Macron has dinner with the Saudi Crown Prince amid anger from human rights defenders

President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with a long handshake, who was invited to a working dinner at the Élysée Palace in Paris, despite protests from human rights defenders. Mr Macron warmly greeted his host dressed in traditional Saudi dress, who is visiting Europe for the first time since the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey less than four years ago, according to images broadcast by AFP TV.

This meeting is a bit more a sign of the “rehabilitation” of the kingdom's de facto leader, less than two weeks after the visit of American President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia, which marked the return of the Crown Prince, nicknamed MBS, to the international scene, in a context of war in Ukraine and soaring energy prices.

Ardèche: fires under control, an arsonist arrested

The fire that ravaged 1,200 hectares in Ardèche is under control, and a 44-year-old man has admitted to causing several fires. A “slight resumption of fire” linked to the change of wind “burned between five and ten additional hectares” on the Lussas side, but it was “under control” at 17:30 and currently “drowning”, Jean-Philippe Ladet, commander of SDIS rescue operations, told AFP.

While firefighters are hoping for a favourable drop in temperatures on Friday, they are worried about the winds forecast for the weekend. “Tomorrow is a day where we will have to make a lot of progress in our work” to limit the risks, explains Commander Ladet.

In Quebec, the pope is up against the high expectations of aboriginal people

Pope Francis faced a brief challenge in Quebec on Thursday and mentioned the issue of “sexual abuse” for the first time during his trip to Canada, during which he called for the Church's relations with indigenous peoples to be reestablished. In the morning, shortly before the start of the reconciliation mass, in Sainte-Anne de Beaupré, two indigenous people unfurled a banner reading: “Revoke the Doctrine,” in front of the altar and a few meters from François. Beyond the apologies pronounced by the pope at the beginning of the week and which were expected by many indigenous people, some are indeed asking the pope to go further and in particular to repeal papal decrees at the origin of the “Doctrine of Discovery.”

IN SHORT

At least eight people have died as a result of torrential rains that caused massive flooding in the eastern US state of Kentucky on Thursday, its governor said, fearing that the death toll could rise even further.

Xi Jinping and Joe Biden agreed in principle to meet in person during a telephone conversation lasting more than two hours, despite tensions around Taiwan that led the Chinese president to warn his American counterpart to “not play with fire.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban defended a Hungarian “cultural point of view” on Thursday after his virulent speech last weekend against “racial mixing”, drawing the wrath of the United States.

Engie will give an average discount of 100 euros per customer receiving the energy voucher in November, said Catherine MacGregor, managing director of the group, in an interview published on Le Parisien's website.