LyrArc Article Gist
France's former president who preceded Macron was Francois Hollande of the Socialist party. Macron was a socialist party member from Amiens and a member of Hollande's cabinet, choosing to challenge Hollande with his own newly created party EN Marche just months before the election of  2016. This party is relabeled the Renaissance or Ensemble in 2024. Francois Hollande, 69 years, was elected in 2024 Assembly elections with 43% of the vote from Correze, and speaks for the NFP Front Populaire which defeated the Macron Ensemble and the RN National Rally to be the largest party in the National Assembly. Here he talks about the snap elections, the failure of Macron for working families struggling to make a living, and the responsibility to the French Nation of the Front Populaire, the need for cost of living actions to lift the burdens on working families, and the need to stand up for working people across the country. Today the NFP is the only party that calls for investing $140 billion in the French economy, in manufacturing, in infrastructure and public services, for climate change action. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Milan Cortina Olympics 2026 Medals table  Norway and Italy on top US France Germany Sweden France Switzerland and Austria Japan in top 10 for gold medals. Britain with 1 was surpassed by Australia with 2 gold medals.

LyrArc Article Gist
The world mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth.

LyrArc Article Gist
This is part of France 24's "A world confined" series. It shows testing in Germany with Centogene doing 50,000 tests and 7000 tests in Rostock. About 50 such companies are leading the testing effort in Germany making testing convenient and readily available. It also shows problems with testing in Russia, and the problems in developing countries such as Gabon where running water is lacking to wash hands, and in war torn Afghanistan where a large part of the population could be affected by coronavirus.

LyrArc Article Gist
A death in France  in Feb 2026 as France Unbowed groups and National Rally supporters fight about Gaza and other issues.

LyrArc Article Gist
78% of people in France and 60% in Italy say they have No Trust in Politics. Germany and the UK are at the same level at 55% and 56% saying they have No Trust in Politics. This finding is from the annual barometer by Sciences Po, CEVIPOF and Opinion Way conducted in Jan 2026. 76% of people say democracy has not worked well in France. Only 23% saying democracy works well in France is compared to 54% in Germany and 52% in UK saying democracy works well a umber that is down from high sixties in 2020. In Italy 40% say democracy works well making France and its experiment with Macron particularly egregious as even in its best days Macron only had 40% saying democracy works well in France. Macron's personal popularity is at lows of 15-20% in 2026 and dropped early in 2018 to 30% and never recovered. It appears that the talent pool for France Germany, UK, and Italy, is poor to get such abysmal ratings in the governance of the country.

LyrArc Article Gist
The Swiss National Bank gives up on its effort to maintain Swiss competitiveness by dropping the 2011 peg of 1.2 euros to the franc. That effort was becoming costlier as the central bank piled up hundreds of millions of euros on its balance sheet buying up euros to keep the value of the franc down. Investors have put money into francs as a safe haven since the 2008 financial crisis. By offering negative yields of 0.75% the central bank hoped to limit the damage with a surging franc. The franc went up by 15% on January 15, 2015, with the surprise announcement, and stocks of exporters declined sharply. The immediate decision was taken as the ECB planned to weaken the euro with a large quantitative easing program in its Dec. 22, 2015 meeting. The central bank said - "Recently the divergences between the monetary policies of the major currency areas have increased significantly- a trend that is likely to become even more pronounced." A December Swiss initiative was intended to force the Swiss National Bank to convert much of its foreign exchange holdings into gold, as public criticism of the large euro holdings increased with each currency market intervention. The SNB justified its peg to the euro and currency interventions saying that this gave the country's exporters time to make the transition to a stronger Swiss franc....

LyrArc Article Gist
 Iranian drone attacks and French British interception efforts - a report from the French armed forces staff about shortages in munitions. Drone attacks by Iran in first 2 weeks of Iran war are as follows- 590 on Qatar and Kuwait, 500 and 550 on Saudi and Israel, 1700 on UAE. A flood of low cost Shahed drones intended to overwhelm defenses is used by Iran. Drones can be launched from all parts of Iran including from the countryside in a country 3 times the size of France. The drones also cost little to produce in large numbers in Iran. Munitions cost and cost of aircraft usage, other costs of Navy, run to $12.7 billion for the US and US asks for another $200 billion from Congress. France uses 24 Rafale jets Britain 8 Typhoon jets in this report from French armed forces and French munitions supplies are an issue as the war progresses. France uses MICA missiles for interception made at a factory in Bourges central France, with limited supply.

LyrArc Article Gist
Frances tax system places 40% tax on single earner family with 2 children compared to 20% in the US. France debates how to pass the budget and how to meet budget shortfalls in revenue, where to tax. France's top tax bracket is already at 55%, the second highest in Europe, which does not make the job of setting taxes easier. Additional 1.9 billion euros was to be raised by raising the tax rate for families that had tax liability of 20% if they made over 250,000 euros. This has raised 400 million euros only in 2025. This editorial in the Washington Post is critical of the French tax structure and says it is not just the rich who end up with higher taxes. It says that the average French single worker gets to keep only 53% of income after taxes, whereas American average single worker who gets to keep 70%. The extra 20% could be what the American worker pays for health care if as in some cases health care has become so costly in the US as to cost more than a mortgage, as reported in the WSJ in January 2026. Can government buy healthcare more efficiently and distribute it than families on their own. In the case of pharmacy products would removing the power to negotiate  prices with pharmaceutical companies conducted in government run by special interest groups as happened under US president Bush make it so expensive to buy pharmaceutical products that the advantage of smaller taxes is destroyed by a perverse healthcare system run by special interest groups with help of lobbyists. This is just to show that yes the US tax system with lower taxes can fail when other things go wrong in managing crtical costs such as healthcare and housing.   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
French 2025 Bayrou budget compromise deficit of 5.4% target is a fragile one. Le Monde says PM Bayrou is dependent on the goodwill of his opponents the RN National Rally and the Partie Socialiste PS. Cutting the budget slightly is not popular with RN or PS and it remains a compromise to avoid the worst of not passing the budget for 2025, a responsibility the public places on all politicians and parties. As in Germany France with fragile coalitions and lack of clear voter support for one program, is not able to invest in its economy as Biden and Trump have done in the US, slowing growth in the European Union.

LyrArc Article Gist
French nuclear weapons numbers and new strategy integrated with Germany- Macron explains this from a Navy base in Crozon, France, March 2, 2026. With wars in Ukraine and in Iran Macron says he will expand the French nuclear weapons from 290 warheads, and starts a consultative strategy approach to work with Germany to extend France's nuclear weapons to cover other states like Germany and coordinate with Germany on military exercises for European defense. This also includes Britain.

LyrArc Article Gist
The US midterm elections as seen from Europe. This headline in FR24 says Mr. Trump's grip over the party is waning. In Pennsylvania's crucial Senate seat Trump supported an affluent TV health show host Mr. Oz who failed to beat a small town mayor Mr. Fetterman who turned this into a scrappy contest in every county in Pennsylvania. Fetterman saying he would fight for workers and families every step of the way. In race after race for governors and for Congress many of the more Trump loyal candidates did not do as well against Democrats who had learned that they need to put up a determined and scrappy fight for the working class and families.

LyrArc Article Gist
France's Finance Minister Michael Sapin introduces a no-austerity budget in September 2014 as France's growth is forecast at 0.4% in 204 and not reaching 2% till 2017. Sapin says "we have taken the decision to adapt the pace of deficit reduction to the situation in the country." The government will put off large parts of the 50 billion euros in cuts in spending towards the latter part of the period to 2017. Critics on the left say the cuts are undermining the social welfae model of France. President Hollande's popularity has declined to very low levels in 2014. Prime minister Valls wins support in the National Assembly for the government's strategy to tackle the economy and growth- increase business confidence and postpone cuts till the economy recovers by 2016.

LyrArc Article Gist
Macron's address to supporters in Paris following his win for a second term in office. Macron says the second term will not be one of continuity alone, it will be ambitious and take up new projects, be fairer to all segments of the people and "no one will be left by the wayside."

LyrArc Article Gist
Automobiles, aerospace, pharmaceuticals and energy helped France reduce its deficit. French exports increase in 2025 and deficit decreases- euros 614 billion in exports to 703 billion in imports in 2025. Deficit with Germany down to euros 5 billion. Yet there is aproblem with deficit with China- going from euros 100 billion in 2019 to 315 billion euros in 2025. This is a major problem for France as it has been for the US.

LyrArc Article Gist
Macron's unpopularity extends to a plan for new stained glass windows at Notre Dame. Strangely enough the unpopularity of Macron comes from an imperious perceived as arrogant attitude that was also the reason of the undoing of his predecessor Nicholas Sarkozy. Is there something about the concentration of power in the French presidential palace Elysee that leads to such behaviors.

This doesn't help France or Europe in 2025-2026 with France changing prime ministers every few months, just as Britain did in 2023-2034 this time with the Brexit ideas and attitudes of indifference even snubbing behaviors towards the European Union.