Latest news with #Loiret
Al Arabiya
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
France's Le Pen hosts Europe allies in show of far-right unity
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was Monday hosting key allies from across Europe, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in a bid to flaunt the unity and strength of the anti-immigration wing of European politics. The get-together in the bucolic countryside of Mormant-sur-Vernisson in the Loiret region south of Paris is ostensibly aimed at marking one year since Le Pen's National Rally (RN) crushed opponents to win their best-ever vote share in European elections. But the meeting is also a show of force from political factions that are increasingly buoyant in the wake of Donald Trump's return to the White House earlier this year and strong election results across the continent. Others attending as well as Orban include Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the League party Matteo Salvini, the leader of Spain's Vox party Santiago Abascal and former Czech premier Andrej Babis. They are all part of the Patriots for Europe faction in the European parliament, one of no less than three competing far-right factions in the chamber. 'The winds of change are gathering,' Orban wrote on X late Sunday after the leaders met in the Chateau of Fontainebleau nearby to coordinate their positions. 'Different Europe' The meeting also comes less than two years ahead of watershed presidential elections in France where President Emmanuel Macron, who has long promoted himself as a bulwark against the far right, cannot stand again and the RN sees its best ever chance of taking power. But it is far from certain if Le Pen will stand for a fourth time after her conviction earlier this year in a fake jobs scandal disqualifies her from standing from public office. She has appealed. But waiting in the wings is her protege and RN party leader Jordan Bardella, 29, who would stand if Le Pen was ineligible. Asked whether he hoped Le Pen would be elected president in two years, Orban reaffirmed his famous vow to drink champagne if Trump was elected: 'Oh yes, I think it would be a magnum, more, more, more champagne that I could drink!' Orban told France's LCI TV in an interview broadcast late Sunday. Bardella, who polls have shown would still be set to win the first round of presidential elections if he stands, is taking care to project his image including a long TV interview with star anchor Karine Le Marchand aimed at showing his softer side. He hailed the meeting saying it was for a 'Europe of Nations, of peoples, of freedoms, of protections, of identities, of production and innovation, of farmers and entrepreneurs!' Writing on X, Italy's Salvini added they were 'working for a Europe different from the current one, of the people and not of bureaucrats, a friend and not an enemy of businesses, which does not invest in weapons but is committed to peace.' As well as Le Pen's legal limbo the contours of the French 2027 presidential election remain largely unclear, with center-right former prime minister Edouard Philippe the only major player to clearly state he will stand.
Khaleej Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
French taxi protests test PM's budget-cutting resolve
French taxi drivers are protesting regularly over proposed government cuts to cash for ferrying patients to and from medical appointments, highlighting the challenge Prime Minister Francois Bayrou faces as he seeks to slash next year's budget. Bayrou is hoping to push through a 40 billion euro ($45 billion) budget squeeze in 2026, positioning the collective belt-tightening as an act of civic duty to correct the country's gaping deficit. After pensions, health spending is the single biggest drain on the budget. As part of efforts to rein it in, the government hopes to make 150 million euros in savings on the 6 billion euros it shells out annually to private taxi and ambulance firms ferrying patients back and forth. Cabbies from across France, many of whom rely on the state fares for a sizeable chunk of their income, have descended on Paris since mid-May for protests that have led to dozens of arrests. Some out-of-town drivers have slept in their cars while others have tried to block access to Paris' airports and have threatened to do the same to the French Open tennis tournament taking place on the outskirts of the capital. Sandra Vialatte, who heads a taxi firm in the Loiret region south of Paris, said the government was not listening to the industry's proposals to lower costs. "We understand that savings need to be made, we have solutions to save money, we try to propose them but they close the door to discussions," she said during a protest last week. France has a long history of flouting EU overspending rules and currently is running the biggest public sector deficit in the euro zone at an estimated 5.4% of economic output this year. The government's planned 40 billion euros in budget savings is necessary if France is to have any hope of meeting its deficit target next year of 4.6%, which it says is a vital first step towards reaching an EU ceiling of 3% by 2029. France's budget woes are undermining its efforts to ramp up defence spending to counter potential Russian aggression, and are also drawing unwelcome scrutiny from ratings agencies. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump's tariff threats threaten the country's economic growth. The independent public audit office warned on Monday that the social welfare and health systems' finances were "out of control" in part due to the soaring costs of services like medical transport. Bayrou, a long-term debt hawk, has promised to deliver a blueprint in early July to share the pain broadly as he tries to hammer home the idea that France will never get a grip on its public spending without a collective effort - and sacrifices. "All French people will have to make an effort," Bayrou said on BFM TV on Tuesday, adding that he wouldn't "target any category of French people at the expense of another." The hard left and far right alike say Bayrou is doing just that, however, by singling out the taxi drivers. Centrist lawmaker Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade said the government had to hold the line, though, if it is to have any chance of meeting the 40 billion euro savings target.
Reuters
28-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
French taxi protests test PM's budget-cutting resolve
PARIS, May 28 (Reuters) - French taxi drivers are protesting regularly over proposed government cuts to cash for ferrying patients to and from medical appointments, highlighting the challenge Prime Minister Francois Bayrou faces as he seeks to slash next year's budget. Bayrou is hoping to push through a 40 billion euro ($45 billion) budget squeeze in 2026, positioning the collective belt-tightening as an act of civic duty to correct the country's gaping deficit. After pensions, health spending is the single biggest drain on the budget. As part of efforts to rein it in, the government hopes to make 150 million euros in savings on the 6 billion euros it shells out annually to private taxi and ambulance firms ferrying patients back and forth. Cabbies from across France, many of whom rely on the state fares for a sizeable chunk of their income, have descended on Paris since mid-May for angry protests that have led to dozens of arrests. Some out-of-town drivers have slept in their cars while others have tried to block access to Paris' airports and have threatened to do the same to the French Open tennis tournament taking place on the outskirts of the capital. Sandra Vialatte, who heads a taxi firm in the Loiret region south of Paris, said the government was not listening to the industry's proposals to lower costs. "We understand that savings need to be made, we have solutions to save money, we try to propose them but they close the door to discussions," she said during a protest last week. France has a long history of flouting EU overspending rules and currently is running the biggest public sector deficit in the euro zone at an estimated 5.4% of economic output this year. The government's planned 40 billion euros in budget savings is necessary if France is to have any hope of meeting its deficit target next year of 4.6%, which it says is a vital first step towards reaching an EU ceiling of 3% by 2029. France's budget woes are undermining its efforts to ramp up defence spending to counter potential Russian aggression, and are also drawing unwelcome scrutiny from ratings agencies. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats threaten the country's economic growth. The independent public audit office warned on Monday that the social welfare and health systems' finances were "out of control" in part due to the soaring costs of services like medical transport. Bayrou, a long-term debt hawk, has promised to deliver a blueprint in early July to share the pain broadly as he tries to hammer home the idea that France will never get a grip on its public spending without a collective effort - and sacrifices. "All French people will have to make an effort," Bayrou said on BFM TV on Tuesday, adding that he wouldn't "target any category of French people at the expense of another." The hard left and far right alike say Bayrou is doing just that, however, by singling out the taxi drivers. Centrist lawmaker Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade said the government had to hold the line, though, if it is to have any chance of meeting the 40 billion euro savings target. "Things got a little bit out of control with the taxis in recent years, and now the tap needs to be turned off," he told Reuters. "The government needs to stand its ground." ($1 = 0.8825 euros)
