Harrison Stetler is a freelance journalist and teacher based in Paris.
Last week’s rioting in France saw over 3,600 arrests, including 1,100 minors. Courts are already handing out long jail sentences to supposed culprits — answering the political demand for vengeance even as the suburbs’ plight goes ignored.
The police killing of a 17-year-old in a Paris suburb has sparked a revolt against state violence across France. But powerful police unions have closed ranks behind the killer, in a backlash that shows French cops’ refusal to accept even basic accountability.
The movement against Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform saw shocking scenes of police violence against protesters. Yet far from standing up to abuses, the justice system is turning a blind eye to the government’s attacks on civil liberties.
France’s neofascist groups are on the rise, with a spate of recent attacks against their opponents. Their violence against migrants, left-wingers, and even state officials shows that the far-right advance isn’t just “populist” rhetoric — it’s a deadly danger.
France’s interior minister has threatened to ban environmentalist groups said to represent a risk of “violence against property.” It’s part of a worrying clampdown on civil liberties that belies Emmanuel Macron’s supposedly “liberal” politics.
On Friday, France’s Constitutional Council upheld Emmanuel Macron’s deeply unpopular pension reform. The move shows the bankruptcy of a constitution that puts only minimal checks on the president’s power.
Most French people oppose raising the pension age, and there was no parliamentary majority for the change. While the reform has now been railroaded through the National Assembly, mobilized opponents see a chance to finish off an unpopular government.
Vladimir Putin’s invasion was meant to last just a few days. But Ukrainian resistance turned it into yet another imperial quagmire — showing that the great powers aren’t as able to reshape the modern world as they think.
French president Emmanuel Macron plans to hike the retirement age to 64, sparking massive protests. The government claims the current retirement age is unsustainable: but what French workers really can’t afford is to work till they drop.
The pandemic and the war in Ukraine have shaken many of the European Union’s dogmas. Yet the EU has repeatedly defied predictions of imminent collapse — posing the need for a serious left-wing program to reform it.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Insoumise claimed to replace old political parties using ad hoc structures based on “consensus.” But battles over its post-Mélenchon future have pitched this model into crisis — and show the need for real democratic structures.
Emmanuel Macron’s government is giving French police more powers to issue on-the-spot fines, without going to court. France’s justice system is less and less based on a presumption of innocence — and multicultural, working-class areas are being targeted most.
Authoritarian governments like those in Egypt and Saudi Arabia have funded a boom in France’s arms industry. Now, with war in Ukraine, it’s setting its sights on rearming Europe.
Emmanuel Macron’s government lost its majority this June, and now relies on strong-arm tactics to push through its agenda. This week’s budget debate showed the government’s weakness — and the possibility of blocking its assault on France’s social model.
A strike at France’s oil refineries is demanding pay raises that reflect firms’ soaring profits. Liberal president Emmanuel Macron’s government is forcing employees back to work — but unions insist they’ll defend their right to strike.
France’s liberal president, Emmanuel Macron, spent his first term attacking key planks of the French welfare model. Now, he’s launching another war on pensions.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address this week marked a small step away from austerity dogmas. But the EU isn’t facing up to the vast fallout of the mounting energy crisis.
French tycoons face rising scrutiny over their use of private jets for even the shortest flights. Business lobby group MEDEF’s summit struck down all criticism of the superrich — and set out plans for an energy transition that puts their interests first.
French media is ever more prey to billionaire owners and the far-right pundits they promote. Public service broadcasters offer a more balanced alternative — but now Emmanuel Macron’s government is threatening their future existence.
Emmanuel Macron has lost his majority in parliament and looks increasingly set to make deals with conservative and far-right parties. The demonization of the Left and indulgence of Le Pen show the hollowness of his establishment liberalism.