PowerSwitch

Protests against plans to raise the pension age in France have turned increasingly violent, with a town hall set on fire, and the planned visit by our King postponed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65064510

Protests continue, many of them violent.
In the last few minutes it has been announced that the French constitutional court have found in favour of the government, and ruled that the government CAN increase the pension age without a vote.
The protesters were expecting that the court would rule otherwise.

Some of the more hotheaded protesters are openly calling for the violent overthrow of the government.

Sixth Republic perhaps? Or maybe another Committee for Public Safety?

With this unbelievable self-interested country who can say, and what the consequences could be. Such an abuse of the European system would not have been tolerated by any other country but France.

Trouble in France - again.

Basically their problems are terminal. It's a result of their history. About ten years ago I read two books (and you are right - I don't read many books anymore), one called The French Intifada and the other called The Stranger. They tell you all you need to know about this problem.

More large scale protests in France, mainly by farmers demanding higher prices/more subsidies.
The more militant factions are calling for a "siege of Paris" with no bulk food supplies allowed to enter the capital until they achieve their aims.
I cant imagine the French authorities allowing that, and it may get a lot worse.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68135180

Should we offer to send troops for peacekeeping ? Or food aid for Paris ? How about a "Paris airlift" ?

Perhaps Macron will say "Let them eat cake". Maybe a Paris Commune gets setup, spending money they don't have on grandes projets.

If they weren't French I would feel sorry for them.

There was a protest many years ago held by French farmers who released sheep under the Eiffel tower. A riot policeman was moving a sheep with his baton when a wheelie bin suddenly came flying in thrown from off camera causing chaos.

"Let them eat mutton"

These protests have wide public support, looks like Macron's toast. Even if he wanted to, he probably doesn't have the degrees of freedom required to calm this movement.

This news is a bit worrying https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-69009025
Two prison officers murdered and others in hospital after a well organised armed attack that succeeded in freeing a convict being moved.
Reports suggest that organised crime groups are becoming more powerful as they profit from the drug trade.

Exit polls put the Left/Green alliance in the lead in the second round of the French elections, and the right in third place behind Macron's coalition. This often happens in French elections, tactical voting on a massive scale to keep the far right out.

If they weren't French I would feel sorry for them. Look at New Caledonia to see what they are like.

I get the feeling that people in France vote for the National Rally / Front in the first round and then vote truthfully in subsequent rounds.

Not going very well in France at present.
Yesterday the French rail network was hit by a series of co-ordinated arson attacks presumably timed so as to disrupt the opening day of the Olympic games.
It remains to be seen who was behind this, but suspicions are on russia, partly because France is the only nation to have seriously considered sending troops to Ukraine.

This should be a warning as to the vulnerability of railways in general, and fibre optic cables in particular.

It will be interesting to know who did this. Whether Russia still has a hidden army of 'fellow travellers' even though Russia is no longer Communist. I think a stubborn old French Communist could still follow Russian orders and there are few people more stubborn than French.

Or it could have been some people recruited from Facebook for cash.

I actually hope the French find out who did this. So far I have not watched a single second of the Olympics so far and don't intend to.

Having lost a vote of no confidence. This has happened previously, but not since the 1960s. Considerable dislocation is expected.

I hate to reply to my own posts but the state of affairs in this dreadful place made the A(for Australian)BC mornings news today.

I have to note that Barnier was the same person who negotiated Brexit for the EU but this time the hardball approach did not work with the French Assembly. Maybe he will looked upon as a kind of Gallic Liz Truss in the future.