On Wednesday, Russia denounced the "militarization" of the European Union, the day after France tested a new intercontinental missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and being launched from a submarine, a test attended by President Emmanuel Macron.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “It is a strong and clear message... Europe is obsessed with the idea of militarization.” He added: “In the face of such aggressive actions and projects, Russia remains vigilant.”
On Tuesday morning, Macron supervised the experimental “first launch” of an intercontinental missile from a submarine, off the coast of the west of the country, according to what the Elysee Palace and the Ministry of the Armed Forces announced, speaking of a “strong and clear (...) message” to France’s opponents.
The head of an association in the Gironde department, southwest of France, was placed in pretrial detention, on Tuesday, as part of an open judicial investigation in Paris regarding suspicions about the arrival of funds to the Palestinian Hamas movement through humanitarian associations, according to what a judicial source told Agence France-Presse.
On Friday, the suspect was charged with Fawzi B., head of the Al-Baraka Association, and four other people. After the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecution requested his pretrial detention, the suspect asked to postpone the hearing to decide this procedure to prepare his defence. On Tuesday, he appeared before the Freedom and Detention Judge, who decided to detain him, according to the judicial source.
Five people were charged in Paris; Among them are two association presidents, Amal A. President of the Ensemble Sea Mew Association, and Fawzi B., with “financing a terrorist entity, specifically the Hamas movement,” “breach of trust within the framework of an organized gang,” and “laundering money resulting from breach of trust within the framework of an organized gang linked to a terrorist entity.”
On October 2, the US authorities announced the blacklisting of the heads of the two associations, in two separate statements issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, affiliated with the US Department of the Treasury and the US Department of Justice. According to Washington, Fawzi B. participated. A. hoped, over the years, to create a system that made it possible to collect more than two million dollars for the Hamas movement.
The office of French Prime Minister, Sebastien Le Cornu, announced that he will deliver a public speech on Wednesday evening, about the student protests taking place in the country, and other issues, including public finances. According to his office, Locorno will address “the situation in secondary schools, fuel prices, the agricultural crisis, as well as the country’s financial situation.”
The student demonstrators denounce the deteriorating condition of school buildings, the overcrowding of classrooms, and the absence of teachers without substitutes. They intend to organize new demonstrations on Thursday, despite the government's call for them to return to educational institutions for dialogue.
Tens of thousands took to the streets across France on Tuesday to demand improved conditions in secondary schools, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to hold an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and a number of key ministers, to find a solution to the crisis.
On Wednesday, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced the suspension of the use of stun grenades “in the context of protests by high school students,” in light of an incident that led to the amputation of the hand of a 15-year-old demonstrator. Nunez said on French radio RTL: “I am suspending its use during the movements of high school students until the truth is revealed about the circumstances of this case.”
