Energy: EU unveils recipes to counter soaring prices

How to cushion the social impact of soaring energy prices? Brussels unveils on Wednesday an arsenal of temporary measures from which the Twenty-Seven can draw, and avenues for reform, but refuses to sacrifice its environmental ambitions. As the price of gas soared to all-time highs, driving electricity prices and threatening to derail the economic recovery, the European Commission's "toolbox" will offer recipes to ease consumers' bills. Brussels will encourage states to lower heavy taxes on energy and redistribute the benefits of rising prices to the poorest, said Monday the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton. In addition to the decisions already adopted by several governments (tax reductions, energy vouchers, targeted aid to the poorest), the Commission will give "the possibility of also lowering VAT", he said. It must also present more ambitious reform tracks, discussed at the European summit on 21-22 October.

Secret of confession: priests must denounce the facts of pedocrime

Gérald Darmanin affirmed that priests with knowledge of "crimes" against "children under 15 years of age", should "bring" these acts of pedocrime "to justice" and not oppose the secrecy of confession. The Minister of the Interior was speaking at the National Assembly just after receiving the President of the Conference of Bishops of France, Bishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, who had judged the secrecy of the confession "stronger than the laws of the Republic" and therefore could not be broken é. "The secrecy of confession has been for almost 200 years in our law, known as a professional secret, in the same way as doctors or lawyers. However, it suffers from exceptions with regard in particular to crimes committed against children under the age of 15 and that it is obvious that there can be no punishment against any religious or any person who has knowledge of acts of sexual abuse against children and that the latter must bring it for the protection of children to the justice of our country", said the Minister of the Interior.

IN BRIEF

A Blue Origin rocket will fly Wednesday for a few minutes into space, with on board an iconic passenger of the space conquest: William Shatner, who played the mythical Captain Kirk of the Star Trek series.

Paris has 6,000 fewer students in primary and kindergarten this year than in 2020. This 5% decrease - from 119,000 to 113,000 students - is two to three times greater than in previous years.