TAG: French politics
Behind the Macron-Lula bromance
BRASÍLIA, Brazil ― France's Emmanuel Macron and Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spent three days publicly showering each other with mutual presidential affection, framed by the Amazon's golden sunsets and Brasília's white modernist palaces.It was Macro...
6 months ago
Anne Hidalgo’s vision of a greener Paris faces political reckoning
PARIS — Nearly 10 years ago, newly minted Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo made “a genuine energy and environmental transition” a cornerstone of her plans for the city.The Socialist politician stayed true to that platform — in the process becoming one of the most...
6 months ago
French government resigns, ushering in indefinite transition period
PARIS — Governing France is about to get much harder for Emmanuel Macron.The French president on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and his government, the Elysée said in a statement, officially starting a transition period d...
2 months ago
Paris Olympics fiasco looms as Seine (still) unsafe for swimming
PARIS — On Tuesday morning, athletes should have been thrashing down the River Seine in Paris, battling to come out on top of the Olympic triathlon's first leg: 1,500 meters of open water swimming.Instead, not a single swimmer was in sight.The reason? Onc...
2 months ago
French European Commissioner Thierry Breton resigns, attacks von der Leyen for ‘questionable governance’
BRUSSELS — France's European Commissioner Thierry Breton resigned Monday and accused his boss Ursula von der Leyen of undermining him, calling time on his stint in Brussels and throwing the EU's power transition into disarray.French President Emmanuel Mac...
1 month ago
Pressure mounts on France’s Barnier not to raise taxes despite budget disaster
PARIS — New French Prime Minister Michel Barnier was saddled with the dirty job of putting France's precarious public finances back on track.But heavyweights from French President Emmanuel Macron's might make that job more difficult. They are accusing Bar...
3 weeks ago
What the new French government means for Brussels
PARIS — After two months of anxious waiting, France finally has a new government. President Emmanuel Macron's loyalists managed to keep hold of key ministries spanning from the economy to energy, meaning that France's position on major economic files is n...
3 weeks ago
France’s new government reportedly mulls higher taxes on big companies
PARIS — France is considering higher taxes on large companies as it tries to get its public finances back on track, Le Monde reported Sunday.The new government led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier is working on an exceptional, temporary tax on the profits...
2 weeks ago
Too fast, too furious: Paris speed limit crashes into right-wing opposition
PARIS — France's new transport minister hadn’t even been on the job for a week when he sat down with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in a last-ditch effort to get her to reconsider a controversial policy: slowing the speed limit on the capital's main ring road.T...
2 weeks ago
5 things to watch for in French PM Barnier’s first parliamentary address
PARIS — Michel Barnier is finally revealing his cards.The French prime minister is set to address lawmakers for the first time on Tuesday at 3 p.m. when he delivers his déclaration de politique générale.Mystery looms over the speech. Barnier's plans for F...
2 weeks ago