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Thread: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    French workers occupy factory, threaten to blow it up in protest over possible closure

    RT
    Fri, 12 May 2017 12:19 UTC


    Workers at a car component factory in central France have occupied the plant and are threatening to blow it up in a radical protest against their bosses as the site risks closure.


    The workers at the GM&S auto-suppliers plant in the Creuse region, north of Limoges, have told Renault and Peugeot they are ready to blow up the factory if their demands are not met.

    Some 280 jobs at the site are under threat after the plant went into receivership back in December, and workers accuse the two car giants of blocking negotiations for a takeover of the factory and of making too few orders.

    The protesters have already started destroying machinery at the site. Photos released on social media on Thursday, show them cutting a machine in half with a blowtorch. Trade union representatives say the workers will destroy a machine each day unless their demands are met.

    Parts of the factory have been also apparently rigged with explosives, with Twitter images showing gas canisters strung up next to a huge tank of liquid oxygen. It is, however, not clear if the canisters are filled with gas or are empty.

    "We did not want it to get here, but we don't have a choice: our average age is 49, what else will we do?" CGT union delegate Vincent Labrousse told Le Parisien. "Since they want to liquidate us, we are not going to leave the factory as it is. It's sad to say, but here we are."

    Negotiations with management over the last few weeks have failed and the closure of the factory is likely to be announced on May 23.

    The protesters are demanding a meeting with Peugeot and Renault managers as well as newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron.

    "We refuse to be taken for a ride anymore," Labrousse told AFP.
    "We have been fighting for six months and we are sorry to get to this point but at the moment there is a threat of liquidation and if that happens then the factory will not be returned in one piece."
    This would not be the first time workers have threatened to destory an auto part factory in France. In 2000, protesters threatened to blow up the Cellatex plant in the Ardennes over redundancy payments, while in 2001, a similar threat was made over the Moulinex works in Normandy.

    Most recently in 2009, workers threatened to destroy the New Fabris parts factory in Vienne if their bonuses were not paid. However, none of the threats were actually carried out.


    Related:
    Riot police fire tear gas at farmers’ demonstration in France
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    French activists protest Macron's assault on workers' rights

    RT
    Thu, 31 Aug 2017 17:31 UTC

    © Ruptly

    Several hundred activists have taken to the streets of a Paris suburb, protesting against new labor reforms which will make it easier for companies to hire and fire workers, and accusing President Emmanuel Macron of failing to represent the people.

    The rally, organized by a group of trade unions, Solidaires and the CGT as well as associations like Attac France and Members of the Right to Housing (DAL), denounced the reforms of the labor code that is currently under government discussion.

    Protesters arrived at the HEC School of Management in the Jouy-en-Josas suburb -where France's largest employer federation MEDEF are hosting their 'Summer University' - to speak out against the perceived influence of the French business lobby over their newly elected business friendly president.

    "Mr. Macron represents the big bosses, and those who want to cut public services, social protection and everything achieved by workers," one of the protesters at the rally told RT.

    The Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF), has been making their own demands to Macron's government as it works to reform the country's Labor Code. Speaking to Europe 1 radio, the vice-president of MEDEF Thibault Lanxade confirmed that his organization has great "confidence" in the reforms carried out by Macron.

    Protesters however believe that MEDEF, which represents over 750,000 companies of all sizes, does not represent the interests of workers.

    "It is about ideology. To be able to sack workers more easily and stop work. In fact, he wants to get rid of employee protections altogether. It is a big attack of the hierarchy. Corporate deals will now take over," another protester added.

    Reforming the country's strict labor laws has been one of Macron's top priorities. On Tuesday, his government begun the final round of talks with trade unions' representatives on liberalizing the labor laws which the government hopes will reduce the 9.5 percent unemployment rate in France.

    Francois Hollande's Socialist government sparked months of protests trying to push through a less ambitious labor bill last year.

    Now Macron strives to grant employers more power to negotiate employment conditions with workers, which some believe will diminish the weight of trade unions. The 39-year-old former investment banker also wants to cap the compensation awarded by courts in workers dismissal cases. The final version of the reforms will be presented on 31 August.

    The CGT union has already called for a massive nationwide rally on September 12. Force Ouvriere (FO), the third largest trade union in France, turned down an invitation to participate. Despite the snub, huge numbers are expected to march through the streets.
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  5. Link to Post #63
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    Barcelona mayor: Over 460 injured, police must stop attacking ‘defenseless population’

    RT
    Published time: 1 Oct, 2017 14:53
    Edited time: 1 Oct, 2017 15:38
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    Spanish Guardia Civil guards drag a man outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis, where Catalan president was supposed to vote, on October 1, 2017. © Raymond Roig / AFP

    The Mayor of Barcelona urged the Spanish police to immediately end their violence “against the defenseless population.” Spain’s central authorities launched a massive crackdown on the Catalan independence referendum which they say is illegal.

    At least 460 people have been injured in clashes between police and voters amid the ongoing independence referendum, Mayor Ada Colau tweeted, urging Spain’s law enforcement to immediately stop using aggressive tactics “against the defenseless population.”

    In a separate statement, the Catalan health service reported treating 465 casualties, two of whom are in a serious condition in hospital.

    Spain’s Interior Ministry said that nine police officers and three Civil Guards sustained injuries during the clashes.

    Sunday’s Catalan independence referendum was marked by violent clashes between voters and the police, which attempted to block Catalans from voting, forcibly removing them from polling stations. The police repeatedly used batons and rubber bullets against civilians, as multiple footage from the scene indicates.


    Related:
    Catalonia holds independence referendum amid violent attempts to thwart vote Live updates
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    90% of voters said ‘Yes’ to independence from Spain – Catalan government

    RT
    Published time: 1 Oct, 2017 22:42
    Edited time: 1 Oct, 2017 23:26
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    People react as they gather at Plaza Catalunya after voting ended for the banned independence referendum, in Barcelona, Spain October 1, 2017 © Susana Vera / Reuters

    The overwhelming majority of Catalans who participated in the banned referendum have voted in favor of independence from Spain, the Catalan government has announced.

    Over two million Catalans, or 90.9 percent of those who voted said ‘Yes’ in Sunday's referendum, regional authorities said. Only 7,87 percent, or 176,565 voters said ‘No’ when asked if they want to attain independence from Madrid.

    Quote
    Govern. Generalitat‏Verified account @govern

    Resultats del Referèndum de #1OCT

    3:51 PM - 1 Oct 2017
    200 replies 2,206 retweets 1,957 likes
    The Catalan government said the result reflects only the ballots that “were not seized” during police raids on polling stations throughout the day.

    “What kind of a democracy steals ballot boxes?” asked Vice President Oriol Junqueras, standing next to government representatives, Raul Romeva and Jordi Turull.

    “We will be consistent with the democratic mandate that citizens have given us today,” he added. “Catalonia has won its right to be a new Republic, if this is what the Parliament decides.”

    Of Catalonia’s 5.34 million voters, this represents a turnout of around 42.3 percent, excluding those whose ballots were confiscated and people who were prevented from voting by police.

    The massive police crackdown “prevented” an estimated 770,000 people from voting, Catalan government board member Turull said during the vote result announcement.
    Turull said out of the 844 people that suffered injuries from police brutality during the vote, 74 have already filed official complaints.

    Romeva noted that during Sunday's events, “everyone saw that on one side we saw violence and shame, and on the other we had democracy and dignity.”

    “All the repression falls absolutely on the side of the government of Rajoy and the police forces that have been brought in for this purpose,” Romeva said, according to La Vanguardia.

    The head of the regional government, Carles Puigdemont, earlier praised the courage millions of Catalan people, who, despite a violent police crackdown, took to the polling stations to vote.

    At least 844 people were injured on Sunday after being attacked by police as they were exercising their democratic right to vote. At the same time least 33 officers were injured in clashes with voters, the Spanish interior ministry announced.

    After polling stations in Catalonia closed, Spain's Prime Minister announced that “no referendum” took place in the country, claiming the majority of Catalans “obeyed the law” and did not want to participate in the independence vote after Madrid branded it “illegal” and issued a poll ban. Rajoy praised officers for “performing their duty,” while the Spanish foreign minister called the police response “proportionate.”


    Related:
    ‘Catalonian citizens won the right to statehood’ – regional president

    'There was no independence referendum in Catalonia today' – Spain PM
    "La réalité est un rêve que l'on fait atterrir" San Antonio AKA F. Dard

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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    'We’ve had enough!' Protesters demand new agricultural policies in Germany (VIDEO)

    RT
    Published time: 20 Jan, 2018 12:00 Edited time: 20 Jan, 2018 12:48
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    Protesters gather in Berlin calling for changes to Germany's agricultural policies. © Hannibal Hanschke / Reuters

    Demonstrators armed with pots and spoons have taken to the streets of Berlin to demand government changes which would benefit small farmers. It coincides with Berlin’s hosting of the world’s largest agricultural fair.

    Footage posted online by Ruptly showed the protesters marching through the streets carrying banners, some of which featured a photo of a honeybee. “New agricultural policy,” the signs read.

    The protest’s slogan is “Wir haben es satt,” which translates to “We have had enough.” Numerous tractors also rode through the streets as part of the demonstration.

    [video at link]

    The demonstrators are rallying for legislation to induce sustainable fair trade and improve the nutritional quality of products, along with benefiting independent farmers. They say the German government and agricultural industry have increased exports by lowering prices and animal protection standards, claiming the moves have negatively impacted German farmers.

    The protesters say Germany needs to instead concentrate on fair trade, stop promoting big farming companies, and focus on improving quality. They also say that supermarkets need to use labeling which shows the origin of meat and milk products.

    Similar protests take place every year during “Green Week,” when Berlin hosts the largest agricultural fair in the world.
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    French fishermen protest electrical 'pulse' fishing, block Calais and Boulogne

    Metro Press
    Fri, 26 Jan 2018 14:22 UTC


    Fishermen in Boulogne set pallets and tyres alight on an access road while two French boats blockaded an area of the port where Dutch trawlers unload© Unknown

    French fishermen have blocked the ports of Calais and Boulogne in protest at so-called pulse fishing, which uses electrified nets to stun fish. Fishing boats stopped ferries entering or leaving Calais while a roadblock stopped traffic at Boulogne. Calais is a major link between the UK and France used by thousands of tourists and lorries every day.

    The European Parliament recently voted to ban pulse fishing which is mainly used by Dutch trawlers.

    The head of P&O Ferries, Janette Bell, said the blockade of Calais was "utterly unacceptable". It was lifted at 16:00 GMT, though the ports were expected to take a while to get back to normal. The fishermen said they would meet government officials on Friday to discuss the issue.

    The English port of Dover was also hit by the action, with P&O and DFDS Seaways suspending some scheduled services. DFDS later rerouted some services through Dunkirk while P&O advised some customers to use the Channel Tunnel.

    Fishermen in Boulogne set pallets and tyres alight on an access road while two French boats blockaded an area of the port where Dutch trawlers unload their catches.

    Stéphane Pinto, vice president of the regional fisheries committee, said a small flotilla of boats had sailed to Calais from Boulogne and other boats from Dunkirk had joined them. He said the fishermen faced financial losses because of the use of pulse fishing.
    "We're at our wits ends. We feel abandoned," he added.
    The controversial technique involves trawlers using nets that generate an electric current, stunning the fish and making them float upwards where they are easier to catch.

    The Netherlands is the biggest user of this method in the EU, and argues that it is better for the environment than traditional trawling. However, the practice has inflamed French fishermen who complain it is depleting stocks. The French conservation group Bloom is also campaigning against the method.

    Following its vote, the European Parliament will hold long negotiations with the European Commission and member states to agree a package of measures to streamline regulations for fishing. However Dutch trawlers can continue to use pulse fishing until the new legislation comes into force.
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    French farmers' protest against EU subsidy cuts stretches into second week - Travel chaos in Occitanie region

    Pascal Pavani RFI
    Wed, 31 Jan 2018 16:25 UTC


    Farmers have blocked highways, national roads and bridges across the southwestern region of Occitanie. © La Dépêche

    Protesting farmers brought the ringroad of France's fourth-largest city to a halt in a protest against a possible cut in European Union subsidies on Wednesday. Meanwhile in Paris, the government unveiled proposals to ensure they get a fair price for their produce from big supermarket chains.

    There were traffic jams on the ringroad of Toulouse, the south-western city that is home to the headquarters of European planemaker Airbus, from 6.30am as more than 100 tractors blocked commuters.

    Farmers from across the region set fire to piles of tyres, palettes and hay and grilled sausages for picnics on the motorway under the watchful eye of the police.



    © La Dépêche

    In a joint statement, two unions accused the government of "laughing at farmers" because of plans to reduce the number of "less favoured agricultural areas", which are entitled to EU subsidies.

    The government has proposed a reduction of 100 such zones in the Haute Garonne département around Toulouse.

    Protesters claimed the move could deprive them of as much as 7,000 euros a year.

    The new classification is to be decided on 15 February and come into effect in the spring.


    © La Dépêche
    SOTT Comment: 10 days later, the protests are still going strong. Farmers have created so many roadblocks on highways and national roads that it is difficult to leave some towns and cities, much less the region. Train lines in and out of cities are also blocked.

    French farmers have been protesting about the terrible prices they get for their produce for years, but little has changed.

    In the meantime, President Macron has hinted that he is willing to consider a complete overhaul of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, something French governments have until now always resisted touching.
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    En bref:

    Winter of Discontent in France: Protests, Endless Dark Skies, And Crazy New Laws


    Niall Bradley Sott.net
    Fri, 09 Feb 2018 21:47 UTC


    © Fred Scheiber/Sipa

    Following almost two weeks of intensive protests, the black smoke from huge tire fires is clearing as transport routes open again in Occitanie, France, where farmers had blocked roads, motorways, and railway lines with piles of manure, trash and hundreds of tractors. With Toulouse - France's 4th-largest city - and other cities at times almost completely blockaded, the impact was felt throughout southwestern France, and likened to a 'civil war'.

    Already feeling the downward pressure of low prices for their products, local farmers were up in arms over re-zoning plans that would see them effectively made redundant because their farms would no longer be entitled to EU subsidies. But the crisis appears to have been temporarily solved after French Minister of Agriculture committed Thursday to leaving intact subsidies for most of the affected communes in Midi-Pyrenees and Aquitaine.

    Rural colere against Paris and Brussels is sure to flare up again soon because President Macron hinted just last month that he is willing to consider a complete overhaul of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, something French governments have until now always strongly defended because France's rural communities are particularly dependent on EU subsidies.

    French national media largely ignored the farmers' protests - after all, so long as peripheral matters don't directly impact Paris, then tant pis - although they did sit up and take notice when the siege of Toulouse became really serious earlier this week. In the meantime, a number of other protests across France in the last ten days or so have contributed to a pronounced sense of national gloom.


    The cost of damage to highways by protesting farmers across Occitanie is expected to run into millions of euros © Nicolas Albrand

    The atrocious weather of late hasn't helped lift spirits any. Non-stop rain this winter flooded Paris for the second time in 6 months, with the accumulated rainfall in December and January reaching a level not seen there since the winter of 1935-36. Nationally, France saw its wettest January since 1959. Incessant low pressure has brought non-stop storms in from the Atlantic, and with them persistent overcast skies. Swathes of France and Belgium recorded their second-lowest count in sunlight hours for any month since record-keeping began in 1887, though the endless darkness was at least 'brightened' this week by heavy snowfalls in central and northern France, bringing Paris is biggest snowfall since 1987 and again seizing up transport networks.

    In late January, La Manche fishermen protesting the use of 'electrical pulse' fishing by large Dutch trawlers - which hits smaller fishing operations financially and depletes stocks for everyone - blockaded Calais and Boulogne with more tire-fuelled roadblocks, while trawlers prevented ferries coming in or out of Calais port, the major transport hub between the UK and France.


    Fishermen in Boulogne set pallets and tyres alight on an access road while two French boats blockaded an area of the port where Dutch trawlers unload © Unknown

    Also in late January, and also lasting 10 days, French prison guards - en masse - flouted a rule that prohibits them from 'downing keys' by going on strike in 129 out of the country's 188 correctional facilities until they received guarantees for better pay and working conditions - specifically, the isolation of Muslim radicals from the rest of the prison population.

    That protest was sparked by a knife-attack against three prison guards on 11 January by Polish-German 'Muslim' terrorist Christian Ganczarski, convicted for his role in a terror attack in Tunisia in 2002, and who had just that day learned he was up for extradition to the US for suspected involvement in 9/11. Guards' protests then flared into a nationwide strike after a convicted murderer seriously injured 7 guards at a prison in Landes on 16 January, followed by an incident two days later at a prison in Corsica when a radicalized inmate screamed 'Allahu akbar' as he knocked two guards unconscious.

    Back in Calais, the immigrant 'Jungle' - which officially no longer exists since it was 'cleared' in late 216 - saw the worst outbreak of violence in its 19-year existence when hundreds of its denizens armed with iron bars and sticks fought a running battle on 2 February for control of the camp and 'people-smuggling rights'. Firearms have apparently now reached the immigrant complex as 5 of them received bullet wounds that night.

    That same day, 5 French army officers were killed after two Gazelle military helicopters crashed mid-air at a flight training school east of Marseilles. Authorities have provided no information about what caused it.


    Ma pauvre France

    French authorities are apparently doing little about all these rolling crises because they're too busy focusing on what really matters, like passing legislation that outlaws 'fake news' about the rolling crises. The French Minister of Culture announced last week that a new law will make "different" media platforms "cooperate with the state", while a "judicial procedure" will enable the state to "rapidly block the dissemination of fake news once it is published." It's of course being done under the pretext of 'countering Russian propaganda outlets RT and Sputnik', but the real purpose - as in the US and elsewhere in the West - is to stifle internal dissent. On the bright side, at least France still has a Ministry of Culture: its president infamously said "there is no such thing as French culture" while campaigning last year.

    Other recent kafkaesque moves by Macron's government include impending legislation to outlaw 'sexual contempt', part of a 5-year-plan to wage 'cultural war' against... well, in this instance, French men, who could be fined up to €350 if they "follow women in the street, whistle at them, make loud comments about their appearance or ask for their phone numbers." The list of potential transgressions may not end there.

    There's no money to subsidize farmers paying the hidden costs of neoliberal globalization, but there apparently is money to roll out an expensive nationwide reduction in the speed limit on national roads from 90 to 80kph. With signs on over 400,000km of roads to replace, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe reckons the price will be worth it because his bean-counters estimate the reduction in speed will save 350-400 lives a year. This measure is set to come into force on 1 July, and it too prompted mass protests that brought traffic to a halt up and down the country.

    Every life matters, I guess, especially when your national statistics office announces that the birth rate fell in 2017 for the third year running, pulling France down from the replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman in 2014 towards the depressed EU birth rate average of 1.58. Julian Assange suggested last year that "Capitalism + atheism + feminism = sterility = migration." Sounds close enough, though it depends on what is meant by 'capitalism'. France has long prided itself on a healthy birth rate but it looks like Western mania for sexual liberation and novel genders has finally caught up with it too.
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    Macron support COLLAPSE: Pensioners REVOLT with France set to grind to a HALT

    FRANCE risks grinding to a halt as thousands of furious protesters threaten to wreck French president Emmanuel Macron's controversial reforms while pensioners vow to drop their support for the leader.

    By Oli Smith
    PUBLISHED: 09:05, Sat, Mar 17, 2018 |
    UPDATED: 16:23, Sat, Mar 17, 2018

    Emmanuel Macron faces showdown with striking French rail staff

    Emmanuel Macron's reform plans are set to trigger widespread chaos in France, with the country's travel network expected to grind to a standstill for three months.

    While the French president has become a leading figure in the European Union, his ambitious reform plans have sparked a domestic backlash.

    Yesterday, French rail unions unveiled plans to strike two days out of five for three months starting in April in protest against the state rail operator.


    Emmanuel Macron's reform plans are set to trigger widespread chaos in France GETTY

    Mr Macron's train proposals include ending the jobs-for-life status and early retirement age of national rail workers.

    Guillaume Pepy, head of the state rail, said that more than 4.5 million people will be affected by the proposed strikes.

    Earlier in the week, Mr Macron faced the fury of pensioners, who claimed the French leader had "bled them dry" by raising taxes on the elderly.

    This latest protest has shocked the French government since the majority of older citizens supported Mr Macron's presidential bid last year.

    Several political analysts point to this support drop as a reason why Mr Macron's En Marche party suffered a surprise by-election defeat last month.

    Thousands of retired French citizens took to the streets in Paris and other cities to voice their anger

    Violence erupts in France during riots against Macron's reforms

    Thu, November 16, 2017 Violence has erupted in Nantes, France during protests against the President Emmanuel Macron’s business-friendly reform agenda

    AFP/Getty Images

    Michel Salingue of the FGR-FP union said: "We are not the gilded generation. We've contributed more than our share already."

    Mado Gurard, a 75-year-old who voted for Macron last May, added: "“We’ve had enough of being bled dry the whole time. Us retired people, we vote. He has to listen to us."

    Mr Macron fired back at the protesters, saying: "If I don’t make an effort for those who work, there’ll be nobody left to pay for your pension.

    "We have lowered income taxes by 30 percent so that working people can pay for your pensions."

    The French President has also recently faced protests from truckers, students and farmers.


    Related:
    Macron under fire as rail workers threaten national strike

    Protesters fear EU-India trade risks a TSUNAMI - Macron trip BACKFIRES
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    Well... La Voie... elle 'est plus libre...

    Railway Protests in Paris Turn Wild: Masked Men Started Breaking Shop Windows

    Sputnik Europe
    17:43 03.04.2018
    (updated 19:03 03.04.2018)


    © Sputnik/ Irina Kalashnikova

    Railway Protests in Paris Turn Wild: Masked Men Started Breaking Shop Windows

    On Tuesday afternoon, a demonstration of railroad workers opposing the reform of the National Company of French Railways (SNCF)started in the Gare d'Est Railway Station in Paris. At the very beginning of the column, there was a group of masked men, who later turned the protest into a rampage, Sputnik correspondent reported.

    Young people, dressed in black and with masks on their faces, began to smash shop windows and offices along the path of the column's movement, throwing bottles at policemen, turning over the urns. The police used hoses against the rioters.

    Garbage collectors and students joined the railway workers' demonstration. Garbage collectors are protesting against difficult working conditions and demanding early retirement. Students are opposed to the planned changes to the university enrollment system.

    Reform of the railway company, a monopoly in France, involves, in particular, the introduction of competition in the railway industry, as well as the elimination in the future of the special rights of the railway workers, which included a number of benefits.

    Some railroad workers feared that the SNCF reform could lead to its privatization. However, the French government refutes such a plan. On Tuesday, the French Minister of Transport once again assured that the privatization of the company will not be conducted, and stressed that a number of organizers of the strike disseminate incorrect information and are trying to translate the debate into a political plane.

    Quote
    Katy Lee‏Verified account @kjalee

    Good morning from Paris. Three months of rolling rail strikes, a huge test for @EmmanuelMacron, off to a good start: platforms are so crowded at Gare de Lyon that this woman fell onto the tracks and had to be helped out #grevesncf


    12:34 AM - 3 Apr 2018
    On Tuesday, about 50% of railway workers took part in this national strike in France, including 77% of train drivers. In this regard, a large number of high-speed trains TGV, regional TER and shuttle trains RER in the Ile-de-France region has been canceled. Many French have had to adapt and choose alternative routes to get to work.

    It is expected that the strike, organized by the French unions CGT, Unsa and CFDT, could last for almost three months — until June 28. If it is not possible to reach an agreement with the government, railway workers intend to strike every week on a two-day schedule, a total of 36 days.

    Emmanuel Macron, who ran his successful presidential campaign on a "pro-business" platform, has seen his popularity rapidly decline in his first year in office as he has sought to introduce measures to weaken the strength of the country's unions and give employers the ability to more easily fire their employees. The president has attempted to sell the measures as necessary to stimulate economic growth.

    On top of the rail-strikes, Air France employees have also walked off the job over pay rates, causing major air-travel delays in what could collectively amount to the most intense period of industrial action in recent French history.

    Followers on social media have generally been supportive of the industrial action, accusing the president, a former investment banker, of serving "the one percent."

    ​Heading to France in April, May or June? French rail unions have called strikes for all of these days so make sure you plan ahead… https://t.co/YqsVru8IMj

    Quote
    Winter Oak‏ @WinterOakPress

    Winter Oak Retweeted Charles Baudry
    #JeSoutiensLaGreveDesCheminots - "I support the rail strike" - says much of France in a massive rejection of President Macron's neoliberal union-busting politics

    Winter Oak added,





    Charles Baudry @CharlesBaudry

    Protestations contre les réformes d'Emmanuel Macron à Paris ! Les manifestants débutent la marche en direction de Saint-Lazare. #JesoutienslesCheminots #GreveSNCF #Greve3avril #étudiants #greve #manif

    6:28 AM - 3 Apr 2018
    0 replies 4 retweets 5 likes
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    This has been going on for 10 years...

    Photos and video emerges of tense standoff between police and eco-activists in France as violence flares for 2nd day

    RT
    Tue, 10 Apr 2018 15:19 UTC


    © Stephane Mahe / Reuters

    Violence is flaring in western France for the second day as police attempt to raze an anarchist commune on the site of an abandoned airport. Squatters threw Molotov cocktails at officers, who responded with tear gas.

    Law enforcement officials were mobilized for evictions in Notre-Dame-des-Landes commune, 20km from the city of Nantes on Monday. Some 250 activists occupied the 1,650-hectare site, once reserved for a proposed airport, calling it their "Zone a Defendre" (Zone to be Defended). The illegal occupants of the anarchist commune demanded the right to stay after creating a so-called "self-governing utopia."

    On Tuesday, tensions continued with Molotov cocktails flying through clouds of tear gas, local media reported. The protesters set up barricades made of tires and electricity poles in an effort to keep the police at bay.

    Quote
    Zone À Défendre‏ @ZAD_NDDL

    #zad #nddl on tient le front dans la foret et la foret nous aide comme toujours






    2:38 AM - 10 Apr 2018
    5 replies 85 retweets 115 likes
    "Things are going to be more complicated [on Tuesday], the Pays-de-la-Loire regional prefect said, adding that on Monday police deployed some 2,500 officers to evict the camp residents.


    RT's Charlotte Dubenskij and the Ruptly crew were caught up in the action amid the standoff between police officers and eco-squatters.

    Quote
    Charlotte Dubenskij‏ @CDubenskij_RT

    The tanks are here #NDDL #ZAD

    11:22 PM - 9 Apr 2018
    1 reply 7 retweets 5 likes
    Environmental activists have protested against the construction of the airport in Notre-Dame-des-Landes since 2008. Supporters of the project argued it would boost economic development in Pays-de-la-Loire, while opponents claimed it was too environmentally unfriendly.

    After long debates, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced in January that France would abandon the project.

    "This is the logical decision given the dead-end in which this project has found itself," Philippe stated. Authorities later ordered the activists to evacuate the area by March 31 or otherwise face eviction.
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    Riots in Toulouse, France: Police attacked as woman arrested for refusing to remove Islamic face veil

    RT
    Wed, 18 Apr 2018 07:42 UTC


    Burnt cars in Toulouse, France after a night of clashes between the youth and police on April 17, 2018.© Eric Cabanis / AFP

    A deprived district of Toulouse, France has been rocked by two nights of furious riots, triggered by the arrest of a woman who refused to remove her Islamic full-face veil for police. Some 18 people were arrested.

    Hundreds of police units were deployed after young residents threw stones, torched cars and set fire to garbage cans, police told the AFP. The clashes began on Sunday afternoon in the Toulouse district of Bellefontaine after a woman wearing a full-face veil - which is illegal in France - was stopped by the police for an identity check.

    She allegedly showed a poor-quality photocopy of her identity card and refused to lift her veil to let police officers see her face. After several futile attempts to have her lift the veil, the woman began to scream for help, France Info reports.

    She was placed under arrest and moved into a police vehicle. Soon after, a group of about 30 people circled the police and attacked them. Officers attempted to quell the crowd by discharging their weapons and used tear gas launcher.

    Along with the disturbances in Bellefontaine, there were also riots in Mirail and the neighboring district of Reynerie, which also began on Sunday evening. It's believed the riots are connected to the suicide of a prisoner incarcerated in Seysses near Toulouse, who was found hanged in his cell on Saturday.


    © Eric Cabanis / AFP

    Hundreds of policemen were mobilised during the clashes in Reynerie with around 15 cars set on fire by rioters and around 300 tear gas grenades launched in the crowd.

    "The clashes were extremely violent. My colleagues were very shocked, the events were very complicated to manage but they showed a lot of composure,"said spokesperson Didier Martinez.

    "There was clearly an intention to attack the police," said district police officer Arnaud Bavois describing scenes of "great violence" during the riots. The high-risk districts of Reynerie, Bellefontaine and Mirail in Toulouse, are identified as priority security areas.


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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    France: Students, workers protest Macron's austerity, militarism, destruction of social rights and industry

    Anthony Torres World Socialist Web Site
    Sat, 21 Apr 2018 00:00 UTC


    France in Chaos © Daily Express

    The first protest of strikers from multiple professions since November 2017 took place on April 19, organized by the Stalinist-led General Confederation of Labor (CGT) and Pabloite-linked Solidarity unions, as student blockades of universities spread across France to protest President Emmanuel Macron's policies of austerity and militarism.

    The CGT claimed 300,000 people (119,000 according to police) had marched in a total of 130 protests across France. Approximately 20,000 people joined the protest in Paris from Montparnasse to Italy Square. In Lyon, 15,000 people according to the CGT (9,200 according to police) marched. The CGT also claimed 13,000 protesters in Nantes and 65,000 in Marseille (6,000 and 5,000, respectively, according to police).

    Apart from university and high school students, retirees, rail workers and workers from several industries that have taken strike action against Macron were present. Strike movements are emerging in Air France, Paris regional transport, the energy and electricity industry, the auto industry, hospitals as well as among undocumented workers and school and day care workers.

    WSWS reporters joined the protests in Paris, which largely consisted of university and high school students. They were very determined to continue the struggle despite growing sentiment that the union bureaucracies are seeking to strangle the movement with a perspective of negotiating deals with Macron.

    Gabriel of Clergy-Pontoise University said he was participating
    "above all to protest the free-market policies of the Macron government, which I believe is an extremist government both from the economic and police standpoint. I am here to protest the shock strategy orchestrated by Macron, the French political establishment, and the European and American oligarchy. I think we have to mobilize in struggle not only against one or other reform or law, but against everything this man represents and the forces that support him."
    Gabriel was aware of the limitations of the April 19 protest, saying he
    "thinks the mobilisation only of students is not enough. The working world, the workers, the self-employed, the entire population should be with us. We are no longer negotiating but trying to establish a relationship of forces, with strikes, blockades and occupations; this cannot stop. We have to go on, to harass them on every front. There is a political plan being advanced by the ruling class with a radical project in France and internationally. Macron's goal is to destroy the last bastions of social rights. He wants to devastate the people."
    On the US-UK-French strikes on Syria, Gabriel said,
    "Our government is totally controlled by the pathetic and reactionary imperialist interests of our political establishment. Our diplomacy is behind American interests. If we do not get out of this system, we will not be able to change our foreign policy."
    Louis, a student at the School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS) also spoke to the WSWS. He denounced the bombing in Syria, stressing that the movement against Macron should also be against war:
    "France continues to participate in interventions across the entire world to defend these economic interests. They should be fought, and that is what we are doing."
    Louis also expressed his doubts regarding the trade unions and Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the Unsubmissive France (LFI) movement:
    "The unions are weaker and weaker; we have to develop other forms of opposition. In the longer term, the entire class should be united. Mélenchon is trying to do something new, I'm not sure whether it will work but it does offer something else. The problem of LFI is that they have dangerous patriotic rhetoric, because they are not communists."
    George, a sales representative at Casino, said he feels
    "solidarity for workers who are fighting and for the cancelling of anti-social and regressive laws. The rail workers are not responsible for the railways' debts; it is the fault of the governments. We are the ones they are attacking, but we work and pay our taxes. We are faced with a brutal government that is attacking students and ecological protesters, and we are bombing Syria. All in one week, that is a lot. There are other solutions besides bombing Syria." He added, "In Europe we have the resources to live better and better, but the opposite is taking place. Promises on Europe are being broken, that is done against the populations by governments that are far-right. We have to be more numerous beyond the trade unions; we have to have workers and also the unemployed that are present. It will be difficult, but we can do it."
    WSWS reporters also spoke in Marseille with students and workers including Lucien, an undergraduate history student. He confirmed that there is a growing movement at Saint Charles University in Marseille, with 300 to 400 people voting for the unlimited blockade of the university to demand the withdrawal of the Macron's higher education "reform", with the support of professors. He explained that
    "the goal of Macron's plans to make universities more selective, to introduce tuition fees and make it more elitist. It starts with his Parcoursup program to orient students after their high school degree. According to the high school a student is from, he has different options. If we are in a prestigious high school, there will be more interesting options than in a high school in a poor neighbourhood; the university will choose. With Parcoursup, there will be more of a hierarchy of choices; the government is freeing the system to focus on the best students."
    In response to the press denunciations and police repression against students blockading universities, Lucien said:
    "They cannot discredit us with democratic means, so as a last measure they resort to force. But we have the support of the workers who have promised to help the students if they try to throw us out of the university, like the far-right did at the Tolbiac campus" in Paris. Macron is determined, he is attacking the rail workers, he is launching attacks everywhere. I think he is trying to get as many things through as possible while people are still in shock. Turning on the rail workers is a political attack on one of the revolutionary-minded sections" of the working class.
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    Police use tear gas, protesters throw stones as anti-Macron rally turns violent in Paris (VIDEOS)

    RT
    Published time: 22 May, 2018 15:24
    Edited time: 22 May, 2018 16:22
    Get short URL

    [video at link]

    Paris demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s social policies turned violent as protesters hurled projectiles at police and broke shop windows. Officers deployed tear gas and detained some protestors.

    The gathering of civil servants and their supporters on Tuesday was initially peaceful, but got heated when some protestors targeted police with stones and fireworks, and broke shop windows.

    Police responded with tear gas and water cannons in an attempt to disperse the protestors. At least one man was injured, with his head left bloodied.

    Over 16,400 people took part in the protests, French media reports, citing independent watchdog Occurrence. At least 17 people were detained during the scuffles, police told France Info.

    The demonstration was staged by major trade unions to protest such policies as job cuts, wage indexation freeze, and new restrictions on higher education admissions. Apart from the Paris demonstration, trade unions held 140 other protests across the country on Tuesday.

    Besides the street protests, Macron's policies have also caused his approval ratings to plummet following his first year in office. Only around 40 percent of the population supports Macron, while at least 55 percent are “dissatisfied” with his performance, according to recent polls.

    Apart from his rather unpopular domestic policies, which have earned him the title “President of the Rich,” Macron’s foreign endeavors have also drawn criticism, including a controversial trip to Africa, as well as taking part in the US-led strikes on Syria based on a questionable pretext.
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    'One Step to Police State': MPs From Left to Right Slam Macron's Fake News Bill

    Sputnik Europe
    14:16 10.06.2018
    (updated 15:23 10.06.2018)



    Resistance to President Macron's proposed bill to ban 'fake news' on the internet during election campaigns is gathering steam, with National Assembly lawmakers from the left, right and center uniting to reject what they say is a threat to France's constitution. Sputnik presents the most vivid MP reactions to the controversial proposal.

    During the National Assembly hearings on the so-called 'fake news law', legislators from the ruling En Marche/Mouvement proposed that the Higher Audiovisual Council (Conseil superieur de l'audiovisuel) broadcasting regulator be given the right to classify media into two categories — 'trustworthy' and 'less reliable'.

    'Bill Has Only One Purpose'
    Jean-Luc Melenchon, La France Insoumise MP and former left candidate in last year's presidential race, suggested that France had been instructed to take action to curb freedom in its media space by its "North American friends," expressly to counter Russian soft power.
    "The issue is simple – will we ban Russia Today and Sputnik, and when? There is no other question at stake," Melenchon said.

    "By the way, each of the countries which have tried to follow the directions given by the Americans at the beginning of the year – i.e. France, then Germany and the UK, have gotten hopelessly mired in endless discussions about how to achieve this goal without violating freedoms," he added.

    Jean-Luc Melenchon during a rally in Lille, France during last year's presidential election. © Sputnik / Kristina Afanasyeva

    According to the lawmaker, if Paris starts down the slippery slope of trying to outlaw Russian foreign language media, it may end up having to monitor the BBC, Al Jazeera, and other foreign media as well.
    "And perhaps everyone else will monitor France 24 to make sure that it doesn't randomly spread information which meets France's interests," Melenchon quipped.
    After all, he recalled,
    "President Chirac did not hide the purpose of creating this channel: In his view, it was necessary for a country like France to have the opportunity to broadcast a point of view corresponding to our traditions. Everyone does this!"
    Melenchon warned that if the CSA is given the right to determine what is true and what is false, it will wind up determining France's foreign policy.
    "I am against the idea of the chairman of the CSA deciding whether Russia will be our partner or our enemy…This for us [France's elected officials] to determine."
    Finally, Melanchon stressed that Paris should also be wary of giving companies the authority to determine news content.
    "It is proposed that the platforms on which information is based be responsible for this information. That's great, but how? This suggests that they have principles. Are you kidding? The GAFA [Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon] have principles? This is news to me!"
    "Ultimately, what we're discussing is a law to help distinguish between truth and lies, and it is here where our opinions differ. We are not engaged in science…but in politics," the lawmaker said.

    "The whole beauty of the election campaign lies in its subjective nature. How can you, in a few minutes, determine what the truth is?" Melanchon asked.
    'Negligence Toward Constitutional Freedoms'
    Marine Le Pen, former presidential candidate and leader of the Rassemblement national Party (formerly the Front national), spoke out in agreement with her ideological opponent.
    "Mrs. Information Minister! You are dispassionately playing with our constitutional freedoms, and doing so, I must say, with appalling negligence," Le Pen said.

    "You are dangerous people. And what you are doing today you will continue to do until the end of your mandate. This law in particular will become the symbol of your government and, in my opinion, will leave an indelible mark on the careers you are so proud of."


    Marine Le Pen of France's far-right National Front (FN) political party at the opening session of the French National Assembly in Paris, France, June 27, 2017 © REUTERS / Charles Platiau
    "You speak with such ease about extremely serious issues. You are talking about the immediate removal of internet content. But in fact we are talking about the equivalent of a seizure – the seizure of a newspaper, the confiscation of a book. Let me remind some of you that judges are no longer engaged with this, because it is a very serious encroachment of our freedoms," Le Pen added.
    Furthermore, Le Pen suggested that the fake news bill seems hypocritical.
    "…Your goal is to create a form of transparency to get to know whether digital platforms have foreign financial influence. It seems to me that this looks very similar to what President Putin decided several months ago; this decision roused the whole political class in France, which demanded transparency, and that NGOs which naturally exert very large influence on public opinion disclose whether they are financed from abroad. I repeat: all of you without exception thought this Russian law encroaches on freedom. Now you are demanding the same thing [for France]."
    Fellow Rassemblement national MP Emmanuelle Menard echoed Le Pen's indignation.
    "The most recent presidential elections showed, according to some, that a foreign state [presumably Russia] and media controlled by it did everything it could to influence the election results, and even allegedly spread false information to misinform the public…However, if I'm not mistaken, Emmanuel Macron was still elected, and has yet to prove that the information disseminated by Russia Today or Sputnik influenced our fellow citizens, in contrast to the criminal investigation against Francois Fillon in the midst of the election campaign, which helped candidate Macron a great deal…"
    "If such a law were debated in a country that's blacklisted by Reporters Without Borders, everyone in this chamber would say that this was a trick whose purpose is to silence the opposition and suppress any criticism. This is the creation of a real thought police," Menard warned.
    'This is Not France'
    Debout la France MP Nicolas Dupont-Aignan shared in his colleagues' concerns.
    "Madam Minister! You love books…If you were to read a book describing our deliberations and explaining how in 21st century France we have come to discuss vague definitions not in order to fight against slander, but to fight fake news, against rumors or false information, you would say 'this cannot be, this is not France!'"

    "Our predecessors gave a very precise definition of slander, because they were experienced lawyers who knew that this was not a joke of an issue. They would not have tolerated the kind of surreal debate we are presently engaged in, and with such vague definitions…We are heading toward a situation where dissent is classified as a crime; and this will be decided by a judge in a 48-hour period on the eve of important elections. This is pure madness!" Dupont-Aignan warned.

    Gaullist politician Nicolas Dupont-Aignan takes part in a TV interview (File) © AP Photo / Thomas Samson, Pool

    One Step to a Police State
    Finally, Nouvelle gauche lawmaker Hervé Saulignac emphasized that the bill could easily lead to the establishment of a police state.
    "When a government plays with the idea of regulating the political force that serves to counterbalance it, this has the potential to threaten freedom, one of the main pillars of our democracy…There is only one step from giving the CSA the right to establish order to the establish of police control over the media," Saulignac warned.
    The National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament, debated the Macron-proposed fake news law on June 7-8. If passed, it would allow judges to block the publication of information deemed false ahead of elections in 48 hours. The bill pays special focus to "foreign controlled media" and "digital platforms."


    Related:
    French MPs Assail "Anti-Fake News Law"
    French Initiative on 'Iran Deal 2' Unacceptable to Tehran – Senior Lawmaker
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    ...

    'l a perdu l'occasion de se taire:


    Mafia, alcoholics & illiterates: Macron’s view of the French mapped insult by insult

    RT
    Published time: 28 Jun, 2018 16:56
    Get short URL


    Placard with an image of French President Emmanuel Macron and the slogan "Clear off, lazy, cynical, radical" during a demonstration against the French government's reform plans in Paris. April 19, 2018 © Philippe Wojazer / Reuters

    A map of France shared on social media has swapped the names of the regions with jibes that President Macron has directed at their citizens. And there are few areas left which he didn’t make a dig at.

    Macron’s political opponents, Nadine Morano, who currently serves as Member of the European Parliament, and former French politician and the founder of the Christian Democratic Party, Christine Boutin, took to social media to ridicule the president on Tuesday. They posted a map with some of the “unpleasant vocabulary” Macron has used.
    Quote


    Nadine Morano Verified account @nadine__morano

    La carte de France du vocabulaire désobligeant du Président Macron, en prochaine édition la carte d’Europe de sa vulgarité ... la Lèpre, le cynisme des italiens etc etc ...

    2:57 PM - 26 Jun 2018
    70 replies 489 retweets 576 likes
    The edited map of France emerged on the heels of the leader’s gag about folk from Brittany, who he called “the French mafia,” as he introduced Pope Francis to Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.
    “He’s a Breton. Bretons are everywhere. Bretons are the French mafia,” Macron told the pontiff.
    So Brittany is swapped on the map for “Mafia” and also has “illiterate women” written nearby. That’s in reference to Macron's remark describing employees of the Gad slaughterhouse, also in Brittany. He made that quip in 2014, when he held the office of the Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs.

    ‘Alcoholics’ is written in place of Hauts-de-France. This comes from Macron’s ill-fated quote about the spread of alcoholism, made when he visited the commune of Nœux-les-Mines as a presidential candidate last January.

    The Paris area is dubbed “people who are nothing.” Macron let that remark slip as he visited a hi-tech startup center, located near a train station, in the summer of 2017. Back then, he said train stations are places paths where people “who succeed” and “people who are nothing” cross.

    “Slackers” adorns the center of the map. That’s the term used by the president to dismiss those who don’t agree with his reforms. The map was reposted by French-speaking social media users, who rushed to condemn Macron for his lack of respect for his own people.
    “There is no more room on the map, so you can stop insulting the people,” one Twitter user wrote.
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    The following article may be long, but it underlines how matchsticks and powder kegs are put together... Machiavelli sure got modern day "stellar" students who are implementing full usage of fake news mating with false flags:


    The Scourge of Modern 'Liberalism' in France

    Pierre Lescaudron Sott.net
    Mon, 02 Jul 2018 16:00 UTC

    In these depressing times marked by lies, fear and nihilism, I would like to brighten your mood by sharing a heart warming story. A real life event that is better than a fairy tale and should restore your faith in humanity and our burgeoning postmodern society.

    A Modern Fairy Tale
    What happened? In a nutshell, a heroic individual saved a 4 year old boy from a deadly fall.


    Gassama climbing up to save the boy

    On Saturday, May 26th 2018, at 8:00 p.m. in Paris 18th district, the boy was left alone by his white French father who was busy playing Pokemon Go. The boy went to the balcony and fell from the 6th floor over the handrail.

    During the fall, the vigorous young boy managed somehow to grab the 4th floor handrail as he hurtled toward the ground. Hanging there precariously, death seemed just a few moments away.

    Fortunately, Mamoudou Gassama, a migrant from Mali was in the right place at the right time. He saw the distressed boy and swiftly climbed 4 floors of the building exterior, pulled up the boy over the handrail and safely dropped him on the balcony while the crowd cheered and clapped.

    Here is the video made by an eyewitness:


    Less than 24 hours after the heroic rescue, French President Macron received Gassama at the presidential palace. The latter was immediately given French citizenship and a job in a firefighters squad.


    Macron receiving Gassama at the presidential palace

    Then Gassama was received at Paris town hall and given its highest distinction: the vermeil medal of Paris. Gassama's triumph went international, and a few days later the hero received a BET award in Los Angeles.

    So, here you have it, all the ingredients of a good tale : Gassama, the hero from an oppressed minority, the powerless innocent victim, the dramatic tension, a literal cliffhanger and the happy ending. Frankly it was as good as a scene directly extracted from a Spiderman movie.

    But like in every fairy tale or superhero movie, there's always a villain. In this case, the villian appeared four days after the heroic rescue, and goes by the name of André Bercoff.

    The Evil Witch of Reality


    French journalist and writer André Bercoff

    Bercoff is a prominent French journalist and writer. He worked for some of the most prestigious French newspapers from Le Monde to Liberation. His career spans over 6 decades during which he wrote about 30 books about politics and society. He is also the chairman of the press club de France, the largest professional organization for journalists in the country.

    From the professional career of Bercoff we can safely assume he is not a deviant or a transgressor of the established order, quite the contrary.

    However, on May 30th Bercoff crossed the unofficial red line and dared to question the official narrative that was unanimously agreed upon by the mainstream media right after the event and way before the results of any detailed investigation. Well, questioning, finding the truth, is the essence of journalism, right?

    Puzzling Questions
    Believing in this seemingly outdated and politically incorrect principle of journalism, Bercoff started examining the official story and found some inconsistencies. First he pointed to changes in the official narrative:


    The boy fell from the 6th floor and was found at the 4th floor

    - the kid was supposedly living on the 4th floor (where he was saved) then on the 5th floor and finally it was the 6th floor since the concierge stated that the apartment on the 5th floor is unoccupied and that the boy parents indeed lived on the 6th (last) floor.

    - in the video of the rescue the neighbor is relatively stocky and wears a beard, during his interview a few hours after the event the neighbor is slim and has no beard.

    Bercoff also asks: knowing that Gassama managed to pull the boy up with only one hand and that at one point the stocky neighbor had both his hands on the kids, why didn't the neighbor pull the kid up? For reference at age 4, a boy weights about 15 kg/33lbs.

    Bercoff also wondered how the kid fell since the handrail is taller than him and no furniture is visible through the transparent railing of the 6th floor balcony.

    Last but not least, Bercoff wonders how can a 4 year old kid grab a handrail after a 2 storey fall? For reference after a 6m free fall (two floors) a body has already reached about 40km/h.

    Any rock climber will tell you that it is impossible for a fit adult to stop themselves by grabbing on to something with their arms when falling at 40km/h. A child is even less likely to be able to manage such a feat given that their high center of gravity - due to a large head to body mass ratio - means children tend to fall head first.

    Yet somehow, this boy managed to do it and, in the process, only suffered one torn toenail
    . This point is so puzzling that even mainstream and website dedicated to debunking 'conspiracy theories' were forced to dismiss this inconvenient fact by describing it as 'miraculous'.

    Questioning is Now a Crime
    Bercoff was unanimously labelled a conspiracy theorist, despite the fact that he never mentioned the word "conspiracy" and even dismissed the idea that a conspiracy was involved in the event.

    The truth is that Bercoff did not cross any line, but rather the ideological line enforced by the dominant culture that makes asking uncomfortable questions taboo, crossed Bercoff. The very essence of human progress - questioning and the ensuing learning - are now forbidden.

    To justify this totalitarian drift that even Orwell couldn't imagine, the media and political elite suggest that such questions are "suggestive". That is the very definition of thought crime, where it's not tangible facts or words that matter, but the thoughts behind them, the intention, the implicit. The problem is that thoughts are intangible and therefore any censor, any inquisitor, can ascribe to his target any deviant thought that can be used to criminalize and silence him. That is the terror of the arbitrary.

    The Political Context
    Gassama's miraculous rescue raises some obvious questions and doubts. What really occurred during this event may never be known, but we can get a good idea of the validity of the official story by considering how it was politically instrumentalized and the political context in which this instrumentalizing took place. Let's look at French President Macron's recent political moves.
    1- April 10th: Macron receives Saudi king Salman.

    2- April 15th: Macron justifies military strikes against Syria (not EI [IS/ISIS])

    3- May 28th: Macron receives and praises Gassama and gives citizenship and job.

    4- June 21th: Macron organizes a LGBT black rap band party at the Presidential palace

    5- June 23rd: Macron supports financial sanctions against EU countries that refuse to accept migrants.
    These five events, occurring over the last two months, might seem benign and unrelated at first sight. However, as you will see below, they are complementary aspects of a single political stance and perfectly summarize the essence of the liberal doctrine in terms of migration. Let's analyze those events and their political, social and cultural implications.


    Smiling Ben Salman and Macron during Saudi official visit
    First event: Macron welcomes Saudi king Ben Salman.
    Saudia Arabia is the main funder of ISIS.

    Saudi Arabia is also the cradle of Wahabism/Salafism, a form of literal and fundamentalist Islam that preaches Jihad and Sharia law.

    For fundamentalists, religious law is the one and only law. Fundamentalist Islam is a theocracy which is, by definition, incompatible with Western nations.

    Along with the Muslim brotherhood, which is the other dominant fundamentalist Islam, supported this time by Qatar, wahhabism is the rising form of Islam and shows an increasing presence in France.

    Today about 200 wahabist/salafist mosques and places of prayers are listed in France. Between 2010 and 2016, the number of salafist mosques increased by 170%. The Muslim brotherhood controls about 100 mosques.


    Country of origin for asylum seekers

    Second event: Macron bombs Syria not ISIS.
    Like other European countries, France actively participates to the destruction of the Middle East and Africa (including Mali where Gassama is born).

    Punitive and arbitrary wars waged by the West are one of the fundamental causes of migratory flows: people escape war.

    In addition, Macron supports ISIS by weakening its main opponents: Syria through attacks on the Syrian government and military and Russia through economic sanctions. ISIS terrorizes local populations, increases migration flows and spreads the most extreme form of Islamism.

    Unsurprisingly, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, three countries destroyed by western wars and today the seat of Islamist terror (Taliban in Afghanistan and ISIS in Syria and Iraq) are the three main purveyors of refugees that reach Europe.

    Third event: Gassama becomes a national hero.
    Macron, like the rest of the political and media sphere, praise Gassama while ignoring that people save others every week. For example, a few days after the Gassama event, a French soldier saved an 18 month kid who was hanging from a balcony. The media barely mentioned it.

    The Gassama event encapsulates the liberal doctrine: migrants are heroes, local Europeans are despicable, they are not even able to take care of their own kids and prefer, instead, to play Pokemon Go. As a result of his incompetency the father is being prosecuted for withdrawal of parental custody and risks 2 years in prison and a €30,000 fine.

    The Gassama event is not isolated, it is part of the manufacturing of consent in Western nations. Another striking example of a stage-managed event to serve the liberal ideology is the Theo case. It was all over the French media in 2017.


    Hollande visting Theo Luhaka

    Allegedly, French cops sodomized an innocent young African (Theo) with a baton. You should have seen the indignation, the bashing of the evil French white cops and by the extension the whole French white authority and people. The firing of the racist cops. The gruesome details about Theo's pants being forced down, the 10 cm anal fissure, burst sphincter, racist insults, humiliations. And the overflowing compassion: mass demonstrations supporting Theo, President Hollande vising Theo in hospital.

    After months of investigation including analysis of video footage and the input of medical experts, the truth finally came to light and it was almost the exact opposite to what was claimed: Theo is part of a family involved in massive fraud, he personally was involved in drug dealing, he resisted arrest, he punched one of the cops, they arrested him. No sodomy or racial insults occurred, his pants were never pulled down.

    In contrast to the message that these two overmediatized cases attempted to convey, not all migrants are heroes or victims, not all natives are incompetent or violent. The reality is much more nuanced. By focusing on cherry-picked or manufactured events that put migrants in a good light and local natives in a bad light, the globalist elite attempt to manipulate public opinion.

    But a backlash is already occurring.

    One by one, European countries (Italy, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Slovenia) have begun to claim back their sovereignty and enforcing limits on migration through border control. The European governments and EU central powers that still promote mass migration are becoming more and more isolated and out of touch with with the will of the majority of the people they supposedly represent.

    Self-styled liberals and radical leftists want to impose their idyllic multicultural open border vision of the world on everyone, but they are totally disconnected from reality. They claim not to see the destructive consequences of non-integrated mass migration: the rise in crime, in unemployment, the financial costs, the dissolution of culture, the fragmentation of societies and the loss of identity where, in a growing number of enclaves, European people feel like they are crossing the Mediterranean Sea just by opening their door.

    Fourth event: Macron organizes a black LGBT party at the Elysee.
    Macron could have invited artists that represented French identity, its history and its culture. But according to the French president there is no French culture, as he officially stated: ''there's no French culture, there is a culture in France and it is diverse".

    Not only does Macron deny French culture, he has also denounced the barbarity of a French nation that embraces wars, colonialism, patriarchy, white patriarchy. Macron officially declared on February 15th 2017:
    [colonialism] is a crime against humanity. It is a real barbarity and it is part of this past that we must face and also apologize to those against whom we have committed these actions.
    A nation that wallows in guilt, regrets,and shame opens the door to victimhood mentality and victimhood competition. Any individual in France today can feel that the minority he identifies with has been wronged at some point by France. Macron's statement reinforces victimhood and the subsequent drift towards entitlement, reparation and ultimately endless revenge.

    So, faithful to his negation of the French identity and condemnation of French historical barbarity, Macron invited a rap band made up of black LGBT activists. Rap is the 'artistic' arm of liberalism, it preaches non-integration, hate of the white nations and white people, disrespect for the law, murder of police officers (among other things)

    This celebration of decadence happened in one of the most symbolic places of the French nation, the Presidential palace that hosted De Gaulle, Kennedy, Trump and Putin. Times sure are changing!

    The real cherry on the pie here however is that this insult to France was funded by those who were directly insulted: French taxpayers. French government cynicism has no limit, it would seem.

    The French government's liberal doctrine has replaced assimilation with multiculturalism in the name of diversity, respect of differences, tolerance and open-mindedness.

    Assimilation aims to make individuals truly French, where migrants adopt and embrace French culture, history, customs and language. In the end, assimilated migrants become more French than the French as illustrated, for example, by the over-representation of descendants of Spanish and Italian migrants in French nationalist parties.

    The French assimilation model started in 1860, earlier than any other European country It was the antithesis of the multiculturalism that has prevailed in Northern Europe countries like the UK or the Netherlands.

    For over 100 years, France successfully assimilated migrants from Eastern Europe, Southern Europe and Africa. This assimilated migration was a driving force in the development of France during this period. But assimilation ended in the 60s with the rise of the postmodernist doctrine that negates identity, culture, history. Indeed, if there is no national identity, then how can anyone assimilate into it?.

    Fifth event: Macron want to sanction countries like Italy which aim to control mass migration.


    The Aquarius carries 629 migrants to Europe

    This arrogant and ignorant statement shows that Macron wants mass migration in Europe and in France because he knows very well that the migrants that reach Italy won't stay in Italy. For reference half of the 630 migrants on the Aquarius want asylum in France.

    Macron's statement is hypocritical on a domestic level because during his presidential campaign he demanded the reinforcement of European borders and deportation of illegal migrants. It is hypocritical on an international level because Macron wants Italy to accept migrants but doesn't want to open the French ports to migrant boats.

    Macron wants mass migration but he doesn't want it to be visible because he knows that a majority of the French people reject it. In a recent survey, 76% of the French population want a referendum on immigration. So Macron makes decisions that promote mass migration while multiplying official statements about controlling migration.
    Imagine You Were a Migrant
    Imagine you're a foreigner, say a Muslim from Mali. Your country has been colonized by France, then your country has been plundered by French multinational corporations (uranium), and then your country has been bombed by France (See point 2 -Macron bombs Syria not ISIS). You might understandably feel some resentment towards France.

    You leave your country because of the war and the growing presence of ISIS (See point 2 -Macron bombs Syria not ISIS) and you end up in France because of the open border policy (see point 5 - Macron supports mass migration)

    The temporal powers, whether NGOs, politicians, media, administration or artists, all say the same thing : 'do not assimilate to the evil white culture which anyway doesn't exist. Stay true to your roots and stick to your community and traditions' (see point 4 - the presidential party)


    The great Mosque of Lyon, funded by Saudi Arabia

    If you're worried about the locals' reaction to your non-integration, do not worry, illegal migrants are national heroes and locals are losers (see point 3 - Gassama the superhero)

    If you are dissatisfied with this dividing discourse towards the nation that, after all is hosting you, you might turn to the spiritual powers in search for a wiser message. Unfortunately, the mosques controlled by the Salafists, Wahhabis and the Muslim brotherhood carry a similarly dividing message: 'submit to the divine law before the civil law, your nation is the Muslim nation'. In other words: 'be a Muslim, not a citizen'. (see point 1 Macron receives Ben Salman)

    The Worst Of The Left Marries The Worst Of The Right
    I used the word 'liberalism' several times in this article and the word has different definitions in Europe and the US.

    In the US, liberalism is a social ideology promoting freedom, i.e. the destruction of any authority: nations, family, religions. In Europe, liberalism is an economic ideology that promotes freedom too: free market and the subsequent destruction of states, laws and regulations.

    Economic liberalism and social liberalism are two sides of the same coin. They work synergetically, the latter producing uprooted, valueless, identity-less individuals that can be economically exploited, while the former produces exhausted dumbed-down individuals that swallow the inanities of postmodernism.

    Economic Liberalism and Social liberalism have a fundamental element in common: destruction in the name of freedom. Economic liberalism physically destroys workers and the planet. Social Liberalism destroys the very soul of individuals by annihilating all that feeds it: love, truth, meaning and beauty that were conveyed through 'traditional systems' like family, nation, religion, art.

    Historically, the right was the enforcer of economic liberalism while the left was the enforcer of social liberalism. Today those two movements have merged and politicians like Macron (and many others like Obama, Merkel, H. Clinton,...) bring us the worst of the right: predatory capitalism and the worse of the left: postmodernist's nihilism.

    Conclusion
    The Western world has destroyed the old order in the name of freedom. But individuals and societies have a deep need for order, as French poet Alfred Auguste Pilavoine wrote in 1845
    "Order and freedom, two words perfectly correlative and which have real meaning only in relation to each other; no freedom without order, no order without freedom. Order without freedom is tyranny; freedom without order is obscenity."
    The french revolution, and its corollary the 1968 revolution, have created a spiritual, social, moral and cultural void. The vacuum of nihilist societies will be filled by a new authority, and for such purposes Islam is a prime candidate:
    • In Europe the millennial religious order (Christianity) has been destroyed while Islam brings a strong and growing religion.
    • The patriarchal authority incarnated by the father, the teacher, the priest, has been destroyed, while Islam brings a fundamentally patriarchal model of society.
    • The sexual revolution has erased any form of sexual restraint, while Islam is very clear and firm about sexual restraint.
    • Traditional communities, family and nation, have been destroyed, while Islam provides a strong and deep sense of community (Oumma).
    • The West has replaced legal duties with legal rights, while Islam provides a comprehensive set of legal duties (Sharia).
    • Any sense of meaningful ideals or purpose has been annihilated in the West while Islam provides a very clear meaning to life (Jihad).
    It's more than a little ironic that as postmodernists destroyed the old order, western patriarchal societies, in the name of freedom, opened the way for a new order - Islam - that is decidedly more authoritative and arbitrary.

    As if the tensions in Europe were not strong enough, some third party liberals pour oil on the fire with a spate of 'Islamic terrorism': the Bataclan massacre, the Charlie Hebdo attack, the Manchester concert bombing, the Westminster bridge attack (among many others). All of which bear the clear fingerprints not of Islamism but state terrorism.

    Obviously some puppet masters want to flood Europe with mass migration and maximize tensions between communities. The desired result is obviously the destruction of Europe.The last remaining question is: will they succeed?

    Pierre Lescaudron
    "La réalité est un rêve que l'on fait atterrir" San Antonio AKA F. Dard

    Troll-hood motto: Never, ever, however, whatsoever, to anyone, a point concede.

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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    Clashes continue between French police, protesters for third night in Nantes

    PressTV

    Fri Jul 6, 2018 09:52AM


    A ransacked store is pictured in the Breil neighborhood of Nantes, northwestern France, on July 5, 2018. (AFP)

    Clashes have continued between French police and protesters in the
    western city of Nantes for the third night running over the killing of a youth by the police.

    Protesters came out onto the streets of Nantes shortly after news of the death of a 22-year old man emerged late Tuesday night. An officer shot dead Aboubakar Fofana after, according to police, he “refused to comply” during a traffic stop.

    A police officer has reportedly been taken into custody for questioning in relation to the death. The public prosecutor for Nantes Pierre Sennes also said national police were investigating to clarify “the facts and determine in what circumstances the policeman used his weapon.”


    Anti-riot police officers stand at the Breil neighbourhood in Nantes, as tear gas smoke is seen behind, on July 4, 2018. (AFP)

    Fofana’s death set off angry protests and provoked clashes between police and protesters in Malakoff and Dervallières neighborhoods, described by some local news reports as “sensitive”. The term used by the French government to refer to areas in need of social investment, but used by people to refer to areas prone to crime.

    Around 50 cars were torched overnight into Friday in Nantes, according to the fire service, which said there were arson attempts on a high school and a petrol station.

    More than a dozen protesters were also arrested early Thursday.


    People gather for a peaceful rally march in the Breil neighborhood of Nantes, northwestern France on July 5, 2018. Photo by AFP)

    Authorities said more reinforcements were expected to be sent to the areas after police warned on Wednesday that they “expect the worst in the coming days," according to the Nantes-based Presse-Ocean newspaper.

    Around 1000 protesters took part in a peaceful rally in Nantes on Thursday, calling for "justice for Abou" and demanding that the circumstances of his death be revealed.

    Nantes Mayor Johanna Rolland has asked for a transparent investigation into the case. The Nantes shooting comes amid a debate over the use of firearms by French police.

    In February 2017, the French parliament passed a bill to increase police use of firearms following a spate of terrorist attacks. In June this year, figures showed a significant increase in French police violence and the use of their weapons.
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    The insane absurdity of legislations and laws, European and others:

    Smoke bombs & stones: French and British fishermen stage ‘sea battle’ in scallop war (VIDEO)

    RT
    Published time: 29 Aug, 2018 12:19

    Edited time: 29 Aug, 2018 13:52
    Get short URL


    © Facebook/ Anthony Quenel

    Brexit has recently worsened relations between the UK and France but tensions have now increased after French and British fishermen clashed at sea on Tuesday night over a scallop row.

    A 35-strong flotilla of French fishing boats on Tuesday night circled five British ones in a row over scallops. The clashes off the coast of Normandy saw angry French fishermen hurling smoke bombs, stones and insults at the Brits, AFP news agency reports. Footage from local media also shows some boats ramming into others, leaving holes in three vessels.

    The clashes happened in the scallop-rich waters of the Baie de Seine area of Normandy, 12 nautical miles out to sea, where the Brits are legally entitled to fish. But as the French are only permitted to fish between October 1 and May 15, they gathered overnight to protest the British “pillaging” of the scallop supply and demanded their competitors face the same restrictions.

    Video at: https://www.facebook.com/anthony.que...2464054373259/
    “The French went to contact the British to stop them working and they clashed with each other. Apparently there was stone-throwing, but no injuries,” said Normandy fishing chief Dimitri Rogoff.
    A fishing boat owner from Brixham, however, raised the number of boats confronting the Brits to 40 and said:
    “One boat got petrol bombed, others had windows smashed.

    “I can’t believe that someone wasn’t killed,” he said, the Daily Mail reports.
    He defended the Brits’ position claiming they were in international waters and therefore entitled to fish in the location where they were ambushed.

    The two sides have reached annual agreements over the past five years, but this year the French reportedly had had enough of the Brits’ indiscriminate power to deplete the scallop stocks and walked away without a deal.

    It comes just a day after news emerged French President Emmanuel Macron rejected PM Theresa May’s Chequers blueprint, which would see the UK abiding by EU rules in return for free trade – effectively slashing her hopes of hammering out a deal with the EU by the October deadline.

    Macron said that while he respected Brexit, he would not settle for any compromise that would see the EU “unravel.”

    May’s plan, which in June saw two cabinet resignations, would see the UK remaining within the EU single market for goods but not for services. The PM was also recently forced to cave into pressure from France to increase funding to bolster the Calais border as migrants carry on flocking there in hopes of reaching Britain through the Channel Island.
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    Default Re: Ça Chauffe! - Turmoil in France

    Paris is no more

    Hope this isn't out of turn Hervé, posting on your thread, but I recently read an alarming piece on the dreadful state of Paris. I was duly horrified. The last time I was there was in the mid 80's, and it was nothing like this!



    I have every sympathy for these displaced people. It's most important to remember their humanity, even if some of them have forgotten it themselves. But let us neither forget the Parisians. Their proud beautiful city has turned into a hellhole. What the tourist numbers are these days I shudder to think. I can only imagine they've tanked the last couple of years.

    Alarmingly, London isn't far behind - it's already well on the way. As is Berlin, and Amsterdam, and Stockholm...

    Our globalist politicians, shills of the George Soros machine, have much to answer for - if and when all this is cleared up. Because what we're seeing here is the social and cultural evisceration of Europe, country by country, city by city. From what I have read, Marseilles, Toulon, and Nice on the southern coast are actually worse.

    For anyone unaware how severe this situation is, Paul Watson sums it up in this harrowing report:

    "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."
    ~ Jimi Hendrix

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