Latest news with #LaFranceInsoumise
LeMonde
07-07-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
Report on China by French MP close to Mélenchon raises eyebrows
"This report, by going against the river, is deeply pro-French and alter-globalist": The concluding words of the 153-page report, authored by Sophia Chikirou of radical left party La France Insoumise (LFI), are consistent with its appraisal of relations between the European Union and China. Throughout the report, the MP for Paris lays out an indictment of EU policies, which she argues are "too often aligned with American policy vis-à-vis Beijing." The "resolutely trans-Atlantic approach adopted by Europe has resulted in a kind of trade war against China, with harmful effects," she writes. Yet this highly political document did not come from within LFI, whose pro-Beijing positions have increased in recent years. The report is an official document of the Assemblée Nationale's European Affairs Committee, which authorized its publication on June 17. The debate around the report was brief, with only eight members present: four from LFI, three from President Emmanuel Macron's centrist Renaissance party, and one from the far-right Rassemblement National (RN). It is rare for official parliamentary reports on sensitive international matters to diverge so sharply from government policy. Sinologist and political scientist Paul Charon warned the report was likely to be manipulated: "This report is very positive for the Chinese authorities. They would be mistaken not to use it to highlight the lack of unity within the French authorities." According to a European diplomat, "When the Chinese embassy discovers the report, it will be delighted to drive a wedge into the French position."
Ya Biladi
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
Mélenchon backtracks on Western Sahara, distances himself from Macron
The leader of La France Insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has reiterated his stance on the Western Sahara issue. «The position of the Insoumise movement, and mine, has always been this: that of the United Nations, no more, no less. No French interference! End of story», he wrote on X on Friday, July 4. This statement marks a step back from a more nuanced position Mélenchon had adopted during a visit to areas affected by the Al Haouz earthquake on October 4, 2023. At the time, he acknowledged the existence of «new parameters [regarding the Sahara issue] that the French should perhaps consider more carefully. The positions of the United States, Israel, and Spain have shifted global perceptions of this issue. I hope my country understands this and avoids turning it into a point of tension with Morocco». His comments came nine months before French President Emmanuel Macron officially recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in a message sent to King Mohammed VI on July 30, 2024. Amid backlash over Delogu's visit to Algeria Mélenchon's renewed position comes amid controversy surrounding remarks made by his party colleague Sébastien Delogu during a recent trip to Algeria. In an interview with an official French-language outlet, Delogu expressed being «extremely disappointed» by Senate President Gérard Larcher's visit to Laayoune on February 26. «On the highly sensitive issue of Western Sahara, I stand behind the United Nations, which is already leading a process to call for a referendum so the people on the ground can express their right to self-determination. I support these institutions», he said. Delogu also argued that France's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara contradicts «international legality», while omitting the fact that recent UN resolutions no longer refer to a referendum. On Friday, Delogu responded on X to «the controversies launched by the right and far right» over his trip to Algeria. On Western Sahara, he clarified: «I have always stood by international law and its competent bodies to resolve border disputes peacefully», this time without mentioning a referendum or self-determination. Even before Delogu's trip, another LFI lawmaker accused the French government last January of «multiplying provocations and threats against Algeria, particularly concerning Western Sahara, in contradiction with international law», a statement that was met with applause from members of Mélenchon's parliamentary group. It was a rare public stance from La France Insoumise, which had remained largely silent for months following President Macron's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a decision swiftly condemned by the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, and the Greens on July 30, 2024.
LeMonde
05-07-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
'Anger has become, from Trump to Le Pen, a powerful weapon for the far right'
Not since two generations ago has an era simultaneously provided so many reasons for anger and fear as our own. From the state of the world to that of society, from wars to social injustice, from the recklessness of some leaders and the powerlessness of politics, to the rise of nationalism, climate defeatism, and the lack of constructive ideas – a list of reasons for outrage could fill this entire column. While it may feel like we have reached a peak, the rise of "anger" as a theme in political debate and media coverage has been building for two decades, as shown, for example, by the striking increase in the use of that word in Le Monde 's headlines. Fifteen years ago, the late Stéphane Hessel, former member of the Resistance and concentration camp survivor, sparked enthusiasm with his pamphlet Indignez-vous! (Time for Outrage!), which called for rejecting xenophobia, the erosion of social rights, and the "dictatorship" of financial markets. In 2017, left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) members set themselves the goal of "tapping into people's anger." A driving force for social change since the dawn of time, indignation can be harnessed for progress. "When anger is based on moral arguments, expresses norms, and occurs in a context of ongoing injustice, it can have a powerful effect on collective transformation (...). Major protest movements are often triggered by a personal grievance with which others then identify," writes Eva Illouz, who, in Explosive modernité. Malaise dans la vie intérieure ("Explosive modernity: Malaise in interior life", untranslated), analyzes the link between our emotions and the world's upheavals. The proliferation of reasons for outrage can seem like a positive trend, as it reflects the spread of democratic culture and the rejection of discrimination. The gap between the promises of the republican motto and lived reality, the betrayal of meritocracy – these feed a tide of legitimate anger. So too does the explosion of vast and protected fortunes, while precariousness in lifestyles, work, and income only worsens, amplified by algorithms. That our tolerance for the intolerable has decreased seems like good news.
Local France
04-07-2025
- Business
- Local France
French MPs vote to create special job contracts for over-60s
The employment of seniors in France 'is one of our weak points,' said Minister of Labour Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, pointing out that the employment rate for people over 60 here is 38 percent, compared to 61 percent in Germany and and 70 percent in Sweden. These numbers refer only to people in the job market, not those who have already retired. This level of underemployment is 'an injustice, a human waste and an economic waste that we can no longer accept or allow,' Panosyan-Bouvet said. The bill, which has already passed through the Senate, provides for the creation of work contract called a contrat de valorisation de l'expérience or CVE (contract for the promotion of experience). Advertisement It is intended to give employers greater flexibility in employing older workers, and make it easier to hire job-seekers aged over 60 – or even 57 in certain professions. The CVE contract would give the employee the same rights as a standard permanent contract (known as a CDI), but would require the employer to pay slightly lower social contributions - therefore making the over-60s more attractive to hire. It will be introduced on a five-year basis, and then extended if it is judged to be successful. Unemployment rates among older workers became a political hot topic during debates on pension reform - with opponents saying that forcing people to work until they are 64, not 62, in unfair when there is such a high unemployment rate for older workers. Ecologist MP Sophie Taillé-Polian criticised the 'contradictory government policy' of raising the retirement age to 64, 'without really addressing the precarious situation of seniors who are excluded from the labour market'. In the end, however, only the hard left La France Insoumise voted against the creation of the CVE. La France Insoumise said it would not participate in 're-enchanting the forced labour of our seniors,' said MP Ségolène Amiot. She accused the government of creating a smokescreen that hides a 'new gift to employers, a new exemption from contributions.'
LeMonde
03-07-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
To tackle abuses in French schools, state oversight must be strengthened
After decades of silence, the extent of violence perpetrated by adults against schoolchildren, under the guise of educational authority and sheltered within institutions shielded from outside scrutiny, has finally been revealed. Every year, thousands of children have fallen victim to these serious and institutionalized abuses, some of which are old, but not yet a thing of the past. The first achievement of the parliamentary inquiry's report on "methods of state oversight and the prevention of violence in schools," released on Wednesday, July 2, is to break this long and terrible code of silence. The voices of victims, expressed through hundreds of testimonies, were finally heard in all their gravity, revealing the immense suffering inflicted and the lives shattered. "Sexual violence behind the too-thick walls of a classroom, the silence of the night in boarding schools. Physical violence (...) of absolute sadism," summarized the committee's chair, Socialist MP Fatiha Keloua-Hachi. Following the surge of the MeToo movement, campaigns against incest and sexual abuse within the Church, schools now face their own reckoning. The scale of this reality – at last revealed and debated – and the pressing need to find solutions put into perspective any political maneuvering that may have motivated the committee's leaders. Specifically, Paul Vannier, the co-rapporteur from the radical left party La France Insoumise, who sought to bring down Prime Minister François Bayrou, accusing him of "lying" about his knowledge of the abuse in the Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram Catholic school scandal. What matters most now is implementing the MPs' proposals. No one would understand if the intense and turbulent political context were to hinder the essential reforms needed to put an end to the "unthinkable." Part of these changes lies in the need for the state to exercise better oversight of schools, especially private schools under contract with the state, which receive three-quarters of their funding from public money and are a central focus of the MPs' report. The "distinctive character" legally recognized for these primary, middle and high schools cannot exempt them from external scrutiny when it comes to protecting children. It is urgent, as the report suggests, to end the unjustifiable exception that allows private schools to be managed by the Financial Directorate of the Ministry of Education rather than, as with public schools, by the General Directorate for School Education. Similarly, general inspectors of education must be granted the power to initiate investigations on their own, which they currently lack, to ensure their independence from political authority. The question of compensation also needs to be addressed. Within schools, a reporting system that protects staff from pressure needs to be established, and students must be informed of their rights. The "Let's break the silence" plan, launched in March by Education Minister Elisabeth Borne, which makes reporting violence mandatory in private schools under contract, extends questionnaires to boarders and students on school trips, and strengthens inspections, is a good start. But the cross-party observations made by the MPs is clear: The scourge of violence stems from structural failings needs urgent solutions.
