News
A day of duel by media interposed for the two presidential finalists. Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen clash on Friday through the media. After her first big meeting since the first round, Thursday evening in Avignon, the RN candidate continues the morning shows on France Bleu Vaucluse, then France Bleu Provence before going to RMC-BFMTV from Avignon. She will then be traveling in the region. The outgoing president, who was the day before in Le Havre to talk about ecology, will be the guest of France Info for an hour in the morning, before an interview with France 2 this evening. Nine days before the election, the outgoing president retains the advantage in voting intentions (from 53 to 55%) but with a smaller margin than five years ago (64/36%). And still with several unknowns, in particular the level of abstention and the postponement of the 21.95% of votes which went to the rebellious candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Sunday.
The Russian flagship “Moskva” sank well. Big material setback for Russia. After being hit by a Ukrainian missile according to Kyiv, the Russian flagship in the Black Sea crashed into the sea late Thursday afternoon. An accidental fire in question according to Moscow. The loss of this command ship is “a blowraised to the Russian fleet in the region, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Thursday, with “consequences on their abilities” of combat, the ship being a “key part of their efforts to establish naval dominance in the Black Sea”. More information here and read the report of our special correspondent in the Romanian city of Constanta, the largest port on the Black Sea.
After Putin’s setbacks, the nuclear risk? Military setbacks in Ukraine could prompt Vladimir Putin to resort to a tactical or low-power nuclear weapon there, CIA chief William Burns said during a speech in Atlanta. The Kremlin recently mentioned putting its nuclear forces on alert, “but we haven’t really seen any concrete signs like military deployments or actions that might heighten our concerns,” nevertheless added the boss of the main American intelligence agency. Find here our live on the war in Ukraine.
The Sorbonne largely evacuated after the student mobilization “Ni Macron, ni Le Pen”. Students who occupied the Sorbonne to make their voices heard in the intervening rounds of the presidential election left the university buildings on Thursday evening after a day of rallies punctuated by incidents. However, a video is circulating on social networks claiming that 40 students were still in the university, detained by the police. A police source confirmed to AFP that there were still students inside, without specifying their number or the reason for their presence. Since Wednesday, the buildings of the University Paris-I-Panthéon-Sorbonne were occupied by a hundred or so students revolted against the results of the presidential election. Read our report.
Investigation opened for rape and sexual assault at Polytechnique. A preliminary investigation has been opened for rape and sexual assault after an internal questionnaire from the Polytechnic school, according to which one in four students has been the victim of sexual assault there since the start of her schooling, said Thursday evening the prosecution of ‘Evry, confirming information from France Inter. While eleven students in total say they have been victims of rape or attempted rape, this opening of an investigation comes seven months after that relating to CentraleSupélec, where an internal study had also reported a hundred acts of sexual harassment, sexual assault or rape during the academic year. Read our article.
To be continued today
The last interrogation of Salah Abdeslam. Interrupted Thursday evening by the late hour, the interrogation of Salah Abdeslam continues this Friday during the trial of the attacks of November 13, with the end of the questions of the civil parties as well as those of the defense. On Wednesday, after having used his right to silence during his previous interrogation, the main defendant made “reverse” this Wednesday, to say “truth”. And confessed that he had to blow himself up in a cafe in the 18th arrondissement of the capital. Reread our article.
Clashes on the esplanade of the Mosques in Jerusalem. Towards a new day of tension? This Friday morning, clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli police broke out on the Esplanade of the Mosques in Jerusalem. Witnesses reported Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli security forces and firing rubber bullets at some Palestinian demonstrators. Since March 22, Israel has been hit by four attacks, the first two carried out by Israeli Arabs linked to the jihadist organization Islamic State (IS) and the last two by Palestinians from the Jenin sector in the West Bank. These attacks killed fourteen people. In addition, 21 Palestinians, including assailants, have been killed in violence since that date, according to AFP. Read our report.
Investigation
Suspicions around two masterpieces: revelations about the trunk that makes the art world tremble. A year ago, the announcement of the discovery of a monochrome and a ready-made from the 19th century, from the Incoherent Arts movement, jostled the chronology of modern art, attracting the attention of Michel Onfray than Brad Pitt. But over the months, doubt has set in among the experts, troubled by the overly beautiful story and the opacity that surrounds this find. Release conducted its counter-investigation. Read our survey.
The gallery
Algerian War: Emmanuel Macron has done more than in sixty years of French presidency. Under his presidency, undeniable advances in memory have been made, recalls historian Benjamin Stora, who is preparing to vote for him on April 24. Read the forum.
analysis
EE-LV, PCF, PS: after the 22% of Mélenchon, storage is now. With a good result in the first round, LFI seems to be the only one able to muster a coherent opposition in view of the legislative elections. Socialists, ecologists and communists are trying to find their place in a changing family. Read our analysis.
The interview
Thomas Pesquet: with the war in Ukraine, “everything is starting to get more tense” in space. Returning to Earth six months ago, the astronaut gave some of his time to “Liberation” to discuss the threats hanging over international space cooperation and the rest of his career. Read our interview.
The portrait
JB Hanak, female dog of life. Without his missing brother, half of the electro duo dDamage writes and creates again, far from the alcoholic, drugged and messy tours of their youth. Read our portrait.