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LeMonde
6 hours ago
- LeMonde
Trump gambles with reindustrializing the US
Attracting foreign investment to reindustrialize the US has been the main objective of Donald Trump's tariff policy. "Remember the army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones? That kind of thing is going to come to America," promised US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on April 6, just days after Trump announced so-called "reciprocal" tariffs on April 2. The agreement unveiled on Sunday, July 27, with the European Union includes an additional $600 billion in investments to be made in the US. A few days earlier, Japan committed to invest $550 billion in the US as part of its agreement signed with Washington. These commitments, however, remain vague – both in terms of the time frame and the sectors involved. In recent weeks, several major European groups have announced plans to build factories in the US, raising concerns over reduced activities in Europe and even an increase in offshoring to the US. On July 24, Bernard Arnault, the founder and CEO of the luxury group LVMH, announced that Louis Vuitton would open a fourth manufacturing site across the Atlantic. "For our American customers, buying a Louis Vuitton product 'made in USA' poses (…) no problem at all," Arnault argued in the French newspaper Le Figaro on July 24.
LeMonde
13 hours ago
- LeMonde
France says it cannot save contraceptives US plans to destroy
France said Friday, August 1, it could not seize women's contraception products estimated to be worth $9.7 million that the United States plans to destroy, after media reported the stockpile would be incinerated in the country. The contraceptives – intended for some of the world's poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa – were purchased by the US foreign aid agency USAID under former president Joe Biden. But France's health ministry told Agence France-Presse Friday there was no legal way for it to intervene. The administration of Biden's successor Donald Trump, which has slashed USAID and pursued anti-abortion policies, confirmed last month it planned to destroy the contraceptives, which have been stored in a warehouse in the Belgian city of Geel. According to several media reports, the unexpired products were to be incinerated in France at the end of July by a company that specialises in destroying medical waste. France's government has come under pressure to save the contraceptives, with women's rights groups calling the US decision "insane." The health ministry told AFP that the government had "examined the courses of action available to us, but unfortunately there is no legal basis for intervention by a European health authority, let alone the French national drug safety authority, to recover these medical products. Since contraceptives are not drugs of major therapeutic interest, and in this case we are not facing a supply shortage, we have no means to requisition the stocks." The ministry also said it had no information on where the contraceptives would be destroyed. Leaving Belgian warehouse Sarah Durocher, head of the French women's rights group Family Planning, told AFP that some contraceptives had already left the Belgian warehouse. "We were informed 36 hours ago that the removal of these boxes of contraceptives had begun," Durocher said Thursday. "We do not know where these trucks are now – or whether they have arrived in France," she added. "We call on all incineration companies not to destroy the contraceptives and to oppose this insane decision." French company Veolia confirmed to AFP that it had a contract with the US firm Chemonics, USAID's logistics provider. But Veolia emphasized that the contract concerned "only the management of expired products, which is not the case for the stockpile" in Belgium. The products, mostly long-acting contraceptives such as IUDs and birth control implants, are reportedly up to five years away from expiring. Outrage over decision The US decision has provoked an outcry in France, where rights groups and left-wing politicians have called on their government to stop the plan. "France cannot allow itself to become the stage for such actions. A moratorium is necessary," wrote five NGOs in an op-ed in Le Monde, condemning the "absurdity" of the US decision. Among them was MSI Reproductive Choices, one of several organisations that have offered to purchase and repackage the contraceptives at no cost to the US government. All offers have been rejected. Last week, New Hampshire's Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen pointed to the Trump administration's stated goal of reducing government waste, saying the contraceptives plan "is the epitome of waste, fraud and abuse." A US State Department spokesperson told AFP earlier this week that the destruction of the products would cost $167,000 and "no HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed." The spokesperson pointed to a policy that prohibits providing aid to non-governmental organisations that perform or promote abortions. The Mexico City Policy, which critics call the "global gag rule," was first introduced by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. It has been reinstated under every Republican president since. Last month, the US also incinerated nearly 500 metric tons of high-nutrition biscuits that had been meant to keep malnourished children in Afghanistan and Pakistan alive.
France 24
13 hours ago
- France 24
France halts intake of Gazans over student's antisemitic posts
The move comes after officials said the female student from Gaza would have to leave France after the Sciences Po university in the northern city of Lille revoked her accreditation over the online posts. "No evacuation of any kind will take place until we have drawn conclusions from this investigation," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told Franceinfo radio. All Gazans who have entered France will undergo a second screening, he added. The foreign ministry told AFP it could not disclose how many people would be affected by the policy change, citing confidentiality concerns. France has helped more than 500 people leave Gaza since the latest war between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel started, including wounded children, journalists, students and artists. The conflict, triggered by Hamas's murderous October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has seen Israel retaliate with a deadly military campaign and an aid blockade in Gaza that some rights groups have qualified as "genocide". "France cannot suspend its policy of welcoming evacuated Gazans: our common humanity is at stake," said Arthur Delaporte, spokesman for the opposition Socialist Party, on X. Lille's general prosecutor said Thursday that a judicial probe has been opened against the student for allegedly trying to "justify terrorism" and "justify a crime against humanity". Barrot confirmed she must leave France, noting that talks were ongoing to determine her destination. 'Just two minutes' The 25-year-old woman was due to start studying at France's prestigious Sciences Po in the fall as part of a government scholarship programme for students from Gaza. A French diplomatic source said the student arrived in France on July 11 on a scholarship based on "academic excellence" and after "security checks". But now she will have to leave the country after pro-Israel accounts on X resurfaced posts she shared in September, including an image of Adolf Hitler and words appearing to call for the death of Jews. The account attributed to the student has been taken offline, after French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau demanded it be closed down. AFP has not been able to independently confirm the social media posts attributed to the young woman. Sciences Po however confirmed on Wednesday that the young woman had shared the content. It said they were in "direct contradiction" with the university's values, without elaborating. "The security checks carried out by the relevant state services, as well as by the Israeli authorities, did not detect these antisemitic and unacceptable comments," Barrot said. A spokesman for France's far-right National Rally criticised the government's vetting process, saying "it only took two minutes of browsing" to find the posts. "And yet, France welcomed this individual," said spokesman Julien Odoul on Europe 1 radio. AFP was not immediately able to reach the student for comment. The news agency is not identifying her at this stage of the investigation. In a July interview on broadcaster RMC, before her posts came to light, the 25-year-old had expressed her excitement about studying in France. "I am finally in a safe space," she said.
