CNN — A farmers’ protest party in the Netherlands has caused a shock after winning provincial elections this week just four years after their founding. Could their rise have wider implications? The Farmer-Citizen Movement or BoerburgerBeweging (BBB) grew out of mass demonstrations against the Dutch government’s environmental policies, protests that saw farmers using their tractors … Read more
France’s lower house of parliament suspended its session on Thursday after a far-right MP shouted, “Go back to Africa!” as a Black legislator from the far left asked a question about immigration. The comment created a huge commotion. The centrist government and left-wing alliance said it was an unacceptable racist slur. The far right argued … Read more
Paper ballots tucked in paper envelopes. No absentee voting, and no early voting either. French voters in Sunday’s presidential election are using and old-school system that has defied calls for more flexibility or modernization. As France’s 48.8 million voters are invited to choose between President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, here … Read more
French President Emmanuel Macron remains the favourite to win France‘s next election but six months before the polls he faces the uncomfortable situation of not knowing the identity of his main challenger. As the countdown begins to the first round on April 10 next year the centrist Macron can no longer be sure that the … Read more