4 h. ago What happened on a chaotic day in French politics – and what next?

Sébastien Lecornu agreed two days’ extension to his 27-day premiership in last-ditch effort to form governmentMacron makes last-ditch effort to retain French PM after rapid resignationEurope live – latest updatesEven by recent standards, Monday was a day of high drama in France’s corridors of power.In the morning, hours after his new cabinet was announced and less than a month after his appointment, the prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, resigned along with his government. Continue reading...

Politics

18 h. ago Macron appoints new French government in attempt to end political deadlock

Rivals say president’s latest cabinet represents unwelcome continuity and hard-left party vows to file no-confidence motion amid fraught budget talksFrench president Emmanuel Macron has named a new government as he struggles to pull the country out of a political crisis, while rivals threatened to topple the lineup quickly if it failed to break with Macron’s past policies.The new cabinet was unveiled nearly a month after the appointment of prime minister Sebastien Lecornu, who sought to obtain cross-party support in a deeply divided parliament. Continue reading...

Politics

42 h. ago Street battles, invented languages and gigs in psychiatric hospitals: France’s lost rock revolution of 1968

Bands such as Magma and Art Zoyd provided a soundtrack for the student protests that shook the country. Little remembered now, a new book reveals their decisive influence on later successes such as Air and Daft PunkThe seismic shock that May 1968 had on the French way of life has been widely documented. The student protests, which erupted at the Sorbonne before spreading around the country, hastened the end of the Gaullist regime, politicised French philosophy, and spawned a wave of radical films such as Jean Eustache’s The Mother and the Whore.Much less is known – outside France, at least – about how the revolutionary ideas of 1968 expressed themselves in music. Australian musician and journalist Ian Thompson, for one, knew little about French underground rock when he stumbled upon a box of old vinyl, labelled “French prog-rock” on a pre-Covid trip to Paris. He was blown away. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Riot police stop migrants from reaching beach in French town

A woman with a baby strapped to her back was pushed back into the crowd by one officer as she tried to break through the police line in Gravelines.

Events

8 d. ago Boat carrying record 125 migrants crossed Channel to UK on Saturday

The number of people on board breaks a previous record from August, when 106 migrants crossed to the UK on what was dubbed a ‘mega dinghy’ by media.

Events

8 d. ago Child dies off French coast in small boat Channel crossing attempt – reports

An investigation has been launched into the incident at Ecault beach, in Saint-Etienne-au-Mont.

Events

2 w. ago More than 1,000 small boat migrants arrive in UK despite French deal

The numbers crossing the English Channel have dwarfed the handful of migrants being sent the other way.

Economics

2 w. ago Hundreds attempt Channel crossing as second migrant deported in UK

An inflatable dinghy full of men, women and at least three children made its way out to sea from Gravelines beach at daybreak on Friday morning.

Events

2 w. ago The lavish state banquet being staged for Donald Trump at Windsor

Some 160 people will gather in the grand St George’s Hall on Wednesday evening in honour of the controversial American leader.

Politics

3 w. ago New French PM Sébastien Lecornu promises ‘profound break’ with past politics

Lecornu, 39, faces difficult task of gaining enough support from divided parliament to pass a budgetThe new French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has promised a “profound break” with past politics as he took over from the unpopular centrist François Bayrou, who was ousted this week over a proposed budget squeeze.Lecornu, 39, who said “humility” was the key approach, now faces the difficult task of gaining enough support from France’s divided parliament to pass a budget if he is to avoid being swiftly ousted in the same way as Bayrou, and before him, the rightwing Michel Barnier, who only lasted three months. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Anglo American agrees mining mega merger; Londoners face commuting struggles as tube strike enters second day – business live

Deal will create $53bn mining giant but raises fears of job cuts as headquarters moves to VancouverIn the markets, the FTSE 100 index has edged 0.2% higher while Germany’s Dax gained 0.15% and Italy’s FTSE MiB rose by 0.5%.France’s CAC climbed by 0.7%, despite political turmoil in the country. French president Emmanuel Macron is seeking his fifth prime minister in less than two years, after centre-right PM François Bayrou was ousted in a confidence vote on Monday, as expected. This toppled his minority government.A quiet Monday masks a big week ahead for US markets, with the Nasdaq hitting an all-time high as tech and retail led a modest rebound. The S&P 500 added 0.5%, while the Russell 2000 lagged after its recent run. Treasury yields continued their descent, with the 10-year near 4%, its lowest in five months, and the 2-year hovering around 3.5%, levels last seen in 2022.Markets are fully priced for a 25bps cut [from the Fed] this month, and expect more to come. With PPI, CPI...

Events

4 w. ago Europe live: French PM loses confidence vote and will tender resignation amid political crisis

More than 350 French lawmakers voted against François BayrouAnd over in Brussels, EU diplomats have been briefing journalists that the European Commission is expected to propose a 19th package of sanctions against Russia by Friday, Reuters said.The EU has stepped up its listings and is no longer shying away from larger entities in third countries, and it could list banks in two central Asian countries too, they said. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago The French government is on the brink – and Le Pen is the only winner | Paul Taylor

Saddled with a financial crisis and unpopular reforms, the prime minister, François Bayrou, seems doomed. Will he take Macron with him?François Bayrou may have thought it was a smart pre-emptive move to call a parliamentary vote of confidence in his minority government ahead of a planned national protest day on 10 September and the start of a fraught parliamentary budget season.Determined not to meet the same fate as his predecessor who was toppled by parliament last December, the French prime minister appears to have chosen political hara-kiri instead. His near-certain ejection by a hung parliament on Monday (8 September) is set to turn a smouldering political deadlock into a blazing crise de régime. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago France’s political crisis reveals deep rift between the people and their politicians

The likely fall of prime minister François Bayrou exposes a political malaise that is likely to sour French politics well beyond the 2027 presidential election as the far right exploits the momentAs the French government faces likely collapse in a confidence vote on Monday, plunging the eurozone’s second biggest economy and key diplomatic power into a domestic political crisis, Jonathan Denis, a 42-year-old a bank manager and health rights campaigner, was concerned about the terrible impact it will have on France’s dying and terminally ill.The centrist president Emmanuel Macron had promised assisted dying and improved palliative care would be the biggest social reform of his second term but the bill, which had been scheduled to go before the senate next month, now risks being delayed once more by the unpredictable revolving door of four prime ministers in just over three years. Continue reading...

Politics