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French parliament votes to oust Michel Barnier’s government

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French parliament votes to oust Michel Barnier’s government

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The French parliament on Wednesday voted to oust Prime Minister Michel Barnier over his proposed deficit-cutting budget, plunging the country into deeper political turmoil.

A motion of no confidence was approved by 331 votes in the 577 member national assembly, as Marine Le Pen’s far-right party teamed up with a leftist bloc to bring down Barnier’s minority government.

Barnier’s administration has collapsed without adopting his contentious 2025 budget that included €60bn in tax increases and spending cuts to reduce France’s deficit, which will reach 6 per cent of GDP this year.

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President Emmanuel Macron will now have to select another prime minister, a task made difficult by a raucous parliament divided into three blocs, none of which is close to having a governing majority.

Barnier’s three-month term as prime minister was the shortest of any premier since France’s Fifth Republic was founded in 1958. It is only the second time a government has been voted down since then. 

The political tumult gripping France comes just weeks after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition collapsed, leaving the EU’s two most powerful states in limbo.

Barnier defended his record as prime minister during a national assembly debate before the confidence vote, telling lawmakers: “I have been and am proud to act to build rather than to destroy.”

He said it was “not for pleasure” that he had presented a difficult budget. France’s fiscal “reality will not disappear by the enchantment of a motion of censure”, he added.

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Macron will have to contend with an emboldened Le Pen and her Rassemblement National party, which was decisive in removing Barnier after spurning his last-ditch attempts at a compromise on his budget.

Le Pen said her decision to censure Barnier was prompted by the “necessity to put an end to the chaos, to spare the French people from a dangerous, unfair and punitive budget”.

Macron “is largely responsible for the current situation”, Le Pen told TF1 television shortly after the vote.

When the president appoints a new prime minister, that person would work on a new budget which Rassemblement National “will construct with other forces in the national assembly”, she added.

Mathilde Panot, a leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, slammed Barnier for seeking deals with the Rassemblement National to try to stay in power.

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“Barnier tried to escape censure by choosing dishonour, he has gotten dishonour and censure,” she said.

Marie Lebec, a lawmaker from Macron’s centrist alliance and former minister, said her fellow parliamentarians should put aside party squabbling to find a way forward.

The political crisis risks further spooking financial markets. Barnier had previously warned of a financial and economic “storm” should his government fall without adopting the 2025 budget, saying borrowing costs were on track to exceed €60bn next year, more than the French defence budget.

French borrowing costs on its 10-year sovereign bond hit a 12-year high against Germany’s last week, as investors fretted about the likely failure of Barnier’s government.

After the confidence vote on Wednesday, the euro was flat against the dollar at $1.052, reflecting how the result was widely expected.

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Barnier may stay on as a caretaker premier for a short time, but it will fall to his successor to craft another 2025 budget, ahead of a year-end deadline.

In the meantime, Macron and parliament have several options to pass emergency measures that would avoid a government shutdown and keep public services funded temporarily.

But unlike previously when he procrastinated on picking premiers, Macron aimed to move quickly this time, said a person familiar with his thinking, and he has drawn up a list of potential candidates to succeed Barnier.

The Elysée said Macron would address the nation on Thursday evening in a televised speech.

Barnier was appointed by Macron in September after the president’s centrist alliance lost snap parliamentary elections, which increased the ranks of the far right and leftist parties.

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His departure is a sign of how gridlocked French institutions have become since the elections.

“It feels like a series of impasses in a parliament where no one has a workable majority,” said Bruno Cautrès, political scientist at Sciences Po. “There is a risk that a new government would fall quickly, just as Barnier has done.”

Additional reporting by Ian Smith in London

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Brazilian president Lula in intensive care after brain surgery

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Brazilian president Lula in intensive care after brain surgery

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Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is in intensive care after brain surgery and is recovering “well”, the government announced on Tuesday.

The 79 year old, commonly referred to as Lula, underwent a craniotomy procedure to drain a haematoma on his head after an MRI scan showed an “intracranial haemorrhage”, according to a medical note shared by the government.

The injury related to a fall at home on October 19 and Lula had been suffering headaches, the note said.

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The surgery was “uneventful”, the note added, and Lula was being monitored in intensive care at the Sírio-Libanês hospital in São Paulo. Doctors will hold a press conference at 9am local time on Tuesday. 

Lula cancelled his attendance at the Brics summit in Russia in October, citing health reasons. His surgery comes at a challenging moment for his presidency after he returned to power for a third term last year, with a pledge to lift welfare spending and expand the role of the state.

His administration has sought to reassure investors over his plans by promising to eliminate Brazil’s so-called primary budget deficit, which does not include debt interest payments. However, it has already watered down its own targets for achieving a surplus from next year onwards.

The Brazilian real hit an all-time low last month, falling below six to the US dollar, because of mounting concerns over the country’s public finances. On Tuesday it was flat in early trading at 6.08 per US dollar.

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Luigi Mangione, alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer, charged with murder in New York

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Luigi Mangione, alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer, charged with murder in New York

Prosecutors in New York City charged accused UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione with murder late Monday night, according to online court records.

The 26-year-old was also charged with criminal possession of a weapon (loaded firearm), possession of a forged instrument and criminal possession of a weapon (firearm silencer) in the brazen Dec. 4 shooting death of Brian Thompson.

Thompson, 50, was shot from behind on the sidewalk outside a NYC Hilton hotel before a shareholder conference. He was appointed the CEO of the company in April 2021.

Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday after a five-day nationwide manhunt for Thompson’s killer.

UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO MURDER SUSPECT ARRESTED AT PENNSYLVANIA MCDONALD’S

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A still image from video shows Luigi Mangione, 26, being taken into a Pennsylvania courthouse Monday evening after being questioned in connection with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Fox News)

Rookie Altoona police officer Tyler Frye took Mangione into custody after an employee and a customer at a McDonald’s in the town thought he looked like the suspect on a wanted poster and called authorities.

When officers approached Mangione, who was wearing a mask and a beanie and working on a laptop in the back of the restaurant, and asked him to remove his face covering, they recognized him as the suspect wanted for questioning in Thompson’s murder.

During that encounter, he allegedly handed over a fake ID, gave a phony name, and “became quiet and started to shake” when asked if he’d recently been to New York.

He was also allegedly in possession of writings criticizing the healthcare industry and a ghost gun similar to the one believed to have been used to kill Thompson.

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Luigi Mangione UHC shooter suspect split image

Luigi Mangione was charged with multiple crimes, including first-degree murder, in New York City late Monday night in connection with the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Altoona police initially took Mangione into custody on charges unrelated to Thompson’s murder – possession of an unlicensed firearm, providing false identification to police and forgery.

WHO IS LUIGI MANGIONE, SUSPECT IN UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO MURDER? 

Mangione graduated top of his class from the elite Gilman School in Baltimore, and even delivered the commencement speech at his 2016 graduation, according to video of the ceremony.

“He seemed like a smart kid, he was always doing the right thing, it seemed like,” a former classmate, who was shocked by the arrest, told Fox News Digital Monday. “Wasn’t crazy.”

He then graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in engineering and was part of the Eta Kappa Nu Honor Society for Electrical and Computer Engineering.

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A photo obtained by Fox News Digital shows Luigi Mangione.

A photo obtained by Fox News Digital shows Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

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Mangione is expected to be extradited to New York as early as Tuesday.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz and Brooke Curto contributed to this report.

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Map: 5.8-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Nevada

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Map: 5.8-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Nevada

Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. The New York Times

A moderately strong, 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck in Nevada on Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The temblor happened at 3:08 p.m. Pacific time about 15 miles northeast of Yerington, Nev., data from the agency shows.

U.S.G.S. data earlier reported that the magnitude was 5.7.

As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.

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Aftershocks in the region

An aftershock is usually a smaller earthquake that follows a larger one in the same general area. Aftershocks are typically minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.

Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles

Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.

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Source: United States Geological Survey | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Pacific time. Shake data is as of Monday, Dec. 9 at 7:46 p.m. Eastern. Aftershocks data is as of Monday, Dec. 9 at 10:08 p.m. Eastern.

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