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About 7 million people or 10.3% of people living in France in 2021 were immigrants, says national statistics agency INSEE. Compare that with 6.5% in 1968. About one third have acquired French citizenship. What this has done to French society is to shift sentiment away from protecting workers and families struggling with a cost of living crisis by splitting the vote of traditional parties supporting working class families. Shifting some of it to the far right anti-immigration parties that have emerged since 2010. This has added to the fracturing of society that happened from neglect of manufacturing communities across France as more manufacturing was concentrated overseas in  China. Neglect of rural areas and smaller towns, the emergence of tech hubs disconnected from the larger community across France has added to this. This is true of other European countries and a similar situation happened in the US. Denmark's prime minister is very candid about this, saying immigration of this type hurts the working class families in Denmark. Mette Frederiksen of the Social Democrats is the first to have clearly stated this problem and is providing a new way of protecting Danish workers and families from these social and technological changes in society from which they have no protection. President Biden in the US has also grasped clearly the dimensions and magnitude of the problems facing workers and families in the US. The problem is not limited to worker loss of income security, it affects the whole society and the public as a whole in other ways. Opportunistic politicians using anti-immigration appeals without a true commitment to democratic principles and ideas have tendencies that threaten democracy itself. This is the real danger of concentrating manufacturing in one country such as happened with China. And of neglecting rural areas and small towns. For this reason Frederiksen in Denmark, Biden in the US, and other leaders in Europe are looking for ways to send aid and industry promoting assistance to poor countries but restricting illegal immigration. This requires handling cultural issues which have further hit society with care- "with malice towards none, with charity for all," so that the focus can be kept on the real issues affecting workers and families of the cost of living crisis and a better life, better education, health care and public services for all, to improve the quality of living. It requires a new state of mindfulness from leaders in North America and Europe, as well as from allied countries of Asia, Latin America and Africa.  ...

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The Paris climate change agreement involved 195 countries. Agreed to on December 12, 2015 it was seen as a major step forward to limit global warming to 2 degrees celsius or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Progress has been slow in taking action since then. Because of covid 19 the Glasgow conference was cancelled. Hope stems from the goals set for carbon neutral economy of Japan, the EU, UK, China, and the U.S. as it enters the agreement after withdrawing.  Much will depend on action taken as the pandemic has pushed economic goals of recovery to the forefront. As India has shown in renewable energy, particularly in solar energy targets and bold vision, there is a lot that can be done by each country acting on its own without the hype of the agreement. India now sees huge opportunities in solar energy because it is cheaper and pollutes less than coal. This is a game changer that comes from investing in new technologies and taking advantage of India's abundant access to sunny weather and the lower labor and other costs. ...

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Under Chinese law and the rule of law as applied in China exit bans are placed on individuals or legal representatives of companies that have debt payments to make. This could be small debt amounts or large debt amounts, says this report in the WSJ.

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See this video on the acceleration of renewable energy from wind and solar in Europe with Spain and Germany taking the lead. Wind energy plays a dominant role in Spain. France lagging behind is planning to increase solar ten fold in a few years.

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Claire Moses reports for the NYT from Woudenberg, Netherlands, her home country. The 1.6 million cows on Dutch dairy farms are a leading producer of nitrogen emissions in the country. EU and Netherlands laws limiting these emissions would require a much smaller population of cows. To meet the cuts in emissions Dutch dairy farmers will have to significantly reduce their farming operations and number of cows in each farm. Netherlands is a major dairy farming nation with 8.2 billion euros of dairy exports including Edam and Gouda cheeses and 13.8 billion kilos of milk.  Dutch farmers have launched nitrogen protests for 2 years saying their livelihood is threatened. In a nation of 17 million people about 40% supports the farmers, but this support is declining with increasing impact of droughts and fires, impact on agriculture and transportation on rivers, takes its toll on Europe and the rest of the world. Netherlands has set aside $25 billion to aid farmers making the transition to a smaller nitrogen footprint. It also requires the Dutch to shift their diet to fewer animal proteins, to grain and other non animal proteins. ...

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French efforts to improve relations with Algeria. France gets 9.5% of its energy supplies from Algeria. French president Macron is visiting Algeria. France issues 75,000 visas to Algerians each year.

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China's effort to build a civilized internet targeting online abuse, "money worship," and celebrity fan groups, and to curb unhealthy cultural effects.

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One estimate fof US economic growth is for 4.6% growth in the third quarter for the US. The US economy is doing much better than expected, much better than either Germany or China in 2023, with the investment in infrastructure and renewable energy of the Biden administration.

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Washington Post analysis of data shows a map with urban locations with the most risk of extreme heat in the US. Urban locations with fewer trees, less grass, heat absorbing pavement can be 20 degree hotter, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Most of these locations are in the south, southwestern US.

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Harris will visit United Autoworkers Union Local 652 in Lansing to remind autoworkers of the support of president Joe Biden for the labor movement in the US. And for the efforts for restoring jobs and wages after decades of neglect by both previous Democratic and Republican administrations. Biden was the first US president to stand on a picket line inthe history of the US. Harris-Walz now look to unions and labor support, support of workers and families in the industrial midwestern states. For the first time old rust belt factories are being revived with new infrastructure renewal and new technologies products in a new concept that is tried for the first time at a scale of investments of billions of dollars that was never done before. This is the breakthrough that Biden and now Harris  are putting through as The Way Forward for a new generation and the Renewal of America.

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Lower income households in the US are buying in smaller quantities, buying less well known brands, and hunting for deals on staples, as consumers pullback from costlier name brands during a period of high inflation.