French Politiques for an Anglophone Audience
On Tuesday, June 4 the European Commissioner, Karel de Gucht, announced that the European Union would implement higher taxes on Chinese solar panels. Beginning on June 6, these taxes will reach 11.6%, and if no compromise can be made between the European and Chinese authorities within two months, the rate will be nearly five times […]
Speaking at a press conference last Wednesday in Brussels, the European Union’s Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn announced that the European Commission has approved Latvia’s application to become the 18th member of the eurozone. Latvia’s desire to join the zone comes at an critical moment for the other 17 members, many of which continue to […]
Front national (FN) leader and member of the European Parliament Marine Le Pen may face charges over inciting racial hatred after a special vote in the EP. In a December 2010 speech, Le Pen compared Muslims praying in French streets to France’s Nazi occupiers. French prosecutors had hoped to charge Le Pen with inciting religious […]
The recent announcement by the INSEE (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies) that France is “officially” in a recession has the French wondering just how serious the economic situation has become. Investment and exports are both on the decline, and household consumption is at its lowest in the past thirty years. All together the […]
On Tuesday, French President François Hollande announced a Franco-German “offensive” that will bring hope to young jobseekers in Europe. Youth organizations have welcomed the initiative. Andrea Gerosa, the founder of Think Young, a group that lobbies for the interests of young people, expressed her support for the initiative. “The countries where they have a very […]
Europol announced on May 22 that it had arrested 18 people in France and the UK for allegedly running a human trafficking ring smuggling South Asian immigrants into Britain. 11 suspects were arrested in Britain, and seven more were arrested in France. All but one were Sri Lankan nationals. The other suspect is reportedly a […]
Last week, Friday May 17, 2013, the United Nations adopted a resolution to put French Polynesia back onto the UN list of territories to be decolonized along with 16 other territories – including the British Falkland Islands, the US Virgin Islands, Gibraltar and Bermuda. The UN General Assembly requested of the French Government to “facilitate […]
On Wednesday, May 22nd, Brussels hosted a summit for the leaders of the European Union (EU) states. France, alongside the UK and Germany, lobbied for the four-hour session to include an in-depth discussion of tax loopholes and evasion within the Eurozone, alongside the scheduled talks on European energy policy ad infrastructure. These talks were prompted […]
François Hollande, facing approval ratings of roughly 25%, the lowest of any French president over the past 50 years, and opposition from within his own party, tried to rally support in a press conference last Thursday, May 16. Since his election last year, Hollande’s poll ratings have steadily declined, apart from a brief boost following […]
Former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s Chief of Staff and right-hand man, Claude Guéant, faces new scrutiny following the investigation into Sarkozy’s questionable campaign finances. The allegations stem from a $650,000 transfer to Guéant’s personal bank account from a foreign account in 2008 and from receipts for bills paid in cash for a sum of $35,000, which […]
