Purchasing power in France: Outcome Thursday in Parliament
This is the conclusion of three weeks of fierce debates day and night: Parliament is preparing to definitively adopt the second part of the purchasing power package on Thursday during the final sittings for deputies and senators before the summer break. It was a key subject of the presidential campaign and the first major part of the mandate, in the form of a test for the “new method” of the executive, deprived of an absolute majority at the Palais Bourbon. After a first part approved on Wednesday, including 20 billion euros in spending, it is the turn of the amended draft budget for 2022 and its new set of measures to combat inflation to be submitted to the final vote. He will pass before the Assembly at 15:00 and then before the Senate, dominated by the right, at 17:00.

The heatwave is hitting eastern France
The third heatwave of this hot summer, coupled with “drought” vigilance throughout the country, moved to eastern France on Thursday, where Weather France expects up to 36degC in Strasbourg and 38degC in Lyon. Twenty-six departments placed on orange alert as of Wednesday, at the peak of this new episode, will remain so for Thursday, from the South-West to Burgundy and Alsace, and from Languedoc to the Alps. Fifty others are in yellow on the Weather France map. It will be 37 to 39 locally on the south-west and from the German borders to the Rhone corridor with nighttime temperatures that will have remained between 18 and 21 degrees or even 24 locally overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.

Eight injured, including one serious, in explosions at a Seveso site in Bergerac
Eight people, including one in a “critical” condition, were injured by “several explosions” at the Eurenco powder factory in Bergerac, classified Seveso “high threshold”. The “nitrocellulose contained in a workshop ignited during maintenance operations”, the Eurenco group, European leader in the field of powders and explosives, said in a press release, adding that “the cause of the accident is currently undetermined.”

Furious at Pelosi, Beijing launches major maneuvers around Taiwan
The Chinese military will start the largest military maneuvers in its history around Taiwan on Thursday, in a strong response to the visit of US Deputy Chief Nancy Pelosi to the island. Although her trip to the territory claimed by China lasted less than 24 hours, Ms. Pelosi sparked fury in Beijing by being the highest elected American official to visit Taipei in 25 years. She insisted that the United States would not abandon the island, which is ruled by a democratic regime and which lives under the constant threat of invasion by the Chinese military. “Those who offend China must be unavoidably punished,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told him from a distance. In response, starting at noon on Thursday (04:00 GMT), Beijing is launching large-scale military exercises in several areas around Taiwan, at the level of busy trade routes.

The United States ratifies Sweden and Finland's membership in NATO
The United States ratified the protocols for the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO on Wednesday, after the historic decision of these two countries to renounce their neutrality due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The American Senate approved this resolution in a vote by a very large majority, with elected officials from both parties (95 votes in favor, 1 against). A two-thirds majority was needed to approve the text. “This historic vote is an important sign of the enduring and transpartisan commitment of the United States to NATO, and of the desire to ensure that our Alliance is ready to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.

IN SHORT
A fire that broke out during the night of Wednesday to Thursday at a Safran Landing Systems industrial site in Molsheim (Bas-Rhin), classified Seveso “high threshold”, has been extinguished, the prefecture announced, specifying that no casualties were reported.
OPEC countries have decided to slow the pace of production increases, resisting calls from US President Joe Biden to open more oil floodgates in an attempt to stem the surge in prices.
Nick Kyrgios qualified Wednesday for the round of 16 of the Washington hard-court tournament, which he won in 2019, by beating the American Tommy Paul, in contrast to Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, the No. 2 seed, who was released by the Finnish Emil Ruusuvuori.