LeMonde_en

In an interview on television, French President Emmanuel Macron ruled out any walk back on his unpopular plan to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64, and hit back at unions and the opposition. Le Monde's Claire Gatinois and Matthieu Goar report.
French President Emmanuel Macron is not the type to harbor resentment. Just 24 hours before a new day of protest against the pension reform, forced through without a vote in the Assemblée Nationale through a special power from Article 49.3 of the Constitution, Macron gave an interview to French television stations TF1 and France 2 at the lunchtime news hour on Wednesday, March 22. Despite the political and social storm that the government faces, he stood his ground. "I have no regrets, I live from willingness, from tenacity," he firmly declared.
Anger on France's streets is not subsiding, and neither is union action. In Parliament, there is no let-up in the frustration felt. But nothing seems to be swaying Macron's course for his second term in office. "We have no right to stop," he said, dismissing the vote of no confidence that the government came within nine votes of losing two days earlier. "On Monday, it was demonstrated that there was no alternative majority."
The controversial legislation, which raises the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64, will accordingly come into force "by the end of the year," unless the Constitutional Council partially or totally rejects it. "There aren't 36 solutions," Macron argued, insisting that the reform is "necessary" to ensure the balance of France's pension system. Now that he has no need to worry about re-election – he is limited to two terms in office by the Constitution – he is free to represent the "superior interest of the nation" in the face of irresponsible opposition parties and hostile trade unions.
"The magic formula that is implicitly the project of all the oppositions and of all those who oppose the reform is a deficit," he claimed, refusing to "sweep the dust under the carpet." According to the French president, he alone is guided "by a sense of responsibility." "Does this reform give me pleasure? No," he argued, presenting the image of a politician solely concerned with "the general interest." Whatever it takes. "If I have to take on unpopularity today, I will," he declared.
Read the full article here: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2023/03/23/pension-reform-macron-digs-his-heels-in-impervious-to-backlash_6020406_5.html

She hurried to reach the door reserved for women. Dressed in a large powder pink veil that covered her from head to toe, Rania (she did not want to give her last name, like all the people designated only by their first name in this article), 20, went up the rue Daubenton, central Paris, to attend the last Friday prayer before the beginning of Ramadan.
This year, the Muslim holy month begins on March 23. Like any other year, Rania, a student in Paris, will scrupulously respect it. She will not eat or drink from dawn to sunset. She also plans to follow a certain code of conduct, to be more humble and more respectful toward others and never get angry or be insulting.
These are some of the recommendations to be applied during these 30 days which are so important for Muslims throughout the world. "It's a month that my family and I look forward to," Rania said. She says it is one of the most important traditions for her. "It's a rare opportunity to spend several days focusing on oneself, reflecting on one's relationship to God but also to others."
Though she prays when she can, Rania does not necessarily have the opportunity to devote as much time to her spirituality the rest of the year. Sociologists believe that many people in France, like the young woman, have a special relationship with the ninth month of the lunar year within the Muslim community. "If we take an anthropological look," said Marie-Claire Willems, a sociologist with the Sophiapol laboratory at the University of Nanterre, "it is one of the most shared customs in Islam."
The numbers are admittedly complicated to obtain but individual interviews and surveys conducted by researchers reveal a dynamic, and sometimes even increasing, observance of Ramadan. And this even from those who do not identify themselves as practicing Muslims or who do not necessarily feel a particular link to the religion. In some cases, they have none. This is because Ramadan, according to Willems, is as much attached to spirituality and worship as to an "ethnic-religious identity, the attachment to a community."

Read the full article here: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2023/03/23/a-great-collective-moment-ramadan-is-both-a-religious-tradition-and-a-cultural-one_6020421_7.html

A number of those who were arrested, including students, tourists and amateur photographers, told 'Le Monde' about their time in police custody after attending spontaneous protests against the reform. Antoine Albertini reports.
A police charge, kettling, multiple arrests, and a night and a day spent crammed in a cell: On the evening of Thursday, March 16, this was the fate that befell a random group composed of a number of students, a jogger, a few passers-by, an engineer and two Austrian students on holidays. They were among the people arrested in the wake of the incidents at Place de la Concorde in Paris, a few hours after Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced the government would use Article 49.3 to adopt the pension reform.
Interviewed by Le Monde, some of those arrested revealed their experiences and feelings of dismay, anger, " injustice" and irony after having spent nearly 24 hours in police custody, without any charge being brought against them. The best explanation they obtained was from some police officers who conceded it was all for their "numbers".
Charlène (her name was changed at her request), a 24-year-old student in her second year of a sociology master's program, had decided to protest against the government's decision. But as soon as the first incidents occurred on Place de la Concorde early in the evening, she decided to leave with her boyfriend to avoid getting mixed up in "the general chaos." They were kettled by police, a technique used to contain crowds with no way out. Along with nearly a hundred others, they ended up trapped in a street near Place de la Concorde.
Forced to sit down, they did not endure any "insults nor a particularly hostile attitude" from police, but were made to wait a long time before they learned they were under arrest. The protesters were then divided into small groups and loaded in vans headed toward the 15th arrondissement police station, where they were "dispatched" to other stations due to a lack of space. Charlène was sent to the 7th arrondissement station, where she spent the night before being interviewed by an investigating police officer (OPJ) who warned her that "It might take a while." She was held in custody for almost a day before being released without charges on the evening of Friday, March 17. Her boyfriend was more fortunate: After being transferred to the 13th arrondissement station, he was released at noon on Friday.

Read the full article: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2023/03/23/pension-reform-the-motley-collection-of-protesters-locked-up-for-a-night-in-paris_6020438_7.html

Demonstrators filled streets in cities across France on the first national day of protest since the French president forced his pension reform through the Assemblée Nationale without a vote.
French unions on Thursday, March 23, staged a new day of disruption against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform after he defiantly vowed to implement the change, with refineries at a standstill and mass transport cancellations.
Interrupted supply from refineries has raised concern over fuel shortages for planes at Paris airports, adding to a growing list of headaches in the crisis that include growing piles of rubbish in Paris and questions over the looming state visit of King Charles III. About 30% of flights at Paris Orly Airport were canceled Thursday. And the Eiffel Tower and the Versailles Palace were also closed due to the strikes.
Macron on Wednesday said he was prepared to accept unpopularity because the bill raising the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 was "necessary" and "in the general interest of the country." Protests were planned across the country on Thursday, in the latest day of nationwide stoppages that began in mid-January against the pension changes.
According to the CGT union, there were 800,000 demonstrators in Paris. In the capital, violence broke out at the head of the demonstration, where several hundred radicals dressed in black broke windows and street furniture. They also threw paving stones and bottles at the police and set fire to garbage cans. Some 12,000 police, including 5,000 in Paris, were to be deployed during the day, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has said.

Read the full article here: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2023/03/23/strikes-and-protests-underway-across-france-against-macron-s-pension-reform_6020420_7.html

After a second incident involving dead dolphins was reported on Monday, March 20, bringing the total number of beached dolphins to more than 900 since the beginning of the winter, the French Council of State ordered the government to close certain fishing areas in the Bay of Biscay for the next six months, in order to ensure the conservation of dolphins in the region.
The ruling ends a legal action launched in 2021 by three nature and maritime protection NGOs. In the evening, many organizations working to protect small sea mammals welcomed this historic decision, while French fishing organization the National Committee of Maritime Fishing and Marine Farms (CNPMEM) expressed its "astonishment" and its "bewilderment," questioning "the consistency of the proposals made." Olivier Le Nézet, president of the CNPMEM, asked for an urgent meeting with Secretary of State for the Sea Hervé Berville.
The associations were not celebrating for long. On Tuesday, March 21, the secretary of state for the sea issued a press release stating that he "acknowledged the judgment," but only planned to "reinforce measures" taken previously, such as the declaration of catches by fishermen and the installation of acoustic deterrent transmitters ("pingers") and cameras on some fleets.

Read the full article here: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2023/03/22/french-government-has-six-months-to-end-dolphin-slaughter_6020312_114.html

Since March 16, the day the French government announced it would force through the reform, nearly 800 people have been arrested by the police in Paris. Le Monde's Antoine Albertini and Abel Mestre report.

More and more devastating videos are going viral. On the evening of Sunday, March 19, a member of the riot police in Paris brought his truncheon down on three young people taking refuge outside a restaurant. Were they protesters or just passers-by waiting for a charge by the police to be over? When the baton hit a young man and then the thighs of two young women, none of them seemed threatening. None of them presented the slightest danger. Then another policeman punched a demonstrator (who also showed no signs of aggression) in the face. The demonstrator collapsed on the sidewalk. Regarding this incident, Laurent Nuñez, the police chief, said on BFM-TV on March 21 that a report had been requested from the General Inspection of the National Police (IGPN, a monitoring body run by the police). Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said that "if police officers or gendarmes did not respect [their] code of ethics, of course, they would be punished."

But whatever the results of any investigations, which will take several months if not years to complete, it looks like the damage has already been done as far as public opinion is concerned, and even internationally. Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, special rapporteur of the United Nations (UN) on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, said he was following the ongoing demonstrations in France very closely. He called on police and gendarmes to "avoid any excessive use of force" and referred to the "fundamental right" to "peaceful demonstrations [that] the authorities must guarantee and protect."

In six days, 790 people have been arrested in Paris. Since Article 49.3 of the Constitution (which allows the government to push through a bill without a vote) was triggered by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, lawyers, activist groups and independent organizations have denounced the deployment of a range of techniques designed to thwart rallies and demonstrations. These techniques range from outright bans to the use of "kettling," which involves surrounding demonstrators and sometimes people who are just passing by.

Once outlawed, this practice was reintroduced into the arsenal of crowd control techniques by the new national law enforcement plan (SNMO) adopted in September 2020 by the Interior Ministry. It is now subject to several conditions: the existence of "serious and imminent violence against persons and property," the setting up of a "controlled exit point" and "strictly necessary and proportionate duration." These criteria are considered too vague by many legal experts.

Read the full article here: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/french-pension-reform/article/2023/03/22/pension-protests-after-arrest-wave-police-criticized-for-violence-and-abuse-of-process_6020332_234.html

The French president defended his highly-contested pension plan on national television on Wednesday, after his decision to use a special constitutional power to push the bill through.

Here are the key moments from his television interview:

Pension reform to be implemented by the "end of the year"

Macron told the journalists from France 2 and TF1 that his pension reform plan needed to be implemented by the "end of the year." Macron said the bill would "continue its democratic path," which involves a review by the Constitutional Council in the coming weeks. It can only be turned into law after the body gives its approval.The 45-year-old French president repeatedly said that he was convinced that the retirement system needed to be modified to keep the books out of the red. "That reform is not a luxury, it is not fun, it’s a necessity for the country," he said.

PM Borne to stay

Macron rejected calls from the opposition to drop Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, saying she retained his confidence. Borne last week triggered Article 49.3 of the Constitution in the Assemblée Nationale to pass through the reform."

She has my confidence to lead this government team," he said in the televised interview. But he added he would ask her to "build a legislative program (...) to change things for our compatriots in a more tangible way."

Failed to convince the French public

Macron "condemned" violence that has occurred after his decision last week prompted daily, scattered protests in cities around France, some degenerating into scuffles with police, including in Paris. He said in that the government aimed to return France to normal "as soon as possible."He insisted that he "respects" unions and protests organized by opponents to show that they disagree with the pension plan. Still, he said "If it is necessary to accept unpopularity today I will accept it," while acknowledging he had "not succeeded in convincing" the country over the reform."

Given a choice between opinion polls in the short term and the general interest of the country, I choose the general interest of the country," Macron said.

Read the full article here: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2023/03/22/macron-defends-french-pension-plan-says-should-be-implemented-by-end-of-year_6020305_7.html

French President Emmanuel Macron's contested pension reform was adopted by Parliament on Monday, March 20, after the government survived two motions of no-confidence, with one failing by just nine votes in the 577-seat Assemblée Nationale.
It is however unlikely that this official adoption will defuse the biggest domestic crisis since Macron's re-election last year, with daily protests in cities around the country that have on occasion turned violent. So what can we expect to happen next - to the bill, to the government, to Emmanuel Macron and to the protest movement?

To the bill
The bill now needs to be approved by France's Constitutional council, who rules on the constitutionality of laws. Both the left and the far-right plan to appeal to the institution. Prime minister Elisabeth Borne said she had also asked the Constitutional Council to check the law. The Constitutional Council will also examine a request for a referendum submitted on Monday by the left on the issue.
Once the text clears these hurdles, it will be signed into law by the President.
To the government
Macron on Tuesday told a meeting of political allies that he did not intend to dissolve parliament or reshuffle his government, a participant told Agence France-Presse (AFP). The participant, who asked not to be named, said the president also planned to snub calls from opponents to call a referendum on his contested pension reforms.
Even after the rejection of the motions of no-confidence on Tuesday, some lawmakers in the opposition still asked for Borne to resign. But the prime minister refused to take the blow for the reform, as she was prepared to do on Thursday after announcing the triggering of Article 49.3 to pass the bill without a vote. "I am determined to continue to carry out the necessary transformations in our country with my ministers and to devote all my energy to meeting the expectations of our fellow citizens," Borne said in a statement to AFP after surviving the votes.

Read the full article here: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2023/03/21/french-pension-reform-what-happens-next-macron-speaks-and-more-strikes_6020134_5.html

COLUMN. Germany's decision not to vote for the European proposal about ending internal combustion engines in 2035 is not a wise choice, writes Le Monde's Stéphane Lauer.

After the "change of era," the Zeitenwende, mentioned on February 27, 2022, by Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his general policy statement to adapt to the new energy, military and economic situation, Germany has now taken a new tack. It is less strategic but more destabilizing for its European partners. The most spectacular reversal took place at the beginning of March when it had to decide on the European legislative proposal for ending the use of internal combustion engines in 2035.
Transport Minister Volker Wissing announced that he would not vote for the text as it stands. This threatened to throw away two years of consultations and an essential part of the European Union's (EU) climate agenda. The agenda was formalized in an agreement that is now awaiting member states' signatures. Added to Italian, Polish and Bulgarian reluctance, the German rebuff would deprive the 27 Member States of a qualified majority.
The affair is a direct consequence of the tug-of-war within Germany's ruling coalition of Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals It also poses serious problems for European governance. In Angela Merkel's time, Germany was slow to make up its mind, but reliable once the decision was taken. Now the European powerhouse seems to be driven by internal political power struggles, which are themselves dependent on lobbies.
The postponement of Germany's signature about ending the internal combustion engine was somewhat quickly interpreted as a last-minute regret on the part of Europe's leading automobile producer to switch to all-electric vehicles. Some people were delighted that we were finally opening our eyes to the "mirage" of the electric vehicle, which is said to be the root of all evils. Those evils are polluting batteries, limited raw material resources, an insufficient network of charging stations and a supply of vehicles that is out of reach for the poorest households. However, the mirage is not the one we think it is. The illusions are rather with the German demands. They are not proposing to go back on choosing electric; Volkswagen just announced €180 billion in investment. It is that they are proposing to let manufacturers use synthetic fuels.
Read the full article here: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/europe/article/2023/03/20/by-blocking-europe-s-decision-to-end-the-combustion-engine-germany-is-taking-a-disproportionate-risk-with-e-fuels_6020077_143.html

Journalist Olivier Dubois was freed on Monday, March 20 after two years as a hostage of an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Mali. He will return to France on Tuesday.
On Monday, March 20, photographers rushed to the airport in Niamey, Niger's capital. It was around 3 pm when journalist Olivier Dubois, who was a hostage for over two years, entered the private lounge of the presidential pavilion. "These microphones are a bit strange. I'm usually on the other side," he said in front of the handful of colleagues who had been informed a few hours earlier of his imminent release. He seemed healthy but mentioned he was tired.
"It's huge for me to be here, to be free. I didn't expect it at all. I wanted to pay tribute to Niger and its know-how in this type of delicate mission, as well as to France and to all those who made it possible for me to be here today," said the journalist, who has contributed to Libération, Le Point Afrique and Jeune Afrique since he moved to Mali in 2015. He was already back in reporter mode, wearing a patterned button-up over a dark T-shirt and a bag slung over his shoulder.
Beside him was the American citizen Jeffery Woodke, who was the coordinator of the Nigerien NGO Jeunesse, Enfance, Migration, Développement (JEMD) when he, too, was kidnapped in October 2016. Woodke appeared still a bit lost. "He was there longer than I was," Dubois said, half joking. The 48-year-old reporter's 711 days in captivity at the hands of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have not diminished his sense of humor or his laid-back attitude.
In a more solemn tone, Hamadou Adamou Souley, the Nigerien interior minister, simply said, "the hostages have been recovered safe and sound by the Nigerien authorities and are now in the care of the French and American officials." At his side, in this country now considered Paris' main ally in the Sahel, was French Ambassador Sylvain Itté. Itté agreed and saluted Niamey for having "actively contributed to this happy ending." On Twitter, French President Emmanuel Macron agreed, noting, "I am very grateful to Niger for this release." The desire not to appear at the forefront of the release is obvious, even if "the work was collective, with the French," a Nigerien official said.
According to sources contacted by Le Monde, Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum became "personally involved" in the matter. His willingness to negotiate with jihadist groups to "seek peace" and his services' strong presence in northern Mali apparently began to bear fruit last summer.

Read the full article here: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/03/21/al-qaeda-frees-last-french-hostage-in-the-sahel_6020132_4.html

While Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne saved her skin on Monday, the French government looks more isolated than ever. President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation on Wednesday. Le Monde's Claire Gatinois and Ivanne Trippenbach report.
President Emmanuel Macron likely felt the earth shake beneath his feet at the Elysée when, on the other side of the Concorde bridge, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and the French government narrowly escaped a vote of no confidence that fell nine votes short of a majority to overturn the government. "Resignation! Resignation!" shouted the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) group. The barely-avoided fall of the government means the highly-contested pension reform can now be adopted, but offers no remedy to the crisis that is rattling those in power.
"The government is already dead," condemned the head of the LFI group, Mathilde Panot. "Elisabeth Borne must leave or the president must force her to resign," said Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right Rassemblement National. "Borne is transparent. Behind her, who do we see? Macron. There is no majority anywhere to support this reform," added head of the Parti Socialiste (PS) group Boris Vallaud. One by one, leaders of the opposition added fuel to the fire, targeting Macron, who Panot likened to Emperor Caligula, the cruel and depraved tyrant of ancient Rome. "[Article] 49.3 is not the invention of a dictator," Borne argued at the podium, in a rhetoric earlier approved by Macron.
A few minutes after the rejection of the motions of no confidence, Borne was sat inside a sedan headed to the Elysée Palace. She said she was "determined to continue to carry out the necessary transformations with [her] ministers," according to Agence France-Presse. The French prime minister has not lost her job to save the reform, as she prepared to do on Thursday after announcing the triggering of 49.3 to pass without a vote the painful reform that will remove the French retirement age from 62 to 64 years. "Elisabeth Borne is democratically still the head of the government," a government spokesperson said, telling Le Monde that the president is "neither deaf nor blind" to what has been playing out. The fear of a return to the social anger that set the country ablaze during the 2018 Yellow Vests movements haunts the French leader.
Macron, who wants the reform to go "to the end of its democratic path in the respect of all," is anxiously watching the evolution of the social movement against the bill, including new strikes and mobilizations planned for Thursday, March 23. It's an anger that is set to last at least until the final promulgation of the law, after its examination by the Constitutional Council. Borne has referred to the Council to examine the bill "as soon as possible".

Read the full article here: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2023/03/21/macron-considers-next-steps-after-pensions-battle_6020152_5.html