Keyword: town halls

The police hunt for climate activists taking portraits of Macron from town halls

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A protestor removes an official photo portrait of Presdent Emmanuel Macron. © ANV-COP21 A protestor removes an official photo portrait of Presdent Emmanuel Macron. © ANV-COP21

Since February this year the climate change campaign group ANV-COP21 has organised a series of symbolical 'seizures' or removals of the official portraits of the French president which hang in mayors' offices and town halls in the country. Their aim is to highlight what they see as a lack of government action against climate change. However, the authorities have shown considerable zeal in tracking down and investigating those involved and around 20 activists will be appearing in court. Christophe Gueugneau reports.

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Curtain stays drawn on Paris suburbs' town hall graft scandal

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The mayors of several towns in the southern suburbs of Paris at the centre of a suspected corruption scam involving allegations of the fixing of public procurement contracts, bribes and influence peddling have still not been questioned by police who opened an official investigation into the graft claims more than five years ago. The allegations, including threats of violence, mystery gifts of luxury vehicles, holidays between mayors and those they award contracts to, paint a disturbing picture of connivance and graft, and raise serious questions about why the official investigation has stalled. Karl Laske reports.

'It's my last shot': French mayor on hunger strike to save town from bankruptcy

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In a desperate protest to save the public finances of his local administration, the mayor of Sevran, a town of 51,000 inhabitants situated just north-east of Paris, began a hunger strike this weekend outside the French parliament which he has vowed will only end when concrete reforms are made to ease the economic plight of France’s worst-off towns. In this interview with Renaud Ceccotti, he details his demands and explains how, after 11 years of battling with what he calls a "structural" financial shortfall, “we’ve reached the end.”