Author: Anselme Gaudet

Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in the Alps, has shrunk by 2.2 metres since 2021 to its lowest height in recent memory. The mountain, which is capped by a ridge of ice covering the rock, was measured by a team of surveyors from the Haute-Savoie regional administration, aided by a drone. The results, published on Thursday, suggest the new official height of Mont Blanc is 4,805.59 metres. The previous reading, taken two years ago, recorded the summit at 4,807.81 metres, which was in turn almost a metre less than the measurement taken in 2017. Describing 2023 as a “somewhat exceptional…

France will begin withdrawing troops from Niger this week following a coup in the west African country, in what marks a turning point in western nations’ efforts to counter a decade-long Islamist insurgency in the Sahel region. “We will begin our disengagement operation this week, in good order, safely and in coordination with the Nigeriens,” the French military headquarters said. The logistics operation to move 1,500 French troops and large amounts of military equipment out of Niger by the end of this year comes a week after the French ambassador left Niger under pressure from the new military regime, which ousted the pro-Paris…

She is one of cinema’s most celebrated stars but, having made her last film decades ago, Brigitte Bardot cannot understand why anyone is still interested in her life, according to the maker of a new drama series about the French actor. Bardot expressed her frustration in a letter to Oscar-nominated Monégasque film-maker Danièle Thompson, the writer-director of the new drama series Bardot. Thompson said she approached Bardot about five years ago while developing the project: “She answered with a very long letter, saying that she was always surprised how unbelievably interested people were in her and did not quite understand why she was…

Emmanuel Macron says he wants to make French school holidays shorter, sparking a debate among teachers’ unions and parent groups. In a broad interview in Le Point magazine to mark his return to Paris after three weeks at the presidential summer residence on the Mediterranean coast, Macron said there were “too many school holidays” in France. He said children who were assessed to be behind with school work should return to classrooms on 20 August for catchup lessons instead of the usual return at the beginning of September. Secondary schoolchildren, who are often allowed to finish in June if they do not…

U.S. President Joe Biden has approved the training of Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots by Kyiv’s Western allies, Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Tuesday.”“The President has given the green light to allow and support further progress in training,” she told reporters when asked about Washington’s approval of training Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots. Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on August 2 that the training of Ukrainian pilots would begin this month. According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the training program will take at least six months and may take place in Denmark or the Netherlands . It is expected that by the spring of 2024, pilots will be able to…

Come to Nanterre to get an all-round view of the crisis boiling over in France. But if you are a journalist, be advised to keep your head down. An approach to a group of young men – some bearded, one built like a bodybuilder – outside the Le 35 café prompts an aggressive outburst of swearing and a pointed finger directing me to keep out. At the scene where police shot dead a 17-year-old boy of Algerian descent last Tuesday, women in Islamic headscarves shout abuse at police and the media from passing cars. Wandering through the streets incognito – without a…

Faced with surging numbers of visitors to historic landmarks and natural treasures, France wants to put a lid on the tourist crowds that flood in each year — though officials recognise it won’t be easy. Tourism minister Olivia Gregoire unveiled Sunday a plan to regulate visitor flows at the most popular sites and lay out a strategy against “overtourism”. She said France, the world’s biggest tourist destination, particularly needed to better manage the peak-season influxes that threatened “the environment, the quality of life for locals, and the experiences for its visitors”. The issue is urgent for prime destinations worldwide as international travel surges after…

French trade unions on Tuesday called for a new day of nationwide protests on June 6 against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform. Macron last month raised the retirement age by two years to 64 despite multi-sector strikes, in a move that drove his popularity down to near the record lows seen during the “Yellow Vests” crisis of 2018-2019. The National Assembly is due to discuss on June 8 a draft bill tabled by deputies from the opposition Liot party to cancel that new legislation, which raises the retirement age by two years. Source: Al Arabiya

The foreign ministers of China and Central Asian countries have agreed to maintain “close communication and coordination” following the fourth China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, held in the Chinese city of Xi’an. “They (foreign ministers) believe that the China-Central Asia mechanism plays an important role in consolidating political mutual trust, deepening exchanges and cooperation, and promoting people-to-people bonds, and has made positive contributions to maintaining peace and stability in the region,” said a joint communique published Thursday by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The statement said the foreign ministers coordinated preparations for the upcoming China-Central Asia Summit, while Central Asian nations…

On this May Day, millions of workers will march against French President Emmanuel Macron and his illegitimate pension law that is opposed by three-quarters of the French people. The working class struggle against Macron is of world significance. In every country, workers face the same essential conditions. The capitalist states use military-police violence to violate democracy and impoverish the working class. And as they scheme against the people, these governments rely on corrupt union bureaucracies to disorient and strangle workers’ struggles. Against this, the PES advocates the building of a mass movement of workers and youth, independent of the bureaucracies,…