Latest news with #Mélanie
Local France
a day ago
- Local France
Inside France: Border woes and the bickering flatmates of French politics
Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It's published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article. No easy answers This week France is reeling from the killing of a teaching assistant by a 14-year-old pupil at a school in eastern France. Mélanie, 31, mother of a toddler and step-mum to an older child, was attacked as she supervised a routine bag search at the beginning of the school day. The details that have emerged about this case so far are distinctly disquieting, since the attacker - a teenager with no record of legal or health troubles - has told police that he decided in advance to kill a member of the school staff, apparently in response to being told off the previous week. It's clear from the response from France's teaching unions and politicians that no-one really knows how to respond to this kind of attack, and several of the suggested responses - a social media ban for under 15s , metal detectors in schools - would have made no difference to this case. The sense of puzzlement at an apparently senseless crime reminds me of the British Netflix drama Adolescence which - it was announced before the attack - is to be screened in French schools . Although it has a lot of topical talking points, Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham's four-parter carefully avoids blaming any one thing for the shocking actions of its lead character which is, for me, one of its great strengths as a drama - a reminder that sometimes there are no easy answers. Advertisement Talking France We discuss the attack, and the general issue of violence in French schools, in the latest Talking France podcast . We also had some fun looking at some world-changing French inventions, plus a few 'French' things that were actually invented elsewhere. Listen here or on the link below. Violent flatmates Prime minister François Bayrou is celebrating - if that's the right word - six months in his job this week. While that might not sound especially impressive, there were people offering odds that he wouldn't even last six weeks when he accepted this cadeau empoisonné . Not only is his job security practically non-existent, but Bayrou has a tense relationship with his ultimate boss Emmanuel Macron, who has been forced to nominate two prime ministers from rival political camps since his party lost its majority in parliamentary elections last year. An insider this week told Le Parisien newspaper : " Entre eux, c'est quand même violent " - it's still violent between them, although they presumably mean violent in the verbal sense, rather than revealing that the two of them engage in fisticuffs in the office. Although not quite a cohabitation in the classic sense, this is still something of a forced pairing. Although I know the meaning of the political term - when a president is forced to appoint a PM from the opposition party - whenever I hear the word I can't get rid of the mental image of the two of them forced into a flatshare (which would in fact be a colocation ), endlessly bickering over bathroom time and who ate the last bit of cheese. I still can't believe no-one has made a French comedy about this. Advertisement Typo of the week A very unfortunate single misplaced letter in this job advert turns UK-France 'border' control into ' bordel ' control - bordel being the French word for a fuck-up or general chaos . This might be sadly apt for the UK-France border which ever since Brexit has seen chaotic scenes at ports like Dover during peak travel times, meanwhile remaining a source of political tension over migrant/asylum seeker boat crossings from France. READ ALSO : EES: Why is the UK-France border such a problem?✎ Still, at least this job advert's intended audience of interpreters will get the joke. Maybe authorities can save face by pretending that it's a translation test? Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It's published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
Roya News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Roya News
Macron pushes social media ban for under 15s after fatal school stabbing
French officials are moving quickly to introduce stricter regulations on youth safety after a 14-year-old boy fatally stabbed a school teaching assistant during a routine bag search at a secondary school in Nogent, eastern France. The victim, 31-year-old Mélanie, had been working at the school since September after transitioning from her previous job as a hairdresser. She was a mother to a four-year-old son and served as a local council member in a nearby village, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. "She was great with kids," said Laurence Raclot, a friend and community member. 'In a quiet little town, we never would have thought this could happen.' Tributes have poured in, with flowers and heartfelt notes placed outside the school. One message read, 'We share your pain.' Another resident, Sabrina Renault, expressed sorrow for the family, 'It's really sad… for that little boy who's left without his mum.' Authorities have extended the suspect's custody for an additional 24 hours as investigations continue. Officials have released few details about the boy's motive. In response to the tragedy, President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to restrict access to social media for children under 15, arguing that platforms already possess the tools to verify users' ages. 'I am proposing banning social media for children under 15,' Macron wrote on X. 'Platforms have the ability to verify age. Let's do it.' C'est une recommandation des experts de la commission écrans : je porte l'interdiction des réseaux sociaux avant 15 ans. Les plateformes ont la possibilité de vérifier l'âge. Faisons-le. — Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 10, 2025 Greece, France, and Spain are jointly backing a broader EU initiative to limit young people's exposure to social platforms, citing growing concerns about mental and physical health impacts. Macron warned that France would proceed independently with the ban if no regional consensus is reached soon. Prime Minister François Bayrou's office also confirmed a forthcoming decree to prohibit knife sales to minors within the next two weeks. Speaking on TF1, Bayrou said the ban would take effect 'immediately' and cover 'any knife that can be used as a weapon.' Bayrou also urged parents and educators to be alert to signs of distress in adolescents, while acknowledging a national shortage of psychological support staff. He has suggested launching a pilot program for metal detectors in schools. Education Minister Elisabeth Borne announced that schools across France will observe a minute of silence on Thursday in honor of Mélanie. 'The entire educational community is in shock, as is the whole nation,' Borne said in a radio interview. While officials are calling for swift reforms, some educators and unions have raised concerns. Sophie Venetitay, head of the SNES-FSU teachers' union, cautioned against shifting educational staff into security roles. 'Little by little, we have seen attempts to turn them into security guards,' she said.
LeMonde
05-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- LeMonde
In Quebec, alleys have become a children's paradise
In Canada, the "nine to five" office hours are taken seriously and usually observed to the letter. At 5:10 pm, the streets of Plateau, a working-class neighborhood that has turned trendy, are bustling with activity in Montreal, Quebec. A couple dressed head-to-toe in linen and pushing twins walk at an Olympic pace, while a jogger heading toward Parc Mont-Royal overtakes them, checking his phone strapped to his glistening bicep. "No time to mess around!" as the saying goes here. But it is possible to escape this highway of hurried fitness enthusiasts. Between two streets, behind the buildings, under laundry lines, the alleys – of which there are more than 4,000 in Montreal – offer a different rhythm: They are a paradise for children and a calm oasis for parents. These small paths overflow with creativity; you might come across open-air libraries, hockey cages, imaginary street signs (such as the "Impasse des Gloutons" [Gluttons' Dead End]), or even a disco ball. Not far from the shady Place Saint-Louis, which borders one of the city's busiest streets, a peaceful, little green path is tucked away. Mélanie was holding her son by the hand, as he had just started walking in January. "It's so peaceful here. During my maternity leave, I got used to stopping by, it really does me good," she said.
