France’s lower house of parliament elected Yael Braun-Pivet of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance as its speaker on Tuesday, the first woman to hold the post.
Reflecting on events in the US, Ms Braun-Pivet defended the right to abortion in France and called on the chamber to be “vigilant” about protecting the law.
The National Assembly held its first session since Mr Macron’s party lost its majority in elections and the far-right and left camps of French politics were strengthened.
The centrist Ensemble alliance has the most seats in the assembly but no longer enough to pass laws on its own. The assembly is France’s most powerful house of parliament.
The divided chamber is preparing to tackle proposals on fighting inflation and enshrining abortion rights in the French constitution, in response to the US Supreme Court decision last week to strip women’s constitutional protections for abortion.
Abortion in France was legalised in 1975 and has broad political support.
“The brutal decision handed down last Friday by the US Supreme Court, that reversed its commitment, that shocked us so much, is a stark reminder to be vigilant,” Ms Braun-Pivet said.
“Nothing should be taken for granted. History is made of great progress but is always under threat of being reversed,” she told MPs.
“This right was fought for and was inalienable. It is my conviction as a woman today is that we need to be the watchdog so that it stays in place forever.”
Ms Braun-Pivet, a former socialist, joined Mr Macron’s party in 2016 and is a newcomer to lawmaking. She was chosen in a secret ballot over candidates from rival parties.
The left-wing Nupes coalition is the biggest opposition force in the assembly, and its legislators made a grand entrance on Tuesday with its diverse cross-section of politicians, including many young people in office for the first time.
Nupes hopes to challenge Mr Macron’s efforts to cut taxes and increase the retirement age from 62 to 65.
The far-right party of three-times presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, the National Rally, won a record number of seats and is expected to pursue anti-immigration policies.
All three top parties plan competing measures aimed at helping working-class households to cope with high inflation fuelled by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Women remain in the minority in the assembly, and Ms Braun-Pivet’s appointment was seen as sending an important message about women in politics.
Ms Braun-Pivet, a lawyer who spent several years living in Asia, was first elected in 2017 and re-elected this month in her district west of Paris. She was chairwoman of the assembly’s law committee for five years.
The assembly is taking on a more larger role now than it has had in 20 years.
Mr Macron’s supporters worry that the new legislature will cause gridlock and block his efforts to make France’s economy more business-friendly and pass climate legislation. His critics said it is more representative of France.
“The French people compel us to work together, to debate rather than to fight each other. They’ve chosen us, they’ve elected us and we share, whatever our differences, a responsibility to answer to this assembly which is the face of France,” Mr Braun-Pivet said.
Sebastien Chenu of National Rally said his party would push for debates on “Islamism” and immigration.
“We will oppose without any concessions Emmanuel Macron’s reforms, like the pension reform in particular,” he said.
Louis Boyard of Nupes said his alliance had many ideas.
“We must revive the economy through consumption. By raising the minimum wage to €1,500 ($1,575). By freezing prices. We have plenty of proposals.”
As elected officials paraded through the garden towards the assembly building, two deputies from French Polynesia arrived wearing traditional attire. The assembly, however, remains largely a place of suits and ties.
Members will choose committee leaders in the coming days, and either Nupes or the National Rally may win control of the finance commission, which is in charge of controlling the state’s budget.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne — the second woman to hold that post — will set out the government’s goals in a speech next week, and may face a confidence vote shortly ëafterward.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Company%20profile%20
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BMW%20M4%20Competition
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If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
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The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
MATCH INFO
Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')
Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
