French airports, schools and oil refineries hit by national strike over pension age increase | CNN Business

French airports, schools and oil refineries hit by national strike over pension age increase | CNN Business
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Spread the love Paris CNN — French transport networks, oil refineries and schools were hit by widespread disruption Thursday as workers staged a national strike to protest an increase in the retirement age that was pushed through parliament without a vote. Though sporadic demonstrations had popped up in Paris and other cities after the French government forced the bill through last week, Thursday marked the first day of coordinated action since then. It is the ninth day of strikes since the bill was introduced in January. Only two out of…

France Beat Wales But Miss Out On Title

France Beat Wales But Miss Out On Title
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Spread the love Updated: Mar 22, 2023 9:59 am France 41 v 28 Wales France ended their Six Nations with a stylish win against an improving Wales, but Ireland’s victory dashed their hopes of retaining their title. Les Blues headed into the game knowing they needed an emphatic victory to put pressure on Ireland, and they duly delivered, running in five tries in an entertaining contest. France may have missed out on the title, but they have shown what a dangerous attacking side they are in the last two weeks,…

Journalist freed in Mali welcomed in France by Macron

Journalist freed in Mali welcomed in France by Macron
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Spread the love Comment on this story Comment PARIS — French journalist Olivier Dubois, who was held hostage by Islamic extremists for nearly two years in Mali, was welcomed home by French President Emmanuel Macron Tuesday, one day after he was released. Dubois was kidnapped in April 2021 from northern Mali, a region of the country wracked by jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Leaving the plane at the Villacoublay military airport, southwest of Paris, with a big smile on his face, Dubois was applauded by…

Russian Uranium Delivery to France ‘Scandalous’ – Greenpeace – The Moscow Times

Russian Uranium Delivery to France 'Scandalous' – Greenpeace - The Moscow Times
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Spread the love Russia delivered enriched uranium to France on Monday in a move the NGO Greenpeace described as “scandalous” following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. A cargo ship unloaded cylinders of uranium from Russia at the French port of Dunkirk on Monday morning, according to an AFP journalist. Greenpeace said the delivery confirmed France’s dependence on the Russian nuclear industry, which is not covered by sanctions slapped on the Kremlin. “This is a new illustration that the French nuclear industry continues to trade uranium with Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear…

New pension protests in France ahead of crucial votes

New pension protests in France ahead of crucial votes
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Spread the love France faced another day of protests Sunday against a bitterly contested pension reform rammed through by President Emmanuel Macron’s government, a day before crucial no-confidence votes in parliament. After weeks of peaceful strikes and marches against raising the official retirement age from 62 to 64, police on Saturday closed the Place de la Concorde opposite parliament for demonstrations following two successive nights of clashes. Some individual lawmakers were targeted, with Eric Ciotti — chief of the conservative Republicans party expected not to back the no-confidence motions —…

French workers may have to retire at 64 and many are in uproar. Here’s why | CNN

French workers may have to retire at 64 and many are in uproar. Here's why | CNN
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Spread the love Paris CNN — Unexpectedly protests broke out in Paris and across several French cities Thursday evening following a move by the government to force through reforms of the pension system that will push up the retirement age from 62 to 64. While the proposed reforms of France’s cherished pensions system were already controversial, it was the manner in which the bill was approved – sidestepping a vote in the country’s lower house, where President Emmanuel Macron’s party crucially lacks an outright majority – that arguably sparked the…

Blinken in show of support for Niger as Russia grows in region

Blinken in show of support for Niger as Russia grows in region
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Spread the love US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Niger on Thursday for a rare visit to a country seen as a bastion of support for Western military operations in a jihadist-torn region where Russia is making inroads. Blinken is the highest-ranking US official to visit the former French colony, where both France and the United States maintain forces to battle jihadist insurgencies in the troubled Sahel region. Blinken is expected to announce more US assistance to Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries, which returned to stability…

Fire that engulfed Notre Dame cathedral exposes long-hidden secret inside Paris landmark

Fire that engulfed Notre Dame cathedral exposes long-hidden secret inside Paris landmark
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Spread the love The fire that engulfed Notre-Dame four years ago has revealed a long-hidden secret about the Paris landmark: it was the first Gothic cathedral in which iron staples were used extensively throughout construction. It took near destruction and a massive restoration project which is still in progress for a team of archaeologists to discover the iron reinforcements. The construction of the famous cathedral in the heart of the French capital began in 1160 and was not completed until almost a century later. It was the tallest building of…