France

April 10, 2018

Shifting sands of scientific progress

The economic, commercial and geo-political status of nations is derived from their scientific and technological prowess. A new report charts how this balance of power…

January 25, 2018

Opération Séduction: a week in the life of the President

Emmanuel Macron continues to surf the wave that swept him to power in the French presidential election in 2017. John Egan reviews a week in…

October 5, 2017

Europe: two steps forward one step back

A slightly diminished Merkel could not have wished for anything better in her changed circumstances than an ambitious, reform-minded and determined French partner, Geoff Kitney…

October 2, 2017

Brexit: university manoeuvres

A French revolution sees a new grouping of top universities prepare to take on the world, Aban Contractor reports from Paris. The discussions that followed…

September 2, 2017

Macron returns to reform

C’est la rentrée. It is the time when France sees the annual migration of its people returning from rural or maritime retreats to the great…

July 17, 2017

The interests of nations determine economic alliances

Britain be warned: Donald Trump is beginning to understand that US interests are far greater in a market of 500 million people than 80 million,…

June 30, 2017

‘Consumptivity’: the heartbeat of a modern economy

At the heart of a modern economy there beats a pacemaker with a rhythm that in large part sets its productivity, its exchange rates and…

June 22, 2017

A good time to be young in Europe?

This is the time to future proof the European Union, writes Geoff Kitney. For Anglophiles, these are disconcerting times. In their worldview, recent political events…

June 1, 2017

Rejecting the future

The United States and Britian have turned inward and away from their places in the international order. Germany and France are preparing to take their…

May 12, 2017

Love minus zero and probably still no limit

May and Macron are treading diverging paths in the ever-complex Brexit era, writes Geoff Kitney. Two events in recent days have perfectly captured the…

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Davis urges May to publish detailed plan for EU ties ahead of Brussels
David Davis, the UK Brexit secretary, is urging prime minister Theresa May to get ahead of the EU by publishing detailed proposals for the future UK-EU relationship “as soon as possible” rather than waiting for Brussels to lay down its terms. Mr Davis’s allies have discussed Britain producing a document of more than 50 pages – possibly as early as next month – setting out detailed plans on issues such as a future customs relationship, financial services and regulation. Until now, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, has always been the first to produce drafts ot the legal texts that need to be negotiated in Brexit negotiations, effectively setting the agenda for talks. Financial Times, April 19

UK intelligence could be used for unlawful drone strikes: Amnesty
The UK risks violating international law through its support of lethal US drone strikes around the world, including sharing intelligence to help identify targets and the use of RAF bases, according to a report by Amnesty International. The human rights organisation says the UK is in danger of finding itself in breach of international human rights obligations. This can only increase with Donald Trump’s expansion of drone killings and the ditching of boundaries, however minimal, observed by the Obama administration. The report, published today, says: “The UK’s approach, therefore, seems to be one which grants a wide margin of discretion to the US government, despite the extremely problematic nature of the US drone programme and the legal basis (or lack thereof) under which it is conducted”. The Guardian, April 19

Govt accused of overcharging for citizenship
The Home Office has been accused of profiteering on citizenship applications from children born in the UK. Thousands of young people who are not British citizens despite being born in this country are among those who have to pay more than £1,000 when they apply, despite the cost of the process being less than £400. Other immigration fees charged by the Home Office are also much higher than the cost of handling them. The fees are criticised in a House of Lords report. “It is inequitable that the government should seek to make excessive profits out of those seeking naturalisation,” peers on the citizenship and civic engagement committee said. The Times, April 19

Plastic straw and cotton bud ban proposed
Plastic straws and cotton buds could be banned in England as part of the government’s bid to cut plastic waste. Announcing a consultation on a possible ban ministers said 8.5bn plastic straws were thrown away in the UK every year. The prime minister said plastic waste was “one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the world”. And Theresa May will urge leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which starts later, to follow the UK’s lead in tackling the problem. The Queen will formally open the summit at an event at Buckingham Palace attended by prime ministers and presidents from the 53 states that make up the organisation. BBC news, April 19

Narrow vocabulary ‘hits pupils’ grades’
Monosyllabic adolescents may be nothing new, but the latest research suggests a big chunk of them do not know enough words to do well at school. According to academics, four out of 10 pupils in their first year of secondary school have such a limited vocabulary that it is affecting their learning. Many teachers from the 800 secondaries involved in the Oxford University Press research say the problem is worsening. They blame the “word gap” on too little reading for pleasure. Studies suggest breadth of vocabulary is strongly influenced by the number of words a child comes into contact with on a daily basis. BBC news, April 19

Ministers suffer defeat on EU Withdrawal Bill
Peers have defeated the government on the issue of staying in a UK-EU customs union after Brexit. Lords voted by 348 to 225 in favour of a plan requiring ministers to report on steps to negotiate a continued union. Backing it, ex-EU Commissioner Lord Patten said the UK would be worse off unless current arrangements continued. Brexit minister Lord Callanan said it required the government to report on the steps taken towards an objective it has “clearly ruled out”. BBC news, April 18

Each Brexit scenario will leave Britain worse off
Each of the government’s four Brexit scenarios, including a bespoke deal, would leave Britain poorer and cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds each week, analysis has shown. The study for the think-tank Global Future by Jonathan Portes, a professor of economics and public policy at King’s College, London, found that a bespoke deal, the government’s preferred option, would have a net negative fiscal impact of about £40bn a year. Polling commissioned for study by Populus, which is run by David Cameron’s former strategy chief Andrew Cooper, found that voters, even those who backed Brexit, feared that leaving the European Union would come at “too high a price”. The Guardian, April 18

Brussels seeks emergency powers to prepare for hard Brexit
Brussels is issuing dozens of legal proposals on Brexit over the next 10 weeks, in a flurry of lawmaking to prepare the EU for a sharp break from the UK – partly by giving emergency powers to the bloc’s institutions. The European Commission has drafted 30-40 proposals to amend laws and give special powers to regulators so that the union can deal with a no-deal scenario, either on Brexit day in March 2019 or after a transition period. EU diplomats have been told the measures would cover a wide range of areas, with particular significance for trade quotas, the car industry, transport companies, the bloc’s space programme, financial services and professional qualifications. Financial Times, April 18

UK inflation falls to 2.5 per cent in March
UK consumer price inflation fell in March to 2.5 per cent, the lowest rate in a year, according to the Office for National Statistics. It fell from 2.7 per cent in February after prices for clothing and footwear, in particular womenswear, rose at a slower rate compared to this time last year. Alcohol and tobacco also helped ease inflation pressures. ONS head of inflation Mike Hardie said the new autumn Budget means tobacco duty rises no longer appear in March. BBC news, April 18

Facebook seeks facial recognition consent in EU
Facebook has started asking European and Canadian users to let it use facial recognition technology to identify them in photos and videos. Facebook originally began face-matching users outside Canada in 2011, but stopped doing so for EU citizens the following year after protests from regulators and privacy campaigners. The new request is one of several opt-in permissions being rolled out in advance of a new data privacy law. The move is likely to be controversial. BBC news, April 18