Paris, July 11 (Lujia) In order to avoid the recurrence of urban violence during the National Day, the Paris Region has strengthened security deployments, and several cities have decided to cancel celebrations such as fireworks displays.
[Paris Region strictly prevents National Day riots, many cities cancel fireworks displays]
The Paris Region is strengthening security precautions to avoid a repeat of urban violence during the National Day. Paris has preserved its traditional fireworks display at the foot of the Eiffel Tower while tightening security measures, while some other cities in the Paris region prefer to cancel the celebration.
French riots continued for days after Naher, a 17-year-old boy in France, was shot and killed on June 27 in Nanterre, Hauts-de-Seine, 92, near Paris, resisting a police inspection, according to Le Parisien. As the National Day of July 14 approached, some municipalities decided to cancel the celebrations, fearing another escalation of tensions.
The Paris Police Department will enhance the security deployment of the Eiffel Tower fireworks display, such as increasing the mobile police presence at the scene, requiring open bags for inspection, and banning various prohibited items such as glass bottles or motorcycle helmets. Philippe Goujon, mayor of the 15th arrondissement of Paris, said he was in favor of not canceling the fireworks show, with July 14 being a symbol, but that the evenings of the 13th, 14th and weekends would be closely monitored.
The decision of the Paris city government is of concern to neighboring cities, especially in the department of Haute-Seine. And in Val-de-Marne (94), the organization of the celebrations has caused headaches for mayors. The mayors of Charenton-le-Pont, Maisons-Alfort and Saint-Maurice made the "regrettable" choice to cancel fireworks displays common in the three cities as a precaution.
Jean-Michel Levesque, mayor of Osny in the Oise Valley province (95), said the goal was to avoid large crowds and that the city's National Day fireworks show usually attracts 4,000 to 5,000 people, but "it would be wiser for us to cancel." ”
But these choices of the municipality are not always understood by local citizens, who believe that this sends a signal to the insurgents that "they have won" and gives them a reason to do whatever they want. Francisque Vigouroux, president of the Union of Mayors of Essonne (91), also advocated the continuation of the celebration, "We are in a period of healing the wounds of the riots, and we need more than ever to show that the Republic still exists by preserving this historical tradition." ”
As a result, some mayors are experimenting with more flexible solutions. Richard Privat, mayor of Draveil, Essonne, said that both he and the mayor of Vigneux-sur-Seine decided to postpone the fireworks show until a calmer time, "I don't want to find myself facing a new riot just a week after the riot." What's more, there weren't enough police to keep the spectators safe. ”
In addition, some cities in the Yvelines (78) and Seine-et-Marne (77) departments of the Paris Region have cancelled fireworks displays due to the risk of fires that can result from drought.
【Commencement allowance will be paid on August 16】
The French government announced on the 11th that in most areas of mainland France and overseas territories, the school opening allowance (ARS) will be issued on August 16 to help families pay for school opening expenses including school supplies, equipment, clothing, etc. Compared to 2022, the commencement grant allocation increased by 5.6%.
According to AFP, the start-up allowance will benefit 5 million students aged 6 to 18 from about 3 million families in France who attend or train in public or private schools. The amount of the commencement allowance varies according to the age of the pupil and is €398.09 for the 6-10 age group, €420.05 for the 11-14 age group and €434.61 for the 15-18 age group. In Mayotte, the start-up allowance has been increased by about 2 euros, and the income criteria for receiving this allowance vary locally.
In order for French families to receive this assistance, they must meet certain income standards, which cannot exceed 25,775 euros per year for families raising one child, 31,723 euros for families raising two children, 37,671 euros for families raising three children, 43,619 euros for families raising four children, and 5,948 euros for each additional child raised. The French public service website notes that families may also be eligible for a start-to-school allowance if their income "slightly exceeds these ceilings."
For students between the ages of 6 and 15, this money will be automatically paid if the parent has already received the school start allowance. However, in the case of adolescents between the ages of 16 and 18, since education is no longer compulsory, parents must provide a statement proving that the child is still studying. For students under the age of 6 who are already attending school, parents must provide a certificate issued by the school.
The French overseas territories of La Réunion and Mayotte started on August 17 and 23, respectively, so the opening allowance will be paid on August 1.
[France is now "poisoned eggs"! ] 】
"Poisoned eggs" detected in the French department of Rhône. 85% of the samples taken from family chicken coops contained perfluorinated substances, with an average content twice the EU standard, and the health department will conduct a third analysis.
According to BFMTV reports, the province of Rhône said in a statement released on the evening of the 10th that the second analysis of eggs produced in family chicken coops in 12 cities in the province showed that the content of perfluorinated compounds (PFAS) exceeded the EU standard for marketable food, and "85% of the samples (34 out of 40 samples) did not meet EU standards." The content of perfluorinated compounds in egg samples analysed by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes health department "averaged twice as much as the standard," with the highest value being about six times the standard.
In all the cities where egg samples were collected, Lyon arrondissements 7 and 8, Brignais, Chaponost, Charly, Feyzin, Francheville, La Mulatière, Saint Fons, Sainte Foy lès Lyon, Solaize, Vernaison, Vourles, at least one sample that did not meet the requirements, and the highest percentage of eggs was located near the industrial platform of Pierre-Bénite. The health sector is currently analysing a questionnaire from chicken farmers on chicken farming methods, which may help to clarify the situation.
On the other hand, egg samples taken from specialized farms "all meet the criteria."
Preliminary analysis of cities such as Pierre Bennett, Oullins, Saint-Genis-Laval and Irigny concluded that at the beginning of 2023, 28 out of 32 samples exceeded EU standards.
Therefore, the authorities of the department of Rhône recommend that, as a precautionary measure, residents of the 16 municipalities mentioned above not to consume eggs from family chicken coops. The health department announced the launch of the third analysis, which aims to "compare results in urban, peri-urban and rural areas".
[28 provinces activate thunderstorm or heat wave orange alerts! ] Some provinces face double risk]
On Tuesday 11, Météo France placed 28 provinces under the orange alert for thunderstorms or heatwaves, the third of the four levels of alerts, with very complex weather conditions and some departments facing a double risk of thunderstorms and heat waves.
According to Le Parisien, 26 French departments have activated the Orange Alert for thunderstorms: Aveyron, Lozère, Cantal, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Loire, Rhône, Ain, Haute-Savoie, Allier, Saône-et-Loire, Jura, Doubs, Côte-d'Or, Haute-Saône, Territoire de Belfort, Haute-Marne, Vosges, Haut-Rhin, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Moselle, Bas-Rhin, Drôme, Ardèche, Isère, Savoie. In addition to this, most of France activated the thunderstorm yellow alert, the second of the four levels of alert.
Orange Heat Wave Alerts have been activated in nine French departments: Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Isère, Loire, Rhône, Ontario, Saône-et-et-Loire, Jura and Codor. Maximum temperatures will reach 34 to 36 degrees Celsius in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region (PACA) and 39 degrees Celsius in the east of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne. In addition, much of eastern France and Corse is under a yellow heatwave alert.
Météo-France warned that thunderstorms could be accompanied by strong winds of up to 100 to 130 kilometers per hour, local strong hail, the possibility of dropping large hailstones "a few centimeters in diameter", and 20 to 40 millimeters of precipitation, accompanied by a large amount of lightning.
The French national railway company (SNCF) announced that after receiving the alert of Météo-France, several railways stopped operating on the afternoon of the 11th.
[In the summer of 2022, 61,672 people died of high temperatures in Europe and 4,807 in France]
The summer of 2022 was the hottest on record in Europe, with intense heat waves with deadly consequences for people with fragile health.
According to Le Parisien on the 10th, a study published in the journal Nature Medicine by the French National Institute of Health and Medicine (Inserm) and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health on July 10 showed that Europe experienced the hottest summer on record in 2022, with heat waves causing 61,672 deaths across Europe between May 30 and September 4.
The study noted that temperatures were above average for all weeks of summer 2022. Experts specifically noted that between July 11 and August 14, heat deaths caused 38,881 deaths. In particular, from July 18 to 24, in just seven days, a strong heat wave swept through Europe, resulting in 11,637 deaths.
With 4,807 heat-related deaths between 30 May and 4 September 2022, France is the fourth worst affected country in Europe by summer heat, after Italy (18,010), Spain (11,324) and Germany (8,173).
If compared to the average seasonal temperature from 1991 to 2020, the temperature in the summer of 2022 in France was 2.43 degrees Celsius higher, followed by Switzerland with 2.30 degrees Celsius, Italy with 2.28 degrees Celsius, Hungary with 2.13 degrees Celsius higher and Spain with 2.11 degrees Celsius.
The study also analyzed the number of heat deaths by age and sex. The results showed that across all age groups, women had a 63% higher rate of premature death from high temperatures than men. Experts explain that this may be because women have a longer life expectancy and more older women than men. In addition, from a physiological point of view, women are also more susceptible to high temperatures. Studies have shown that in addition to the elderly, people in other age groups can also be affected by physical and mental health, and some young people complain of insomnia, anxiety and even depression during heat waves.
France's National Institute of Health and Medical Research highlighted that these findings suggest that existing strategies to cope with heatwaves may still be inadequate. By 2030, Europe could face 68,000 excess deaths each summer. In the absence of an effective response, this number could rise to more than 94,000 by 2040.
The French National Institute of Health and Medicine notes that although excess mortality during periods of heat has been recorded, this is the first time it has been quantified so precisely on a European scale.
【Caption】
This is good news for summer driving holidaymakers. The weekly report released by the French Ministry of Energy Transition on the 10th showed that last week, the price of gasoline at gas stations in France fell for the second consecutive week. As of Friday 7, the average price of SP95-E10 gasoline was 1.7895 euros per liter, down 1.3 euro cents in a week, the first time since the end of December 2022 that it fell below the symbolic threshold of 1.8 euros per liter, while fuel discount measures are being implemented in 2022. The average price of diesel was 1.6658 euros per liter, down 0.9 euro cents in a week. Since early May, Brent crude prices have been well below $80 a barrel, leading to lower fuel prices.
A 19-year-old young man in Créteil, Val-de-Marne (94) in the Paris Region, was sentenced on the 10th to two years in prison, including a year of reprieve, and was banned from using social networks and contacting the victim. During the Nahr riots, he opened a Twitter account and called for an attack on the Créteil-Soleil commercial center from June 28 to 30, and on the afternoon of June 30, about 50 people attacked the mall, resulting in its temporary closure. At the same time, he posted photos online of what he believed was the policeman who shot and killed Nahel, offering a reward of "500 euros to cut off one of his hands, 1,200 euros to cut off both of his hands, 2,000 euros for his life", explaining that the photos were found online without verification and "people said it was him". This caused the policeman to be subjected to online violence, and his life turned into a nightmare for no reason, and he could not even go to work. The youth had no previous criminal record and did not appear to be aware of the seriousness of his actions. He told the court, "I've gone too far and I'm sorry." ”
The French Insurance Federation announced on the 11th that 11,300 claims related to urban violence in the Nahr riots have been counted, and the loss has reached 650 million euros. Ninety per cent of these are claims from merchants and local authorities, but they account for only a third of the number of claims. Insurance companies have already paid three times the cost of compensation for damages as they did in 2005 for urban violence, and they have yet to receive all claims statements.
【International】
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the 10th, and Erdogan agreed to support Sweden's entry into NATO, thus breaking the deadlock of more than a year. Jens Stoltenberg said he was happy and it was a "historic day". "We have taken a big step towards formally approving Sweden's entry into NATO, which is a good day for Sweden," Wulf Christsson said. ”
- Representatives of NATO member states met in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, on the 11th and 12th to discuss support for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped the summit would achieve "the best."
- French President Emmanuel Macron announced on the 11th that France will provide Ukraine with "Scalp" long-range missiles. According to public information, the "Scalp" long-range missile was jointly developed by a number of European countries and is called "Shadow of the Storm" in the UK, and the United Kingdom has previously begun to supply this missile to Ukraine. Russian Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that France's decision to provide long-range missiles to Ukraine is a wrong move, and Russia will respond to this.
- Germany announced the delivery of new weapons to Ukraine in support of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. According to government sources, there will be "massive, very large" announcements of arms supplies, but no further details were provided on the nature and quantity. Germany is the second largest donor of military aid to Ukraine, after the United States.
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on the 10th that Canada will "more than double" its military deployment in NATO forces in NATO member Latvia, and "these additional personnel will strengthen and enhance our land, sea and air capabilities and support special operations in Central and Eastern Europe." ”
- Bank of England Governor Bailey said that inflation is likely to fall significantly in 2023, and the impact of interest rate hikes on the economy has not yet been fully felt. Policymakers are increasingly cautious about raising interest rates further, which are now at their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
- King Charles III of the United Kingdom met with visiting US President Biden on the 10th, and the two sides exchanged views on global climate change and other issues. This is the first time Charles III has met with Biden since he was officially crowned King of the United Kingdom in May.