Could French Far-Right Local Election Gains Pave Way to the presidency?

Friday, March 27, 2026

In Hénin-Beaumont, a former mining town ringed by man-made mountains of coal refuse from a bygone age, the streets were nearly deserted on a recent morning in mid-March. Few braved the unrelenting rain to shop at the outdoor market, where sellers often outnumbered customers. Rachid laid out his cleaning products, pushing water from the roof of his sagging tent, a few metres from campaign posters of Mayor Steeve Briois. “He’s the same as the other politicians, no better, no worse,” said Rachid, who only provided his first name. “We only see them here at election time.” Signs... 

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The Gilets Roses or Pink Vests patrol the neighbourhoods

2 years after riots rocked France, these moms are still trying to keep the peace

Saturday, July 12, 2025

In the sprawling suburbs of Corbeil-Essonnes south of Paris, kids aged 10 to 13 years old are playing what seems to be an every-man-for-himself game of soccer in a town square. Two boys chasing the ball collide, causing one to twist his ankle and fall onto the pavement. Watching the kids play are members of the Gilets Roses, or “Pink Vests,” a group of mothers who since 2018 have patrolled the streets and tried to steer young people away from the tit-for-tat violence that has afflicted Paris, nearby towns and suburbs like this.  Read More

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Le Pen Banned from 2027 Elections: Justice or Conspiracy?

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

In a week of high political drama, far-right leader Marine Le Pen and her allies condemned the sentence she received last Monday for embezzling public funds as the culmination of a judicial witch hunt. Her protégé and National Rally President Jordan Bardella decried a “tyranny of judges.” Justices have since received death threats, and at least one judge is under police protection.  Read More

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Commentary

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The Hierarchy of Suffering * La Hiérarchie de Souffrances

Some tragedies are prized over others.  From the heroes we put on pedestals to our choice of commemorations, it is clear that some atrocities are engraved in our collective memory while others are all but ignored. In this article for MediaPart I argue (in French), that this hierarchy of suffering is part of a continuing pattern of inequality. Read More  Read More

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Archives

CHILD MORTALITY: A strategy that could help arrest its rise

Not far from the beaches and cafés of seaside Cape Town, is the township of Du Noon, where children play in rubbish-strewn streets near pools of stagnant water and lop-sided rows of outdoor toilets. “They play and eat without washing their hands, so it’s not healthy,” says local health care worker, Nontuthuzelo Debesse, who is […]

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Reportage

Could French Far-Right Local Election Gains Pave Way to the presidency?

In Hénin-Beaumont, a former mining town ringed by man-made mountains of coal refuse from a bygone age, the streets were nearly deserted on a recent morning in mid-March. Few braved the unrelenting rain to shop at the outdoor market, where sellers often outnumbered customers. Rachid laid out his cleaning products, pushing water from the roof […]