A possible far-right victory in France: Scare tactic or real danger?
07 April 2022 |
12:38 pm
With three days to go until the first round of the presidential election, French voters are uninterested and undecided, leaving paper La Croix concerned about the country's future. Is alarm over a possible far-right victory a campaign strategy of Emmanuel Macron, or is far-right contender Marine Le Pen "more of a threat than ever before"? We also look at reactions in Burkina Faso to the trial over Thomas Sankara's 1987 assassination, as well as US sanctions on Vladimir Putin's daughters and French campaign goodies.
Related
25 Mar
Protests erupted in several cities a day after President Emmanuel Macron doubled down on raising the pension age. Worker strikes shut down transport, while protesters blocked highways and other infrastructure.
26 Mar
In this special history episode of French Connections Plus, we take a deep dive into "la Belle Époque" or "The Beautiful Era", a period in France history straddling the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. It was a moment of peace and prosperity, technological progress, bubbling creativity and hope in the future.
26 Mar
France, Germany face off on EU's 2035 internal combustion car ban. In this edition: Germany seeks an "e-fuels" exemption to the EU's ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars after 2035, while France pushes for an all-electric transport future.
24 Mar
Continued mass strikes and protest action have forced King Charles to postpone his planned visit to France on Sunday. It would have been his first official trip as king.
28 Mar
France's midrange pret-a-porter chains are suffering due to the current economic crisis and structural problems. But some firms are surviving with sustainability, new digital concepts and branding.
28 Mar
It is crucial week for the future of the French government’s plans to reform the pension system. Another huge strike is planned by the unions for Tuesday, and any significant dip in the number of people taking part in demonstrations will weaken their cause.
29 Mar
We take a look at how the French papers are covering incidents of police brutality towards protesters. We also look at the parallels and differences between protests in France and Israel. The papers are also discussing a daylight savings time dispute in Lebanon.
27 Mar
The country's ruling accused the French broadcaster of "acting as a mouthpiece" for an al-Qaeda affiliated group. France 24 has denied the allegation and condemned the move.
28 Mar
This weekend's clashes between police and protesters in the small French town of Sainte-Soline reflect growing anger over water reservoirs that are meant to help farmers to irrigate their crops in times of drought.
2 Apr
The Constitutional Council has the power to scrap all or parts of the bill it deems unconstitutional. Emmanuel Macron's government passed the bill by decree, saying France can no longer afford to let people retire at 62.
31 Mar
Multiple French papers are digging into audio recordings of Saturday's protest against water reservoirs, namely of first responders saying they were told not to go in and help wounded protesters. We also look at the state of India’s democracy and if it could change the world in the next decade.
31 Mar
King Charles III has cancelled his state visit to France due to ongoing industrial unrest, but the fact that he had chosen the country for his first such trip is a sign that UK-France relations are getting back on track, after years on bickering over Brexit.
Latest
3 hours ago
Although climate change has been conspicuously absent from Nigeria's political agenda, the tangible effects of global warming are undeniably present. The country has one of the highest rates of desertification in the world, many of its cities are under threat from rising sea levels, and the 2022 floods resulted in hundreds of fatalities and displaced over a million people.
3 hours ago
A divided U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling on Wednesday, with majority support from both Democrats and Republicans to overcome opposition led by hardline conservatives and avoid a catastrophic default.
4 hours ago
For the first time in nine years, leaders from the regional bloc formerly known as the Union of South American Nations have convened this week in Brazil. The gathering of these 11 countries has demonstrated a renewed spirit of cooperation. A notable highlight is Brazilian President Lula da Silva's meeting with Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro, a significant move, as diplomatic relations were severed under Lula’s predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
4 hours ago
The wildfires have displaced thousands and continued to endanger communities on the outskirts of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
5 hours ago
A child was among those killed in the missile attacks on Kyiv's eastern outskirts, according to Ukrainian officials.
5 hours ago
On one page of 15 pages of early drafts for the rock opera, songwriter Freddie Mercury wrote the words “Mongolian Rhapsody” near the top – but crossed out the first word and wrote “Bohemian” above it, the New York Times reports.