World
French far right seeks alliance with conservatives after stunning EU Parliament wins
Empowered by a stunning triumph at the European elections, France’s far-right National Rally on Tuesday hit the national campaign trail with its star leader, Jordan Bardella, promising supporters “the largest possible majority” at the upcoming parliamentary vote.
Opposition parties on the left and right have been scrambling to form alliances and field candidates in the snap national elections called by President Emmanuel Macron after his party suffered a crushing defeat by the far right in the European Parliament vote on Sunday.
A win for the National Rally in the national elections could result in the French far right leading a government for the first time since World War II.
EUROPEAN VOTERS REJECT SOCIALISM, FAR-LEFT POLICIES IN EU PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS: ‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’
While sharp differences between parties remain on either side of the political spectrum, prominent figures calling for a united front appear to have one thing in common: They don’t want to cooperate with Macron.
Despite their divisions, left-wing parties agreed late Monday to form an alliance that includes the Greens, the Socialists, the Communists and the far-left France Unbowed of Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Leaders have not agreed on who will head the coalition nor on its program.
In light of the European polls, politicians on the left are focused on closing ranks to prevent a win for the National Rally. For now, they have also vowed not to join forces with Macron’s centrists.
In a joint statement, the alliance called on all forces on the left, including the influential labor unions, to unite behind a “new popular front” to form an “alternative to Emmanuel Macron and to fight against the racist project of the far right.”
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen delivers a speech as Jordan Bardella, president of the French far-right National Rally, listens at the party election night headquarters after French President Emmanuel Macron announced he dissolved the National Assembly and calls new legislative election after defeat in EU vote, Sunday, June 9, 2024 in Paris. First projected results from France put far-right National Rally party well ahead in EU elections, according to French opinion poll institutes. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
National Rally leader Marine Le Pen is working to consolidate power on the right ahead of the two-round elections on June 30 and July 7. Le Pen’s niece, Marion Maréchal, who won a seat in the European Parliament on Sunday as a member of the rival Reconquer! party of Éric Zemmour, on Monday visited National Rally headquarters in Paris to negotiate a far-right alliance.
Family ties aside, Maréchal said Tuesday that Bardella informed her of a change of heart in the National Rally regarding a pact with the Reconquer! party. Bardella offered “a regrettable explanation against an agreement by saying that (Le Pen’s party) does not want to be associated directly or indirectly with Éric Zemmour,” Maréchal said in a statement.
Le Pen also met with members of the conservative Republicans party to discuss a united front. Some conservative lawmakers have supported some of Macron’s bills in the National Assembly since the president lost a majority in the lower house of the French parliament following the 2022 general election.
“We have a historic chance to allow the national camp to put France back on track,” Le Pen said in an interview with the French public broadcaster on Monday evening. She said the National Rally and the conservatives could agree on several policy goals, including an economic recovery plan, boosting purchasing power and curbing immigration.
The Republicans’ President Éric Ciotti said he wants an agreement with Le Pen, prompting several prominent members of his party to call for his resignation. Ciotti insisted the conservatives need the alliance for their political survival.
“I want my political family to move in this direction,” he said in an interview with the French public broadcaster on Tuesday. He blasted what he said was Macron’s bloc within the conservative party, “which has led the country to where it is today — with more violence, more insecurity.”
“A right-wing bloc, a national bloc … is what the vast majority of our voters want,” Ciotti said.
Bardella, Le Pen’s 28-year-old protégé and the face of the far right’s European triumph, also urged French conservatives to ride the wave of popularity with the National Rally. He urged the conservatives to “stop being Emmanuel Macron’s political crutch” and “come and work alongside us.”
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire called on Macron’s Renaissance party members to “make room” in their ranks for those conservatives who refuse to cooperate with the far right at the election.
Earlier Tuesday, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal met with the outgoing Renaissance lawmakers still reeling from their defeat by the far right and the president’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly.
Attal acknowledged that the dissolution was “a brutal decision” for the lawmakers, but he urged them to prepare for “the new fight.”
“You embody stability against chaos … courage against populism,” Attal said.
Macron is expected to discuss the upcoming election in a news conference scheduled for Wednesday.
World
Google puts AI agents at heart of its enterprise money-making push
World
Landlords allegedly posting ‘Muslim-only’ apartment ads in violation of country’s equality act: report
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Some landlords in England are apparently advertising “Muslim-only” apartments online, according to a local media report.
An investigation by The Telegraph found that alleged listings posted in London on Facebook, Gumtree and Telegram feature phrases such as “only for Muslims,” “for 2 Muslim boys or 2 Muslim girls,” and “Muslims preferred.”
Other ads appeal to Punjabi and Gujarati speakers, while some job vacancies on the platforms are advertised for men only.
Some listings specify “Hindu only,” in addition to posts that likely use religious subtext by stating: “The house should be alcohol and smoke-free.”
IS MAMDANI’S SOCIALIST PUSH FOR RENT CONTROLS ABOUT TO WRECK THE NEW YORK CITY HOUSING MARKET?
On Facebook, a company called Roshan Properties posted dozens of listings stating “prefer Muslim boy,” “one double room is available for Muslims,” and “suitable for Punjabi boy.” A Meta spokesman told Fox News Digital that Facebook then removed the company’s page “for violating the platform’s policies on discriminatory practices.”
Apartment buildings in Westminster, London, U.K. (John Keeble/Getty Images)
The ads run afoul of Britain’s Equality Act 2010, which prohibits discrimination based on religion or belief, race and other protected characteristics.
“These adverts are disgusting and anti-British. It goes without saying that there would be a national outrage if the tables were turned,” Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s economic spokesman, told The Telegraph. “All forms of racism are unacceptable, and no religious group should get a special exemption to discriminate in this way.”
Houses and properties line Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, London, U.K. Some landlords in the city are illegally advertising for “Muslim only” tenants across the city, an investigation by The Telegraph has found. (Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images)
One landlord told The Telegraph to “go away” when asked about an ad for a “Muslims only” room for $1,150, and whether it was available to renters of other faiths.
A spokesperson for Gumtree told the newspaper that the company has clear policies in place that prohibit unlawful discrimination.
On Facebook, a company called Roshan Properties posted dozens of listings stating “prefer Muslim boy,” (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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“We take reports of inappropriate listings very seriously,” the spokesperson said. “The ads referenced appear to relate to private rooms within shared homes, where existing occupants may express preferences about who they live with. This is different from renting out an entire property, which is subject to stricter rules under the Equality Act.”
Telegram did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
World
Is Europe too late to the metal recycling game?
Europe’s critical raw materials crisis has a partial answer sitting in the waste stream — but the continent has been too slow to see it.
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Dorota Włoch, CEO of Eneris Surowce, was direct: recycling is no longer optional.
Unlike plastics, metals can be recovered and reused indefinitely, making urban mining — the recovery of raw materials from existing products and waste — increasingly valuable, particularly for batteries.
“From recycling, we recover metallic aluminium and so-called black mass, which is a concentrate of metals, mainly cobalt-nickel. These are some of the most valuable battery metals. And batteries are crucial today, not only in the automotive sector, but also in storing energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar,” she said.
‘Europe is 25 years late’
Włoch put the scale of the problem plainly. “Deposits are critical — any machine can be bought, but natural resources are not. They are non-transferable and non-renewable. If we use them, they simply disappear,” she said.
Europe’s belated recognition of that reality has cost it dearly.
“The regulation of critical raw materials came 25 years after other regions of the world had invested heavily in deposits. Europe was too passive. Today we are catching up, but the regulations are often so demanding that countries like Poland have difficulty implementing them.”
Who benefits most from extraction?
Poland holds significant reserves of raw materials critical to the modern economy, such as copper, coking coal, nickel, platinum group metals, helium, rhenium, lead and silver.
But the minerals needed most for the energy transition, such as lithium, cobalt and graphite, exist only in limited quantities, forcing imports.
Arkadiusz Kustra, dean of the faculty of civil engineering and resource management at AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, told a panel at the European Economic Congress that awareness of the full supply chain, and who profits from it, was now essential.
He pointed to Serbia as a case study.
“Serbia has lithium deposits and is already in talks with Mercedes or Stellantis,” he said. Belgrade is using that leverage to attract investment in battery factories and car plants, keeping more of the value chain at home.
The goal, Kustra argued, should be regional supply chains that retain added value locally.
“You can earn the least at the beginning and the most from the end customer,” he said.
The bigger obstacle is Chinese dominance.
“Margins in critical raw materials largely go to the Chinese, who control more than 90% of processing and trading, even though they do not own most of the deposits,” he said.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo — among the world’s most resource-rich countries — Chinese entities control around 90% of deposits.
The panel also pointed to growing interest in new supply partnerships, with Poland eyeing assets in the Congo region and the Americas.
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