Fuels: French refineries still on strike

The strike continues in French refineries this Thursday at Esso-ExxonMobil. On the other hand, the situation was at a standstill at TotalEnergies after the refusal of the striking employees to unblock fuel shipments to dry refuel service stations. Indeed, during the night of Wednesday, the TotalEnergies strikers declined a management proposal to unblock deliveries at dawn as a prerequisite to opening in the wake of wage negotiations. According to Thierry Defresne, CGT secretary of the TotalEnergies Europe Committee, who was at an overnight meeting at the group's headquarters in La Défense, “This is a massive categorical refusal, they (the employees) do not want this requirement to negotiate.”

Controversial pension reform: Elisabeth Borne begins political consultations

In collaboration with the leaders of the parliamentary groups, Elisabeth Borne is starting political consultations in Matignon on Thursday on the controversial pension reform, against a background of social tensions. This is in a tense context, a few days of a “march against the high cost of living and climate inaction” aimed at denouncing unemployment insurance and pension reforms, organized in particular by left-wing parties, before a week of action by the CGT.

Accompanied by the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt, the French Prime Minister is simultaneously holding discussions with the Minister of Relations and Parliament Franck Riester, then with trade unions and employers' organizations.

Russian strikes: Ukraine gets Western reinforcements

With the reaffirmed support of Western allies, Ukraine yesterday asserted that it had taken over several locations from the Russians in the south of the country. He therefore welcomes those who have promised to deliver anti-aircraft defences “as soon as possible” after intensive Russian bombing. For NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the supply of these systems capable of neutralizing Russian missiles in Ukrainian skies was “the priority”.

Also, intending to address the billion-dollar economic consequences of the Russian invasion, the IMF and the G7 reaffirmed yesterday that they would support Ukraine for “as long as necessary.”

Review of the 2023 budget measures: a series of setbacks for the presidential camp

As soon as the consideration of the 2023 budget measures began in the Assembly, the presidential camp suffered a series of setbacks on Wednesday under the ever more prominent shadow of the triggering of Article 49.3 of the Constitution. Indeed, by increasing the taxation of these revenues, temporarily increased from 30 to 35%, the deputies largely adopted an amendment (227 votes in favour, 88 against) which aims to deter large companies from distributing exceptional results in the form of “super-dividends” against the government's opinion. For their part, the oppositions rejected the “preliminary” article of the Finance Bill (PLF), in which the key objective of containing the public deficit to 5% of GDP in 2023 was included by 192 votes to 175.

IN SHORT

The official KCNA news agency reported today that North Korea tested two “long-range strategic cruise missiles” in the presence of leader Kim Jong Un, who presented the test as another successful demonstration of the country's nuclear strike capability.

In a global economic context heavily affected by the war in Ukraine, G20 finance ministers and central bankers are meeting today in Washington. But at the same time, Russia's presence in the club makes any possibility of consensus very uncertain.

This Thursday, a new public hearing will be held by the parliamentary committee that is investigating Donald Trump's role in the assault on the Capitol in January 2021. It is the last public hearing before the mid-term elections, which should reveal “surprising” elements.

During protests in Iran against the death of Mahsa Amini, bullets and tear gas were fired, protests violently suppressed in which more than 100 people died, including children, according to NGOs.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Baseline Assessment released today, the planet has lost an average of nearly 70% of its wildlife populations over the past 50 years. The assessment points to the increasingly strong link between biodiversity loss and global warming.