A mini-reshuffle has taken place involving President François Hollande's senior advisor on the European Union. First the advisor was shunted to the prime minister's office, then it was confirmed he would remain as the head of state's 'sherpa' in charge of summit meetings in Brussels. As Ludovic Lamant and Mathieu Magnaudeix explain, this rearranging of advisors on the deck of state is symbolic of how, nearly three years after his election, President Hollande has shown himself incapable of presenting a clear, coherent and strong policy on Europe that would enable France to punch its full weight in Brussels. The result, fear some observers, is that France has lost considerable clout in the corridors of European power.
A cliffhanger by-election held in eastern France at the weekend saw the narrow victory of the socialist candidate over his far-right National Front party challenger. There was relief but no partying within the Socialist Party, which held the seat by a majority of just more than 800 votes and which on Monday sounded an alarm at the dangers ahead after this latest illustration of the upsurge in support for the far-right. Despite its defeat in the urns, the Front National credibly claimed a political victory over the mainstream parties and over the conservative UMP party in particular. Mediapart political affairs correspondent Hubert Huertas analyses the result which showed a significant section of the conservative electorate snubbed its party’s instructions by switching support to the far-right in the second-round playoff on Sunday, prompting Front National leader Marine Le Pen to say the mutiny offered "lots of promising information for the future".
Both French president François Hollande and American head of state Barack Obama flew to Riyadh to pay their respects after the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on January 23rd. For the French leader it was yet another journey to the Arabian kingdom that he has already twice honoured with state visits. France and the United States - and other Western countries – have stayed close diplomatically to Saudi Arabia, seeing it as a source of oil, a massive market to buy their weapons and a pivotal place to exchange key intelligence. But the flipside of this approach, write Thomas Cantaloube and Pierre Puchot, is that these countries have been trapped into supporting Saudi's own regional political games, while also backing one of the most repressive regimes on earth. Moreover, at a time when France and other nations have made fighting terrorism their international priority, elements in the Saudi kingdom are still suspected of financial links with prominent terror groups.
Sections of the Left in France greeted Syriza's triumph in the Greek elections on Sunday with great enthusiasm, with some hailing it as an “historic moment”. But the success of the Greek party, which unites various left-wing groups, has also highlighted the continuing divisions on the Left in France and its own failure to create a lasting electoral coalition. At the same time the challenges facing the new Syriza government, which is seeking to end austerity and renegotiate its debt burden with the EU and international bodies, underline the problems facing any left-wing administration in Europe. A key question is whether France's own socialist president, François Hollande, will now seize the opportunity to change economic direction and push the EU and Germany to back more growth-oriented policies. First, Mediapart's Stéphane Alliès, in Paris, examines how the French Left will react to the Greek results, then Brussels correspondent Ludovic Lamant wonders whether any truly left-wing policies can be carried out by national governments under current eurozone rules.
The public refusal of celebrated economist Thomas Piketty to accept the state's highest distinction, the Legion of Honour, sparked controversy in France last week. Some in the government sought to paint the best-selling left-wing economist's decision as that of a quixotic intellectual stuck inside an ivory tower. But as Hubert Huertas points out, Piketty's refusal was not based on vanity or a whim. Instead the affair throws the spotlight back on François Hollande himself, who as a presidential candidate championed Piketty's ideas to get himself elected but who once in office refused to implement them as government policy. In other words, the controversy has become a symbol of how the French president failed to keep his promise.
The discovery last week of two abandoned cargo ships crammed with clandestine migrants in the Mediterranean Sea has underlined a cynical change of tactics by people traffickers. Though buying the massive vessels costs money, the traffickers still stand to make millions from preying on the desire of refugees to flee war-torn Syria or the Horn of Africa for a better life in Europe. Mediapart has been reporting regularly on the plight of migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean and has highlighted the new tactics being used by traffickers. Here Carine Fouteau looks at the background to people smuggling and describes just how traffickers exploit the needy – including wealthier middle class Syrians desperate to escape the ongoing war in their country.
Eighteen months ago Mediapart reported from Mali on its attempts to rebuild itself after France's military intervention to thwart an imminent terrorist takeover. At the time there was cautious optimism within the fractured African country that it could construct a more positive future. Now Mediapart has returned to Mali and the mood is very different. The cautious hopes about the future have largely given way to frustration amid the return of old-style politics and corruption. Meanwhile the country remains under the effective control of international institutions and foreign countries. As Thomas Cantaloube reports from the capital Bamako, the lack of real progress in Mali also symbolises a French vision of foreign affairs that is strong on military intervention but short on political content.
The general secretary of France's leading trade union, the Confédération générale du travail (CGT), could soon be forced out of his job after an embarrassing series of revelations about expensive renovations to his flat and office and a hefty lump sum payment. Many observers believe that despite last-ditch attempts to save his position Thierry Lepaon, who was seen a compromise candidate when he took over the reins of power at the union in March 2013, will soon have to stand down amid growing anger among rank-and-file members following the media disclosures. As Dan Israel reports, Lepaon's rapid fall from grace is a sign of a deeper malaise inside what is still the country's most powerful trade union.
As France prepares to host the UN Climate Change Conference a year from now, it is trying to put its own house in order and take a lead on cutting carbon dioxide emissions. President François Hollande has called for the country to champion the environmental cause, and a new law on switching to clean energy is being enacted. But when it comes to renewable energies France is lagging woefully behind other countries, apart from its big hydroelectric dams that were built decades ago. As Mediapart's environment correspondent Jade Lindgaard reports, this is largely because of the complex rules and perverse subsidies that throttle solar and wind power while benefiting fossil fuels.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been elected as leader of the conservative opposition party, the UMP. Sarkozy’s bid for the party leadership is the first step in his ultimate aim of standing for the French presidency in elections due in 2017. But the former president has got off to a lukewarm start, with a weaker-than-expected victory in the party leadership race. More importantly, as Ellen Salvi writes in this analysis article, he now has an uphill road ahead, implicated in a number of judicial investigations and with political rivals waiting at the bends.
