2 years after riots rocked France, these moms are still trying to keep the peace
In the sprawling suburbs of Corbeil-Essonnes south of Paris, kids aged 10 to 13 years old are playing what seems to be an every-man-for-himself game of soccer in a town square. Two boys chasing the ball collide, causing one to twist his ankle and fall onto the pavement. Watching the kids play are members of the Gilets Roses, or “Pink Vests,” a group of mothers who since... Read More
Le Pen Banned from 2027 Elections: Justice or Conspiracy?
In a week of high political drama, far-right leader Marine Le Pen and her allies condemned the sentence she received last Monday for embezzling public funds as the culmination of a judicial witch hunt. Her protégé and National Rally President Jordan Bardella decried a “tyranny of judges.” Justices have since received death threats, and at least one judge is under police... Read More
Evicting Vulnerable ahead of Paris Olympics is “Social Cleansing”
On a Tuesday morning in late May, at least three dozen police officers surrounded an encampment of migrants in central Paris. The streets above the banks of the Seine were virtually empty and the cafés still closed when they evicted more than 100 boys and young men, many from West Africa. It was just past 7 a.m. Read More Read More
France Welcomes Ukrainians but Migrants from Africa and the Mid-East Sleep on the Streets
More than 4 million Ukrainians have fled their country since Russian troops invaded on February 24. Human Rights campaigners have praised the French government for the speed with which it set up a reception center with provisions for shelter, food and healthcare. But they wonder why the authorities haven’t extended the same warm welcome to asylum-seekers from across Africa and... Read More
Division on the Right, Implosion on the Left
As Russian forces poured across Ukrainian borders on Feb. 24, French President Emmanuel Macron warned in a televised address that the incursion marked “a turning point in the history of Europe and of our country” and would have “profound, lasting consequences for our lives.” Read More Read More
In the Horn of Africa, a coalition to prevent the next locust invasion
Locust outbreaks, which are becoming more frequent due to climate change, are occurring in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. To face this plague, scientists, computer programmers and volunteer “locust hunters” are getting organized in the Horn of Africa. Read More Read More
In Africa, using apps to expand access to healthcare
Serge Mahougnon’s condition was worsening. What little food he ate, he could not keep down. In February 2020, temperatures in Cotonou, Bénin, reached close to 30° Celsius, but Mahougnon was freezing. The 24-year-old financial trader was suffering from Typhoid fever, a disease that begins with intestinal inflammation, and can be fatal. Read More Read More
Cops are in Crisis. In this History of Policing in North America, France and Britain, we find out why
Over the past year, public anger over police violence has led to calls for de-funding or abolition of police forces. Some even want to police their own communities — which it turns out, is precisely how policing began. Read More Read More
Rethinking the Role of Police
Law enforcement scholar David Bayley begins his book, Police for the Future, with what he calls one of the best-kept secrets of modern life: “The police do not prevent crime.” He points to US studies that show increases in police numbers had virtually no impact on crime rates, something he also observed in Australia, Britain and Canada. In this documentary we rethink... Read More
Small Countries to Suffer in Wild West World Economy
The World Trade Organization is charged with preventing small trade disputes from erupting into full-scale economic warfare. In what may seem a minor administrative inconvenience, it has been dealt a near-fatal blow. The US government has blocked the WTO from hiring more members – judges who rule on trade complaints – effectively paralyzing the WTO’s trade dispute... Read More
