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Javanese Hindus parade in front of temples in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, as part of new year’s eve celebrations in Bali.
💡 SPOTLIGHT
French protests: Risk of a “yellow vest” rerun
The pushing through of a bill to raise the retirement age in France has caused widespread, sometimes violent, protests. The government is worried the movement will spread, as unions warn the protests are just beginning, writes Grégoire Poussielgue in Paris-based daily Les Echos.
The peaceful ambiance last month of anti-government demonstrations in France has given way to something else. But what exactly is the new nature of the protests? Are we witnessing the emergence of a social movement destined to last, and paralyze the country like the so-called "yellow vests" five years ago?
Since last Thursday, when the French government passed a bill on pension reform increasing the retirement age from 62 to 64, President Emmanuel Macron and his government have been facing a new form of protest. It is more radical, sometimes more violent, but also more diffuse and especially uncontrollable.
In Paris, after two evenings of "wild" demonstrations, people were forbidden from gathering and protesting at Place de la Concorde, one of the city's major public squares, on Saturday evening and the area was placed under heavy police surveillance. The problem was only averted because another demonstration took place in another square, Place d'Italie, leading to clashes with the police.
In several cities in France, spontaneous rallies and demonstrations took place, often led with violence. Many offices of elected officials were vandalized and the Minister of the Interior was asked for increased protection for elected officials.
The sparks of violence and dispersed nature of the current protests recall the yellow vest (gilets jaunes) movement that began in 2018, lashing out at rising gasoline prices, with weekly protests and occasional riots throughout France.
"It is too early to say whether there are similarities with the “yellow vests” movement or the Nuit Debout movement [unleashed against the 2016 labor law]. All of this remains very uncertain and no one can say what it may lead to," says a government source.
The current protest is based on a strong opposition in public opinion to the use of Article 49.3 — which allows the government to force passage of a bill without a vote — to push through the retirement bill. According to Harris Interactive, 82% of the French population believe that using this article is a "bad thing" and 71% think that the government should resign.
Some 65% of them also wish for the movement against the pension reform to continue, even after the parliamentary process is over. The use of the 49.3 acted as a detonator of anger with unpredictable consequences. Left-wing parties are leading the movement.
"This movement is remarkably calm and pacifist. We are dealing with a power that has made a mockery of the world and you are surprised that people are upset," said Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the La France Insoumise group, on Sunday.
The left can still appeal to the Constitutional Council, but it also wants to maintain pressure in the streets of the city.
Last Friday, the deputy leader of the Greens Sandrine Rousseau even called on the police to join the movement and put the responsibility for the unrest back on Emmanuel Macron. "There were millions of people in the street in a completely peaceful, joyful and determined way and he has not heard anything. Now, his radicalism refers to a form of radicalism in the street," she said.
For their part, unions are also hoping for a broadening of the movement, counting in particular on sectoral strikes such as in the energy sector, along with the mobilization of youth.
"We can not prohibit people from demonstrating. We need the youth to mobilize more massively," said French trade unionist Philippe Martinez, adding that Emmanuel Macron has not heard the "warnings" of the unions.
— Grégoire Poussielgue / Les Echos
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Russian drones swarm Kyiv in display of force as Xi leaves Moscow: Russia launched a swarm of drones into Ukraine overnight, killing at least four people near Kyiv in a display of force as China's President Xi Jinping left Moscow with promises of friendship but little public mention of the war. The Ukranian military said it had shot down 16 of 21 Iranian-made Shahed suicide drones.
• Ukraine clinches first IMF loan to nation at war: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it has reached an agreement with Ukraine on funding worth $15.6 billion (£12.8bn). This is the first loan to a country at war by the organization, which has changed a rule to allow loans to countries facing "exceptionally high uncertainty."
• More Partygate evidence published as Boris Johnson prepares to face inquiry: More evidence has been published by a panel investigating statements made by former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Parliament about the Partygate scandal concerning alleged illegal gatherings of government and Conservative Party staff held during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Earthquake rocks Pakistan and Afghanistan: At least 12 people have been killed and more than 200 injured after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake shook large parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday evening. Tremors from the remote Jurm valley in northeastern Afghanistan were felt as far away as India.
• Uganda’s new anti-homosexuality law bans identification as LGBTQ: Uganda’s parliament has passed sweeping anti-gay legislation that proposes tough new penalties for same-sex relationships and criminalizes anyone identifying as LGBTQ+. Punishments include life in prison for gay sex, and death for so-called “aggravated” homosexuality, which includes gay sex with people under 18 years old or being HIV-positive.
• UN warns against 'vampiric' global water use: A United Nations report has warned of a looming global water crisis and an "imminent risk" of shortages due to "vampiric overconsumption and overdevelopment" and climate change. Its publication comes before the first major UN water summit since 1977, a three-day gathering in New York that begins Wednesday.
• Google begins rolling out ChatGPT rival: Google has opened up limited access to Bard, its new AI chatbot tool that directly competes with ChatGPT. Users can join a waitlist to gain access to Bard, which promises to help users outline and write essay drafts, plan a friend’s baby shower, and get lunch ideas based on what’s in the fridge.
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“Europe on dry land,” titles Austrian daily Kleine Zeitung, featuring a photo of beached gondolas in Venice, Italy, amid new reports on the winter drought threatening southern and western Europe.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
€96
From September 2023, primary schools in the Republic of Ireland will receive €96 ($104) for each pupil to pay for textbooks and other materials as part of a €50-million government scheme to relieve parents from the costs of school supplies. The grant is expected to benefit more than 558,000 children and their families.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
That man in Mariupol: Is Putin using a body double to avoid public appearances?
Putin really met with Xi in Moscow — we know that. But there are credible experts saying that the person who showed up in Mariupol the day before was someone else — the latest report that the Russian president uses a doppelgänger for meetings and appearances.
👥 Reports and conspiracy theories have circulated in the past about the Russian leader using a stand-in because of health or security issues. But the reaction to the Kremlin leader's trip to Mariupol is the first time that multiple credible sources — including those who’ve spent time with him in the past — have cast doubt on the identity of the man who showed up in the southeastern Ukrainian city that Russia took over last spring after a months-long siege.
🤝 Andrei Piontkovsky, a Russian opposition writer and analyst, believes Putin has used doubles for smaller meetings and at some public appearances, although he shows up in person for meetings with country leaders or to deliver speeches. He’s sure Putin would never "would never humiliate" Xi Jinping by sending a look-alike to meet with the Chinese leader. But that’s not the case in Ukraine, he says: "In Mariupol, it wasn't Putin. He has all sorts of look-alikes.”
📸 “If you are a dictator hated by many people both inside and outside the country, you're being hunted, you live in a bunker and ride an armored train, you'll want look-alikes,” Russian journalist Michael Nacke says. The use of body doubles fits the classic portrait of the paranoid dictator — and becomes an absurd, darkly humorous detail when, as they did this week, observers compare photos of Putin, looking at the shape of his chin and jowls to figure out if the man pictured is the real deal or an impersonator.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📣 VERBATIM
“The U.S. actually started the Ukraine war.”
— During a speech in Mashhad, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused Washington of intentionally starting the conflict in Ukraine, namely to create “the grounds for this war to expand NATO in the east.” Khamenei added that “weapons manufacturing companies in the U.S. are reaping the benefits, so they won’t go along with ending the war.”
📸 PHOTO DU JOUR
Javanese Hindus parade in front of temples in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, as part of new year’s eve celebrations in Bali. — Photo: Dasril Roszandi/ZUMA
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• Don't Underestimate How Much More Putin Needs Xi Than Xi Needs Putin — LA STAMPA
• "Palestinians Don't Exist" — The Israeli Minister's Shock Declaration That Can't Be Unsaid — FRANCE INTER
• “Who'll Stop The Rain?” Why Climate Anxiety Hits Harder In Brazil — CASA FLUMINENSE
✍️ Newsletter by Hugo Perrin, Anne-Sophie Goninet, Bertrand Hauger and Ginevra Falciani
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!
- LGBTQ+ International: Cuban Marriage, Kharkiv Pride, Trump’s Gaffe — And The Week’s Other Top News ›
- How Climate Change May Be Triggering More Earthquakes — And Vice Versa ›
- That Man In Mariupol: Is Putin Using A Body Double To Avoid Public Appearances? ›
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Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.
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