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French Government Implements Controversial Pension Reforms Despite Protests and Strikes

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French President Emmanuel Macron has signed the controversial pension reforms into law, increasing the state pension age from 62 to 64. The move came after the Constitutional Council approved the changes, rejecting opposition calls for a referendum but also removing some aspects of the reforms due to legal flaws.

The reforms have faced strong opposition, with protests and strikes occurring for twelve days since January. The approval of the reforms has led to further protests and unrest in Paris, with 112 people arrested.

Unions have vowed to continue their opposition, calling for more demonstrations on 1 May. President Macron has defended the reforms as necessary to prevent the pension system from collapsing, and the government used special powers to implement the changes in March.

Trade unions made a final appeal to President Macron not to sign the pension-age increase into law following the Constitutional Court’s ruling. They argued that the rejected concessions made the reforms even more unbalanced.

The court struck down some of the reforms, including the “senior index” which encouraged companies to employ workers over 55. In response, Olivier Dussopt, Minister Delegate in charge of Public Accounts, promised to improve employment rates for those over 50 to ease concerns about the financial impact of the raised retirement age.

Despite a ban on protests outside the Constitutional Council building, demonstrators gathered nearby and jeered at the ruling.

Following the signing of the pension reforms into law, protesters expressed their intent to continue their demonstrations until the changes were withdrawn. Riots broke out in Paris, with several fires being set across the city, and police using tear gas to control the situation.

The police arrested 112 people. There were also protests in Rennes and Nantes, with fires being lit during the demonstrations. In Lyon, there were tense standoffs between protesters and police.

A protester named Lucy, aged 21, expressed her disappointment, saying that no one is listening to them despite their efforts to raise their voices. She vowed to continue protesting.

French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne tweeted that there were no winners or losers following the signing of the pension reforms into law. While the Constitutional Council rejected an initial bid for a referendum on the reforms, it will consider another proposal for a national vote by the left next month.

According to French political analyst Antoine Bristielle, the protests that have taken place across France for the past three months are unlikely to end soon. He noted that despite the expected approval of the reforms, there is still significant opposition to the changes, with 70% of the French population against them. Bristielle predicted that there will be more riots and strikes in the country in the coming hours and over the weekend.

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Pierre Lacotte: French dancer who helped Rudolf Nureyev defect dies

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The legendary Rudolf Nureyev was helped by French ballet choreographer Pierre Lacotte, who died at the age of 91. Ghislaine Thesmar, his wife and a retired main dancer, stated, “Our Pierre departed us at 4:00 am.”

In 1961, Lacotte assisted Nureyev in eluding Soviet investigators in Paris so he could seek refuge at the city’s Le Bourget airport. In the Ralph Fiennes-directed film The White Crow from 2018, his part in the well-known defection was recalled.

According to Ms. Thesmar, her spouse passed away as a result of a septic cut. As a young man, Lacotte began his professional career with the Paris Opera Ballet before focusing on the resurrection of long-forgotten 19th-century works.

He met Nureyev in 1961 while he was on tour in Paris, and they became friends. Lacotte said to the BBC in 2012 that he went on multiple tours with Nureyev of the city’s eateries, bars, and museums.

As a result, Nureyev was informed that he would be sent home by the KGB agents who were travelling with him. Nureyev thought he wouldn’t be permitted to leave the country once more.

At the airport, Nureyev begged Lacotte to stay at his side but was mobbed by KGB agents. Clara Saint, a socialite, and Lacotte requested the agents if they might bid their friend goodbye before he went.

“I said, listen Rudolf, look behind me there is Clara Saint, and behind Clara Saint is a policeman. You just have to come to him. You kiss me, you kiss Clara and you say you want to be free. And it’s done,” Lacotte said.

“I said don’t be afraid, stay quiet and do as I say.”

Nureyev then made a dash towards two French police and declared that he wished to remain in the West.

Despite being recognised as one of the greatest dancers of his era, Nureyev and his family paid a heavy price. He was only allowed back to the USSR more than 25 years later when his mother was dying, while his Soviet friends’ careers were made to suffer.

Lacotte focused his emphasis on the 1968 Paris Opera archives after suffering an ankle ailment.

These included La Sylphide, which debuted in 1832 and was the first ballet to be performed entirely “en pointe,” or with the dancers standing on the tips of their toes.

The Red and the Black, a 2021 production that was based on the 1830 novel by French author Stendhal, was his final piece of work. His wife said that he was still employed at the age of 91.

“That makes me sad. He was still working on a book and has several other projects “Added she.

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Two bodies found after Marseille building destroyed in explosion

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In Marseille, a city in southern France, a four-story apartment building was completely destroyed by an explosion. Two bodies have since been discovered. Six individuals, according to local police, are still missing and rescue operations are ongoing.

The explosion happened in the La Plaine neighbourhood on Sunday around 00:49 local time (23:49 BST on Saturday). Investigators are investigating into the likelihood of a gas leak even if the source is yet unknown.

Almost 200 people had to be evacuated from their houses after the explosion caused minor injuries to five persons from nearby structures. A few hours later, two adjacent buildings partially fell without any further injuries.

Benoit Payan, the mayor of Marseille, issued a warning on Monday that surrounding structures were at danger of collapse.

A fire that had been smouldering beneath the debris all day Sunday was put out by about 100 firefighters who arrived on the scene.

Despite the fact that authorities reported on Sunday evening that the fire was showing signs of dying down, the fire slowed down rescue efforts and made it challenging for search and rescue teams to use sniffer dogs.

The building is thought to have had one flat on each floor, and city officials had stated that a “young couple” was among the missing.

With the use of a crane and lighting, rescue efforts proceeded into the early hours of Monday.

In a brief statement announcing the discovery of the bodies, the fire department said that “given the difficulties of intervention, the extraction [of the bodies from the site] will take time”.

A local gymnasium and two schools have been opened to accommodate the people who have had to leave their homes. Psychological support is also being offered.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter that he was “thinking of those affected and their loved ones” and thanked the emergency workers for their efforts.

Mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan said rescuers remained “determined” to find people alive. “Hope must hold us,” he said.

With the collapse of two old houses in the working-class neighbourhood of Noailles, which left eight people dead, Marseille’s housing regulations came under fire in 2018.

After that tragedy, charities calculated that 40,000 city residents were residing in subparly constructed homes, but on Sunday, officials seemed to rule out structural problems as the root of the most recent collapse.

Local authority chief in the Bouches-du-Rhone region Christophe Mirmand claimed there was no risk notice on the structure and that it was not located in an area known for having subpar housing. Mr. Payan reaffirmed the remarks.

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France To Ban TikTok On Phones Of Civil Servants

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According to Civil Service Minister Stanislas Guerini’s tweets, TikTok will no longer be allowed on government employees’ work phones in France.

“In order to guarantee the cybersecurity of our administrations and civil servants, the government has decided to ban recreational applications such as TikTok on the professional phones of civil servants,” he said in a statement.

He continued by saying that for some weeks, a number of France’s European and international allies had implemented policies to limit or forbid their governments’ employees from downloading and installing the TikTok programme.

Guerini stated that recreational applications lack the cybersecurity and data protection standards necessary to be installed on government equipment. He also added that the prohibition is applicable right now and that government agencies will monitor compliance.

According to him, exemptions can occasionally be granted for business purposes, such as institutional communication from an administration.

In recent weeks, a number of Western governments and institutions, including the UK parliament, the Dutch and Belgian administrations, and the New Zealand parliament, have all outlawed TikTok.

The Commission and the Council, the two largest policy-making bodies in the European Union, banned TikTok on employee phones late last month because to security concerns.

Global worries have grown about the possibility that ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, could provide the Chinese government access to users’ contact information and location information.

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Claude Lorius: The Glaciologist Who Proved Human-Caused Global Warming

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Claude Lorius, a renowned glaciologist known for his contributions to proving human-caused global warming, passed away at the age of 91. Over the course of his lifetime, Lorius led 22 expeditions to Greenland and Antarctica.

During one of his trips to Antarctica in 1965, he made a significant discovery after dropping ice samples into a glass of whiskey. Lorius realized the scientific potential of studying ice cores, which led to his groundbreaking research on air bubbles trapped in ice, providing evidence of global warming caused by human-made pollution.

His research gained international recognition and helped scientists study 160,000 years’ worth of glacial records. In addition to his scientific work, Lorius was an advocate for the environment and served as the inaugural expert of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1988.

He was awarded the CNRS gold medal in 2002, along with his colleague Jean Jouzel, and was the first Frenchman to receive the prestigious Blue Planet Prize.

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Violent clashes in Paris as pension age row rages

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Large numbers of people are taking to the streets in France, on a ninth day of nationwide demonstrations and strikes over pensions reform. The CGT union estimates there are up to 800,000 people protesting on the streets of Paris where clashes with police are being reported

Police have used tear gas in Nantes and water cannon in Rennes at protests over legislation to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Strikes are disrupting schools and public transport, and some demonstrators are also blockading railway tracks and stations.

Ongoing industrial action at oil refineries is affecting petrol supplies, and also of aircraft fuel.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government forced the legislation through without a vote in the lower house of parliament last week.

Yesterday he defended the changes as “a necessity” in his first public comments on the escalating row.

The vast majority of protests have passed off without violence but some demonstrators dressed in black and known locally as “Black Bloc” radicals have been out on the streets, throwing stones and bottles at police and setting fire to bins.

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France pension protests: Clashes after Macron orders rise in pension age without vote

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After the French administration opted to push through pension reforms without a vote in parliament, police and demonstrators fought in Paris. In response to the retirement age increase from 62 to 64, crowds gathered in Place de la Concorde.

Two months of vehement political debate and strikes had been provoked by the plans. The government may now avoid a vote in the Assembly by using article 49:3 of the constitution, according to Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne.

There was no assurance of securing a majority, therefore the decision was made just minutes before MPs were due to vote on the contentious law. Politicians from the opposition were incensed by the action. At parliament, many booed the prime minister, performed the Marseillaise, and displayed protest signs.

Mathilde Panot, the leader of the left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI), stated that Mr. Macron has thrown the nation into a government crisis without the support of either the parliamentary or popular parties.

The national anthem was sung and union flags were waved as thousands of people protested the decision in the streets of Paris and other French cities. As dusk fell, several demonstrators and police engaged in combat. The Plaza de la Concorde was set on fire, and police with shields and batons moved to clear the area while firing tear gas into it.

According to the Paris police, 120 persons had been detained by evening.

Despite the fact that Mr. Macron ran for reelection last year on a platform of retirement reforms, his ruling coalition lacks a majority in the Assembly, making Republican support for the pension changes necessary.

In an effort to approve their plan, representatives from Mr. Macron’s Renaissance party spent the morning frantically cajoling lawmakers. Because to the bill’s obvious unpopularity and the knowledge that some of their MPs may abstain, they turned to extraordinary constitutional authorities.

But, whenever a government uses the 49:3, it may be sure that it will be immediately accused of trampling on the people’s will. In fact, it has been used precisely 100 times in the more than 60 years of the Fifth Republic, and by governments of all shades.

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French bin strike: Paris holds its nose as waste piles up

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A week into a waste collectors’ strike, bins are overflowing in several parts of Paris, and hundreds of tonnes of trash are being left on the streets of the French city. One Parisian complained on French radio that it was filthy and attracted rats and bugs.

The Macron administration’s plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 is the reason why the workers are on strike. Le Havre, Nantes, and Rennes are among the other cities that are impacted.

Trash collectors joined the pension strikes a week ago, and according to the Paris authorities, the action has affected half of the city’s municipal worker-served regions. A fourth station that treats garbage has been partially shuttered, while three have been blockaded.

The Paris government reported on Monday that 5,600 tonnes of rubbish still needed to be collected.

One pundit on Europe1 radio compared the scenario to a free-for-all smorgasbord for Paris’ six million rats—more than twice as many as there are people living there.

According to Paris Council, the service was operating almost normally in the 10 districts serviced by private enterprises. According to some reports, activists were attempting to stop collecting from happening.

Additionally, one private business was observed on Monday evening by news station BFMTV picking up trash in the sixth, one of the major central districts, which is typically handled by council workers. On the western outskirts of the city, two more areas had similar bin collecting going on.

Leading council official Emmanuel Grégoire said the situation was complicated but the authority was prioritising intervention for public safety, with a focus on clearing food markets, bin bags lying on the ground and ensuring pedestrian safety.

The upper house or Senate approved the measures on Saturday, and on Wednesday, a joint committee of lawmakers from both houses will deliberate on the final language. The National Assembly and Senate might receive a final vote on Thursday.

The lower house is not controlled by President Emmanuel Macron’s party, thus passage of the law is far from certain.

In order to pass the measures, the government needs 287 votes, and even if it can persuade all 250 of its MPs to support them, it still has to find 37 additional parliamentarians from other parties to support raising the retirement age.

Republicans are anticipated to make up a large portion of those extra votes, therefore the government is determined to avoid rushing the legislation through without their support.

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Teacher stabbed to death by pupil in France

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In a school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France, a high school student fatally stabbed a teacher. Olivier Véran, a spokesman for the French government, confirmed the attack on Wednesday and stated that the offender was 16 years old.

Police and the district attorney went to Saint-Thomas d’Aquin school, where the student was detained. According to the French publication Sud Ouest, the perpetrator attacked the teacher as she was teaching a Spanish class inside the classroom.

As emergency personnel arrived at the school, the teacher, who was in her 50s, passed away from a heart attack, according to local media. According to French television station BFM, the assailant locked the classroom door before stabbing the teacher in the chest.

Local police had launched an assassination inquiry, according to municipal prosecutor Jerome Bourrier, and the suspect was in jail. He continued by saying that neither the police nor the legal system knew who the culprit was.

On Thursday afternoon, the prosecutor will hold a press conference to provide additional information on the investigation. The attack was referred to as “a tragedy of exceptional seriousness” by France’s Minister of Education, Pap Ndiaye, who also offered his sympathies.

The school is a private, Catholic institution located close to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a popular French summer vacation destination. Around midday, those pupils who had been instructed to stay in their classes were permitted to go, and many were picked up by their parents.

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French protests intensify against pension age rise

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The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, is facing a second wave of strikes and protests over his proposals to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

The strike, which has affected schools, public transportation, and oil refineries, is being participated in by eight major unions.  Hundreds of thousands of people are participating in marches around France after the first day of protests drew more than a million participants.

There have been more people in several cities than on January 19. Despite polls showing that two-thirds of French oppose the reforms, which start their journey through the National Assembly next week, the Macron administration is moving on with them.

Without a majority in the legislature, the administration will be forced to rely on the right-wing Republicans just as much as its own legislators from the ruling parties.

Thousands more marchers gathered in Toulouse, Marseille, and Nice in the south, Saint Nazaire, Nantes, and Rennes in the west, hours before the main demonstration in downtown Paris’ Place d’Italie. An estimated 11,000 police officers were stationed to monitor the protests occurring in 200 towns and cities.

Only two of Paris’s driverless metro lines were operating normally, and only one in three high-speed trains were operating. On one of the main overground lines in the capital, there were reportedly large crowds.

The CGT union said at least three-quarters of workers had walked out at the big TotalEnergies oil refineries and fuel depots, although the company said the number was far lower. Power plants reported reduced production after workers went on strike at the main electricity company EDF.

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