#FRANCE: Macron Appoints PM From National Rally Party

[world politics news]

French President Emmanuel Macron appointed veteran politician Michel Barnie, 73, as prime minister on Thursday, after almost two months of deadlock following legislative elections that produced no clear majority in Parliament.

With its 126 MPs, plus 16 allies, Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National carried more weight than the others in the eyes of the president in his selection of a new prime minister, eager to ensure the stability of the future government.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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FRANCE: Gabriel Attal. 34. Appointed Youngest, First Openly Gay PM

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French President Emmanuel Macron has named the 34-year-old Gabriel Attal as France's new prime minister. 

Attal, the nation's  education minister, replaces Elisabeth Borne, and is now France's youngest and first openly gay PM

The move comes as the embattled Macron seeks a fresh start for the rest of his term amid growing political pressure from the surging political right.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#FRANCE: Macron Survives Two Confidence Votes

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The French government has narrowly survived two votes of no-confidence in parliament after President Emmanuel Macron pushed through a pension reform that was met with fierce opposition from workers and some politicians.

The motions on Monday were tabled by lawmakers who were infuriated by Macron’s decision last week to bypass parliament and raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 by using special constitutional powers.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Macron Faces Confidence Vote Over Pension Executive Order

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The French government will face a no-confidence vote on Monday, as MPs said they feared for their safety, strike action intensified and police banned demonstrators from parts of central Paris after Emmanuel Macron’s decision to push through an unpopular rise in the pension age without a parliament vote sparked widespread and often violent demonstrations.

It is a dramatic turnaround for Macaron, who just last year was overwhelmingly re-elected president for a 7-year term.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Macron Bypasses Parliament To Push Thru Pension Reforms

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French President Emmanuel Macron imposed a highly unpopular bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 on Thursday by shunning parliament and invoking a special constitutional power.

Lawmakers were shouting, their voices shaking with emotion as Macron made the risky move, which is expected to trigger quick motions of no-confidence in his government. Riot police vans zoomed by outside the National Assembly, their sirens wailing. And the streets of Paris and other municipalities were rocked by violent protests late Thursday.

The proposed pension changes have prompted major strikes and protests across the country since January. Macron, who made it the flagship of his second term, argued the reform is needed to keep the pension system from diving into deficit as France’s population ages and life expectancy lengthens.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Abortion To Be Written Into Constitution

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Lawmakers in France's lower house of parliament voted to include abortion rights in the country's constitution, the first step in a lengthy legislative process.

The National Assembly voted with 337 lawmakers in favour and 32 against.

The measure was proposed in reaction to the United States' recent Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v Wade, a case dating back to 1973 that legalised abortion nationwide.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Parliament Ends TV Licence Fee

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The French Parliament has voted to end the TV license fee as part of a bill aimed at tackling the country’s cost of living crisis, in a move that has provoked fears over the future independence of French state broadcasters.

Under the bill, more than 23 million French households will no longer pay the annual fee, currently set at 138 euros ($141) per household. As of this October, families will not be billed for the fee and any households that paid it in advance will be reimbursed.

There is a similar push in the UK to eliminate the state license fee which supports the publicly funded BBC radio and TV apparatus.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: National Assembly Elects First Woman Speaker

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Yael Braun-Pivet has been elected as the new speaker of the French National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament.

The French National Assembly's 577 members kicked off its first session on Tuesday by electing its first female speaker with 242 votes in her favor out of 462 voters, Xinhua news agency reported quoting French media.

Braun-Pivet is Jewish and a mother of five children.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Pres. Macron Loses Majority In Parliamentary Election

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President Emmanuel Macron faced calls for his prime minister to resign on Monday and doubt hung over his ability to rule decisively after his camp lost parliamentary majority. Macron's centrist camp is under pressure to secure support from rivals to salvage Macron's reform agenda after weekend elections delivered a hung parliament. 

If it fails, France could face a long spell of political paralysis.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Macron Appeals To Voters Ahead Of Final Round Of Elections

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French President Emmanuel Macron is appealing to voters to give him a "solid majority" in Sunday's parliamentary polls, warning against adding "French disorder to global disorder."

Macron said that "the months ahead will be difficult" but called for people to back him in the name of "the higher national interest" and "common sense."

The appeal comes after strong gains in the first round of elections for the Right-leaning  Rassemblement National ("National Rally") Party of Marine Le Pen.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Macron/Le Pen Enter Final Leg of Campaign

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President Emmanuel Macron and challenger Marine Le Pen both have relatively gentle schedules on Monday, pacing themselves until Wednesday's TV face-off, which could turn out to be the key to the campaign.

In 2017, when the pair clashed at this stage of the campaign, it was clear that Macron emerged as the more convincing candidate. He won the election comfortably a few days later.

This time however, Le Pen insists she is better prepared. "In my head, I'm ready to exercise power," she told TF1 television Sunday night.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Le Pen Narrows Gap With Macron

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With just 10 days to go before the first round on April 10, Le Pen is polling in second place behind the incumbent, President Emmanuel Macron. Crucially, polls suggest she is 3% to 7% ahead of third-placed Jean-Luc Mélenchon, meaning she is likely to qualify for the all-important run-off on April 24.

Second-round data also looks encouraging for Le Pen, who has significantly narrowed the gap with Macron since she lost by more than 20 percentage points five years ago. A poll by the Ifop-Fiducial group published on Monday indicated Macron would win by just 53% versus 47% for Le Pen – a gap narrow enough to send alarm bells ringing in the president’s camp. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Pres. Macron's Poll Numbers Slip Ahead Of April Election

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In less than two weeks French residents will take to the voting booths to decide who will be their next President. 

Emmanuel Macron remains the favorite to win a second term, but his numbers have dipped by four percentage points with one pollster, leading to suggestions he may face tighter competition than initially expected.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Conservative Presidential Candidate Has "Failed" First Rally

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Five years after snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, have France’s conservatives once again backed the wrong horse in the race for the presidential Elysée Palace?

This nagging question has come back to haunt the mainstream conservative Les Républicains party after a dreary week that began with a string of high-profile defections and ended with an underwhelming campaign rally at the Zenith concert hall in Paris on Sunday.

Valérie Pécresse’s first major campaign gathering was meant to energize a sputtering presidential bid rattled by the  defections and self-doubt. Instead, it exposed a key weakness of a conservative candidate ill-suited to the raucous world of campaign rallies.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Pres. Candidate Zemmour Convicted Of "Hate Speech" For 2020 Remarks

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A French court has convicted the far-right French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour of inciting racial hatred and fined him for remarks he made in 2020, according to reports.

During a September 2020 TV appearance, Zemmour, now a candidate for president, had made comments about unaccompanied migrants.

"They are thieves, they are murderers, they are rapists, that's all they are, they must be sent back," Zemmour said at the time, referring to "unaccompanied minors" who "have nothing to do in France," according to Politico. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Assembly Passes Powerful Vaccine Passport Requirements

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After three days of tumultuous debate, fuelled by controversial remarks by President Emmanuel Macron, the French National Assembly approved a bill early Thursday morning that would transform the country’s health pass into a stricter “vaccine pass." 

The bill passed the National Assembly by a voted 214 to 93, with 27 abstentions. The bill now goes on to the Senate.

Macron made waves when he suggested in an interview this week that he wanted to "piss off" the unvaccinated and treat them like "non-citizens."

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Leftist Parties Struggling In Polls Ahead Of April Election

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The disarray of the French left underscores how the campaign for the presidency ahead of April’s election will be fought and won on the right.

Barely five years since François Hollande bowed out as France’s socialist head of state, the party’s candidate Anne Hidalgo has sunk to as low as 3% in one recent opinion poll. 

France’s political centre of gravity has shifted to the right in recent years, with crime, immigration and national identity rising up the agenda.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Anti-Immigramt Pundit Joins Presidential Race

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French anti-immigrant media pundit Eric Zemmour has announced that he will run for president in next year’s election, adding his controversial and fiercely anti-immigration voice to the field of challengers seeking to unseat President Emmanuel Macron.

Seen by critics as an unapologetic racist but admired by supporters as a champion of traditional French values, Zemmour surged in polls in recent months, though his early momentum is starting to slow  recent polling.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Pres. Candidate Le Pen Would "Tear Down" Wind Turbines

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France's right-leaning presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has said that she will tear down the country's wind turbine, end all subsidies for renewable energy, and focus on nuclear energy if elected president.

She added that she would scrap the subsidies for wind and solar, which she said added up to six or seven billion euros per year and put a heavy burden on consumers' power bills.

Le Pen also said that she would provide strong support for France's nuclear industry.

France produces about 75 per cent of its power in nuclear plants and has an active anti-wind movement.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Mass Demonstrations Against Vax Passports

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As France rushes to vaccinate its population amid a surge in infections, President Emmanuel Macron is getting tough — essentially telling people to get the jab or forfeit a return to normal life. 

That means the introduction of "vaccine passports" to gather with others in public from later this month.

It’s a strategy that has prompted waves of indignation in the country of Liberté, with protests bringing hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets across France. This weekend saw the largest demonstrations yet, after weeks of growing anger over the policy.

Nearly every major city in France saw mass demonstrations, with many chanting for "liberty," "freedom" and even "resignation" for Macron.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.