Did you miss the news this early morning? We’ve put together a recap to help you see things more clearly.
The protests in Sainte-Soline on Saturday took a dramatic turn. A demonstrator is between life and death after violent clashes with the police in Deux-Sèvres, for which authorities and organizers reject responsibility against a backdrop of opposition to a project to retain water. The vital prognosis of this 30-year-old man, in a coma after a head trauma, remained engaged on Sunday according to the Niort prosecutor’s office, which opened a specific investigation into the circumstances in which three demonstrators were seriously injured. Other investigations have been opened on the facts, in particular for “organization of prohibited demonstration”, “violence on soldiers” and “destruction of property”.
Elisabeth Borne is “at the disposal of the social partners”. The Prime Minister wished Sunday, in an interview with AFP, “to put some appeasement” with the unions. Recalling that the text has been adopted and will “follow its course” to the Constitutional Council, she does not intend to return to the pension reform. Elisabeth Borne rather offers meetings on other sites such as hardship or professional retraining. In this regard, it has even provided a slot in its agenda to possibly receive trade union organizations and employers’ organizations during the week of April 10. The Prime Minister is received this Monday at noon by President Emmanuel Macron, before being joined at 1:15 p.m. by the bosses of parliamentary groups, party leaders and some members of the government. A meeting on the eve of the tenth day of mobilization in the streets against the pension reform.
It is a “Mega-Streik” (mega-strike) which distances Germany a little further from the culture of consensus that has made its reputation. A strike movement of unusual magnitude began to paralyze the entire transport sector in the country on Monday. Employees of airports, rail, sea freight, motorway companies, local transport are indeed called from midnight to 24 hours off work. Unlike countries like France, such a unitary movement between the EVG and Ver.di unions, representing 230,000 railway company employees and 2.5 million service employees respectively, is extremely rare. While prices have soared for more than a year, with inflation reaching 8.7% in February, the unions are demanding more than 10% salary increase. Opposite, the State, the municipalities and the public companies propose an increase of 5%.