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Comment: Get cats sterilised early - even in rural France
Columnist Samantha David notes that under the new guidelines you can spay kittens from just eight weeks
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France's July 14 military parade: 'a national communion' or out of touch?
We look at how France reconciles republicanism with a seemingly authoritarian tradition
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Macron pledges billions in extra defence funding for French army
By 2027 the sum given to the military will have doubled from 2017, but the president did not lay out where extra funds will come from
Who will lead VI Republic?
What is going on in France today is unprecedented in the EU history. The majority of the population supports the gilets jaunes movement in one way or another.
A few weeks ago, President Macron addressed the nation with an open letter proposing national discussion of economic and social problems. Protesters don’t want to meet the government halfway. They just lost all the trust in their government.
Deep social and economic controversies have accumulated during the whole EU period. Sarkozy and Hollande left a troubled legacy to their successor. One of the crucial faults of Mr Macron is his political blindness: too young, too distant, he hasn’t been able to feel this approaching disaster. As a head of state, he cannot fulfil all demands of gilets jaunes. Even if he wanted to, that would create a dangerous precedent.
Sooner or later, the situation will lead to a political impasse.
Today proposals of serious constitutional changes exist. Jean-Luc Mélenchon and other politicians proposed projects of the 6th Republic, but hard times demand hard people. The most probable candidate for this role is Marine Le Pen, who is ready to carry out radical changes.
Paul Bénard, by email