French diplomat visits two French nationals detained in Iran
"We obtained a visit today from our chargé d'affaires in Iran," Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told lawmakers. A French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman confirmed the visit had taken place earlier in the day. However, the ministry did not specify where the visit occurred, amid uncertainty over the couple's whereabouts.
Iran's judiciary has said the Israeli strike on the prison had killed at least 79 people. It also said that the Iranian prison authority transferred inmates out of Evin prison, without specifying their number or identifying them. Several women prisoners have been transferred to Qarchak prison for women outside Tehran, which has a notorious reputation for its conditions.
Around 20 European nationals detained
On Friday, the families of Kohler and Paris demanded "proof of life," while a lawyer denounced their "forced disappearance." Kohler, 40, and Paris, her 72-year-old partner, have been held in Iran since May 2022 on espionage charges that their families reject.
Iran is believed to be detaining around 20 European nationals, many of whose cases have never been publicized, in what some Western governments, including France, describe as a strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West.
Three Europeans, who have not been identified, have also been arrested in the wake of the current conflict, two of whom stand accused of spying for Israel, according to the authorities.
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France 24
24 minutes ago
- France 24
Children ‘subjected to monstrosities': Report exposes decades of abuse in French schools
French lawmakers on Wednesday accused the state of "structural dysfunctions" in handling child abuse in schools, delivering a scathing 330-page report that chronicles decades of systemic violence and silence across France's educational institutions. 'Children across France were subjected to monstrosities,' wrote the committee president, Fatiha Keloua Hachi, describing the three-month investigation as a 'deep dive into the unthinkable'. The probe, led by centrist Violette Spillebout from Macron's ruling party Renaissance, and Paul Vannier, a lawmaker with the hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI), heard testimony from 140 people, including survivors. While abuse occurred in both public and private schools, the MPs said Catholic institutions were especially affected, citing 'stricter educational models' and a persistent 'law of silence'. In many cases, they said, it wasn't just the children who kept quiet but also school officials, clergy and civil servants who failed to act or actively covered up wrongdoing. Historian Claude Lelièvre traced this back to the culture of silence and obedience in religious teaching orders. "They viewed obedience as a cardinal virtue, both for themselves and for their students. Obedience at all costs. Obedience to someone who, in their eyes, was the lieutenant of God on earth," he said. Public schools, by contrast, embraced a different philosophy. "It wasn't about obeying a person," Lelièvre said, "but helping children consent to shared rules." The Bétharram case Much of the report focuses on the Bétharram Catholic boarding school in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region, where priests, teachers and staff are accused of having sexually and physically abused students from 1957 to 2004. According to the MPs, some 200 complaints have been filed since the beginning of the year. Victims described acts of 'unprecedented severity, of absolute sadism'. Lawmakers called Bétharram a "textbook example" of the state's failure to prevent and monitor abuse, warning that the same systemic flaws "are still in place today". Prime Minister François Bayrou, who was education minister from 1993 to 1997 and sent some of his children to the school, has faced growing criticism. The report stops short of directly implicating him, but Spillebout and Vannier wrote: "In the absence of action from a minister who was informed and in a position to intervene, the abuse of students at Bétharram continued for years." Bayrou's eldest daughter, Helene Perlant, accused the clergy running the school of systemic abuse, saying a priest beat her during summer camp when she was 14. She said however her father did not know about the incident. In a footnote, Vannier accused Bayrou of having "knowingly misled" the National Assembly in March, when he initially claimed to have learned about the scandal "at the same time as everyone else, in the press". He later admitted he had received information, but said he had not grasped the seriousness of the allegations. Lack of figures and oversight Beyond Bétharram, the report highlights the state's failure to monitor abusive staff. Regional background checks allowed sanctioned teachers to move between schools undetected. "The Ministry of Education," the report said, "is still incapable of ensuring that a sanctioned teacher cannot simply be transferred to another school." This kind of administrative evasion has been going on for decades. "For a long time now, there has been a culture of cover-up, of transferring problematic staff, of not reporting incidents when they occurred," Lelièvre said. The committee also pointed to a lack of national data on abuse. 'No consolidated public data is available on violence committed against pupils by members of staff,' the report stated, urging the government to commission new surveys. Where data does exist — notably on sexual violence — the gap between official data and victimisation surveys is stark. While national surveys estimate 7,000 pupils are affected annually, state school leaders reported only 280 incidents in 2023-2024. 'The Ministry is not really tracking these issues thoroughly,' Lelièvre said. "The figures are inconsistent, and there's a lack of proper monitoring and understanding of what's happening. We need much more robust oversight, including independent monitoring, not just relying on the institution itself." Urgent recommendations To address what they call a "systemic culture of impunity", the MPs called for tighter background checks and the creation of a national reporting platform that would allow whistleblowers to bypass traditional hierarchies. The new platform, called Signal Educ', would be accompanied by annual regional reports on abuse in schools. They also recommended that contracts between the state and private schools include binding provisions on abuse prevention and child safety, with clear sanctions for non-compliance. For boarding schools, they called for yearly unannounced inspections and confidential interviews with randomly selected students. Other proposals include the creation of a national compensation fund for victims and a legal review to potentially extend, or in some cases eliminate, statutes of limitation for sexual abuse of minors. Although the cross-party commission unanimously adopted the report, it remains to be seen whether lawmakers will act on its recommendations.
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
Fourteen member states oppose the Commission's EU budget overhaul
With the proposal for the next EU budget after 2027 just around the corner, the political landscape is far from calm. The latest sign of unrest: fourteen member states have endorsed a non-paper opposing the European Commission's plans to centralise the management and distribution of EU funds. 'Only a distinct and robust budget and a region-based allocation methodology, reflecting the different development levels of regions, together with a stand-alone Cohesion Policy dedicated legislation, can ensure that the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) will deliver long-term unity, competitiveness and convergence across EU regions,' states the document. Bulgaria, Czechia, Greece, Spain, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia signed the non-paper on 'Cohesion Policy in the Future MFF,' aiming to secure a separate pot for narrowing the socio-economic gap between the richest and poorest European regions. The call from more than half of the member states comes in response to a leak about the Commission's plans to create a single funding pot for each EU country (covering around 530 programmes) and to link the receipt of funds to the fulfilment of policy objectives. The potential centralisation of the management and access to EU money would give greater power to national governments and Brussels, while proving detrimental to regions and other departments within the European Commission. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is expected to present the budget proposal for the next long-term financial period (2028–2034) on July 16 — but criticism from regions, member states, MEPs, and industry representatives continues to mount. Both Poland and the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament have raised concerns about the Commission's intention to merge dozens of individual funding streams into a single cash pot per member state, as detailed in their respective position papers on the next MFF. 'We will strongly oppose the 'one national plan per member state' approach, as well as the possibility for national plans to be underpinned by a 'payments against reforms' rule,' the Socialists wrote in a letter to von der Leyen sent on Monday. The Socialists — the second-largest group in the Parliament — also called on the Commission chief to propose a larger and more ambitious long-term budget, exceeding the current 1% of the EU's GDP, which is equivalent to around €1.2 trillion. Poland's conservative government, meanwhile, emphasized that future reforms should not lead to further centralisation or the merging of funding instruments. 'Regions should remain at the core of cohesion policy,' its position paper, dated 1 July, states. The EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and cohesion policy together account for more than two-thirds of the total EU budget — and Poland, which receives the most funding from cohesion policy, insists that their combined share in the MFF should not be less than it is currently. 'One of the priorities of the next MFF should be increasing the importance of economic, social, and territorial cohesion within the EU and striving for convergence,' Poland defends in its position paper. 'Competitiveness and cohesion are the two sides of the same coin,' they conclude.
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
How could the US-China trade rearrangement affect Europe?
Since United States President Donald Trump's inauguration, he has announced more than 50 new or revised tariffs, including pauses, backdowns, escalations and de-escalations. As the state of US-China trade relations remains uncertain, many US firms are considering alternative sources of supply. Without a shift to different sources, prices may rise, and US companies and consumers might need to reduce or replace one product with another, virtually similar one. In this scenario, Europe could play a key role, both as an exporter and an importer. "Europe faces an increasingly difficult challenge: how to transition from being a recipient of decisions made by China and the US to actively shaping its own future," stated Francesca Ghiretti, director of the RAND Europe China Initiative, in a commentary piece. On average, Europe already supplies 55% of the available global export market for products which the US imports from China. According to nine varied simulations conducted by the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, the European Union, along with Norway, Switzerland, and the UK, could potentially replace about 30% to 65% of US imports from China with its exports, even in the face of high US tariffs on European goods. In each simulation, it is assumed that the value of US imports from China for each product falls to zero, and that instead, the US sources each product from other exporters. Products trade Europe's role in this scenario is most pronounced when it comes to electronics, other manufacturing, and textiles. The US has $191 billion, $52 billion, and $45 billion within each of these industries to rearrange, respectively. These are the same sectors for which the US currently imports mainly from China. In electronics, especially, Europe could be the primary substitute supplier in the US market. Another example is toys. Europe could supply the US market with Czech and German toys, replacing those made in China. This could see European consumers increasingly buy Chinese-made toys. As Europe has increased its exports to the US, it has also become a significant destination for Chinese exports, absorbing up to 55% of China's current shipments to the US. This shift could lead to deeper trade interdependence between Europe and China, as well as geopolitical tensions. "The next months and years will challenge whether Europe can stay the course, or it will lose itself trying to respond to ongoing challenges," said Francesca Ghiretti.
