Latest news with #CourdesComptes
Euronews
13-05-2025
- Health
- Euronews
French MPs reignite divisive debate over assisted suicide
French lawmakers have revived one of the country's most polarising debates on assisted suicide. MPs began examining two bills on Monday, focusing on boosting palliative care and legalising assisted dying for adults over 18 years old with incurable, advanced, or terminal illnesses. This would allow patients to receive or administer a lethal substance either themselves or with medical assistance. The proposed legislation, which would allow access to lethal substances under strict conditions, has sparked fierce debate across political lines. However, the legislation stipulates that only patients capable of freely and clearly expressing their informed wish to end their life would be eligible. This means patients with Alzheimer's or who are in an irreversible coma cannot be considered eligible for the act. In addition to the requirement that the patient's request be made freely and in an informed manner, the legislation outlines that the patient must be suffering from physical or psychological pain that cannot be alleviated by treatment. Backed by French President Macron's supporters and much of the left, the bill faces strong opposition from conservative lawmakers and the far-right, who argue that resources should instead be directed toward improving palliative care. Centrist MP Olivier Falorni has passionately argued for the right to die: 'There is nothing more beautiful than life, but sometimes there is something worse than death. Yes, there is something even worse than death when life has become nothing but inexorable agony,' said Falorni in parliament on Monday night. Philippe Juvin, a conservative MP and practising anesthesiologist, expressed deep concern about the potential dangers of legalising the act of assisted dying. 'No country has gone this far, both in scope, the expeditious nature, the weakness of control, and the pressure that this will put on the most vulnerable. What caregivers and patients need is time to care for, relieve, and support,' Juvin said. As the debate unfolded inside the National Assembly, hundreds of protesters gathered a few streets away. Wearing blue medical scrubs and lying on the ground to represent an "open-air hospital," the protesters, led by the pro-life Alliance Vita association, demanded greater investment in palliative care rather than the legalisation of euthanasia. Posters and placards were scattered across the scene with messages such as 'We want palliative care,' 'No to euthanasia,' and 'Support the most vulnerable.' One of the key arguments against the bill is France's significant shortcomings in providing quality palliative care. According to estimates from the Cour des Comptes (France's supreme audit institution), nearly half of those who could benefit from palliative care did not receive it. This represents approximately 180,000 patients annually. This issue is particularly alarming in home care settings and retirement homes, where healthcare professionals are often ill-equipped to manage end-of-life care. Tugdual Derville, president of the pro-life Alliance Vita organisation, has been outspoken in his opposition to the bill, stressing that the healthcare system must be reformed before assisted suicide is even considered. 'We need to repair the healthcare system, we need to make care accessible to the French, particularly pain relief and palliative care, and we need to maintain the protection afforded by the prohibition on killing between caregivers and the cared for,' Derville said at a protest staged outside the National Assembly. Many opponents of the bill argue that the lack of proper palliative care is the root cause of many patients' suffering and their desire to end their lives. Séverine, a protester and vocal opponent of the bill, believed this is exactly what happened to her aunt. 'My aunt was suffering psychologically… She couldn't live alone, so she was sent to a nursing home. There was no one there. The general practitioner would come once every 2 months... There was no one to ease her psychological suffering. So she tried to commit suicide. She wanted to die because there was no solution to her suffering," explained Séverine in an interview with Euronews. The final vote on the two bills is scheduled for 27 May. In a rare instance, political parties have decided not to impose voting lines due to the personal nature of the proposal. This means MPs will vote based on their own convictions. Serbian students partaking in the massive – almost 2,000 kilometre – ultramarathon from Novi Sad, Serbia, have arrived in Brussels on Monday. The run titled 'From my village to Brussels' saw almost two dozen Serbian students make the trek to the European capital where they will be meeting MEPs from several political groups. The ultramarathon, covering an exactly 1,993 kilometre stretch, began on 25 April. It was originally planned to include 16 students – the exact number of victims in the tragic awning collapse in Novi Sad Railway Station. It was later expanded to 21 students. The journey was broken down in a relay format, with each student running 15 kilometres daily until they reached the final destination. Thank you so much, this is the 1,933rd kilometre. You are truly incredible, people. First of all, you twenty — you have no idea how much I love you,' said Maja, a participant in the ultramarathon. 'All of you here, thank you, thank you so much. You have no idea how much strength and energy you give us, and how much you mean to us.' In Brussels, alongside meeting MEPs, the pupils will also be meeting with European Commissioner for Enlargement, Martha Kos, as well as Commissioner for Youth, Glenn Micallef. On 1 November, a massive concrete awning collapsed at a railway station in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad, initially killing 14 people. Two of the wounded later succumbed to their injuries, bringing the total death toll to 16. Protests erupted shortly after, largely led by students, demanding the government take accountability for the incident, and the mass resignation of officials. Many in Serbia blamed the incident on rampant government corruption, negligence and disrespect of construction safety regulations.
Reuters
17-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
French audit office says keeping pension system unchanged is impossible
PARIS, April 10 (Reuters) - France cannot afford not to reform its pension system and it should look at how to get people working for longer and make changes to how pensions are indexed to inflation, the independent audit office said on Thursday. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has tasked the Cour des Comptes with analysing how the pension system weighs on the competitiveness of the euro zone's second-biggest economy. here. He commissioned the report to shape a debate underway among employers' federations and unions on how to revise an unpopular 2023 reform that gradually raises the pension age to 64 from 62. State pensions are an explosive issue in France and audit office head Pierre Moscovici was careful not to make explicit recommendations, although he highlighted that working longer and tweaking the pension link to inflation would yield results. "The status quo for the financing of the retirement system is impossible, or at least is insufficient to keep the system sustainable in the medium and long-term," he told journalists. France spends the equivalent of 14% of economic output on pensions, 2.5 percentage points above the euro zone average and financed almost exclusively by hefty payroll contributions and tax revenue, increasing the cost of labour and the fiscal burden. Moscovici, a former Socialist finance minister, said the system's impact on France's competitiveness was mixed but he acknowledged that it added to the cost of labour. He said pushing back the age at which people retire would boost France's employment rate, which is particularly low for people over the age of 55 compared with other euro zone countries. Moscovici also said that at least partially indexing pensions to wages rather than only inflation would ensure that retirees were exposed to the same economic risks as workers. French retirees' pensions rose in step with sharp increases in inflation in recent years while workers salaries often lagged.
Local France
11-03-2025
- Business
- Local France
Why France is falling behind in attracting international students
France is no longer a popular university destination for foreign students, who are comparatively more likely to head to establishments in 'Anglo-Saxon' countries or certain European countries such as Germany – or, even, Russia – according to a report by the Cour des Comptes, France's audit institution. In response, the French press has run headlines about foreign students increasingly shunning France. The evidence the press cited: France, which was second-only to USA as a further education must-go nation in 1980, and fourth in 2017 – behind USA, UK, and Australia – had fallen to seventh in the table, slipping behind Canada, Germany and Russia by 2022. Is France actually becoming less popular? The truth is rather more nuanced than the headlines suggest. The public institution for the supervision of public spending pointed out that the number of international student enrolments at French further education establishments has been growing steadily in France since the 2000s, but more slowly than in 'certain Anglo-Saxon countries or [...] Germany, thus causing a decline in its ranking.' Between 2017 and 2022, international student numbers in France rose 21 percent – which definitely does not compare favourably with Germany's 56 percent, or the UK's 55 percent. The Cour's report cited Germany, which it said gives priority to, 'meeting the skills needs of domestic companies'. It also referenced the UK, where it said, 'the recruitment of a skilled workforce and the contribution of international students to national research also play an important role'. It may, however, want to revise that view, given widespread reports of job cuts, course closures and a fall in foreign student numbers at British institutions currently. The Cour noted that, in the 2023/24 school year, France welcomed 430,000 international students – more than the population of Toulouse – and up from 358,000 in 2018-2019. Most were studying for postgraduate qualifications, with 36 percent of international students were working towards doctorates, 15 percent were on Master courses, and 10 percent were studying for bachelor's degrees. The country was on course to meet 'Welcome to France' objectives set at the start of President Emmanuel Macron's first term in office of hosting 500,000 international students by 2027, the report insisted. What about challenges international students face? That said, the report did criticise France's 'quantitive' over 'qualitative' approach to student numbers. Previous administrations had not set geographical priorities or targeted particular professional skills or disciplines in its international student goals, which would have required, 'more in-depth inter-ministerial work including in particular the ministries responsible for the Economy and Labour', the Cour argued. It also said that too little was being done to make applying for courses at French universities easy for foreign students. Processes were too slow across the board – from registering for universities, through to reception at establishments, arranging accommodation, and difficulties in obtaining a visa or renewing residence permits – despite the creation of the Campus France agency to promoted French higher education establishments here and abroad. 'All this must be improved qualitatively,' the Cour's report said. It recommends a global strategy under the authority of the Prime Minister's Matignon office focused on attracting international students who may be persuaded to remain in France to find work. In 2018, President Macron said that France was ready to welcome a wider number of international students – saying, 'Indian, Russian, Chinese students will be more numerous and should be'. However, today, the country's universities mainly welcome French speakers, and had not reported a notable uptick in students from mostly English-speaking countries. "It would be necessary to better assess the economic and employment market impact of welcoming international students by means of a cohort analysis renewed periodically," argues the Court. Economy Minister Eric Lombard agreed, saying in a statement in response to the report that 'It is essential [to attract international students] in particular in priority sectors, and to measure this contribution to the economy.' Lombard said that he was 'ready' to engage in a strategy coordinated by Matignon to, 'adapt our reception policy to the evolution of our economic partnerships and the growth dynamics of foreign countries'.
Local France
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Local France
'Protect the population': France unveils plan to prepare for 4C global warming
France's Minister for Ecological Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, on Monday presented the government's finalised third plan to 'adapt the territory' to global warming. The Plan National d'Adaptation au Changement Climatique (National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change, and sometimes known as Pnacc), is almost 400 pages long, and includes over 50 measures aimed at preparing the country for a 4C increase in temperatures by 2100. The Pnacc was first created as a fund in 1995 to help local authorities, small businesses and private individuals finance the work needed to reduce their vulnerability to natural disasters. What does the plan include? There are five main areas of focus. The first is protecting the population, and it includes steps related to protecting people from increased forest fires and strengthening protections for workers exposed to heatwaves, as well as a study to learn about avoiding a drop in air quality during heatwaves and steps to modify housing renovation rules. Another measure within 'protecting the population' was broadly 'developing a culture of risk awareness to prepare the French population to cope with changes in natural hazards due to climate change'. The second area is 'ensuring the resilience of local authorities, infrastructures and essential services'. This emphasises steps to protect public transportation from the impacts of global warming, as well as studies to determine how a 4C temperature rise would affect health services. The third is 'adapting human activities'. This includes measures related to food and energy production. For example, support for farms and the agri-food industry 'in the face of climatic hazards and to initiate the transition to resilient, low-carbon models'. The fourth is 'protecting France's natural and cultural heritage', especially the country's most visited sites like the Eiffel Tower and Mont Saint Michel. One measure outlined would involve creating a climate risk map for all of the country's main heritage sites. And the fifth is 'mobilising the nation's forces to successfully adapt to climate change', which outlines the ways French public services would integrate climate response into their missions. Within this section, there is also a specific measure related to using AI to help with climate change response. For instance, training it to judge environmental conditions (ex soil humidity) to offer a probability estimate for the next extreme heatwave up to a month before it occurs. How have people responded to the plan? Thus far, the reaction has been mixed, despite calls from government bodies, like the Cour des Comptes to better recognise the urgency of the climate crisis and respond with a 'a wall of investment'. Stakeholders like the France Assureurs association have insisted the budget proposals are insufficient, Franceinfo reported. Green groups, including France Nature environnement (FNE) told the French press that although the plan contains a 'number of good intentions' how they will be financed and operated remains unknown. In terms of funding, Pannier-Runacher announced that the government had earmarked around €600 million for adaptation to climate change, according to l'Humanité. Half of that would come from funding already allocated under previous PM Michel Barnier's administration, while another €260 million would come from the 'Green Fund' meant to help local authorities. Anticipated since the end of 2023 as part of the strategy of former PM Elisabeth Borne, the Pnacc has long been touted as one of the major weapons to combat global warming. However, it was constantly postponed in line with various political deadlines, until the dissolution of June 2024, which once again postponed it.
Euronews
24-02-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Fact check: Is France's pensions system costing €55 billion a year?
Prime Minister François Bayrou shocked France when he said in January that the country's pension scheme was haemorrhaging billions. As part of his government policy statement, in which he outlined his priorities to the French parliament, Bayrou said that pensions were costing France €55 billion a year and that the controversial 2023 pension reform would need another look. He commissioned France's Cour des Comptes, or Court of Auditors, to carry out a flash report on the country's coffers to provide objective facts and figures for any future changes to the pensions system. The court published its report on 20 February, revealing that the pensions deficit will sit at some €15 billion by 2035, and then around €30 billion two years later. It's not quite the €55 billion that Bayrou suggested, but still a dire hole in the country's finances. As things currently stand, the deficit will stabilise at around €5 billion for the next five years, thanks to the effects of the 2023 pension reform, but it won't be enough: things will quickly start to get worse from there, according to the court. It said that France's 2045 projected financial outlook for pensions is "worrying" and that two schemes in particular are the problem: the general pension scheme, and that of local authority and hospital employees. "Neither higher per capita labour productivity than assumed (1% per annum instead of 0.7%), nor the eventual reduction in the unemployment rate to 5% (instead of 7%) would significantly reduce the efforts required to return to balance," the court said. The debt caused by these two schemes would balloon to €470 billion by 2045, according to the court, which would go against the principle of pay-as-you-go pension schemes — where pensions are paid by the current workforce at a given time. It did highlight some positive points though: it said that pensions would continue to grow during this period, not accounting for inflation, and that French pensioners would be in a better position than those in other OECD countries. "In addition, the length of time a person is retired would not decrease compared to the current situation despite the increase in the retirement age linked to the application of the 2023 reform," the court said. "The later retirement age would be offset by an equivalent increase in life expectancy." It also said that the self-employed wouldn't be adversely affected and that supplementary pension schemes should also rise. While delivering the results of the report, the court's first president, Pierre Moscovici, said that its objectives were not to provide any recommendations about what the government should do next, but rather reach clear conclusions on the pension system. Nevertheless, the pension reform, which raised the retirement age from 62 to 64, remains severely unpopular in France. The Court of Auditors' assessment, which suggests it doesn't go far enough in fixing France's overall 6.1% deficit as of the end of 2024, is a blow to calls to get rid of it. The pension reform was brought in under the government of Élisabeth Borne and passed in March 2023, after the former prime minister used a controversial constitutional tool known as Article 49.3 to force her budget plan through parliament without giving MPs a vote. The mere tabling of the bill sparked a series of huge, occasionally violent protests all over France, leading to widespread disruption in public services and multiple no-confidence votes against Borne, which she survived. It's been a similar story for Bayrou since he took office in December, his rocky start mostly caused by the alarming state of France's finances. The prime minister recently survived his third no-confidence vote in less than a month, after he himself used Artice 49.3 to ram through his 2025 budget. Surviving the vote means the automatic adoption of the budget plan, which aims to cut an eye-watering €30 billion and raise taxes by €20 billion to limit France's deficit to 5.4% of GDP this year. Bayrou previously signalled his intention to reopen the debate on the contentious pension reform in an effort to win support from socialist MPs, whose support he needed to fend off the no-confidence votes. He's said that all options are on the table, including changing the retirement age again, provided they don't harm the pension system's finances even further. France has been in a state of political paralysis after President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the lower house of parliament following his party's loss in the European elections in June 2024. The summer vote ended with a hung parliament divided into three blocs with no absolute majority, which quickly led to the collapse of the government under Bayrou's predecessor, Michel Barnier, who became France's shortest-serving prime minister.
