Did you miss the news this early morning? We’ve put together a recap to help you see things more clearly.
The showdown continues on pension reform. Opponents of the law enacted overnight from Friday to Saturday once again made their dissatisfaction heard in the streets. Emmanuel Macron’s televised address on Monday evening was thus greeted everywhere in France by concerts of pans by demonstrators determined to show that they did not wish to listen to him. These actions were sometimes followed by wild demonstrations interspersed with damage. In total, the anti-globalization NGO Attac, which had launched a call for “casserolades” in front of town halls, has identified “more than 300 gatherings” in the country.
Emmanuel Macron also failed to convince the unions. In a press release Monday evening, the inter-union thus estimated that the president’s remarks “demonstrate that he still has not understood the anger which is expressed in the country”. She therefore again called for making “May 1 a day of massive, unitary and popular mobilization” against the pension reform.
Sudan is on the brink of civil war. Street fighting and shelling are indeed gaining in intensity in Khartoum. Since Saturday, according to the UN, more than 185 people have been killed and at least 1,800 injured as two generals clash for control of power. Monday evening, the European Union also announced that its ambassador had been “attacked in his residence” in Khartoum. And, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, an American diplomatic convoy came under fire the same day, but no one was hurt.
China is putting the economic problems of health restrictions behind it. The country recorded a marked acceleration in its growth in the first quarter, according to official figures published on Tuesday, the first since 2019 to assess a full quarter without the impact of the “zero Covid” policy. China’s gross domestic product thus increased over one year by 4.5%. From one quarter to another, growth was up 2.2%, after stagnating over the October-December period.