World
Four takeaways from French legislative elections
Here are some of the key takeaways from the French snap legislative elections.
For the second time in under a month, the ruling centrist coalition of French President Emmanuel Macron was dealt a heavy blow on Sunday by the far-right National Rally (RN) which secured the top position in the first round of the country’s snap legislative elections.
Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called the snap election on 9 June after RN swept to victory in the European elections, obtaining more than double the number of votes Macron’s centrist coalition did.
Macron’s decision to call the election was described by commentators as either a ploy that could grant him the absolute majority he lost two years ago or a dangerous gamble that could see the far-right helm a government for the first time in the country.
Which is it? Euronews brings you the main takeaways from the first round.
Far-right makes historic gains
The National Rally (RN), led by 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, appears to have cemented its position as the country’s main political force by securing over 33% of the vote nationwide.
If the score is confirmed next Sunday in the second round, the party could secure between 230 and 280 seats – just nine seats short of an absolute majority.
Bardella pledged on Sunday that he would be “the prime minister for all the people of France … respectful of the opposition, open to dialogue and concerned at all times with the unity of the people” all while taking swipes at Macron’s alliance and the left-wing New Popular Front.
The second round, he added, will be “one of the most decisive (votes) in the history of the Fifth Republic”.
The far-right’s gains in the first round marked a historic performance for the party in a legislative election.
In 2017, the then-called National Front gained 13% of the vote in the first round and 2022, they received 18% of the vote.
Tara Varma, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, told Euronews that “what we see is that people are no longer ashamed to vote for the National Rally”.
“Not only are they no longer ashamed to do so, but they are no longer ashamed to say so,” she said.
While a scenario where the RN wins the absolute majority in parliament may not be the “most probable,” it cannot be “excluded,” she said.
Macron’s big loss
Three weeks after suffering a crushing defeat in the European elections, Macron’s centrist coalition, Ensemble, was dealt another devastating blow by coming in third with just 21% of the nationwide vote.
That’s 12 points and seven points below the far-right RN and the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition, respectively.
About 300 of its candidates are still in contention for a seat in the 577-seat hemicycle. But if its first-round score is confirmed next Sunday, it could mean the centrist coalition could shed as many as 180 seats and retain only between 70 and 100 MPs.
Provided no other alliance gets an absolute majority, Macron could in theory try to form a ruling coalition but that might be a tall order.
The presidential camp has repeatedly rejected any notion of working with the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party with Macron himself saying that if the RN or LFI were to get into power, it could lead to “civil war”.
ADVERTISEMENTParties that Macron could therefore try to rally for a more “moderate” coalition include the Socialists and the Greens on the left and the Republicans on the right.
But it’s unclear if they could find a landing zone or if they would jointly have the 289 seats needed.
Could there be a ‘Republican front’ against the RN?
Within minutes of the exit poll showing the far-right National Rally largely in the lead, political leaders on the left started calling for a so-called “Republican front”.
They pledged to withdraw third-place candidates who qualified for the second round in an effort to prevent the RN from winning seats due to a split vote between the other parties.
This is true of LFI, the Socialists, Greens, and Communists, and also of certain members of Macron’s centrist coalition.
ADVERTISEMENT“I say this with all the force that each and every one of our voters must muster. Not a single vote must go to the National Rally,” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said in his speech on Sunday.
Other members of the president’s coalition have called on their voters not to support members of LFI, saying that neither the RN nor the party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, which is part of the left-wing coalition, should get a vote.
For Mathias Bernard, a specialist in French political history and president of the University of Clermont Auvergne, “withdrawals or, conversely, triangular contests are the key to the election.”
“If each of the three blocs goes it alone in the second-round battle, the RN is likely to win an absolute majority. If there is a sort of ‘Republican front’, it will be more difficult for the RN,” he told Euronews.
“However, it is not certain that this “Republican front” will materialise,” he said, naming Ensemble and the Republicans as the two parties where third-placed candidates might most resist being asked to withdraw.
ADVERTISEMENTHigh turnout in snap election
There was intense interest in the snap poll called by Macron, with several voters telling Euronews ahead of the vote that they were disappointed with the president’s policies and wanted change.
Turnout, which is often low in France, increased significantly during these elections.
In the first round of the 2017 and 2022 legislative elections, the participation rate did not reach 50%, according to interior ministry figures. The first round of this poll saw the participation rise to 66.7%.
“High turnout and fewer candidates led to an unprecedented number of three-way contests in the second round,” according to Célia Belin, head of the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Paris office.
The presidential coalition’s refusal to systematically withdraw due to the presence of LFI candidates, however, could “increase anti-RN voters’ confusion about the best course of action,” she said.
ADVERTISEMENTManon Aubry, a leftist EU lawmaker, told reporters on Sunday that she met many first-time young voters when she went to vote in Paris.
This mobilisation, especially in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, should be welcomed and amplified, she said.
The results also sparked protests in the country, with thousands of left-wing voters gathering over the gains of the far-right.
World
Tyson-Paul bout gives Netflix opportunity to show it can handle big events with NFL, WWE on horizon
Jake Paul and Mike Tyson aren’t the only ones who have high stakes when they meet in the boxing ring on Friday night.
For Netflix, it is their biggest live sports event to date, and an opportunity to make sure it can handle audience demand with the NFL and WWE on the horizon.
The bout between the YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul, and Tyson, 58-year-old former heavyweight champion, from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will stream globally and be available to Netflix’s 280 million subscribers at no additional cost.
Netflix will broadcast the bout in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French and German. It was originally scheduled for July 20, but was delayed by Tyson having a medical episode on a plane and needing time to recover from a stomach ulcer.
Netflix declined multiple requests by The Associated Press to make a company executive available to discuss expectations about the fight.
JP Morgan Chase analyst Doug Anmuth has not wavered in his prediction that it will be the most-watched fight ever. That might be an unrealistic bar to climb since four of Muhammad Ali’s bouts had estimated worldwide audiences of one billion.
The modern-day U.S. mark of 4.6 million from the 2015 bout between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao could be attainable though.
“We believe the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight could be the most watched boxing match ever given ease of access and NFLX’s (Netflix’s) large global subscriber base, and it should attract Ad Tier subs, viewers, and dollars,” Anmuth said in his analyst note according to CNBC Pro. “Netflix is increasingly focused on sports entertainment, events, and shoulder content, and we expect a bigger push into live sports over time, particularly as negotiating leverage shifts in NFLX’s direction.”
Netflix has used live sports as support programming for documentaries and series it airs. “Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson”, a three-part documentary series previewing the fight card, was ranked second Thursday night among Netflix’s most-viewed shows.
Last November’s Netflix Cup, where Formula 1 drivers were paired with PGA golfers in a match-play format, brought together famous figures from “Drive to Survive” and “Full Swing,” The March 3 Netflix Slam exhibition match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz tied in with “Point Break” and a documentary series about Alcaraz that will air next year.
The NFL elected to partner with Netflix for a Christmas Day doubleheader of games because two series — “Quarterback” and “Receiver” — were among Netflix’s top 10 series globally.
Most Valuable Promotions is handling the production of Friday’s bout while CBS will produce the two NFL games for Netflix. When “Raw” begins airing on Netflix on Jan. 5, World Wrestling Entertainment handles the production of all its events.
Netflix will carry “Raw” in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Latin America beginning in January, with additional countries to be added as contracts expire. The bigger component, though, is that Netflix becomes the carrier of all WWE shows and specials outside the U.S. and the company’s premium live events, including WrestleMania and SummerSlam.
“Technically, it is a great dry run by putting on live events. The biggest problem they might have is you just end up in a situation where you’ve got so much volume and viewing a way that you haven’t had in the past,” said Patrick Crakes, a media consultant and former Fox Sports executive. “It could end up being more than who watches the NFL games for a period of time. Others are handling the production, what they have to worry about is the operational flow. They know what they are doing.”
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
JERUSALEM — After 10 non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council proposed a binding resolution that would impose an end to Israel’s war to root out Hamas terrorists in Gaza, there is growing concern that the Biden administration could embrace the measure to send a strong parting message to the Netanyahu government.
Relations between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been tense since Israel launched its self-defense war against the U.S.-designated terrorist movement on Oct. 7, 2023.
U.N. experts are speculating that Biden might seek payback against Netanyahu at the U.N., just as President Obama did in 2016 when they let an anti-Israel resolution pass weeks before President-elect Donald Trump was to take office.
UN, ISRAEL AT ODDS OVER CAUSE OF DECLINE IN AID DELIVERIES: ‘FALSE NARRATIVES BY INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY’
President Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu and former President Obama (Getty Images)
“Without a doubt, this is a calculated effort to Trump-proof the failed Biden agenda. Once a Security Council resolution is adopted, the Russians and the Chinese would veto any attempt to revoke it. Americans of all political stripes need to remind President Biden’s lame-duck administration that they didn’t come out to vote only to hand over control to the Russians, the Chinese and the United Nations,” Anne Bayefsky, president of Human Rights Voices, told Fox News Digital.
The proposed Security Council draft resolution fails to secure the release of more than 100 hostages being held by the terrorist organization, including Americans. The anti-Israel measure recalls President Obama’s punitive council action against Israel in the lame duck phase of his administration.
A version of the draft was leaked to Al Jazeera, which the Israel Defense Forces has accused of employing Hamas terrorists as reporters.
Israel’s ambassador to the world body, Danny Danon, told Fox News Digital, “It’s shameful that this proposed resolution fails to link the call for a cease-fire with the release of all 101 remaining hostages still held in brutal captivity by Hamas in Gaza. It is a one-sided resolution and shouldn’t pass.”
U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power abstains as the other 14 members of the Security Council raise their hands in affirmation of Resolution 2334, which demands an end to Israeli settlements, at U.N. headquarters in New York City on Dec. 23, 2016. (Albin Lohr-Jones/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Russia’s mission to the U.N. on Wednesday wrote on X that it “expresses its full support for the draft resolution on Gaza introduced by ‘the ten’ non-permanent members of the UNSC, which contains a direct demand for an immediate, unconditional and permanent cease-fire and the release of all hostages. We also call for this draft to be put to a vote without further delay.”
Russia, along with the U.S., China, France and Britain are the five permanent members of the body.
US, ISRAEL AT ODDS OVER DECLINE IN AID DELIVERIES
Israel accused former President Obama of permitting passage of a council resolution in 2016 that censured Israel for the building of Israeli residences in Judea and Samaria, known more widely as the West Bank. There are growing fears among supporters of the Jewish state that the White House will use its lame-duck period to punish Israel again.
Danon told a group of journalists on Thursday, “While I don’t think the U.S. would let the resolution pass, there might be other attempts to alienate and delegitimize Israel during the transition period, like we saw in 2016.”
Protesters rally against the government in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Sept. 1, 2024. (Reuters/Florion Goga)
However, when asked at a press briefing last week if the Biden administration plans to replicate President Obama’s enabling in 2016 of what was deemed as an anti-Israel resolution by the Jewish state and many Trump officials shortly before Obama left office, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “So you should not read this – into this answer I’m about to give anything. You shouldn’t read in one way or the other. I cannot speculate on how we will vote on resolutions that are not yet even before the Security Council. Obviously, we will look at any resolution that comes up before the Security Council and make … our judgments based on the interests of the United States, as we always do.”
BIDEN ADMIN ISSUES WARNING TO NETANYAHU AS ISRAEL HOLDS EMERGENCY MEETING ON GAZA AID
Palestinian refugees carry flour in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on Jan. 28, 2024. (Abed Zagout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital sent a press a query to the State Department about the newly proposed draft resolution.
Bayefsky added, “Strip away the facade of faux peace, and you find a United Nations and an embittered Biden administration making big plans to do permanent harm to the state of Israel. President Obama produced the template for an end run around a Trump presidency in 2016: enable the U.N. to do the dirty work during the lame-duck term. The endgame is simple: Thwart Congress and the election results by bending American sovereignty to the will of the United Nations.”
IDF troops enter Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip, searching for hostages. (Israel Defense Forces)
“To be very clear, a U.N. Security Council resolution that demands right now an unconditional and permanent cease-fire before the release of every single hostage, before the end of Hamas rocket fire, with Hamas still armed and hell-bent on genocide, is not pro-peace,” Bayefsky continued. “It’s a guarantee of more war. There has never been a cease-fire that Hamas hasn’t broken. So the truth is that the U.N.’s idea of a cease-fire is actually directed at a party of one: Israel. Israel ceases and Hamas fires. A democratic United States needs to shut down these negotiations, period.”
The 10 non-permanent members of the council are Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Switzerland.
“The Security Council Trump-proof plan involves setting up a continual barrage of U.N. reports and endless meetings on Israel’s ‘compliance’ with the resolution,” Bayefsky said. “… make no mistake: A Trump-proof production line of secretary-general reports ensures that the U.N. will be constantly throwing gasoline on any American attempt to put out the fire. U.N. reports, meetings and press conferences are not mere hot air. They fan the flames of hate and antisemitism until they blow up not only in Israel and Europe but right here on the streets and campuses of the USA.”
Two other people are in critical condition after a blaze broke out in the residence in Spain’s Zaragoza region.
At least ten people have died and two are in critical condition after a fire broke out at a nursing home in Spain’s northeastern Zaragoza region on Friday.
The blaze broke out on Friday morning in the Jardines de Villafranca residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro, which is located about 20 minutes from the city of Zaragoza.
There were 82 people inside the nursing home at the time of the fire, including residents, nurses and support staff, the local government said. The total number of injured or hurt is unknown, but two people have been hospitalised and are in critical condition.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze on Friday morning and the cause of the fire is now under investigation, according to the authorities. Health workers, civil protection volunteers, police, psychologists, social workers are all on the scene to provide support.
Fernando Beltrán, government delegate for the surrounding Aragón region, said the fire started in one of the rooms of the residence, and that the deaths were likely due to smoke inhalation.
“It’s a devastating outcome,” he told reporters on Friday morning.
Writing on X, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was “shocked by the tragedy”.
“I hope that the people in serious condition recover as soon as possible,” he wrote.
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