U.K News
1 Million March In France, Unions Call New Pension Protests
PARIS MARCH — After more than a million people rallied across France on Thursday against unpopular pension reforms, French unions called for further statewide strikes and protests the following week, coinciding with King Charles III’s anticipated visit to France.
According to the Interior Ministry, the march in Paris attracted 119,000 participants, setting a record for the city’s capital during the pension demonstrations. However, as were many other marches, the march was plagued by violence. According to polls, most French people are against President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, which he claims is vital to maintain the system.
The unions quickly announced fresh demonstrations and strikes for Tuesday, the day the British king is expected to visit Bordeaux as part of his trip to France, building on the significant turnout. According to the Sud Ouest newspaper, on Thursday night, participants in an unofficial demonstration set fire to and completely demolished the heavy wooden entrance of the Bordeaux City Hall.
According to the ministry, in cities and towns around the nation on Thursday, more than a million people participated in protest marches.
Gerald Darmanin, the interior minister, went to the police headquarters on Thursday night march as fires were still raging in some Parisian neighborhoods hours after the march had concluded.
The protests were conducted the day after Macron infuriated his detractors even more by refusing to back down on the retirement bill that his administration rushed through parliament without a vote.
The eight unions organizing the protests march stated that “while the (president) tries to turn the page, this social and union movement… confirms the determination of the world of workers and youth to obtain the withdrawal of the reform.” On Tuesday, further nationwide strikes and protests were called for in addition to localized action this weekend.
Thursday night march as fires were still raging in some Parisian neighborhoods
Strikes disrupted travel as demonstrators surrounded ports, refineries, and Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
In Paris, clashes between police and groups wearing black masks that attacked at least two fast food establishments, a supermarket, and a bank reflected the violence’s escalation and diverted attention from the tens of thousands of nonviolent demonstrators.
Police charged repeatedly and fired tear gas to disperse the protestors after being attacked with objects and pyrotechnics. After the march, protesters gathered at the Place de l’Opera, partially obscured by a tear gas haze. The “radical elements,” according to the police, number around 1,000 persons.
Other marches were plagued by violence, particularly in Lyon in the southeast and the western cities of Nantes, Rennes, and Lorient, where an administrative building was stormed, its courtyard set ablaze, and its windows destroyed.
The nine union-organized rallies around the country on Thursday were the ninth to occur since January, when opponents of Macron’s proposal to raise the retirement age still hoped that parliament would reject it. However, the administration used a unique constitutional provision to force it through.
In a French interview on Wednesday, Macron remained steadfast in his belief that new legislation is required to maintain retirement funds. Other suggestions made by opponents included raising taxes on the affluent or businesses, which according to Macron, would harm the economy. He maintained that by the end of the year, the government’s law to raise the retirement age must be implemented.
The proposal now has to be approved by the Constitutional Council. But the opposition won’t give up.
The strikes on Thursday caused the Eiffel Tower and the Versailles Palace.
The chief of the moderate CFDT labor union, Laurent Berger, “We are trying to say before the law is enacted… that we have to find a way out and we continue to say that the way out is the withdrawal of the law.”
Public transportation networks in other significant cities, the Paris metro, and high-speed and regional trains were all affected. At Paris Orly Airport, almost 30% of scheduled flights were canceled.
The strikes on Thursday caused the Eiffel Tower and the Versailles Palace, where the British monarch will dine with Macron, to be shuttered.
Violence, a regular problem during demonstrations, has been worse recently. 12,000 security personnel, including 5,000 in Paris, would be on French streets on Thursday, according to Gerald Darmanin.
In a statement, the Education Ministry stated that 15% of instructors in high schools and roughly 24% of primary and intermediate school teachers took a sick day on Thursday.
Several hundred strikers wielding flares and yelling, “Macron, go away,” marched on the Paris Gare de Lyon train station rails to stop trains from moving. They were carrying flares.
Maxime Monin, 46, expressed concern that his and other public transportation workers’ holidays this year might be less enjoyable. He emphasized that such workers are not paid on strike days. But the price was worthwhile.
A bus depot in Pantin, in the northern suburbs of Paris, was blocked by several dozen union members during rush hour, preventing 200 vehicles from leaving.
A 48-year-old bus driver involved in the protest, Nadia Belhoum, condemned Macron’s choice to push through the higher retirement age.
She declared, “The president of the Republic is not a monarch, and he should listen to his people.
SOURCE – (AP)
U.K News
Keir Starmer Rejects Meeting With WW2 Veteran Over Her Frozen Pension
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rejected a request from a 99-year-old WW2 for a meeting to discuss the frozen state pension policy for citizens living abroad. Starmer declined the meeting but offered an alternative meeting with Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds.
Anne Puckridge, who turns 100 this month, went from her home in Canada to agitate Keir Starmer’s Labour government over the state pension freeze.
The World War II veteran told the BBC that she is “angry” and “heartbroken” following a meeting with the pensions minister, who led her to believe that the government will not reconsider its policy of freezing the state pensions of some British people living abroad.
Anne Puckridge is one of approximately 453,000 British retirees living overseas who do not receive an annual increase in their state pension.
Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds agreed to a meeting after Sir Keir Starmer’s request to meet was denied owing to purported “pressures on his diary.”
Ms. Puckridge stated that the meeting in Parliament left her feeling “bitterly disappointed” and “disgusted”.
She stated that she had the idea Reynolds had been “polite enough and kind enough to come in and spend her time with her,” but that her mind had already been made up before the meeting began.
Ms Puckridge stated that she and her other campaigners would have to think carefully about what they could do from now on, but she assured them that they would take action.
State Pension Minister Reynolds thanked Ms Puckridge for the meeting and for sharing her insights.
A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) representative stated that the government recognizes that “people move abroad for various reasons, and we provide clear information on how this can affect their pensions.”
The policy of increasing the UK state pension for recipients living abroad has existed for many years.
Since she relocated to Canada in 2001 at the age of 76 to live closer to her daughter, Ms Puckridge has received £72.50 (C$129.00) per week.
Her state pension is now less than half the £169.50 (C$302.00) paid to seniors still residing in the United Kingdom. She told the BBC that frozen pensions touch all aspects of life.
“You’ve got to be careful about entertainment,” she told me. “You must realize that you cannot be as kind to your grandkids as you would like.
“You feel you’ve lost all sense of dignity, the government has thrown you away, you know, out of sight out of mind.”
Ms. Puckridge stated that when she alerted the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that she was moving to Canada, “they never said a word about [my] pension being frozen”.
“The first I knew about it was when my first rise was due,” she recalled.
“I didn’t understand it. So I wrote and enquired about it, and I was told no… you will not receive any additional pension rises when you leave the UK.” She said, “It’s the injustice of it that is so unfair, the fact that we were never warned.”
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U.K News
Air Force Drones Spotted Over UK Military Bases
British military expertise has been brought in to assist in identifying persons responsible for flying Air Force drones near US military locations. According to the BBC, 60 RAF troops have been dispatched to assist the US Air Force with its probe.
The Air Force drones were not deemed hostile, according to the USAF, who added that the sightings “fluctuated and varied between the bases” and “ranged in sizes and configurations”.
According to the Ministry of Defence, “We are supporting the US Air Force response.”
The announcement follows several recent reports of unmanned aerial vehicles sighted near RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and RAF Feltwell in adjacent Norfolk.
There have been other reports of drone activity overnight. According to the USAF, the vehicles were few in number and modest in size.
A representative for the US Air Forces in Europe stated, “We can confirm that there were sightings yesterday during nighttime hours, but the number fluctuated and varied between the bases throughout the night.”
The official stated that since the first sightings on November 20th, there has been “no impact on residents or infrastructure, and they have not been identified as hostile.”
However, the Air Force drones remained under surveillance “to ensure the safety and security of the installations.”
They said, “We request individuals in the area to contact either local police or security forces if they see anything suspicious.”
‘Treat threats seriously’
Officials in the United States and the United Kingdom have not said who is responsible for the recent drone activity.
However, the BBC understands there were worries that a state actor could be involved.
In recent months, intelligence officials have warned of increasing Russian sabotage operations against Western countries supporting Ukraine.
RAF Mildenhall is primarily home to the USAF’s 100th Air Refuelling Wing; RAF Lakenheath is home to USAF F-35A and F-15E fighter jets; and RAF Feltwell is mainly concerned with logistics and provides housing for military personnel.
A spokesman for the MoD, which owns the bases, said: “We take threats seriously and maintain robust measures at defence sites.
“We are supporting the US Air Force response.”
The USAF has not said who it believed to be behind the incidents.
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U.K News
General Election Petition in UK Hits 2 Million Signatures
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out holding an early general election after a petition calling for a second vote garnered two million signatures.
Over the weekend, a petition calling for another general election was started on the UK Parliament website. It cited Starmer’s failure to keep all his pledges made in the run-up to the previous election. By Monday mid-morning, it had surpassed two million signatures.
When asked about the petition, Starmer said he was “not surprised” that some individuals who did not vote for Labour in the previous election want a “re-run” of the poll.
He claimed that he had “inherited a lot of problems” from the previous administration and had resolved to “take the hard decisions first.”
Starmer ruled out an early general election, stating that only the Prime Minister can request that the King call a general election; it simply will not happen, he said.
This petition, started last week and sponsored by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, calls on the government to schedule a new general election.
To sign a petition, you must verify that you are a British citizen or resident and provide a postcode.
The petition states, “I would prefer there to be another general election. I believe the present Labour government has broken the pledges they made before the last election.”
The petition comes only five months after Labour won the July general election with 9.7 million votes and 412 seats in the House of Commons.
However, the Labour Party garnered only 35% of the vote, the lowest percentage gained by a single-party administration since the conclusion of WWII.
Some of the policies implemented by Starmer and his Labour government have received significant criticism, including an inheritance tax on farms, a reduction in winter heating payments, an increase in employers’ national insurance, and applying VAT to private school fees.
According to the most recent Ipsos political pulse poll, the Labour Party is unpopular, with 28% of the public favoring it and 49% opposing it.
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