Paris brings back statues of pioneering women from 2024 Olympics ceremony
The 10 statues featured as part of the French capital's boundary-breaking opening ceremony for the Summer Games in July last year. They include Simone Veil, who spearheaded the legalisation of abortion in France, and the feminist writer Simone de Beauvoir.
Halimi, a Tunisian-born French lawyer who died five years ago aged 93, earned national fame for her role in a 1972 trial defending a minor who had an abortion after a rape. She ensured not only that the young woman, Marie-Claire Chevalier, was acquitted but also helped swing public opinion on the issue of reproductive rights. She was one of the most prominent of 343 women who in 1971 signed an open letter saying that they had had abortions.
Michèle Zaoui, an architect working for the city of Paris, said the plan was to keep the statues in the neighborhood for a least a few more years until the opening of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. During artistic director Thomas Jolly's Olympics opening ceremony, the statues surged up from the waters of the Seine.
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Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
On defence, France and Germany are inching closer but remain far apart
Germany is becoming more French - and vice versa - when it comes to defence but big differences in the state of their public finances and strategic thinking mean the so-called Franco-German engine is unlikely to be able to power a big shift in the way the EU as a whole does defence. "From a longer historical point of view, the degree of convergence (between the two countries) is arguably higher than it has been for, I would say, decades," Jacob F. Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank, told Euronews. Both capitals see Russia as their biggest long-term threat, and both have pledged to pour hundreds of billions of euros into their military and defence industrial base. In Berlin, this has been dubbed a "Zeitenwende" (or historical turning point) while Paris said its latest military programmation law is "the ultimate strategic move". This convergence was driven by Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which brought back conventional war to European soil, Donald Trump's return to the White House, which has put in doubt continued long-term US commitment to Europe's security, and a change of leadership in Germany. The new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, "basically took what I can only describe as a Gaullist stance", Kirkegaard said, by saying that "Europe needs to prepare for a future without a US security guarantee". 'France is converging with Germany' Yet one example of how this rapprochement in defence remains a laborious process came last week when France's Emmanuel Macron and Merz sought to diffuse tensions over a joint €100 billion project to develop a sixth-generation fighter jet. At the core of the dispute is the demand by France to secure 80% of the workshare for the new Future Combat Air System (FCAS), negating previous agreements that it would be split equally between the two countries and Spain, which is also part of the project. The French demand, however, "should not be as surprising as it seems", Rafael Loss, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), told Euronews, given that one of the major differences between France and Germany is how differently they view their military and the purpose they serve. The armed forces in France are part of the national foreign policy - as recent deployments in the Sahel attest - with the country's overseas territories and its possession of the nuclear weapon adding to its global perspective. "That's why the French military is much more comfortable with acting unilaterally or outside of EU, NATO contexts (than Germany's), and this then extends to the kinds of capabilities that the French armed forces prefer acquiring," Loss said. "Everything that relates to the French nuclear deterrent has to work when France is alone. And that means that FCAS, which is supposed to replace the Rafale fighter bombers going forward in carrying French nuclear weapons, French military and political leadership will not accept a situation where they're dependent to produce this capability because the nuclear deterrent depends on that capability." "French industry will need to be able to produce this aircraft by themselves if push comes to shove. They're willing to cooperate when strategic orientations align, but ultimately they have to produce everything independently of others. And again, that's something that many in Germany and across Europe haven't quite realised," he added. Still, Loss continued, "France is converging with Germany" with the "realisation that for the sake of European security, it needs to show that it invests in its partnerships and relationships with Europeans, especially those on the eastern flank". 'A big wasted opportunity' But the other major hurdle for the two to advance a common defence agenda at the EU level is the stark difference in their respective fiscal space. Germany's debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio stood at 62.3% in the first quarter of the year. France's was at 114.1%, well above what the bloc's rules mandate (60%). This structural divergence means that as European countries aim to significantly ramp up their defence spending and military capabilities to deter a possible Russian attack towards the turn of the decade, Germany can afford to invest heavily in defence, while France cannot. For instance, Germany has asked to make use of a proposal by Brussels to loosen fiscal rules for defence spending, something France, which is targeted by an excessive deficit procedure, cannot do. France, which has consistently invested in defence over the last few decades, has less ground to cover, so to speak, but the sums advanced by the German government (including a €500 billion fund to boost the military and the country's infrastructure) should mean it catches up quickly. But their public finances also "fundamentally place them on different sides of negotiating tables" at the EU level, Kirkegaard said. The European Commission has put forward a plan to rearm Europe that it hopes will prompt member states to invest up to €800 billion before 2030. But most of that money is expected to come from member states' coffers, which in the case of France, are quite depleted. Given the scale of the task ahead, the Commission has been asked to come up with "innovative" financing options for defence. Macron has called for one of those options to be joint EU borrowing, something Germany has flat-out rejected. For Kirkegaard, this means that the crisis ushered in by Russia's war on Ukraine, is "a big wasted opportunity" for the bloc. "This crisis, the war in Ukraine, will not lead to materially more EU institutional or fiscal integration. It will lead to an expansion of the EU with Ukraine and maybe other countries but that's a different type of change to the EU and that's also very different than the last many big crises we've had," he said.
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
E3 leaders make renewed call for ceasefire in Gaza amid hunger deaths
The leaders of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, known as the E3, on Saturday issued a new call for an end to the Gaza war, describing the situation in the besieged enclave as appalling. According to a UK government statement, the three leaders, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President of France Emmanuel Macron, and Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz, spoke Saturday morning by phone. They emphasised the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, for Israel to lift all restrictions on aid, and for those suffering in Gaza to receive food they so desperately need, the statement said. They discussed their "intention to work closely together on a plan, building on their collaboration to date, which would pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region," the statement added. Saturday's call follows that of Friday, where the European allies called for an immediate ceasefire, saying that "withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable." What could the E3 nations' action be? The leaders stated that they "stand ready to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political process that leads to lasting security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians, and the entire region," but did not specify what that action may be. On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country will become the first major Western power to recognise a Palestinian state, drawing a backlash from the US and Israel. It is unclear what the action will be from the other nations in the E3, but what is known is that the UK has historically been hesitant to recognise a Palestinian state for fear of upsetting its allies, the US and Israel, while Germany, due to its past, mostly finds it inappropriate to strongly criticise Israel. In Friday's joint statement, the leaders urged all parties to bring an end to the conflict and also called for an unconditional release of all hostages who have been held captive by Hamas since 7 October 2023. While their call comes amid a breakdown of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, which hit a standstill after the US and Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, Starmer, Macron, and Merz stressed that the disarmament of Hamas remains imperative. "Hamas must have no role in the future of Gaza. We reaffirm our commitment to supporting the diplomatic efforts of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt," Friday's joint statement said. Gaza hunger deaths rising This week, the world has woken up to grim images of children suffering malnutrition and dying from starvation in Gaza. The images come after experts have long warned that Gaza is being pushed closer to famine after months of Israel entirely blocking food or letting in only limited amounts. Israel says it has allowed around 4,500 aid trucks into Gaza since lifting its total blockade in May. But the UN World Food Programme (WFP) says nearly one in three people in Gaza has not been eating for days at a time, warning that malnutrition is rising, with around 90,000 children and women now in need of urgent treatment. In the past three weeks, at least 50 people have died of causes related to malnutrition, including 28 adults and 22 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. That's up from 12 children who died in the five previous months of 2025, according to the ministry. UK to airdrop aid in Gaza In its defence, Israel argues that it allows enough aid to enter and blames UN agencies for not doing more to retrieve and deliver it to those in need. As the country faces mounting international outcry and backlash over the worsening hunger crisis in Gaza, media reports claimed that Israel will permit foreign nations to airdrop aid into Gaza beginning Friday. On Saturday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK will be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to air-drop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance. In its statement on the call with Macron and Merz, Starmer said they all agreed it would be "vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace." Once this plan was worked up, they would seek to bring in other key partners, including those in the region, to advance it, the UK statement stated.
LeMonde
3 hours ago
- LeMonde
Léon Marchand rides post-Olympic wave into World Championships in Singapore
In the Parc des Champions at Trocadéro in Paris, on August 6, 2024, a crowd of 13,000 people waited eagerly. Under the scorching sun, with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop, fans gathered for the French swimming team. But most were there for Léon Marchand. Behind the scenes, however, the Toulouse native did not feel at ease. He was hesitant about parading shirtless, as suggested by fellow swimmer Florent Manaudou. "That's not for me," said the man who sent French fans into a frenzy during the first week of the Olympics with his four gold medals. Despite his new status, the reserved Marchand had no say in the matter. He gave in to his older teammate's instructions and played along: chest out, sunglasses on, medals around his neck. Being close to the spectators wasn't entirely unpleasant, but behind his beaming smile was a hint of apprehension. "During the first week of the Olympics, I was focused on the competition. But in the second week, I realized that everything was going to change in my daily life in France," he later told several media outlets, including Le Monde, in April 2025.
