Rebranded Saudi crown prince meets Macron as rights groups decry ‘hypocrisy’

Rebranded Saudi crown prince meets Macron as rights groups decry ‘hypocrisy’

Post By World arms trade, diplomacy, Emmanuel Macron, Features, France, Jamal Khashoggi, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday at the start of a visit aimed at boosting bilateral ties and the oil kingdom’s standing in the international community. But human rights groups warn that the Saudi’s gain is France’s loss on an increasingly divided global stage.

Less than five years after Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed and dismembered in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets French President Emmanuel Macron for a working lunch in Paris on Friday.

The rehabilitation of the man the CIA determined had “approved” the Istanbul consulate operation is now a done deal. The transformation of the Saudi crown prince from “pariah” – a term Joe Biden used on the US presidential campaign trail – to indispensable diplomatic figure has been quick and thorough, marking an era of realpolitik on steroids.

Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler – known widely as “MBS” – has emerged from global isolation to meet and greet leaders who were once wary of engaging with the young, brash crown price with a tarnished human rights record.

Last summer, Biden met bin Salman in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, where the two leaders fist-bumped, sparking condemnations from the likes of Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, who called it “a visual reminder of the continuing grip oil-rich autocrats have on US foreign policy”.

A week later, bin Salman – known widely as “MBS” – was in Paris, where he was greeted with a more cordial handshake with Macron at the Élysée presidential palace.

French President Emmanuel Macron greets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with a handshake in Paris on July 28, 2022. © Lewis Joly, AP

The war in Ukraine has unleashed tectonic geopolitical shifts, opening divides between the so-called “West”, backing Kyiv against Russian aggression, and countries who view themselves as part of the “Global South”, that have refused to take a position on the conflict.

The Global South’s proclaimed neutrality has not convinced critics, who argue that transactional foreign policy in effect translates as a pro-Russian position. Saudi Arabia, the world’s second-largest oil producer, is particularly susceptible to the criticism. The kingdom’s decision, at an October 22 OPEC+ Plus summit, to cut oil production to keep prices high, was viewed as a deliberate snub to the US and Europe preparing for a difficult winter.

The schedule of bin Salman’s second visit to France since the Russian invasion of Ukraine reflects the changing dynamics on the global stage. It’s also a case study in how a leader once shunned in most capitals has managed to cater to the imperatives of global powers while fulfilling his own agenda.

Wooing leaders with an eye on 2030

The Saudi crown prince’s latest visit is not a rushed one. MBS left the kingdom on Wednesday, according to the Saudi Royal Court, for France, where he owns the Chateau Louis XIV, a modern building in Versailles that seeks to replicate the opulence of French imperial palaces.

Following his Friday working lunch with Macron at the Élysée palace, bin Salman will attend a reception in Paris on Monday to support Riyadh’s bid to host the World Expo 2030, also called the “universal exhibition”.

Days later, the Saudi crown prince will attend the June 22-23 Summit for a New Global Financing Pact hosted by Macron.

The French president announced the summit at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt in November, which is aimed at building “a new contract between the countries of the North and the South to address climate change and the global crisis”, according to the official website.

While Macron aims to try to bridge the North-South divide exacerbated by the Ukraine war, the Saudi crown prince has his own agenda during his French visit. “Mohammed bin Salman wants to enjoy the presence of many leaders, from Africa mainly, in order to get their support, their vote, for the universal exhibition [Expo 2030] … it’s a file that MBS is personally following. This is the reason for his long presence in France,” explained Georges Malbrunot, senior reporter at the French daily, Le Figaro, in an interview with FRANCE 24.

“There are different topics on the agenda: Ukraine, Lebanon, etcetera. It’s a kind of public relations operation for Mohammed bin Salman, who was a pariah five years ago after the horrible Jamal Khashoggi assassination,” said Malbrunot. “But he’s an international actor now. Nobody can avoid him.”

Hosting the World Expo 2030 has turned into a hot button issue, with more than a dozen human rights groups writing an open letter to the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), urging the world fair organiser to drop the Saudi candidacy due to its “abysmal” human rights record.

But 2030 is a critical year for the Gulf kingdom since it marks the target date for Vision 2030, an ambitious economic diversification and reform plan launched by the crown prince in 2016. Saudi Arabia is also bidding to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup. “For sure 2030 is a very important year for Saudi Arabia,” said Malbrunot. “If he gets the universal expo for 2030, it will be a big victory for Saudi Arabia.”

Keeping various wives happy

Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began 18 months ago, the Middle East region has witnessed a complex realignment of powers, which some experts call the signs of a changing global order.

Earlier this year, China brokered a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran, prompting a reopening of diplomatic ties between the region’s biggest rivals and hopes for a de-escalation of the war in Yemen, where the two powers waged a proxy war over the past eight years.

Beyond the Middle East, Saudi Arabia played a critical role last year in brokering a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine, which secured the release of 300 people.

Meanwhile the convergence of Russian and Saudi oil interests, which were on display during the October 2022 OPEC+ Plus meeting, have started to strain. While Saudi Arabia followed through on the agreement and exported less oil, Russia increased its sales, at cheap prices, to countries such as India and China.

As Global South hegemons – such as South Africa, Brazil and India – were under fire for their pro-Moscow tilt, Saudi Arabia managed a diplomatic tour de force last month – with a little help from France.

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise landing in Jeddah last month to address an Arab League summit, he arrived on a French Airbus emblazoned with the tricolour. France had flown in the Ukrainian leader for an important meeting, marking a diplomatic achievement for Paris.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in Saudi Arabia on May 19, 2023, on a French plane. — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in Saudi Arabia on May 19, 2023, on a French plane. © Saudi Press Agency via AP

“Macron has become invested in helping rehabilitate MBS’s image on the global stage,” said Mohamad Bazzi, a professor and director of the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies at New York University. “Most players in the Middle East region have an interest in conveying the message that the US is not the dominant power in the region anymore. The consistent Saudi messaging is that they have options other than the US. Macron might be trying to play the role as another peacemaker trying to de-escalate tensions in the region.”

Malbrunot describes the geopolitical shifts in terms of polygamy, which is legal in Saudi Arabia. “We used to have Saudi Arabia as a strategic ally with the US. Now with Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has multiple wives. They still have the US wife, but not only. They have the Chinese wife now because China is the first country where they sell their oil. They have the Russian wife, they have the European wife,” explained Malbrunot.

The costs of ‘doing business with tyrants’

When it comes to Europe, France has always been more forgiving towards MBS than countries such as Germany and the Netherlands. The clemency was driven by weapons, not Christian values. Following Khashoggi’s assassination, France – unlike Germany and the Netherlands – refrained from suspending arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Paris and Riyadh have mutually compatible agendas in the arms bazaar. The international arms transfer trends for 2022, released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), confirmed longstanding trends: Saudi Arabia ranks among the world’s top three arms importers while France is among the world’s top three arms exporters.

It’s a transactional relationship that draws the ire of Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), an NGO founded by Khashoggi. “Macron is basically rolling out the red carpet for Mohammed bin Salman to try to secure arms sales. Macron has really sold France and France’s values for a few golden francs,” said Whitson.

Nearly a year ago, when the Saudi crown prince made his first trip to France since Khashoggi’s killing, DAWN, along with other NGOs, filed a universal jurisdiction complaint before the Paris tribunal arguing that MBS is an accomplice to the torture, enforced disappearance, and the murder of Khashoggi.

But Paris has so far failed to appoint an investigative judge to examine the case, prompting DAWN to release a statement noting that the delay “suggests that French authorities are deliberately dragging their feet and politicising what should be a straightforward judicial procedure”.

“Macron is wagging a finger at other countries for selling arms to Russia, lecturing them about international law and scolding them for harming human rights. It’s a shocking display of hypocrisy,” said Whitson.

France is not the only Western power behaving hypocritically, concedes Whitson, pointing to the Biden administration’s decision in November to grant MBS immunity, as the head of the Saudi government, in a US legal case.

Malbrunot notes that bin Salman’s entry into the international fold under the current circumstances is inevitable. “He’s an actor in the Ukraine-Russian war, he’s an actor now in the Middle East with the rapprochement with Iran … realpolitik has taken the lead now. So Mohammed bin Salman can’t be avoided,” he noted.

When asked if Le Figaro’s readers would be outraged over Macron’s meeting with a leader castigated for his human rights records, Malbrunot believed it was not the case.

“I think they’re not upset anymore with the human rights record because, I guess, there is this aspect of reality, which can’t be denied, that Saudi Arabia is a very important country, not only in the oil market, but also diplomatically now,” he said.

Whitson, however, believes the resignation is dangerous. “French readers should understand that there is a cost of doing business with tyrants,” she said. “The cost is democracy. If dictatorships around the world can buy our governments with money, if they can undermine our values with money, we don’t stand a chance persuading the world that democracy and human rights matter when our governments are willing to sell ourselves for money.”

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Cannes’s ‘essential workers’ stage Carlton protest as French pension battle hits festival

Post By World Cannes film festival, cinema, culture, Emmanuel Macron, Features, France, Hollywood, pension reform, Unions, US cinema

From our special correspondent in Cannes – A relentless downpour threw a wet blanket on the world’s premier film festival on Friday, but it did not stop Cannes’s “essential workers” from staging a protest outside the Riviera town’s most emblematic palace hotel – a prelude to a larger rally scheduled on Sunday.

France has been roiled by months of mass protests – the biggest in several decades – against a deeply unpopular pension overhaul that President Emmanuel Macron’s government rammed through parliament without a vote.

The protests, some of them violent, have prompted the local authorities in Cannes to order a ban on demonstrations within a broad perimeter around the Palais des Festivals and the town’s palm tree-lined boulevard, the Croisette.

Opponents of the reform, however, have warned that they won’t sit quietly during the festival – a prime showcase for France and one of the world’s most publicised events, luring visitors and media organisations from all corners of the world.

“Cannes isn’t just about glitter and bling. It’s about workers too, people without whom the festival wouldn’t even take place,” said Céline Petit, a local representative of the CGT trade union, which is spearheading the resistance against a reform Macron has already signed into law.

Having failed to overturn the protest ban in the courts, the CGT found a way around it, staging a small rally of hospitality workers on private grounds, just outside the front porch of Cannes’ best-known palace hotel, whose guests this year include the film icon and festival darling Martin Scorsese.

The protest took place a day after the world premiere of the fifth and final installment in the “Indiana Jones” saga. © Benjamin Dodman, FRANCE 24

The use of a private hotel meant the rally was technically allowed, on condition that the protesters – a mix of union representatives and workers from the hotel and catering industries – numbered no more than a few dozen.

Braving the rain, they unfurled a large banner that read, “No to pension reform”. The glitzy setting, with the entrance to the recently refurbished Carlton in the background, made up for the lack of numbers.

“Hotel staff don’t normally have a voice,” said Ange Romiti, a CGT member representing staff at the Carlton hotel. “This is our chance to get our message across when the eyes of the world are on Cannes.”

No porters, no festival

Macron’s flagship pension overhaul raises the country’s minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 and stiffens requirements for a full pension, a move the government says is required to balance the books amid shifting demographics.

Unions, however, say the changes are profoundly unfair, primarily affecting women with discontinuous careers and low-skilled workers who start their careers early and have physically draining jobs – the very “essential workers” who were feted during the Covid pandemic.

Without the Carlton’s 680 staff, and the thousands more employed in the Riviera town’s crucial hospitality sector, “absolutely nothing would happen in Cannes”, said Romiti. “But cleaners, porters, waiters, cooks – they’re all exhausting jobs, it’s impossible to keep going until 64,” he added.

The government has also faced fierce criticism over the timing of its reform, coming on the heels of the pandemic and amid a crippling inflation crisis.

“It certainly wasn’t an opportune move, let alone a classy one,” said Romiti. “Neither was it democratic,” he added, referring to the government’s use of special executive powers to get around parliament, despite an overwhelming majority of the French rejecting the reform.

“Our democracy has taken a hit,” said the union representative. “It’s important that people keep up the fight and remind the government that this is not okay.”

Job insecurity

The protesters gathered outside the Carlton said the government’s controversial pension push threatened to exacerbate structural problems in an industry that is already grappling with severe shortages.

“Young people are abandoning these professions,” said Romiti, pointing to hiring difficulties. “They’ll be even less inclined to do them if it means lifting mattresses and carrying heavy trays at 64.”

The film industry itself faces a haemorrhage of jobs, said Mathilde, a festival worker who showed up at the Carlton protest in solidarity with hospitality staff. She is a member of the Collectif des précaires des festivals de cinema, which has launched a campaign to raise awareness of growing job insecurity in the industry.

Mathilde said recent government cuts to unemployment benefits had made life impossible for the seasonal workers on whom film festivals depend, while the latest pension overhaul will make it harder for workers with interrupted careers to qualify for a pension.

“It’s just not worth it to work in festivals any more, and festivals can’t cope without us,” she said.

It’s a message the CGT also put forward ahead of the festival as it threatened to cut power during the 12-day film extravaganza, as well as at Roland-Garros and the Formula One GP in Monaco, in protest at the pension reform. The union hasn’t pulled the plug on Cannes, so far, but the threat remains.

Hollywood walkout

Often described as a celebrity bubble removed from the social context around it, the Cannes Film Festival has a long and rich history of social and political activism – from its pre-war roots in the left-wing Front Populaire to the May 1968 unrest that saw the likes of Jean-Luc Godard pull the curtain (literally) on the festival.

A founding member of the festival, the CGT still has a seat on the administrative board. It has planned another, larger protest on Sunday, this time further away from the Croisette. It will also host a screening of the 1988 documentary “Amor, Mujeres y Flores” (Love, Women and Flowers), about the effects of pesticides on women working in Colombian plantations.

This year’s festival is unspooling against the backdrop of labour unrest on both sides of the Atlantic, with US screenwriters staging a rare walkout.

The Writers Guild of America is seeking better pay, new contracts for the streaming era and safeguards against the use of Artificial Intelligence in writing scripts – a demand Hollywood studios have rejected.

Cannes Film Festival © Studio graphique France Médias Monde

The walkout has been a recurrent topic of discussion during the numerous press conferences in Cannes, with jury members throwing their weight behind the strike on the opening day of the festival.

“My wife is currently picketing with my 6-month-old, strapped to her chest,” said juror Paul Dano. “I will be there on the picket line when I get back home.”

On Thursday, Ethan Hawke wore a shirt that read “Pencils Down” during the presser that followed the screening of Pedro Almodovar’s 31-minute queer Western “Strange Way of Life”, which garnered rave reviews.

The next day, veteran actor and activist Sean Penn described the studios’ stance on AI as “a human obscenity” during a press conference for his new film, “Black Flies”, a gritty drama about New York paramedics directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire.

“The first thing we should do in these conversations is change the Producers Guild and title them how they behave, which is the Bankers Guild,” he said. “It’s difficult for so many writers and so many people industry-wide to not be able to work at this time. I guess it’s going to soul-search itself and see what side toughs it out.”

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As French mayors are targeted in violent attacks, many feel abandoned

Post By World Élisabeth Borne, Emmanuel Macron, Europe, Far right, Features, France, mayor, politics

Less than two months after losing his home in an arson attack, the mayor of a town in western France resigned this week, citing, among other things, a “lack of support from the state”. Amid an increasingly tense political environment, attacks against mayors in France are multiplying. And some say they have been left to fend for themselves.

At the break of dawn on March 22, Mayor Yannick Morez of Saint-Brévin in western France woke up to find his house in flames.

“We could have died,” Morez wrote in the resignation letter he submitted on Tuesday. Neither he nor his family were injured, but the fire destroyed his home and two cars parked outside. The fire was a deliberate, targeted attack.

Almost two months later, the case is still being investigated. But Morez has already decided to seek a fresh start, with plans to leave the town he has called home for 32 years by the end of June.

President Emmanuel Macron expressed his solidarity with the mayor in a tweet a day after his resignation, calling the attacks “disgraceful”.

Les attaques contre Yannick Morez, maire de Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, et contre sa famille, sont indignes. À cet élu de la République, à son épouse et ses enfants, je redis ma solidarité et celle de la Nation.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 11, 2023

A former doctor, Morez had been mayor of Saint-Brévin-les-Pins, home to about 14,000 inhabitants, since 2017. In the months before the attack, the town had been wracked by right-wing protests against plans to move a local asylum accommodation centre close to a primary school.

Saint-Brévin has hosted migrants ever since the “Jungle” camp near Calais on France’s north coast was dismantled in 2016.

“We never had the slightest problem” with migrants, Morez told a journalist in an interview a few days after the attack.

But protests organised by far-right groups were coupled with repeated threats directed at Morez, who had filed numerous complaints since January last year.

Amid an increasingly tense political environment, swelling support for right-wing ideologies and growing mistrust in institutions, French mayors are beginning to feel unsafe.

Lack of support

Morez detailed the reasons behind his resignation in a press release. After a long period of reflection, he took the decision to quit not only citing “personal reasons” linked to the arson attack but also mentioned a “lack of support from the state”. The former mayor claims that little to no security measures were put in place to protect him and his family, despite repeated requests for help.

“His feeling of abandonment can be understood in various ways,” explained Bruno Cautrès, political researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Though local officials came forward to express their support, the mayor feels there were no visible, concrete steps taken to support him.

“It’s true that people nationwide only found out the mayor was facing threats after he quit,” Cautrès said.

The government disagrees. State secretary for rural affairs Dominique Faure insisted the French state to concrete steps to support Morez. “I can’t let this slide,” she tweeted, before listing ways in which the state supported him. “[We set up] regular police checks outside his house, registered his home so authorities could intervene [in the case of an incident] and provided security during the protests against the asylum centre.”

Je ne peux laisser dire cela.

L’État s’est tenu aux côtés de Yannick Morez ⤵️
– Rondes régulières devant son domicile
– Inscription de ce dernier au logiciel de la @Gendarmerie pour permettre une intervention immédiate
– Sécurisation lors des manifestations « anti-CADA » (1/2) https://t.co/kdXEMX2KW2

— Dominique Faure (@FaureDominique) May 11, 2023

But according to an article in the daily Libération, most of the security measures were taken only after Morez’s house was burned down. After sounding the alarm with local officials back in January 2022 over the “daily acts of intimidation” he was facing, Morez eventually brought the issue to the attention of the Nantes prosecutor in February 2023, asking for a personal security detail to protect him and his family. He received a response saying authorities were still evaluating the risks to see if a security detail was necessary. Less than two weeks later, Morez had resigned.

The establishment of migrant welcome centres is part of a nationwide government policy overseen by the prime minister and minister of interior. But Morez “felt he was left on his own when issues arose linked to accommodating the asylum-seekers”, Cautrès explained.

“He would undoubtedly have liked the government to do a better job explaining [the policy] and guiding him through the process,” Cautrès said. “They could have worked with him, to raise awareness on the issue locally and appease the worries of inhabitants.”

The threat posed by opponents of the asylum centre could also have been flagged earlier on. After repeated demonstrations in Saint-Brévin organised by the far-right Reconquête (Reconquest) party, led by former presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, “I find it hard to imagine that police didn’t know who was a potential threat,” Cautrès said. “The mayor probably felt that the gendarmerie could have intervened before things escalated the way they did.”

The lack of support Morez felt is a sentiment shared by many mayors across France, who are becoming frequent targets of abuse and attacks.

A dangerous job

A November 2022 survey published by the Centre for Political Research at Sciences Po university in Paris and the Association of French Mayors found that 53 percent of mayors had experienced “incivility” (rudeness or aggression) in 2020; by 2022, 63 percent had experienced such harassment.

In a country where over half of all municipalities have less than 500 inhabitants, it’s easy to know where the mayor lives. They are very often in close contact with their communities. While attacks on other elected officials like MPs have also become more frequent, mayors are the “most exposed”, according to Cautrès.

But unlike the arson attack against Morez in Saint-Brévin, mayors are most worried about violence that doesn’t have an ideology. “Cases linked to everyday life” are more concerning, Cautrès explained. “Like receiving a threatening letter because an inhabitant was sanctioned for having a fire in their garden.”

Mayor Julien Luya of Firminy in the Loire region was attacked by a group of young locals dealing drugs in January 2023. After they lit a fire to keep warm, the mayor intervened and told them it was against the law to do so. He was violently beaten with stones and iron bars, coming out of the altercation with an injured elbow.

“In Saint-Brévin, it wasn’t only locals driving the protests” against the asylum centre, Cautrès said. “Far-right protesters came from all four corners of France. That’s an important distinction to make.”

The mayor’s association told French newspaper “Le Parisien” that there were around 1,500 reported assaults on municipal officials in 2022, a 15 percent increase from the year before. Half of these attacks were insults, 40 percent were threats and 10 percent were “deliberate violence”.

According to the association, 150 mayors were physically targeted as a result of local or ideological tensions.

Bottom of the food chain

Both Cautrès and the mayor’s association explain the rise in attacks on mayors by citing persistent tensions in French society, which has in recent years experienced multiple crises including the Yellow Vests movement, Covid-19, inflation and the hotly contested pension reforms.

“There is a general decline of trust and respect towards institutions, anything that represents a hierarchical authority,” explained Cautrès. Compared to other European countries, he said, “the view French people have of politics in general is one of the most negative”.

Mayors are also faced with people who are “more and more demanding” and “more and more frustrated that they aren’t getting what they asked for”, Cautrès said.

As for elected officials, the general consensus seems to be that there need to be tougher consequences for the perpetrators of attacks. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne backed this idea following the arson attack on Morez’s home. “What happened is very shocking,” she said on Thursday, during a visit to the French Indian Ocean territory of La Réunion. She added that she wanted to “protect mayors better … intervene sooner to support them, identify their difficulties and back them up better”.

Moves to better protect mayors are already in the works. In January 2023, a law aimed at providing better support for elected officials to “break their legal isolation” came into effect. It allows national groups like the mayor’s association as well as legislatures to act as civil parties in the case of an attack on an elected official. The law will facilitate access to a victim’s files and allow associations and legislatures to appoint lawyers.

Meanwhile, in southern France, elected officials are taking the reins. Some 2,000 mayors in the Occitania region gathered in Montpellier on Tuesday to share their worries about the growing violence against them.

“Mayors feel that they are being asked to solve everything themselves,” Cautrès said of the meeting. “But they can’t.”

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May Day march against pension reform: Protesters determined to ‘give it our all’

Post By World Emmanuel Macron, Europe, Features, France, May Day, pension reform, protest

Thousands marched across Paris and other French cities in what unions hoped would be one of the biggest May Day demonstrations in years. Galvanised by previous protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform plans, including raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, protesters marched with a sense of determination.

May 1 in Paris this year was much more than the usual celebration of workers and labour rights. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets of the capital in a new show of anger against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform, which was forced through parliament in March.

Monday marked the 13th day of mass mobilisations against the unpopular pension reform. Although the demonstration was smaller than many of those before it, protesters have kept up their morale and continued to take action over the course of several months.

Many had wondered whether Monday’s demonstration would be the final hurrah, or prompt a second wind for opponents of the reform.

Between shattered shop fronts and decorated convoys playing Beyoncé’s “Run The World”, participants on the ground seemed more determined than ever.

‘Ready to give it our all’

At Place de la République, where the protest began, the mood was cheerful. Friends embraced after finding each other in the crowd and demonstrators posed for photos, holding up creative placards. Despite ongoing anger over the reforms, there was no sign of surrender.

“I feel neither resigned nor hopeful,” said 45-year-old lawyer Ninon, who has regularly attended the pension protests. “But I do feel people are determined. We want concrete action, whether it’s about retirement or the environment.”

Farm manager Alexandre, 47, echoed her conviction. He has attended every protest that has taken place in Paris since the start of the year. “We’ll keep going until the government withdraws the bill,” he said with a smirk. “I think the protests will keep happening. I really hope so, even though they’ve lost a bit of momentum. I loved coming out every Thursday.”

Alexandre holding a sign that reads: “Oh Manu, you are going down,” referring to President Emmanuel Macron. © Lara Bullens, FRANCE 24

As demonstrators started making their way to the end point at Place de la Nation, about a 30-minute walk from République, the mood remained festive. Despite 5,000 gendarmes deployed especially for the occasion by French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, many police remained relatively far from the crowds, mostly checking bags of those entering. Although a police decree allowing authorities to use drones was passed ahead of the protest, their presence in the sky was not evident.

Clashes did erupt in some places, with police firing tear gas in parts of Paris, Nantes and Lyon. The interior ministry said more than 290 people were arrested at protests across France.

Police violence is a worry that has chipped away at the determination of some protesters. “Though I am convinced they will continue, I fear the demonstrations will become increasingly violent, since more and more people feel they aren’t being heard,” said Ninon.

Nathi and Lucie, two young students, said they were “ready to give it our all” to fight the reform. But after seeing friends of theirs arbitrarily arrested and held in custody during previous protests, they have become more wary. “Some friends have become scared of coming out to protest. That’s unacceptable in France in 2023,” said 19-year-old Lucie.

“But our anger is stronger than the violence we’re subjected to.”

Weighing options

A chorus of women singing a song condemning war, “Rue des Lilas”, captivated the attention of onlookers while brass bands roared in the background. Young demonstrators climbed on bus stops, others stopped to slap pinata-style effigies of Macron.

Nathi became angry as she recounted how the government used Article 49.3 to force the pension bill through parliament without a vote in mid-March. “The way the reforms were passed was revolting,” she said.

Now protesters have pinned their hopes on a possible public referendum, an option that will be reviewed by the Constitutional Council on Wednesday. “A referendum is the only way the government will listen to us, seeing as these protests clearly aren’t working.”

Though the reform has now become law, the French Constitutional Council is due to rule on a second request for a referendum, filed by left-wing MPs in April.

“We’ll take what we can get,” said Ninon, referring to the possibility of a referendum. “Anything other than this is good!”

Protesters were weighing the options ahead of them, although there aren’t many. Some even made reference to 1995, when then prime minister Alain Juppé withdrew then president Jacques Chirac’s retirement reform after three weeks of widespread strikes.

“I don’t believe the government will backtrack, but it’s hard to say,” Lucie chimed in. “But that moment in history brings hope.”

Proud of unions

May Day this year was the first time since 2009 that all eight of France’s main unions joined in calling for protests. Convoys for each union, white vans adorned with large colourful balloons, made their way to Place de la Nation, members trailing behind.

Though farm manager Alexandre is not a union member, he expressed deep pride for their capacity to band together. “It’s great to see, it’s very special,” he said with a smile. “Their coming together allowed the protests to have a scope they wouldn’t have had otherwise, and that’s a huge victory.”

According to French newspaper Libération, union membership has shot up since the protests began. The hard-left CGT union and France’s largest CFDT union both have 30,000 more members than they did three months ago, while the third-largest FO union counts an additional 10,000. With its 140,000 members, the Christian CFTC union surpasses memberships in the far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) party, the conservative Les Républicains and Macron’s centre-right Renaissance party combined.

But for retirees Odile, Patricia and Jo, the victory is a small one compared to what needs to change. “France just celebrated 65 years of the Fifth Republic,” said 81-year-old Odile. “We think it’s time for a new republic.”

Patricia, 75, agreed. “One where we don’t have a monarchical president. Where votes represent the diversity of political opinions present in France’s population.”

“And one where we have a way to control elected officials,” added Jo, 83.

“But the referendum is a pipe dream,” Patricia added. “We are not expecting much from Macron.”

Odile (L) and Jo (R), both retired, say it's time for a Sixth Republic in France. — Odile (L) and Jo (R), both retired, say it’s time for a Sixth Republic in France. © Lara Bullens, FRANCE 24

As demonstrators approached the finish line at Place de la Nation, shattered glass littered the streets, evidence of clashes between police and protesters. As clouds of teargas filled the air, many tried to cling to the cheerful atmosphere they had experienced throughout the day.

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#Day #march #pension #reform #Protesters #determined #give

‘Macron resign!’: French president struggles to move on from pension controversy

Post By World Emmanuel Macron, Europe, finance, France, pension reform

Issued on: 21/04/2023 – 21:25Modified: 21/04/2023 – 21:29

French President Emmanuel Macron only just dodged another day of heckles and boos from opponents of the controversial pension reform. But a war of attrition aimed at the president and his government looks to have no sign of letting up, with pots and pans the weapons of choice.

President Macron’s first trip to a French region since signing his unpopular pension reform didn’t go down well. The photos and videos taken on Wednesday 19 April bear witness of the flop. Crowds of protestors booed as he stepped foot in the small town of Sélestat in eastern France’s Alsace region, banging pots and chanting “Macron resign!”

It was time to take new photos, tell a new story. That of a population who appreciates their president and who are in favour of the pension reform. Or at the very least, who understand the need to raise the legal retirement age from 62 to 64. So Macron did what he deemed necessary.

#PotsAndPans for Macron

The following day, Macron made his way to Ganges in southern France. But before his arrival, the president ordered police to keep protestors away from the school he would be visiting. A decree banning the use of “portable sound devices” was also issued by local authorities, to avoid any unwanted background noise. In other words, no pots or pans allowed.

The measures allowed Macron to carry out a rather peaceful exchange with students, who were all delighted to meet him. Later that afternoon, the president made an unscheduled stop in Pérols, a small town near Montpellier airport. With his blazer flung over one shoulder, he strolled nonchalantly through cobbled streets before sitting down to have a beer and some tapas, taking selfies with teens and chatting to locals who encouraged him to hold steady.

In the three months after announcing the deeply unpopular pension reform, Macron made very few public appearances to speak to voters. These trips outside of Paris are a way for him to signal his willingness to turn the page and show is he not hiding from voters, many of whom are outraged by the way the legislation was passed. And each stop has been carefully planned.

Inhabitants of the Hérault region where Macron made his second visit put him in third place during the first round of France’s 2022 presidential elections, with 22.28% of votes. In Pérols, that number reached 28.52%, granting Macron first place.

But will the shots of Macron drinking beer on a sunny terrace or chummily shaking hands with locals be enough for France to move on and accept the reforms? Can they erase three months of tensions, furious disputes and riots brought on by his deeply unpopular decision to reform France’s pension system? Nothing is less certain as his opponents seem determined to grind Macron’s administration and reforms down into the mire.

Unions disrupt Macron’s visit to Notre Dam

After his Monday night speech on primetime TV where he called for “100 days of calm discusion, a real action plan and unity for France”, Macron’s speech in fact annoyed the French public.

After organising months of record-breaking strikes and protests, French unions have turned to a form of permanent harassment with “unwelcome committees” aimed at disrupting each visit the president or his members of government have planned. French organisation Attac (Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions for the Aid of Citizens) even created an interactive map for all upcoming rallies.

In addition to the “unwelcome committees” organised by unions, other methods aimed at disrupting the nationwide visits have popped up. President Macron experienced power cuts while visiting a company in Muttersholtz, but also at Montpellier airport and at the school in Ganges, where he was forced to carry out his meeting in an outdoor playground.

During his visit to Notre-Dame on April 14, the CGT union managed to get their voices heard despite authorities evacuating the cathedral’s surroundings. Vehicles and even a typically Parisian “bateau-mouche” boat on the Seine drove around the premises with banners reading “Macron, quit!”

Left-wing political opponents urged supporters to bash pots and pans during his Monday TV address, and the age-old tactic has become an audible sign of anger at Macron’s policies. Hashtags like #MacronChallenge and PotandPanChallenge” have taken Twitter by storm to glavinise the public.

Disrupted or cancelled visits

And so far, the new strategy adopted by French unions has worked. The list of disrupted visits keeps getting longer.

On Wednesday evening, Digital Transition Minister Jean-Noël Barrot was greeted by dozens of protestors with pots and pans in Agen, where he was to hold a conference in a brewery. Union members then disrupted the event with a power cut, leaving participants in the dark.

A similar cacophonic concert of pot and pan bashing was granted to Ecology Minister Christophe Béchu on Wednesday in the Sarthe region, where a score of protestors h eld up a banner reading “the government perseveres, so do we”.

And on Friday afternoon, Health Minister François Braun was “welcomed” by 250 demonstrators in Montreuil who, bashing pots and pans, spoke to him about their opposition to the reform, an AFP journalist reported.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti decided to postpone a visit to a prison in southeast France “for a few weeks”, but his entourage insist that this is due to “judicial vacations”, not planned protests.

Secretary of State for Youth Sarah El Haïri cancelled her trip to Nantes, dedicated to the Universal National Service (SNU), a voluntary civil conscription service implemented by Macron in 2021. The event had to stop after one hour due to protests. And the Minister of Higher Education Sylvie Retailleau also cancelled a planned visit to the Saclay University in Paris, meant to take place on Tuesday

How long will these protest and disruptions last? No one knows. But the French Football Cup final on April 29, where the president typically greets players of both teams, and the new day of mass protest on May 1, Labour Day, is very much on everyone’s minds.

This article was translated from the original in French.

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#Macron #resign #French #president #struggles #move #pension #controversy

France kicks off push to ‘appease’ nation with row over immigrant welfare fraud

Post By World Bruno Le Maire, Emmanuel Macron, France, French politics, Gérald Darmanin, Immigration, pension reform, Tax Fraud, Unions, welfare

The French finance minister’s pledge to crack down on immigrants abusing France’s welfare system has triggered a fresh row in a country reeling from a bitter battle over pension reform, casting doubt on President Emmanuel Macron’s ability to deliver on a pledge to “appease” and unify the nation in a hundred days.

Macron has given himself until Bastille Day on July 14 to mend his broken rapport with the French, aiming for a rebound after a gruelling pension battle that has roiled the nation and deepened a crisis in French democracy.

The “hundred days” kicked off with a flurry of ministerial announcements on Tuesday that left little doubt as to the direction France’s minority government plans to take as it seeks to regain the initiative and find new allies in parliament.

While tax fraud – traditionally a priority of the left – got a brief mention, ministers put the focus squarely on the issue of welfare fraud, long a favourite topic of the right. They promised greater checks on a back-to-work welfare benefit scheme known as the RSA, using language typically espoused by critics of “assistanat” – a derogatory term used to refer to “scroungers” living on state handouts.

Speaking on LCI television, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin drew a line between RSA beneficiaries who “show an effort” and those who “should naturally be sanctioned”. His cabinet colleague Bruno Le Maire, the finance minister, took matters a step further, linking welfare fraud and immigration.

“The French are quite rightly fed up with this fraud. They’re sick and tired of seeing people eligible for benefits (…) sending the money to North Africa or elsewhere,” he said. “That’s not what our social model is for.”

The decision to single out immigrants for criticism was swiftly denounced by the left-wing opposition, which accused the government of once more pandering to the right and far right in a bid to divert attention from the battle over pensions.

>> Le Pen’s opposition to pension reform, focus on public order ‘pays off’ in polls

Tangiers-born Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the head of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), denounced a “new campaign” to target French nationals “who are Muslim or hail, like me, from the Maghreb”.

“Here’s a little dose of racism to start appeasing France,” tweeted the Greens’ Sandrine Rousseau, his partner in the left-wing Nupes coalition.

“The far right is dangerously filling up the government’s void,” added the Socialist leader Olivier Faure, who accused the government of peddling “racist prejudice to elude the fact that welfare fraud is mostly carried out by employers and bears no comparison with the scale of tax fraud”.

Echoes of Sarkozy

Statistics compiled by France’s top financial auditor, the Cour des comptes, show tax evasion in France eclipses social security fraud on a scale of up to 100 to 1.

“Welfare fraud amounts to between 1 and 3 billion euros per year, according to the Cour des comptes, whereas the cost of businesses cheating on social security contributions amounts to around 20 billion euros,” says Vincent Drezet, a spokesperson for the NGO Attac, best known for its calls for a Tobin Tax on financial transactions.

As for tax evasion, it amounts to a loss for the state’s coffers of “between 80 and 100 billion euros”, added Drezet, who previously headed France’s national union of revenue workers.

The scale of the problem is inversely proportional to the level of attention politicians dedicate to tax and welfare fraud respectively.

The emphasis on the latter “has been a constant theme for the past 25 years”, says Vincent Dubois, a professor of sociology at the University of Strasbourg and author of a book on state control of the “assistés” (those living on state handouts).

“While the unemployed have always been suspected of shirking efforts to find work, there was a marked shift in the 1990s when then Prime Minister Alain Juppé ordered the first parliamentary report into abuses by people benefiting from welfare programmes,” he said. “Welfare fraud has been a major topic ever since, particularly under Nicolas Sarkoy’s presidency, when ‘assistanat’ and ‘work ethic’ were constantly opposed.”

A similar rhetoric underpinned Macron’s past reforms that toughen the requirements to be eligible for unemployment benefits. During his re-election campaign, he pledged to make the RSA conditional on working 15 to 20 hours per week – a plan some unions have described as “forced labour”.

‘Foreign delinquency’

Meanwhile, treasury workers tasked with chasing after tax evaders have seen their resources dwindle, says Drezet, pointing to a 30% reduction in the number of tax controllers over the past decade.

“The state is increasingly underequipped to take on this task,” he lamented.

On Tuesday, the junior Budget Minister Gabriel Attal promised to unveil “strong measures” in the coming weeks to battle tax evasion, including doubling staff at a special unit that has recently carried out large-scale raids at banks suspected of tax fraud.

His announcement was largely eclipsed by Le Maire’s comments on immigrants abusing social security, which coincided with a promise by Darmanin to tackle “foreign delinquency” in a forthcoming immigration bill – a plan Macron revived on Monday after opting to put it on the back-burner at the height of the pension furore.

46:15

Macron after pension reform © france24

“There is clearly a renewed emphasis on welfare fraud, though this time it is explicitly associated with the subject of immigration,” said Dubois. “This summons a well-known fantasy: that behind the figure of the fraudster lies that of the immigrant who abuses the system.”

The strategy recalls the final stages of the “Grand National Debate” that Macron convened as an answer to the Yellow Vest crisis during his first term in office. Back then, the president proposed holding an annual debate in parliament on immigration as an answer to the “fiscal, territorial and social injustice” he said was voiced in the protests.

Commenting on the first steps of Macron’s latest action plan, former conservative leader Jean-François Copé spoke of a “belly dance” aimed at wooing lawmakers from the right-wing Les Républicains.

Day one of the plan was unlikely to appease the millions enraged by the government’s pension push. It may, however, have gone some way towards appeasing the handful of MPs it needs to cobble together a majority in parliament.

This article was translated from the original in French.

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#France #kicks #push #appease #nation #row #immigrant #welfare #fraud

Macron’s action plan ‘rings hollow’ as critics take to the streets banging pots and pans

Post By World Emmanuel Macron, France, French politics, pension reform, Unions

President Emmanuel Macron has given himself “a hundred days” to mend his broken rapport with the French, aiming for a rebound after a gruelling 100-day pension battle that has roiled the nation, infuriated millions, and deepened a crisis in French democracy.

The president’s latest reboot was, as expected, vintage Macron: the solemn tone striving for empathy, the talk of “better sharing wealth”, a reference to Napoleon’s “Hundred Days”, topped off by a parallel with the resurrection of Notre-Dame Cathedral.

The image conveyed by the Paris landmark’s dizzying spire was perhaps an odd choice for a president facing chronic accusations of “vertical” governing, but contrition is not part of his repertoire.

“Never let go, such is my motto,” Macron said last week on a visit to Notre-Dame, stressing that he is on track to deliver on a pledge – widely mocked at the time – to repair the fire-stricken cathedral “within five years”.

His refusal to let go, or indeed give an inch, in the face of overwhelming opposition to his pension reform has left the country mired in a deep political crisis. It has handed the French president a Pyrrhic victory that now threatens to hamper the rest of his mandate.

13:37

In his primetime televised address on Monday night, Macron said he had “heard people’s anger” over his deeply unpopular push to raise France’s minimum retirement age from 62 to 64, while insisting that it was needed to keep the pension system afloat. He announced “100 days of appeasement, unity, ambition and action for France”, leading up to “Bastille Day” on July 14, France’s national holiday.

Even as he spoke, crowds of protesters gathered outside town halls across France, banging pots and pans in a bid to drown out the speech – under the rallying cry: “Macron won’t listen to us? We won’t listen to him!”

‘Promises already heard’

In the run-up to Monday’s address, an Elabe poll found that only 10% of respondents believed Macron’s words could “appease” the French public. The stark figure underscored the extend of public resentment and loss of faith in the president, said Antoine Bristielle, a public opinion expert at the Fondation Jean-Jaurès, a Paris-based think-tank.

“Macron is widely seen as a smooth talker who ultimately does as he pleases,” Bristielle explained. “He could have reopened the pension debate or addressed the democratic concerns it has raised, but he chose to skip both subjects instead.”

In his 14-minute address, Macron dwelled less than two minutes on the festering debate that has roiled France for the past three months, triggering its biggest protest movement in several decades. Eager to turn the page, he announced negotiations on “key issues” like improving employees’ income, better sharing wealth and improving working conditions, including for older workers. While giving scant details about his roadmap, he promised “concrete solutions to improve daily life” for the most disadvantaged.

“Promises already seen, already heard,” read an editorial in the right-wing Le Figaro, noting that Macron’s latest reboot sounded much like his past pledges to “change method” – and that his rhetoric had been “devitalised by endless promises and U-turns”.

“The ‘hundred days’ generally refer to the dynamism and euphoria that come with the start of a mandate,” Le Monde wrote in its editorial on Tuesday, stressing that it was “manifestly not the case” with France’s increasingly unpopular president.

Several commentators drew mocking parallels with Napoleon’s Hundred Days, noting that the emperor’s last campaign led to his final defeat at Waterloo. Others stressed the scant detail Macron offered on his roadmap.

His words “rang hollow”, said Éric Fassin, a professor of sociology at Paris 8 University, describing the president’s statements as an attempt to divert attention from the bitter pension battle.

“Macron rolled out a political platform as though he were an incoming president – and not someone who has governed for the past six years,” he explained. “His announcements served one purpose: to say, ‘let’s look ahead, and not talk about what just happened’.”

‘Macron says he hears the anger – but he is deaf to what it says’

The French president has repeatedly rejected talk of a “democratic crisis” since his government used a slew of special constitutional powers to push his pension reform through parliament and ultimately ram it through without a vote.

The move was validated last week by France’s Constitutional Council, which ruled that the government had bent the rules without breaking them – a decision many legal experts said would only aggravate the imbalance between the executive and legislative branches of government.

Macron’s refusal to acknowledge an imbalance in the institutions of the Fifth Republic is indicative of his disconnect with the public, said Fassin. He pointed to a recent Viavoice survey published by left-leaning Libération, in which 76% of respondents said French democracy was in a “poor state”.

“More than three quarters of the French say democracy is in crisis, but for Macron what happened was constitutionally acceptable and therefore justified,” Fassin said. “Macron says he hears the anger – but he is deaf to what it says.”

Macron’s minority government is hardly the first to use the special executive powers granted by Article 49.3 of the French constitution, which has been triggered 100 times since 1962. Seldom, however, has it been used to ram through a reform of such scope and so vehemently rejected by the public.

Its use “remains a stain on this whole process and on Macron more broadly”, said Joseph Downing, a senior lecturer in politics at Aston University in Britain, though arguing that the president’s reformist legacy will be viewed “more kindly” in years to come.

“He did override the democratic process, he did bypass the legislature because he was worried he would lose a vote,” Downing added. “He did so legally, but he will be seen as someone who is ready to sacrifice French democracy to force through his vision of France.”

Widespread rejection of the president’s pension plans was a key factor in his failure to win a parliamentary majority following his re-election last year. His decision to bypass parliament, and ignore the millions who marched in protest, has exacerbated a crisis of representative democracy in France, added Bristielle.

“People cannot understand why a bill that is so overwhelmingly rejected by voters would be forced through anyway,” he explained. “This disconnect with the popular will is no longer acceptable. Voters are no longer content with delegating power for five years.”

Minority rule

In addition to alienating swathes of the public, Macron’s coup de force has enraged and antagonised a united front of trade unions, blown up the last remaining bridges with the left, and highlighted the government’s inability to build a dependable alliance with the rump of the conservative camp.

The bitter pension battle appears to have weakened every political camp save the far right – precisely the one Macron was elected to keep at bay.

Having lost its majority in parliament, the government needs to get support from lawmakers from diverse political forces to push ahead with its legislative agenda. Prior to the fracas over pensions, it had enjoyed a measure of success in navigating the challenges of minority rule, relying on support from opposition lawmakers – occasionally from the left, more often from the right – to pass legislation in a deeply divided National Assembly.

Pursuing such cooperation is likely to be an uphill task in the current uproarious climate of protest. Opponents from across the board said Macron’s speech on Monday had only reinforced concerns about how the reform was handled.

“He chose to turn his back on the French and ignore their suffering,” said far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen, while the left’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon said Macron was “totally out of touch with reality”. More troublingly for the president, conservative leader Éric Ciotti, who supported the pension reform, dismissed the speech as a “catalogue of pious wishes”, adding that Macron’s “method had clearly not changed”.

>> Le Pen’s opposition to pension reform, focus on public order ‘pays off’ in polls

Flooding the airwaves on Tuesday, government ministers touted a flurry of proposed reforms including a “Marshall Plan for France’s middle classes”. But finding partners in the opposition will be a tall order “such is their reluctance to work with Macron”, said Bristielle, noting that unions will be even more reluctant to engage with the president after the bruising pension battle.

Having been ignored by Macron for months, France’s unions have in turn spurned his invitation for talks at the Élysée Palace. Laurent Berger, the head of the moderate CFDT union, France’s largest, noted that the president had “not uttered a word” on easing tensions in his televised address.

“The CFDT was relatively close to the positions espoused by Macron when he first ran for president in 2017, but the dialogue has been severed for now,” said Bristielle, noting that Berger’s union had been singled out for criticism by Macron during the tussle over pensions.

“That battle has rattled the union’s rank and file,” he added. “They will be deeply reluctant to accept defeat and resume talks with a president that abused them.”

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#Macrons #action #plan #rings #hollow #critics #streets #banging #pots #pans

Fresh protests as France’s Constitutional Council upholds key elements of Macron’s pension reform

Post By World Constitution, Emmanuel Macron, France, pension reform, protest, Retirement, supreme court

The French constitutional court on Friday approved the key elements of President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial pension reform while rejecting certain parts of the legislation. Pushing the legal age for drawing a full pension from 62 to 64, the legislation is deeply unpopular in France and has triggered months of mass protests. Follow our blog to see how the day’s events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2)

France’s constitutional court on Friday approved the key elements of President Emmanuel Macron‘s pension reform, paving the way for him to implement the unpopular changes that have sparked months of protests and strikes.

The nine-member Constitutional Council ruled in favour of key provisions, including raising the retirement age to 64 from 62, judging the legislation to be in accordance with the law.

Six minor proposals were rejected, including efforts to force large companies to publish data on how many people over 55 they employ, and a separate idea to create a special contract for older workers.

The decision represents a victory for Macron, but analysts say it has come at a major personal cost for the 45-year-old while causing months of disruption for the country with sometimes violent protests that have left hundreds injured.

This live blog is no longer being updated. For more of our coverage on France’s pension reform, please click here.

10:20pm: Police station entrance set on fire in Western city of Rennes

In the western city of Rennes, protesters set fire to the entrance of a police station, while other fires were also started in the city.

“The attacks in Rennes against a police station and the Couvent des Jacobins, by vandals determined to fight it out are unacceptable,” tweeted Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin

Les dégradations et attaques ce soir à Rennes, contre un commissariat et le Couvent des Jacobins, par des casseurs déterminés à en découdre sont inacceptables. Plein soutien aux policiers et gendarmes mobilisés.
Les auteurs seront poursuivis.

— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) April 14, 2023

9:20pm: Unions call for mass new protests on May 1

As tensions mounted in the hours before the Constitutional Council’s decision, Macron invited labour unions to meet with him on Tuesday no matter what the decision was, his office said. The unions rejected Macron’s invitation, noting that he had refused their previous offers of a meeting, and called for mass new protests on May 1, International Workers Day.

The CGT union’s new leader Sophie Binet called for a “popular and historic tidal wave” of people on the streets to oppose the reforms on May 1, and the labour unions issued a press release calling for protests.

🔴 Retraites : ce n’est pas fini !

« L’intersyndicale soutient les actions et grèves engagées et les initiatives intersyndicales de proximité
qui seront décidées localement. »

Communiqué de presse intersyndical ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/rrORpLs6hj

— La CGT (@lacgtcommunique) April 14, 2023

Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel said signing the law “would not be pouring oil on the fire but a jerrycan full of petrol”.

“I fear an outpouring of anger,” he told channel BFM-TV.

9:01pm: Clashes in western city of Nantes and in southeastern city of Lyon

Protests rallying hundreds have erupted in other cities besides Paris, including Marseille and Toulouse. Clashes broke out in the Western city of Nantes after protests in reaction to the decision of the Constitutional Council. According to local newspaper Ouest France, the police used water cannons to prevent demonstrators from reaching the local town hall. A fire was set in an underground car park.

According to Reuters, police also used tear gas against protesters in Lyon, France’s third biggest city, located in the southeast.

8:35pm: Police and demonstrators clash among burned trash bins

According to local newspaper Le Parisien, spontaneous demonstrations are currently taking place across France. In Paris itself, police and protesters have been clashing since the announcement of the Constitutional Council decision, especially near the Place de la Bastille.

Some burned trash bins as they marched through Paris, singing a chant popular with anti-Macron protesters: “We are here, we are here, even if Macron does not want it, we are here.”

Thousands of protesters gathered outside Paris city hall and booed the court decision. Some then marched through the city centre. Bikes, e-scooters and garbage were set on fire as police in body armour brandishing truncheons stopped protesters from advancing further, AFP correspondents said.

Tensions are still growing between authorities and demonstrators. The much-criticised motored police section has started intervening, according to Le Parisien.

8:05pm: French unions urge Macron not to sign pensions reform into law

French trade unions urged President Emmanuel Macron on Friday not to sign his pensions reform into law in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the retirement age from rising to 64.

“Given the massive (public) rejection of this reform, the unions request him solemnly to not promulgate this law, the only way to calm the anger which is being expressed in the country,” said a joint statement sent to the AFP news agency.

7:35pm: Massive police presence guarding Constitutional Council and Elysee Palace neighbourhood

According to FRANCE 24’s Olivia Bizot, reporting from the Constitutional Council building, large numbers of riot police have been guarding the neighbourhood since the early hours on Friday. The presidential Elysee palace is also located nearby.

01:50

7:04pm: French PM Borne says ‘there is no winner, no loser’ after ruling

France‘s Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Twitter: “The Constitutional Council has ruled…that the reform is in line with our constitution. The text arrives at the end of its democratic process. Tonight there is no winner, no loser.”

7:00pm: Labour Minister sets September 1 date for reform’s implementation

“The Labour Ministry and the pension system will work hard to make sure this reform is implemented on September 1,” French Labour Minister Olivier Dussopt said on Twitter.

6:50: Right-wing opposition LR leader urges ‘political forces’ to ‘accept’ the reform, Socialist leader says ‘the fight will take other forms’

Right-wing party Les Republicains leader Eric Ciotti tweeted that “The Constitutional Council has issued its ruling. All political forces must accept it and show respect for our institutions.”

Le Conseil Constitutionnel a validé le report de l’âge de départ en retraite à 64 ans.

Je respecte cette décision.

Cette loi doit être désormais appliquée.

Mon communiqué ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Alug2YCzaz

— Eric Ciotti (@ECiotti) April 14, 2023

Talking to reporters, opposition Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said “the Constitutional Council only ruled on the legality of the law, its approval does not mean that this is a fair law… French people have fought this reform for months, they will be disappointed and the fight will take other forms.”

6:40pm: Protesters gather outside Paris City Hall against reform as riot police guard Constitutional Council building

Protesters gathered outside Paris City Hall, holding banners reading “climate of anger” and “no end to the strikes until the reform is pulled “as the Constitutional Council’s verdict was announced.

Protesters gathered outside Paris’s City Hall after the Constitutional Council decision validating pension reform

La foule se rassemble à Paris après la décision du conseil constitutionnel de valider la réforme des retraites. pic.twitter.com/2am166zWNw

— Remy Buisine (@RemyBuisine) April 14, 2023

Police are expecting up to 10,000 people to gather again in Paris on Friday night, raising fears of the vandalism and clashes that have marred recent rallies.

The Constitutional Council, a short walk from the Louvre museum in the centre of the French capital, has been protected with barriers, and dozens of riot police are on guard nearby.

6:35pm: Opposition leaders say ‘fight continues’

Far-left France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) party leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said on Twitter, “the Constitutional Council decision shows that it is more attentive to the needs of the presidential monarchy than to those of the sovereign people. The fight continues and must gather its forces.”

La décision du Conseil constitutionnel montre qu’il est plus attentif aux besoins de la monarchie présidentielle qu’à ceux du peuple souverain. La lutte continue et doit rassembler ses forces.

— Jean-Luc Mélenchon (@JLMelenchon) April 14, 2023

Far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National) party leader Marine Le Pen tweeted that “the constitutional court decision may close the institutional sequence, but the political fate of the pension reform has not been sealed. The people always have the last word, it is the people’s right to prepare for the change in power that will be the result of this unnecessary and unjust reform.”

Si la décision du Conseil constitutionnel clôt la séquence institutionnelle, le sort politique de la réforme des retraites n’est pas scellé. Le peuple ayant toujours le dernier mot, il lui appartiendra de préparer l’alternance qui reviendra sur cette réforme inutile et injuste.

— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) April 14, 2023

6:21pm: France’s Constitutional Council also rejects opposition request for a referendum

Separately, the Constitutional Council rejected a proposal by the opposition to organise a citizens’ referendum on the pension reform.

The opposition has tabled another bid for a referendum, which should be reviewed by the Council in early May.

5:45pm: France’s Constitutional Council validates Macron’s unpopular pension reform

The banner reform in the legislation to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 was validated by the Constitutional Council after almost three months of protests opposing the measure.

The court struck out six measures not seen as fundamental to the essence of the reform and threw out a request filed by the left for a referendum on an alternative pension law that would keep the retirement age at 62.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP & Reuters)

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#Fresh #protests #Frances #Constitutional #Council #upholds #key #elements #Macrons #pension #reform

Three possible scenarios as French court prepares to rule on constitutionality of pension reform

Post By World Emmanuel Macron, Features, France, French politics, Laurent Fabius, pension reform

France’s highest constitutional authority, the Constitutional Council, will rule Friday on whether President Emmanuel Macron’s contentious pension reform proposal should be accepted, modified or rejected based on the guidelines of the French constitution. FRANCE 24 explains the three possible outcomes.

Not once in living memory has a ruling by France’s Constitutional Council aroused so much excitement. One of France’s three highest legal authorities, the Council is tasked with ensuring that legislation does not contravene the Fifth Republic’s constitution presented by Charles de Gaulle in 1958. The Council is not a politicised body like the US Supreme Court, and has tended to focus on the more technical questions of constitutional interpretation.

But there is enormous public discontent with Macron’s proposed reform, which would notably raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. The protest movement shows no sign of backing down, with a 12th day of protests set for Thursday, nearly a month after the president sparked fresh outrage by short-circuiting parliament to pass the bill using the constitution’s (in)famous Article 49.3, often thought of as the “nuclear option”.

Against this tense backdrop, the Council’s verdict is eagerly awaited.

The Council’s nine members, led by former PM Laurent Fabius, will render two key decisions that will affect the future of the legislation: the first on its constitutionality and the second on whether to authorise a public referendum on the reform.

In ruling on whether it conforms to the constitution, the Council will either accept the bill in its entirety, alter aspects of it or reject it wholesale.

One member of the Council cautioned against expecting it to offer a simple resolution to France’s political crisis, telling journalists: “The Council’s decision is probably going to be more complex than some are suggesting.”

While the Council is a legal body and not a political one, it does take political and social context into account. And given that France is in the midst of a fierce popular movement against the reforms with near-weekly strikes and protests, it is “unlikely that the Council will just wave every bit of the legislation through intact”, said Bruno Cautrès, a political scientist at Sciences-Po University’s centre for political research in Paris.

But it seems equally unlikely that the Constitutional Council will reject the legislation entirely. Since the Council’s creation in 1958, along with the rest of the Fifth Republic’s institutions, its members have struck down only 17 laws – and these were invalidated over minor issues.

“Totally rejecting the law would amount to telling the government that it has been acting outside the law all throughout the legislative process,” Cautrès noted.

‘Legislative riders’

France’s Constitutional Court has long taken a dim view of “legislative riders” – provisions added to bills with a tenuous link or no real link at all to the core legislation – deeming them unconstitutional.

While the pension reform legislation is technically a budgetary measure – an update to France’s yearly social security financing bill – Macron’s government chose this way of introducing the bill because budgetary measures are not subject to a constitutional rule limiting the executive to using Article 49.3 no more than once in a parliamentary session.

Thus, at least in theory, any parts of the bill that are not “budgetary” could be struck down as legislative riders.

For example, the pension reform bill includes the creation of a “senior index”, requiring companies with more than 300 on staff to report how many people over 55 they employ – a way of encouraging the employment of older workers, seen as part of making a higher retirement age work. The Constitutional Council might not view the establishment of this index as a financial measure and could dismiss it as a rider.

But since companies that do not publish these indices can be fined by the government – and those fines can be paid into the national social security budget – the argument that an indirect budgetary link exists could also be made.

A reform referendum?

The Council will also rule on the possibility of holding a public referendum that could stop the pension reform in its tracks.

A never-before-used constitutional amendment from 2008 allows for a “Citizens’ Initiative Referendum” (référendum d’initiative partagée) to be held if a motion wins the support of one-fifth of MPs and the backing of one-tenth of voters. The left-wing NUPES alliance is trying to hold a national vote on passing a law capping the retirement age at 62.

That would be a tall order – even if the Council rules that a referendum can go ahead.

“It’s quite possible that the Council will allow for a referendum, but that wouldn’t necessarily stop Macron from putting his law in place,” Cautrès said.

“As for collecting nearly 5 million signatures in the nine months before the law is implemented – well, that’s not at all certain,” he added.

The Council will also have to consider a handful of appeals against the bill – including from NUPES and from Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party (Rassemblement National).

But one thing is certain, Cautrès said. “The Constitutional Council has an exclusively legal role and is not going to play politics.”

Constitutional Council president Fabius must eventually task one of the Council’s other members to write up an analysis of the bill. Whoever is chosen can draw upon the expertise of the Council’s legal department and may meet with the politicians behind the appeals that have been lodged. Once the report is complete, its author presents it to the rest of the Council.

Council members then take to the floor to share their positions on the report’s conclusions. A simple majority vote of the nine members decides the matter; the Council’s president votes last, casting the deciding vote if need be.

“If some parts of the bill are struck down but raising the retirement age to 64 remains, that will in no way be a response to the uproar over pension reform,” said Laurent Berger, head of the CFDT, France’s largest and most moderate trade union.

Left-wing politicians have already said they will carry on demanding an end to Macron’s pension reform, even if the Constitutional Council accepts it.

The Council is thus under pressure even while it debates its decision.

“People are expecting too much from the Constitutional Council,” Thibaud Mulier, a lecturer in public law at Paris Nanterre University, told FranceInfo this week.

And none of the options are likely to resolve the debate. “Either the government will be weakened, if the whole legislative text is rejected, or there will be a continuation of the social crisis if the plan to raise the retirement age is accepted,” Mulier said.

Regardless of what the Constitutional Council decides, France is likely to see more upheaval over the reforms in the weeks to come.

This article was translated from the original in French.

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Fallout from Macron’s China visit ripples across Atlantic and Indo-Pacific

Post By World China, diplomacy, Emmanuel Macron, Europe, Features, Taiwan, Ukraine, War

The fallout from French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China rippled across the seas on Tuesday as Chinese warships continued to operate near Taiwan, a day after military drills officially ended. Across the Atlantic, Macron’s remarks on Europe risking entanglement in “crises that aren’t ours” in relation to Taiwan sparked criticism even as the French president attempted to outline his vision for the future of European sovereignty on a visit to the Netherlands.

As President Emmanuel Macron made his way to Beijing last week for the first French presidential visit to China since the Covid pandemic, experts noted that the trip would require a “balancing act” in the aftermath of Beijing ally Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

On his flight out of Beijing, however, Macron appeared to falter on the diplomatic tightrope when he insisted that Europe should set its own policy on Taiwan to avoid being “followers” of Washington’s “agenda” in the region.

In an interview with the Politico website and two other French news organisations, Macron noted that, “the question Europeans need to answer … is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No. The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the US agenda and a Chinese overreaction”.

The reaction across the Atlantic was swift and scathing. “Emmanuel Macron fancies himself a Charles de Gaulle for the 21st century, which includes distancing Europe from the US,” began a scorching Sunday editorial in the Wall Street Journal. “No one wants a crisis over Taiwan, much less to accelerate one, but preventing one requires a credible deterrent,” the editorial continued.

Macron’s visit last week came as Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-Wen met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a stopover in California, prompting Beijing to launch military exercises around the self-ruled island.

The three-day military drills, which began on Saturday, came a day after Macron left China. “People familiar with Macron’s thinking said he was happy Beijing had at least waited until he was out of Chinese airspace before launching the simulated ‘Taiwan encirclement’ exercise,” noted the Politico report.

If China accommodated the French president’s schedule in its military exercise plans, it did little to alleviate Taiwan’s security concerns. Chinese warplanes and navy ships were still in the waters around the island on Tuesday, a day after the drills officially ended, said Taiwan’s defence ministry, sparking condemnations from Taiwanese politicians.

The fallout from Macron’s controversial comments was not limited to France’s overseas allies. Closer to home on the Continent, the French president’s call for European autonomy from US foreign policy exposed divisions within the EU.

As Macron landed in the Netherlands Tuesday for a state visit that included a speech on European sovereignty, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was boarding a flight for the US.

Speaking to reporters before boarding, Morawiecki stressed that the alliance with the US is “an absolute foundation” of European security. “Some Western leaders dream of cooperating with everyone, with Russia and with some powers in the Far East,” he said.

Morawiecki may not have named the leaders concerned, but the barbed comments left little doubt as to the target of his remarks.

Choppy waters in the Indo-Pacific

Macron has long advocated the concept of “strategic autonomy” for Europe and his comments on Taiwan reflected his emphasis on making sovereignty a priority for the 27-member EU bloc.

The roots of France’s “diplomacy of balance” date back, as the Wall Street Journal editorial suggested, to General Charles de Gaulle’s attempts to counterweigh US dominance. Under de Gaulle, France became the first Western nation to recognise the People’s Republic of China back in 1964.

But nearly 60 years later, with China flexing its military muscles on land and sea, many Western foreign policy experts have little patience for Macron’s balancing act.

Concerns are particularly heightened across the Indo-Pacific region, where the interests of the US, Japan, Australia, France, India and a number of Southeast Asian countries converge. With its overseas territories in the Indian and Pacific oceans, France considers itself an Indo-Pacific resident power.

“China is expanding in the South Pacific, France has important territories in the South Pacific, and you cannot just say, ‘Well, it doesn’t matter, Taiwan is far away from the South Pacific,’” said June Teufel Dreyer, a political scientist at University of Miami, on FRANCE 24’s The Debate show. “China is also active in the South Pacific. So where do you say to China, ‘This is the place to stop’? Or do you end up in history looking like Neville Chamberlain?” she asked, referring to the British prime minister best known for his foreign policy of appeasement, enabling Adolf Hitler to expand German territory in the 1930s.

‘Strategic nonsense’, not strategic autonomy

With its strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific and its “diplomacy of balance”, France has been wary of getting sucked into Sino-American rivalry and has supported multilateralism as a counterbalance to an increasing polarisation in the region.

That position, however, was easier to maintain before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and as Beijing draws closer to Moscow. While maintaining an officially “neutral” position on the Ukraine war, Beijing has increased its calls for a “multipolar” world order – a position echoed by Moscow – in a bid to counteract Washington’s “unipolar” hegemony.

In this context, Macron’s continued focus on “strategic autonomy” appears to take a leaf right out of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s diplomatic playbook.

Earlier this year, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi ruffled feathers at the Munich Security Conference when he lectured an audience of mostly European leaders about the EU’s foreign policy imperatives – as Beijing sees it.

“We need to think calmly, especially our friends in Europe, about … what role should Europe play to manifest its strategic autonomy,” Wang told the gathering in Germany.

Experts on both sides of the Atlantic have long understood France’s fundamental foreign policy principle of strategic autonomy. But they were incensed over the timing of Macron’s latest comments, coming as Washington is investing billions in European security with its support for Ukraine and when Western unity is viewed as particularly important.

“Macron doesn’t want Europe to get ‘caught up in crises that are not ours,’ like Taiwan,” said Ivo Daalder, head of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and former adviser to former US president Barack Obama. “But he is perfectly fine with relying on US security commitments to address crises like Ukraine in Europe. That’s not ‘strategic autonomy.’ That’s strategic nonsense,” said Daalder in a Twitter post.

Macron doesn’t want Europe to get “caught up in crises that are not ours,” like Taiwan. But he is perfectly fine with relying on US security commitments to address crises like Ukraine in Europe. That’s not “strategic autonomy.” That’s strategic nonsense. https://t.co/psI8G6c97Y

— Ivo Daalder (@IvoHDaalder) April 9, 2023

The optics of a weakening deterrence

The main problem, according to many experts, was the blurred messaging on deterrence, a foreign policy imperative in the age of Russian expansionism.

“I can certainly agree that Europe may not want to follow the US lead, but what I’m seeing quoted is that France has no stake in what happens with Taiwan. And that is an absolutely untenable project because this ends with the Chinese wanting to change the world and that would certainly affect France, and it would certainly affect all of Europe,” said Teufel Dreyer.

China is closely monitoring the international response to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine with an eye on Taiwan, according to several experts. Macron’s comments suggested that if the US came to Taiwan’s aid in the event of a Chinese invasion, Europe could remain uninvolved.

“It weakens the deterrence. And if there was one lesson that we should have learned from Ukraine, it’s that we didn’t succeed in deterring Putin,” Antoine Bondaz, from the Paris-based Foundation for Strategic Research, told AFP.

In its editorial, the Wall Street Journal noted that Macron’s “unhelpful comments will undermine U.S. and Japanese deterrence against China in the Western Pacific while encouraging U.S. politicians who want to reduce U.S. commitments in Europe to better resist China”.

‘Betrayal in terms of shared democratic principles’

As the backlash from Macron’s comments rippled across the Atlantic, the French presidential office attempted some damage control, but it did little to contain the controversy.

“Our position on Taiwan is constant. We support the status quo and maintain our exchanges and cooperation with Taiwan, which is a recognised democratic system,” a French presidential official told reporters on Tuesday.

But these clarifications failed to sway Taiwanese public opinion. Taipei has so far refrained from officially commenting on Macron’s remarks. While Taiwanese popular attention was focused on the Chinese military exercises, Brian Hioe, Taipei-based founding editor of the New Bloom online magazine, conceded that there was disappointment over the French president’s remarks.

“Macron’s comments are seen as somewhat disheartening because what people hope for are ties of alliance or ties of friendship on the basis of shared values,” Hioe told FRANCE 24’s The Debate. “In Taiwan, it’s being viewed as a betrayal in terms of shared democratic principles.”

Macron’s trip to China and his recent foreign visits are viewed in some French circles as an attempt to get away from the domestic crisis engulfing the country over his pension reform plan. France has witnessed major strikes since the start of the year, which peaked last month after the government rammed the pension reform bill through parliament using a controversial executive measure.

But on Tuesday afternoon, even a foreign visit offered no respite for Macron. At a theatre in The Hague, where the French president was giving a speech on European sovereignty, he was interrupted by hecklers.

“Where is French democracy?” shouted a protester as another unfurled a banner calling Macron “the president of violence and hypocrisy”.

03:35

At home and abroad, Macron will have to choose his words carefully as his plans for France meet opposition domestically and his vision of French foreign policy is met with scepticism overseas.

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