Yellow vests

A protester at a rally marking the first anniversary of the yellow vests movement in Paris, November 16, 2019. Charles Platiau, Reuters


2019 will have been marked by the processions of yellow vests, which, every Saturday and for 52 weeks, took over the streets of Paris like the roundabouts of many cities in France. Putting on their now famous fluorescent jacket, thousands of demonstrators demanded from November 17, 2018 an improvement in their purchasing power, the establishment of a citizens' initiative referendum or the resignation of the government in place.

The spontaneous nature of the movement as well as its longevity baffled and jostled the government, forced to respond with various economic measures. A year later, the yellow vests were much less numerous on the street to celebrate the first anniversary of their mobilization, on November 16, 2019.

Great national debate

Emmanuel Macron during the last stage of the great debate in Cozzano, on the Corsican island, Thursday April 4. Ludovic Marin, AFP


Trying to provide a response to the anger of the Yellow Vests, President Emmanuel Macron launched, in mid-January, a broad citizen consultation intended to breathe new life into the exercise of current politics. Punctuated in particular by trips by the Head of State to the regions of France, this major debate spanning three months addressed four main themes: ecological transition, taxation, organization of the State and citizenship.

If supporters of the president hailed an unprecedented exercise in direct democracy, his critics saw it as an exhausting promotional tour, offering the head of state unrivaled media coverage, to the detriment of the yellow vests still on the street. Results of these consultations: the maintenance of the legal retirement age at 62, announcements of lower income taxes or the establishment of a citizens' agreement to move forward on the ecological issue.

Pension reform

Hundreds of thousands of protesters beat the pavement Thursday, December 5, 2019 across France against the pension reform, as here in Paris. Gonzalo Fuentes, Reuters

After the Yellow Vests, Emmanuel Macron is now facing a new large-scale challenge. Teachers, hospital staff, railway workers ... Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in recent weeks to demonstrate against the government's plans to reform pensions.

The dispute mainly concerns the postponement of the retirement age at full rate (64 years instead of 62 years), the questioning of the benefits of civil servants and members of special schemes, and the establishment of a point system deemed to be unequal. RATP and SNCF employees began a national strike on December 5, causing a considerable slowdown in transport networks in Paris and in the regions. A situation that continued during the Christmas holidays.

Faced with the persistent blockage, a new series of discussions is to open between the government and the unions on January 7.

Jacques Chirac

Former President of the Republic Jacques Chirac died on September 26 of kidney failure at the age of 86. AFP


Former President of the Republic Jacques Chirac died on September 26 of kidney failure at the age of 86. Four days later, national mourning was declared in the country and a minute of silence was observed in schools and administrations. A popular tribute was also paid to him at the Invalides, before his burial in the Montparnasse cemetery with his daughter, Laurence.

Personality appreciated by the French, the former head of state nevertheless leaves behind a mixed picture and always subject to controversy. Among his feats of arms, we find among others his now famous speech of Vel-d'hiv in 1995 as well as his refusal to associate French troops with the Iraqi invasion in 2003. A decision which even conferred on him a leading international stature. On the side of failures, the dissolution of 1997 and its resounding disavowal in the 2005 referendum remain as two of the main failures of “Chiraquie”.

After the lifting of the immunity attached to the presidential mandate, his career was marred by legal cases implicating him and his relatives (Alain Juppé, Jean Tiberi, Charles Pasqua). In 2011, he became the first former head of state sentenced to two years suspended sentence for a fictitious employment case at the Paris City Hall.

>> Read also: "Farewell and thank you Monsieur Chirac", France paid a final tribute to its former president

feminicides

Demonstration against violence against women at Place de l'Opéra in Paris, November 23, 2019. Jean-Luc Mounier, France 24


On November 23, tens of thousands of women marched in Paris and in the regions against gender-based violence and feminicides. As a reminder, every three days in France, a woman dies of domestic violence. A grim observation that makes France one of the least advanced countries in Europe in terms of combating violence against women.

Wanting to alert on this subject, feminist activists have pasted posters this past summer for weeks on the streets of Paris. Now spread out on the walls formulas as concise as they are striking, such as: “She leaves him, he kills her”, or “Dad killed mom with knives”. Promising progress, the government organized a “Grenelle of domestic violence”, ie ten weeks of consultations with experts and feminist associations to find new ways to fight this scourge. Results of these talks: 360 million euros released in 2020 to combat this violence, increased use of the electronic bracelet or even better police training.

PMA for all

People parade during the LGBT Pride March, June 29, 2013, in Paris. Lionel Bonaventure, AFP (archives)


Emmanuel Macron's flagship promise, the opening of medically assisted procreation (PMA) to all women was voted in September in the National Assembly. Now the PMA which allows having a child by different medical techniques (artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization ...), is extended to lesbian couples and single women, and will be reimbursed by Social Security. There remains one step: the text will now have to obtain the green light from the Senate, dominated by elected LR (144 senators in the group), before its final adoption “before the summer of 2020”, hopes the government.

>> Read also the webdoc: The black sperm market

Vincent Lambert

Vincent Lambert's parents have always been firmly opposed to stopping the treatment of their quadriplegic son. Francois Nascimben, AFP


The end of ten years of legal battles. Vincent Lambert, a 42-year-old former nurse, died on Thursday July 11 after stopping treatment. For more than ten years, the case of this quadriplegic man in a vegetative state following a road accident in 2008, divided his relatives and the whole of France on the issue of end of life.

Following the decision of the Court of Cassation of June 28, the head of palliative care service of the Reims teaching hospital, Vincent Sanchez, put an end to the judicial soap opera, by stopping hydration and feeding by tube of the ex-nurse, in addition to a “deep and continuous sedation”.

Notre Dame of Paris

Nearly 922 million euros in donations and pledges have been confirmed, totaling 320,000 donations, to rebuild the 850-year-old monument Benoit Tessier, Reuters

The most significant event of this year took place in just a few hours. On April 15, passers-by and viewers from around the world witnessed, in dread, the devastating fire that ravaged the framework of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, before spreading to the top of the building, destroying the spire and consuming the roofs.

The accidental fire caused a wave of emotion both in France and in the rest of the world. Nearly 922 million euros in donations and pledges have been confirmed, or 320,000 donations in total, to reconstruct the 850-year-old monument. In the process, Emmanuel Macron announced that he wanted to rebuild the cathedral within five years. A promise that has confused many experts and historians convinced that the work would require more time.

At the same time, environmental protection associations have warned after the detection of more than 400 tonnes of lead that has fallen into dust on the site and its surroundings.

Lubrizol

Smoke rises from a burning factory in Lubrizol classified Seveso, September 26, 2019 in Rouen. Jean-Jacques Ganon, AFP

Another fire that marked the year 2019, that of a chemical plant of the company Lubrizol classified Seveso “high threshold”, on September 29, in Rouen. For reasons still unknown, the flames spread to the warehouses and part of a neighboring site, causing a thick plume of 22 kilometers of black smoke long above the agglomeration.

If no one is injured, authorities have called the incident an "industrial disaster", adding that more than 5,250 tonnes of chemicals were burned in the fire.

France Telecom

Didier Lombard, who headed France Telecom from 2005 to 2010, was tried alongside other former group leaders. Éric Piermont, AFP


A turning point in criminal labor law. Ten years after the suicide of thirty-five employees, the company France Télécom was sentenced, on December 20, to a fine of 75,000 euros, the maximum penalty incurred for “moral harassment” between 2007 and 2008.

Found guilty, ex-CEO Didier Lombard, former number 2 Louis-Pierre Wenès and ex-HRD Olivier Barberot will have to serve a four-month prison sentence, with a 15,000-euro fine for their policies “down-to-earth” workforce reduction. Became Orange in 2013, France Telecom is the first CAC 40 company to appear for moral harassment.

Women's football

Image review of the World Cup-2019, qualified by FIFA as "best Women's World Cup" in history. Franck Fife, AFP

2019 gave an unexpected spotlight on women's sport, France having hosted this summer its very first Women's World Cup in football. If the Blue suffered a quarterfinal loss to the Americans, the competition generated unprecedented enthusiasm, with stadiums filled and a record number of viewers.

In France alone, almost ten million people watched the opening match (France - South Korea), a historic audience for a women's match.


Text translated and adapted from English by Marie Campistron.

Newsletter Don't miss anything from international news

Don't miss anything from international news

subscribe

google-play-badge_FR