Latest News from Local France
Local France
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Local France
French union calls 'general strike' for June
"For our pensions, our jobs and our salaries", the French union, CGT, wrote in their call for workers across sectors in France to walk out Thursday, June 5th. The sector-wide strike is intended to target both the public and the private sector and demand higher wages and a lower cost of living, as well as to continue to show opposition to the 2023 pension reform, which raised France's retirement age from 62 to 64. Advertisement It's worth noting, however, that only the CGT union has issued this call - the rest of France's eight union federations are not joining the action, with the result that disruption is likely to be limited. However it is likely that there will be protests in several cities across France, while public transport services could be disrupted. You can see the map of protests planned here . Train travel In a press release sent on Tuesday, the CGT-Cheminots, which is the largest union representing train drivers, has called for "all railway workers" in France to strike on June 5th, as new negotiations with management at SNCF (French national rail service) begin on June 4th. It is also possible that the Sud Rail union could join strike action on June 5th, which could lead to greater disruption for travellers. However, the Sud Rail union has so far told the French press that they would not be participating and instead are planning "less predictable actions", in order to avoid management relying on volunteer reserve workers, as they did to keep trains running during the May strikes. Meanwhile, the ASCT collective, which is supported by Sud Rail and represents conductors (ticket inspectors), has also said they did not plan to join in strike action on June 5th, regional news outlet Sud Ouest reported. Advertisement Either way, French rail workers must declare their plans to strike 48 hours in advance, so a strike timetable would be available on Tuesday, June 3rd. In comparison, the strikes at the start of May were not nearly as disruptive as initially expected, with the main impacts felt on local and regional trains, particularly those in the Paris area. Public transport The CGT union also represents workers in other sectors, including the RATP (Paris public transport). The CGT branch for RATP workers is also calling on workers to walk out on June 5th, though it remains to be seen how many participate. In Nice, the public transportation network has also warned that trams and buses will not run on June 5th due to strike action. What about other strike dates? According to previous reports, CGT had called for strikes on June 4th, but the latest announcements by the union have focused solely on June 5th. The union has also called for train drivers to walk out on June 11th.
Local France
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Local France
'We love it': Marseille discovers new Banksy artwork
The anonymous artist known as Banksy revealed the new work on Instagram on Thursday but its location had not been disclosed. The words "I want to be what you saw in me" are stencilled in English across the black lighthouse set against a beige stucco wall. The mural is on quiet street near the Catalans beach not far from the city centre, according to an AFP correspondent. The lighthouse's painted shadow connects to one of the street bollards lining the sidewalk. Banksy -- whose identity has not been publicly revealed -- has crossed the globe for decades painting clandestine murals in public spaces, including in the occupied West Bank, London and Los Angeles. "It's fascinating that Banksy chose a city like Marseille, which has so much art, foreigners and life," said Esteban Roldan, a 42-year-old carpenter who came to see the artwork. "This is huge, Banksy in Marseille," added another local, Virginie Foucault. She said she was having lunch nearby. "I thought to myself, 'I'm not going to find it in Les Catalans,' and then, by chance -- I never go there -- there it is. We love it, we love it!" Advertisement For Susan McAllister, a 60-year-old British teacher, "It was nice to have a little search to discover where it was. I'm happy I found it." "It's exciting, I'm happy he is exploring different places in different cities to display his art or her art," she said. "It might be a woman." Banksy is best known for hard-hitting murals, often using a distinctive stencilling style, that frequently pop up on buildings and walls. In recent years, he has kept the attention of the contemporary art world with his social commentaries and causes -- migrants, opposition to Brexit, denunciation of Islamist radicals -- while still stirring the excitement of the moneyed art markets. The artist boasts an A-list client lineup and has sold his works for tens of millions of pounds at auction since the early 2000s.
Local France
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Local France
Will Brits in France get voting rights back after court victory?
One of the less publicised effects of Britain's exit from the EU was the loss of voting rights for Brits living in Europe. Pre-Brexit, Brits in France could vote in local elections and European elections - although French law restricts voting in parliamentary and presidential elections to French citizens. Brits in France are now not able to vote in any French or European elections, unless they undertake the lengthy and expensive process of becoming a French citizen. They are also not able to stand for election, and dozens of Brits who had been elected as local mayors or councillors were forced to relinquish their roles after Brexit. READ ALSO 'We will miss our British councillors, they bring new ideas to France' Since the Brexit vote, there have been several court challenges to this on a European level, all of which have failed. Advertisement Now, however, a ruling from a French court appears to give some grounds for hope. A retired British civil servant named Alice Bouilliez, who has lived in France for more than 30 years, won her case at the Auch tribunal in south-west France, which has decreed that she should be restored to the electoral roll, which her name was removed from at the end of the Brexit transition period in 2020. Speaking to UK media, she said: "I am extremely happy about the result. When I went to get the ruling from the court I was extremely surprised because I was expecting a knock on the knuckles. She added: "I have won the right to vote only in the EU elections. The rest is for later I hope." So will this pave the way for a restoration of voting rights for Brits? The court ruling is limited in its scope - it refers only to European elections, not French local elections, and it refers only to 'restoring' people to the electoral roll, meaning that it would only apply to Brits who were both resident in France pre-Brexit, and were registered to vote. There's also the fact that Bouilliez has already taken her case to the European Court of Justice, which ruled against her in 2022. Several other Brits living within the EU have also taken similar test cases to the European court on the subject of pre-Brexit rights, and all have been rejected. The Auch court is a Tribunal, one of the lower levels within the French court system, meaning that its ruling could be overturned by an appeal court. In France, the body that has the final say on all matters to do with elections and voting - from administration of the voting rolls to confirming the election of the president - is the Conseil Constitutionnel. Reciprocal voting rights are now the subject of bilateral treaties - Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Poland and Luxembourg – have agreed that each other's citizens can continue to have rights in local elections, but there is no such treaty with France. Advertisement If agreed, any such treaty would cover all Brits living in France, including those who moved after Brexit, but it seems that at present there are no negotiations between France and the UK on this topic.
Local France
18 hours ago
- Climate
- Local France
Storms forecast across France as early summer heat breaks
According to Meteo-France data, temperatures in France usually break the 30C barrier for the first time at the beginning of June every year. This date is – obviously – usually earlier in the south-west, and later in the north. In 2024, Pau hit 32C, and Tarbes 30.5C, as early as April 6th. The current heat spike has seen temperatures almost nationwide soar past 30C. Heat spikes are a relatively common meteorological occurrence. It's not unusual for temperatures to pass 30C at this time of year. But it's the intensity of this one that is so concerning for meteorologists and climate scientists. Some regions in the south-west saw the mercury rise as high as 35C – understood as the 'very high temperature threshold' – on Friday. Advertisement Temperatures in the greater Paris Île-de-France region could reach a humid 30C on Saturday afternoon. In the Rhône-Alpes, the heat will also increase, with highs frequently exceeding 30C , particularly in the plains of the Rhône Valley and around Lyon. The highest-ever temperature recorded in May in France was in 2005, when Pissos, in the Landes, sweltered under a high of 38C. That month saw Paris hit 34C, while Orleans and Colmar both saw temperatures of 33C. The good news for anyone struggling with the early summer heat is that it will be short-lived. The bad news is that it will be replaced by unsettled and often stormy weather. By Sunday, storms are expected to spread from Nouvelle Aquitaine in the south-west to the north-east. This will mark a change in the weather pattern, with more unsettled conditions across the country and temperatures gradually returning to levels more in line with seasonal norms. Those, for the record, are around 20C in Paris, 22C in Bordeaux, 21.5C in Lyon and 18C in Lille. At this time of year, average maximum temperatures vary between 18C and 24C. The first signs of stormy deterioration will be felt on Friday, starting in the far south-west of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, coming up from Spain. The first thunderstorms are expected at the end of the afternoon in the Pyrénées-Atlantique. They are expected to gain in intensity and extend over a large part of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the evening. Manual widget for ML (class="ml-manual-widget-container") As of Friday afternoon, six departments in the south-west were on yellow alert for storms: Gironde, Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Gers, Hautes-Pyrénées and the Lot-et-Garonne. More may be added as the extent of the storms becomes clearer, while alerts may be upgraded, as the situation demands. On Saturday, provisional storm warnings have been issued for: Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Somme, Aisne, Oise, Ardennes, Marne, Aube, Haute-Marne, Meuse, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Moselle, Vosges, Yonne, Côte-d'Or, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Isère, Ain and Rhône; Loire, Drôme, Ardèche, Haute-Loire, Cantal, Puy-de-Dôme, Allier, Corrèze, Creuse, Haute-Vienne, Indre, Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret, Eure-et-Loir, Seine-et-Marne, Essonne, Yvelines, Val-d'Oise, Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne and Seine-Saint-Denis. The stormy spell is expected to affect parts of France until Wednesday, forecasters have predicted.
Local France
18 hours ago
- Local France
French roads watchdog issues traffic warning for holiday weekend
Bison Futé has issued a red travel warning across most of France, rising to black in the north-western quarter of the country, as everyone who has enjoyed an Ascension getaway heads back in time to return to the office on Monday. Image: Bison Futé Heavy traffic is expected from mid-morning until late evening, with key routes in the north-west of the country and around Île-de-France particularly busy. In the south-west, the ever-popular A10 and A63 routes will be congested, while traffic is expected to be heavy along the Mediterranean arc, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and the Mont-Blanc tunnel. The watchdog specifically urges motorists to: reach or cross the Île-de-France region before 10am or after midnight. avoid the A25 between Socx and Lille from 5pm to 7pm; avoid the A13 between Caen and Paris from 11am to 4pm; avoid the A11 between Angers and Le Mans from 10 a.m. to 7pm, and between Le Mans and Paris from 4pm. to 8pm; avoid the N157 and the A81 between Rennes and Le Mans from 3pm to 5pm; Avoid the N165 between Quimper and Nantes from 3pm to 6pm; Avoid the A10 between Bordeaux and Tours from 12pm to 7pm, and between Tours and Orléans from 6pm to 9pm; Advertisement avoid the A9 between Spain and Narbonne from 1pm to 5pm, and between Narbonne and Orange from 1pm to 7pm; avoid the A7 between Marseille and Orange from 10am to 5pm, and between Orange and Lyon from noon to 7pm; Avoid the A20 between Brive-La-Gaillarde and Châteauroux from 3pm to 6pm; Avoid the A61 between Narbonne and Toulouse from 3pm to 5pm; Avoid the Mont Blanc tunnel (N205) heading into France from 10am to 11pm.
