fragile finances, and the prospect of legislative gridlock that could undermine the government’s ability to address it. “This decision will not ease the economic challenges facing the country,” Philippe Ledent, senior economist at ING Bank, wrote in a note to clients. Public finances and the performance of the French economy will be “at the heart of the electoral campaign,” he added.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron’s, Le, ” Philippe Ledent, ”, Macron Organizations: ING Bank, Public, Paris Bourse Locations: France, Paris

☆ France’s Conservative Leader Calls for Alliance With Far Right
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Aurelien Breeden | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The head of France’s mainstream conservative party on Tuesday called for an alliance with the far right in upcoming snap elections, throwing his party into deep turmoil as the shock waves from President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to dissolve the lower house of Parliament continue to course through French politics. The announcement, by Éric Ciotti, the head of the Republicans, was a historic break with the party’s longstanding line and its ties to former President Charles de Gaulle. Mr. Ciotti’s call was immediately met with a chorus of angry disapproval from within his own ranks. No leader of any mainstream French political party has ever previously embraced a possible alliance with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, or its predecessor, the National Front. The elections for the National Assembly, the lower and more powerful house of France’s Parliament, are scheduled for June 30 and July 7.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron’s, Éric Ciotti, Charles de Gaulle, Ciotti’s, Macron, Ms, Le Pen’s protégé, Jordan Bardella Organizations: Republicans, Marine, National Assembly, National Rally Locations: Europe

Search resuls for: "Macron’s"

25 mentions found