All posts tagged: european elections

Former president Hollande makes surprise comeback in French election

Former president Hollande makes surprise comeback in French election

Published by Sam

Former French Socialist president Francois Hollande on Saturday said he will run for parliament again, the latest political twist after his successor Emmanuel Macron unexpectedly called snap legislative elections. Issued on: 15/06/2024 – 18:35Modified: 15/06/2024 – 22:41 3 min Macron’s dissolving of parliament after the French far right’s victory in European parliamentary elections has swiftly redrawn the lines of French politics. A new left-wing alliance has emerged and the main right-wing party’s leader has announced he is prepared to back an alliance with the far right, sparking in-fighting within his party. On Saturday, police estimated that a quarter of a million people protested across France against the prospect of the far right coming to power. But it is far from sure that the fortunes of the far right will diminish in the legislative elections. Hollande, France’s president from 2012-2017, left office with record levels of unpopularity. He is hated by parts of the radical left and even the Socialist leadership regards him with suspicion. He said he would stand as an MP for the southwestern …

France leftwing parties present united front for snap elections

France leftwing parties present united front for snap elections

Published by Sam

French left-wing parties including the Socialist Party, the French Communist Party, the Greens (EELV) and France Unbowed presented a united front Monday evening, a day after President Emmanuel Macron called for snap legislative elections. Macron’s shock announcement Sunday came after a bruising loss to the far right in the European elections. Campaigns for the first round will begin on June 17. Read our blog to see how the day’s events unfolded. Issued on: 10/06/2024 – 06:48Modified: 10/06/2024 – 22:51 1 min This blog is no longer being updated. Macron said on Monday he was confident that the French would make the right choice in the upcoming legislative elections. “I am confident in the capacity of the French people to make the right choice for themselves and for future generations. My sole ambition is to be useful to our country that I love so much,” Macron said on X. His stunning announcement came after EU election projections showed the far-right National Rally (RN) had scored more than double the votes of his centrist alliance in the French vote. In …

Key issues at stake in the EU elections

Key issues at stake in the EU elections

Published by Sam

EU voters head to the polls on June 6-9 to elect the next European Parliament with the 27-member bloc facing a daunting set of challenges, including deep divisions over migration management, a backlash against climate change policies, and an overhaul of Europe’s defence industries spurred by the ongoing war in Ukraine.  Some 373 million voters across 27 countries are eligible to elect representatives in the European Parliament starting on Thursday, in the world’s second largest exercise in democracy after the recent election in India. Long regarded as the weakest of the EU’s three main institutions, the 720-member parliament has seen its powers increase in recent years, not least in shaping the all-important EU budget. Among its first tasks will be to confirm the 27 members of the European Commission, including its presidency, a position currently held by Ursula von der Leyen, who is running for a second term.  The jockeying for positions will provide an early indicator of the balance of power and shifting alliances between political groups in the assembly – and how these …

What a right-wing surge could mean for the EU

What a right-wing surge could mean for the EU

Published by Sam

Polls show that Europe is facing a potential shift to the right in elections set for June 6-9, when millions of EU citizens will vote to elect new members of the European Parliament, a body crucial for shaping the bloc’s policies. With far-right parties likely to win greater influence, the vote could significantly affect political dynamics within the EU and its policies abroad. As the world’s second-largest democratic vote after India, the European elections have the power to reshape the political landscape across the continent and beyond. From June 6-9, approximately 400 million EU citizens will head to the polls to elect new members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The 720 legislators in the new parliament will have the power to shape policies on climate, migration, industry, defence and security. But they will also vote on what should be prioritised in the EU budget, which can be essential to policies like providing aid for Ukraine.  Read more2024 European Election Projections and Results Once elected, MEPs will join supranational parliamentary “groups” according to ideology (greens, socialists, centre-right, far-right, etc.). The two largest parliamentary …

Citizen activists take on ‘destructive’ solar power plants in France’s Provence region

Citizen activists take on ‘destructive’ solar power plants in France’s Provence region

Published by Sam

Citizen activists in southeastern France’s Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence region have been campaigning for two years against the growing number of solar power parks in a protected natural area around the Lure mountain. The local authorities, and the parks’ investors, claim the plants are “essential” projects in the fight against climate change, and in line with the ambitions of the European Green Deal. But the activists claim these projects are “destructive” for biodiversity and the landscape.  A few hundred metres above the commune of Cruis, in the Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence region, Sylvie Bitterlin, a 62-year-old actress, stands in front of the security fence of a brand-new solar farm. “Look, they’ve destroyed everything,” she says. On the 17-hectare site, the garrigue or scrubland of Provence has been replaced by several thousand solar panels. In Cruis, the photovoltaic power plant, operated by Boralex, was scheduled to begin operating this summer. © Cyrielle Cabot, FRANCE 24 The project has been under construction for several months and is nearly finished. According to the operator, Boralex, a Canadian renewable energy company, the site will generate …

Marion Maréchal battles the woke agenda, ‘Islamification’ in European elections

Marion Maréchal battles the woke agenda, ‘Islamification’ in European elections

Published by Sam

France’s Marion Maréchal has made the “defence” of European civilisation and fighting against the “Islamification” of Europe a cornerstone of her platform as she leads the far-right Reconquest party’s candidate list in the European elections. Maréchal is the granddaughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, who founded the far-right National Front, and the niece of Marine Le Pen, who leads the National Rally party, as the National Front was rebranded in 2018. Issued on: 31/05/2024 – 14:31 4 min In the run-up to the June 6-9 elections for the European Parliament, national tragedies and dramatic crimes have provided opportunities to send a political message. A day after two officers were killed in an armed attack on a prison van that helped drug kingpin Mohamed Amra escape, Marion Maréchal went to the Bordeaux-Gradignan prison facility, a visit she recorded on social media. Maréchal was seen chatting with officers at this notoriously overcrowded prison that houses twice the number of inmates it is designed for. Photos were quickly posted on X, Facebook and Instagram. They show the candidate listening …

Europe’s election campaigns are under the constant threat of foreign interference

Europe’s election campaigns are under the constant threat of foreign interference

Published by Sam

François-Xavier Bellamy, the top candidate for the conservative Les Républicains party in the upcoming European elections, revealed Monday that he had been targeted by an attempted cyberattack launched by a group believed to be linked to the Chinese government. Coming soon after Socialist Party candidate Raphaël Glucksmann’s announcement that he was targeted by what seemed to be a mass disinformation campaign on social media, Bellamy’s declaration is a stark reminder of the threat of foreign interference that continues to plague parties competing in the June elections. Issued on: 07/05/2024 – 17:36 5 min Bellamy announced on Monday that he had filed a complaint after he was targeted by a cyberattack attempt from a group of hackers called APT31, which several countries – including the US and the UK – believe to be linked to the Chinese government. “At a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping is embarking on a state visit to Paris, there’s a feeling that we haven’t taken the measure of what’s at stake today in terms of foreign interference,” Bellamy told AFP. …

One month ahead, the French badly need to start doing their homework

One month ahead, the French badly need to start doing their homework

Published by Sam

The French public lacks crucial information about the upcoming European elections and the role of the European Parliament while holding broadly pessimistic attitudes about the European Union, according to an exclusive survey carried out by French pollster Viavoice for French media including FRANCE 24’s parent group France Médias Monde, France Télévisions and Radio France. Issued on: 06/05/2024 – 16:49 4 min Just under 50 percent of French people are interested in the European parliamentary elections, with 48 percent declaring no interest in the June vote, according to a Viavoice survey published Monday. Moreover, a large proportion of respondents still fundamentally misunderstand the aims of the upcoming vote – and the nature of the European Parliament itself. Nearly half (46 percent) of French people surveyed think that the upcoming elections allow voters to elect the members of the European Commission – which is not the case – and just 40 percent correctly responded “false” to a question asking if the voting will take place over two rounds. Read moreMore Europe or else? Macron lists ‘mortal’ dangers ahead of …

‘The Greens are our enemy’: What is fuelling the far right in Germany? | World news

‘The Greens are our enemy’: What is fuelling the far right in Germany? | World news

Published by skeptic

The far right are on the march in Germany and the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany has become the most popular party in several states. Immigration and a sense of being economically left behind have been driving factors in the rise in popularity but the Green party and the federal government’s climate policies have also borne the brunt of public anger. The Guardian travelled to Görlitz, on the German border with Poland, to find out to what extent Germany’s green policies are fuelling the far right • How climate policies are becoming focus for far-right attacks in Germany Source link

Ursula von der Leyen to square off against rival candidates | World | News

Ursula von der Leyen to square off against rival candidates | World | News

Published by skeptic

Tonight, the political spotlight is on Maastricht as Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, faces off with seven other lead candidates in a European election debate. The event marks the first time these candidates will debate on stage, providing a glimpse into their differing approaches to key European issues. Von der Leyen’s rivals for the EU’s top post represent a broad political spectrum. The list includes: Walter Baier (Party of the European Left) Bas Eickhout (European Green Party) Valeriu Ghilețchi (European Christian Political Movement) Maylis Roßberg (European Free Alliance) Nicolas Schmit (Party of European Socialists) Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party) Anders Vistisen (Identity and Democracy Party) The debate, co-hosted by POLITICO and Studio Europa Maastricht, will focus on climate change, security, and democracy, themes crucial to the EU’s future. Von der Leyen’s team aims to present her as a warmer, more personal leader, contrasting with her reputation as a no-nonsense crisis manager. Since 2019, she has overseen the EU through challenging times, including the COVID-19 pandemic …