French police have evacuated President Emmanuel Macron from a theater in Paris after some protesters managed to enter the building, while many more were trying to enter.

Protesters chanting “Macron, resign” gathered outside the Les Bouffes du Nord theatre on Friday evening, after people shared on social media that the president was at the venue.

They were trying to enter the venue but the president was rushed out of the building, reportedly in a black car.

On the other side of capital, protesters blocked the entrance to the Louvre museum and forced the building to close Friday.

The museum’s Leonardo da Vinci exhibit, which was marking the 500th anniversary of the Italian master’s death, was also closed.

The incident occurred on the 44th day of strikes, which started in early December, against Macron‘s plan to overhaul the pension system that would see workers retiring later or facing reduced payouts.

This was the first time since then that the Louvre and its Leonardo exhibit were fully shut down.

The museum is visited by 30,000 people every day.

The weeks of protests and strikes have affected public transportation, disrupted schools, hospitals, courthouses and even opera houses and the Eiffel tower.

This is while unions have called for a seventh round of street rallies next Friday, when the pension plan is due to be presented to the Cabinet.

The government of Macron has already ruled out any possibility of abandoning the plan.

The president is already faced with a major challenge to his rule from the “Yellow Vest” protesters, who have been holding weekly demonstrations for more than a year.

According to a poll, published on Thursday, almost two- thirds of French people ‘don’t trust’ Macron.

The survey, conducted by Elabe for the Les Echos newspaper and Radio Classique, indicated that 63 percent of respondents “don’t trust” the president, down two points in one month. 

His government intends to present the pension reform bill on Friday so that it can be debated in parliament starting in mid February, with the aim of passing a law before the summer break.

Source: Presstv

French hardline CGT union leader Philippe Martinez said on Thursday unions had decided to hold further strikes and demonstrations on January 9 after a meeting with prime minister Édouard Philippe on pension reform plans during which “nothing changed”, Martinez said.

Unions oppose Macron’s plans to streamline France’s state pension system and push people to work until 64, instead of the legal retirement age of 62.

Five out of the eight unions leading the 15-day strike called on further actions and demonstrations on January 9, Martinez announced on Thurday.

“The prime minister is committed to the financial balance” of the pension system.“On this matter, there has been no change”, the union leader regretted. “CGT obviously does not share this view, so on behalf of the (CGT CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, Solidaires and FSU) unions, I can announce that a new day of actions will take place on January 9”, he added, saying that “The prime minister hasn’t heard what the street is saying”.

Prime minister Philippe said progress had been made on Thursday and announced he will hold roundtable discussions with union leaders again “on the first days of January”.

After the meeting, Philippe reaffirmed that the government remained fully committed to end special pension regimes. He also said at a press conference he hoped the pension reform law to be voted on before the summer.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

French President Emmanuel Macron has ruled out dropping his plan for a single points-based pension system, but is “willing to improve” it in the face of fierce union resistance, an official in the presidency said Wednesday.

“The president will not abandon the project nor water it down, though he is willing to improve it,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“An improvement is possible concerning the pivot age” of 64 at which a worker would qualify for a full pension — a particular target of union ire that has sparked two weeks of massive public transport strikes, the official added.

Macron’s office also said the government was talking with unions to get a break in transport strikes for Christmas holidays.

Earlier on Tuesday, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the government was determined to implement its planned one-size-fits-all model for the pension system, even though the nationwide strike in protest at the policy plan has crippled the country.

“Democratic and union opposition to our project is perfectly legitimate. But we have stated clearly what our project was and my government is totally determined to reform the pensions system and to balance the pension system’s budget,” Philippe told parliament.

Unions say the new system will introduce a “points system” for retirement, which will have a significant impact on both the public and private sectors and will force them to work well beyond the official retirement age of 62.

However, President Macron, whose government has been under constant pressure by weekly Yellow Vest protest rallies over the past year, insists that the reform plan will make for a fairer system and help erase pension system deficits forecast to reach as much as 17 billion euros (19 billion dollars) by 2025.

In central Paris on Tuesday, police fired tear gas canisters at protesters, who responded by throwing projectiles at lines of police officers.

Also on Tuesday, clashes occurred between riot police and protesters in the western city of Nantes. During the past months, the city has been the scene of frequent clashes between police and far-left radical groups. The plan has also sparked a crippling strike in the transport sector.

Source: Presstv

Estonia apologised to Finland on Monday after Estonia’s interior minister mocked Finland’s new prime minister — the world’s youngest-serving government leader — as “a sales girl” and questioned her ability to run the Nordic country.

Mart Helme, 70, Estonian interior minister and leader of the populist far-right party Ekre, on Sunday ridiculed Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, 34, and her government, in which four out of five coalition leaders are women under 35.

“Now we see how one sales girl has become a prime minister and how some other street activists and non-educated people have also joined the cabinet,” Helme said on his party’s radio talk show.

His comments prompted the opposition to call for his resignation, while Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid asked Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto to pass on her apologies to Marin and her government.

Social Democrat Marin, who has spoken about growing up in a disadvantaged family, worked as a cashier before studying at university and embarking on a political career.

“I’m extremely proud of Finland. Here a poor family’s child can educate themselves and achieve their goals in life. A cashier can become even a prime minister,” Marin wrote on Twitter.

Helme, a former Estonian ambassador to Russia, is known for outspoken statements that regularly embarrass Prime Minister Juri Ratas and his Centre Party, Ekre’s coalition partner.

Ekre was accepted for the first time into a government coalition in April, after Ratas lost parliamentary elections but clinched a deal with Ekre to stay in power.

Estonian opposition leader Kaja Kallas said on Monday the opposition would organise a no-confidence vote in parliament if Helme does not resign after his comments about Finland’s new leaders. Previous such attempts have failed.

“The interior minister has offended the Finnish government and personally attacked the newly-appointed Finnish prime minister,” she said in a statement.

(REUTERS)

France’s general strike reached its eight day, and appears stronger than ever.

Yesterday the administration of President Emmanuel Macron finally revealed the details of their globally-unprecedented, one-size-fits-all pension plan – which includes a 2 year hike to the retirement age.

The reception was near-universal rejection, with even conservative unions vowing to finally join the strikes.

Nationwide protests were immediately called, and day eight saw more of the same public transport chaos, energy shortages, school closings, worker shutdowns, grounded airplanes and now blockades of key maritime ports.

Businesses in urban centers are down 15-30%, but it’s the small businessman who has been the most hurt. Many believe that Macron will only compromise if a general strike reduces the profits of the owner class and high finance.

Many want the pension rollback totally withdrawn, now that the unpopular, right-wing details are finally known, and few understand why the system must be scrapped entirely.

The rollback is not being openly forced by Brussels, unlike many similar austerity policies, but in a rare comment today Macron admitted he was ‘advancing our European agenda’.

The slogan of the general strike has become ‘(Choose) A few weeks of chaos or years of misery’. A key rail workers union has declared, ‘There will be no truce for Christmas,’ meaning that France’s General Strike will almost certainly reach the level of 1995’s massive labor victory.

Source: Presstv

Day six of France’s largest general strike since 1995 saw massive union-led protests nationwide for the second time in a week. 

Public transport continues to run at only around 10% capacity and both public and private sector workers waked off the job in huge numbers yet again.

Nearly one million protesters rallied nationwide which is especially impressive given the lack of union solidarity. 

Tomorrow the government will finally unveil the details of the pension reform, which they have delayed to avoid further inflaming public opinion. The nation’s largest union has not joined the strike, but they will make their crucial decision once the unprecedented system is finally revealed. 

However, the nation’s prime minister announced that nobody should expect him to say anything which would immediately stop the protests; that’s another indication of President Emmanuel Macron’s infamous reluctance to negotiate or compromise. 

The one-size-fits-all pension system touted by Macron would be a world’s first. When it is finally clear how it plans to work, it seems highly unlikely that citizens will get larger pensions instead of smaller ones. The plan will include a backdoor two-year high to the retirement age. 

New polls show 70% of the nation supports the strikers, making them as popularly supported as the Yellow Vest anti-government movement. A majority of France says the general strike is about the ensemble of Macron’s policies, which have drastically increased economic inequality and societal instability.

For many December 9th was the true start of France’s general strike. The strike began on December 5th, but the country had expected for unprecedented shutdowns through the weekend.

Many waited to see if the strikes would continue when the new work week started, and the answer it is in: it was Black Monday.

Record morning traffic jams were caused by heavy rains, as commuters couldn’t walk or bicycle to work. Nearly 90% of trains continue to be shut down, buses were at half capacity and 20% of flights were cancelled.

President Emmanuel Macron held a crisis cabinet meeting Sunday night to devise ways to undermine the strikers.

The last general strike, in 1995, was also against pension reform, but this time the right-wing government wants to change the entire system, and to a globally-unprecedented one-size-fits-all model.

Polls show that nearly 70% of France does not trust Macron to change something as important as the pension system. However, the man known as the “president of the rich” has shown that he’s not just willing to ignore democratic public opinion, but also willing to brutally represent dissenters.

Many private sector workers are striking, but public sector workers are leading the way, because they have more legal protection from getting fired just for going on strike. Transportation workers are so committed to the strike because they usually work outside in the elements, or underground, and surrounded by polluted air – few could stay healthy doing such difficult work until the age of 64, as Macron is demanding. Rail workers announced they will keep striking until at least Friday.

December 10th will see a second day of nationwide union-led protests, with more than a million people expected on the streets for the second time in less than a week. 

Source: Presstv

A volcano erupted in New Zealand on Monday, spewing a plume of ash thousands of feet into the air, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying tourists were among several people unaccounted for as emergency services mounted a rescue operation.

As many as 100 people were in the vicinity when the eruption began about 2:11 pm (0111 GMT) on White Island, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the east coast of North Island, authorities said, sending up smoke visible from the mainland.

“We believe 100 people were on or around the island,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a news conference, adding that a rescue operation had begun, although it was too early to confirm any injuries or deaths.

“A number of people are reportedly injured and are now being transported to shore,” she added. “It does appear to be a very significant issue…particularly the scale of people affected, at this stage.”

Many of those affected could be tourists, she said.

“I’m not sure if these people were on the island or near it, but there was definitely one group out there and they definitely needed medical care,” said Judy Turner, the mayor of the coastal town of Whakatane, near White Island. “There were some injuries and the focus is on getting these injured people back safely and to get them to a hospital.”

There seemed to be no danger for people in coastal areas farther away, she added.

The island’s immediate surroundings were hazardous because of the eruption, the National Emergency Management Agency said in an statement, adding that falling ash might affect some areas.

The “short-lived eruption” threw an ash plume about 12,000 ft (3,658 m) high, New Zealand’s geoscience agency GNS Science said in a statement, but added there were no current signs of an escalation.

The White Island volcano is one of New Zealand’s most active.

(Source: Reuters)

Investigators in Germany on Thursday offered a half-a-million-euro reward for information about the spectacular heist in which robbers snatched priceless diamonds from a state museum in Dresden.

Police said the reward ($550,000) was being offered to anyone providing information “which could lead… to the capture of the perpetrators or the recovery of the stolen items”.

Police across eastern Germany are continuing their search for the thieves who launched a brazen raid on the Green Vault museum in Dresden’s Royal Palace on Monday.

Having initiated a partial power cut and broken in through a window, the thieves stole priceless 18th-century jewellery from the collection of the Saxon ruler August the Strong.

They stole objects encrusted with hundreds of diamonds, including the famous 49-carat Dresden white, the museum said on Wednesday.

Police are hunting four suspects in the theft and have released dramatic CCTV footage which showed one of them breaking into a display case with an axe.

Aside from a burnt out car that they identified as the initial escape vehicle, investigators are yet to find a significant trace of the thieves.

Dresden police said they were also in contact with colleagues in Berlin to explore possible connections to a similar heist in the capital two years ago.

In 2017, a 100-kilogramme (220-pound), 24-karat giant gold coin was stolen from Berlin’s Bode Museum.

Four men with links to a notorious Berlin gang were later arrested and put on trial.

On Thursday, police said the Dresden investigations were now being led by the state prosecutor’s department for organised crime.

The special commission set up to investigate the theft has also doubled in size to involve a staff of 40. “We will leave no stone unturned to solve this case,” said regional police president Horst Kretzschmar.

Source:  AFP