On Monday January 7th the French prime minster Édouard Philippe announced plans to boost the array of security powers at the state's disposal with, in particular, a new law against rioters and undeclared demonstrations, plus preventative targeting of protestors presumed to be violent. Mediapart publishing editor Edwy Plenel points out that the prime minister did not utter a word about police violence, demonstrating that in making this repressive decision the government has turned its back on the sometimes vague democratic demands made by the 'yellow vest' protestors.
Many families in Tunisia take great pride in being able to send their children to university in France. Already the recent fall in the value of the dinar has made it harder for Tunisians to afford to study in French establishments. Now plans by the French authorities to increase tuition fees for students coming from non-EU countries threatens to shatter the dreams of many Tunisians hoping to study in France. Lilia Blaise reports.
After ten days of open crisis at the highest echelons of state, President Emmanuel Macron was on Tuesday October 2nd, 2018, forced to accept the resignation of interior minister Gérard Collomb – just hours after refusing it. Prime minister Édouard Philippe will become interim interior minister in the short term. Coming weeks after the resignation of high-profile environment minister Nicolas Hulot, this new departure further weakens the government, as Pauline Graulle, Manuel Jardinaud and Ellen Salvi report.
When the former fencing champion Laura Flessel resigned as sports minister earlier this week her departure was initially put down simply to “personal reasons”. Later it emerged that she and her husband face a possible investigation over tax fraud in relation to a company they own. The government, however, has refused to say when it first became aware of possible issues over the minister's tax affairs. Antton Rouget investigates.
Prime Minister Édouard Philippe has asked ministers to discuss plans ahead of a possible exit of Britain from the European Union without mutual agreement terms, and to prepare measures necessary to mitigate difficulties 'linked with this unprecedented challenge', including facilitating the stay of British citizens currently living in France and ensuring smooth border controls.
Interviewed about his budgetary plans for 2019, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said 4,500 public sector jobs would be shed next year when pensions and family and housing benefits will no longer be pegged to inflation, while also forecasting economic growth of 1.7 percent, down on previous predictions.
Contrary to what he has stated, President Emmanuel Macron's chief of staff Alexis Kohler has not always revealed his family links to the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), and in his duties as a senior public servant has not always stood aside from issues involving the giant Italian-Swiss shipping firm. Official documents from the major French port of Le Havre, seen by Mediapart, show that Kohler took part in discussions and votes concerning the company while he sat on the port's Supervisory Board as a civil servant from 2010 to 2012. Laurent Mauduit and Martine Orange investigate.
On Monday April 9th France's National Assembly is due to begin examining the government's proposed legislation for a “new railway agreement”. Yet the consultations with the unions about this new pact are still going on. Those unions - whose members began the latest round of two-day rail strikes on Sunday April 8th - are now dismissing the talks with the government as a “farce” and intend to step up their action. Their aim is to expose what they see as a deliberate method employed by President Emmanuel Macron's government: one of talking but not saying anything and of listening without hearing. Ellen Salvi examines the workings of the Macron Method.
