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France’s ‘President Of The Rich’ Macron Steals Election He Lost

September 10, 2024 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. , , , , , , , ,
France’s leader Emmanuel Macron, a multimillionaire investment banker known popularly as the “president of the rich”, has been accused by the country’s left-wing opposition of stealing the election and carrying out a “coup”. In June and July, France held two rounds of voting. Macron lost the election, while a coalition of leftist parties came in first place. But Macron refused to allow them to form a government. Instead, Macron made a tacit alliance with the French far right to keep the left out of power, and he appointed as prime minister a conservative politician from an unpopular party that came in fourth place and earned just around 6% of the vote.

300,000 March Against Appointment Of Conservative Prime Minister

September 10, 2024 Ana Vračar, People's Dispatch. , , , , ,
On Saturday, September 7, approximately 300,000 people took to the streets across France to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s appointment of conservative Michel Barnier as Prime Minister. The protests, led by left and progressive groups, reflect growing anger at Macron’s decision to bypass the election results and avoid a progressive government. A massive rally in Paris saw 160,000 demonstrators, with thousands more gathering in cities like Lille, Bordeaux, and Marseille. The protesters are demanding that Macron respect basic democratic mechanisms and the results of the July general election, in which the left-progressive coalition, the New Popular Front (NFP), secured the most parliamentary seats.

France Protests Against Macron’s Coup, Calls For Impeachment

September 8, 2024 Magdalena Valdez, Orinoco Tribune. , , , , , ,
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of several French cities on Saturday, September 7 to protest against what has been dubbed as “electoral theft” committed by President Emmanuel Macron who appointed far-right Michel Barnier as the prime minister of the country despite the fact that Barnier’s party won on;y 5% of the vote in the latest general elections. The protests were called by the center-left coalition New Popular Front (NFP) in more than 150 cities across France. The protests were organized in opposition to Macron ‘s appointment of Les Républiques party’s Michel Barnier as prime minister, a decision that has been widely criticized by the French left, which has called it a coup against the people’s will, as it was the NFP that had received the maximum number of seats in the July 7 parliamentary elections but had failed to win an absolute majority.

Macron Protested Over Appointment Of Right-Wing Prime Minister

September 6, 2024 Ana Vračar, People's Dispatch. , , , , ,
French President Emmanuel Macron has finally nominated a new Prime Minister. However, his choice is not someone from the New Popular Front (NFP), the left-progressive alliance that won the most seats in the recent snap election. Instead, Macron opted for Michel Barnier, a conservative former EU official and Brexit negotiator, igniting yet more anger among left and progressive circles in France. Barnier comes from the ranks of The Republicans, a Gaullist party that garnered approximately 6% of the vote in the recent election. The French president has described him as a choice that will be able to build stability and communication among most parties.

The French Left Won The Election But Macron Is Blocking Them

September 2, 2024 James Wright, The Canary. , , ,
The Nouveau Front Populaire (New Popular Front) left-wing alliance won the most seats in France’s snap legislative election in early July. It took 182 seats, while president Emmanuel Macron’s ‘centrist’ coalition Ensemble took 168 and far right Rassemblement National (National Rally) won 143. The New Popular Front, a coalition of left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon’s La France Insoumise (Unsubmissive France), social democrats, Greens, and communists, were short of the 289 seats needed for a majority. But they still won the most seats, with other coalitions even further off. Nonetheless, Macron, as president, has refused to appoint a prime minister from the left-wing coalition.

France Slaps Telegram CEO With 12 Criminal Charges

August 27, 2024 News Desk, The Cradle. , , , , , , ,
Telegram founder Pavel Durov is being held in custody by French authorities as part of a cyber-criminality investigation, the Paris prosecutor said in a statement on 26 August. The Russian-born billionaire and founder of the popular messaging app was arrested upon landing in the French capital on Saturday evening. The prosecutor’s statement mentioned 12 different offenses under investigation for “complicity” in organized crime, including illicit transactions, child pornography, fraud, and the refusal to disclose information to authorities. The statement added that Durov’s time in custody had been extended and could now last until Wednesday.

France Arrests Telegram Founder Pavel Durov, Denies Russian Consular Access

August 26, 2024 Orinoco Tribune. , , , , ,
The Russian founder of the messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been arrested in France just after he arrived in Paris on a private jet on Saturday. Durov, who obtained French citizenship in 2021, was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget Airport at around 8pm local time on Saturday, August 24. He is also a citizen of the UAE, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and his native Russia. His jet had arrived in the French capital from Azerbaijan. The 39-year-old tech entrepreneur was accompanied by a woman and his bodyguard, according to a report by the French news outlet LCI. According to the report, the French authorities issued an arrest warrant for the tech entrepreneur as part of a preliminary investigation.

USA Lets Athletes Cheat With Steroids, While Accusing Russia And China

August 11, 2024 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. , , , , , , , , , , , ,
The United States has for a decade allowed athletes in international competitions, including the Olympics, to use prohibited drugs such as steroids, recruiting them as informants to spy on others. This is according to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the global authority on the use of banned substances in sports. WADA revealed this in a statement on August 7, detailing “a scheme whereby the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) allowed athletes who had doped, to compete for years, in at least one case without ever publishing or sanctioning their anti-doping rule violations, in direct contravention of the World Anti-Doping Code and USADA’s own rules”.

Predictive Policing And The Paris 2024 Olympic Games

July 26, 2024 Yegor Halva, Unicorn Riot. , , ,
As Paris prepares to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games from July 26 to August 11, 2024, the French government is implementing unprecedented surveillance measures to ensure safety. However, these measures have sparked fierce debate over the potential erosion of civil liberties, with opposition groups claiming that these systems automate social injustice. Sporting mega-events, including the Olympic Games, have long been testing grounds for new surveillance technologies. Their exceptional size and security demands constitute an emergency situation which is used as a pretext to justify the accelerated implementation of extraordinary regulations and policies that temporarily suspend law, along with the adoption of legislation that would be otherwise very hard to pass during “normal” periods.

Migrants And Homeless Expelled From Paris Ahead Of Olympic Games

July 25, 2024 Ana Vračar, People's Dispatch. , , , , , , , , ,
One of the latest communities at risk of forced displacement is a Roma encampment in La Courneuve, Seine-Saint-Denis, located on the route of the Paralympic marathon scheduled for September. About 200 people, most of whom moved from worse living conditions in a nearby camp, now live in fear of eviction, with no clear relocation plan proposed by the local authorities.

French Elections: Anti-Fascist Victory And Deep Political Crisis

July 12, 2024 John Mullen, Green Left. , , ,
Many thousands of anti-fascists celebrated all night in rallies around the country on July 7, as the news came through of the second round election results in France. It had been widely feared that the far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National, RN), led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, would be forming a government this week. Instead they were beaten back into third place, with 143 MPs (including their close allies). The left electoral alliance, New Popular Front (NFP), came first with 182 MPs (and they can count on the 13 "other Lefts" to vote with them). Macron’s group got 168. A parliamentary majority is 289.

New Popular Front Poised To Win Second Round Of Elections In France

July 8, 2024 Ana Vračar, People's Dispatch. , , ,
The New Popular Front (NFP) is projected to secure the most seats following the conclusion of the second round of the general election in France on July 7. Exit polls predict the NFP could win around 200 seats in parliament, surpassing Emmanuel Macron’s liberal coalition, expected to take up to 170 seats, and the far-right National Rally, initially projected as the victor, which is polling around 150 seats. Shortly after the first post-election polls were announced, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of France Unbowed, called on President Macron to invite the NFP to form a government. Although the projected number of seats does not guarantee the alliance an absolute majority, left and progressive candidates emphasized their readiness to implement their program.

France, Its Far-right, And Africa

July 4, 2024 Kossi "Ayomide" Paul, Black Agenda Report. , , , ,
Elections for the European Parliament took place on June 9, 2024. These elections are generally shunned by the French electorate, and the latest was no exception with nearly 50% abstaining from voting. This is one of the highest abstention rates in the region - a clear sign of the disconnect between the people and its institutions. The results[1] were clear-cut: over 30% of votes for France's main far-right party, the Rassemblement National (and around 10% more for the various conservative and nationalist right-wing movements),  less than 15% for the party of the current government, and less than 25% overall for the two main left-wing parties presented.

Left And Progressives Form New Popular Front To Counter Far-Right

June 15, 2024 Ana Vračar, People's Dispatch. , , , , , ,
French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly following the devastating outcome of the European Parliament election on June 9. The liberal coalition to which Macron’s Renaissance party belongs won only 13 seats, compared to 30 seized by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally. The announcement was initially cheered by the far-right and met with shock at the center. Macron’s government has been hemorrhaging popularity due to several controversial policies: increasing the retirement age, tightening immigration guidelines, and signaling readiness to send French soldiers to Ukraine.

Far-Right Surge In Elections Shakes Up European Parliament

June 10, 2024 Ana Vračar, People's Dispatch. , , , , ,
The European Union woke up to a grim reality, albeit with few surprises, after the European Parliament elections concluded on Sunday, June 9. As predicted by polls, far-right parties emerged gleeful. According to preliminary results, combined, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy (ID) groups secured only four fewer seats than the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the second-largest group in parliament. Including mandates won by unaffiliated parties close to ECR and ID, the far-right easily overtakes the center. The conservative European People’s Party (EPP) received 186 of the 720 seats, and remains the largest group in parliament.
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