Day 1964 (Monday) 24th October 2022

It was wonderfully warm and sunny this morning, it was 29 degrees on the balcony.

 

 

I worked with Anastasia this morning while Huw went up to do the pool and a few other odds and ends. Anastasia and I read some more Harry Potter and did some spelling – her spelling is phenomenal and she loves doing it. Anastasia’s grandmother is here, she flew in from Russia and it took her 36 hours to get here – thankfully she is staying for three months and Anastasia is very excited about it.

Sadly it clouded over in the afternoon but it was still warm and the clouds scattered later on.

 

Here’s what’s happening in France this week.

On the Agenda: What’s happening in France this week

From zombie events to holidays, a traffic warning, another strike day and a festival of chocolate - here's what is happening in France this week.

Published: 24 October 2022 08:46 CEST

'Zombie walks' are popular in France around Halloween. Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP

Monday

School holidays – French schools are on holiday for the Toussaint break this week and next week, so expect slightly different timetables at certain services such as leisure centres.

(More on this tomorrow)

No confidence votes – the French parliament will debate two motions of no-confidence in the government, proposed by the leftist Nupes alliance and the far-right Rassemblement National in response to the government using the power known as Article 49.3 to force through the budget. It is not expected that either of the confidence votes will gain the necessary majority.

Lola funeral – the funeral will be held in Pas-de-Calais for Lola, the 12-year-old girl whose murder shocked the nation when her body was found in a suitcase in Paris. Her parents have appealed for politicians to stop using her name for political gains.

Tuesday

Unemployment debate – debates begin in parliament of a proposal to change the rules around claiming unemployment benefits, another topic set to be extremely controversial.

Wednesday

Scholz visit – Emmanuel Macron hosts German chancellor Olaf Scholz for a visit at the Elysée, just days after a planned Franco-German parliamentary meeting was cancelled over disagreements on various issues. 

Thursday

Strike – the hardline CGT union has called a further one-day strike for professions including transport workers, teachers and crèche staff, power plant workers and waste collectors. The CGT-called action last week was poorly supported and resulted in only fairly minimal disruption, but this action could be more effective if other unions join in. 

Chocolate – in Paris the annual Salon du chocolat opens at Porte de Versailles – a five-day celebration of all things chocolate related.

Friday 

Traffic warning – Tuesday, November 1st is a public holiday and also represents one of the rare chances in 2022 for workers to ‘faire le pont‘ – i.e. take Monday off work and create a four-day weekend. For this reason traffic is expected to be heavier than normal on Friday evening, especially in the Paris region, as people head away for the weekend.

Saturday

Halloween – Halloween itself falls on a Monday this year (although the next day is a public holiday, so there’s no bar to parties) but Disneyland Paris has opted to hold its annual Halloween party on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets need to be reserved online. There are also ‘zombie walks’ in French cities including Lyon, Bordeaux and Toulouse on Saturday night, which are fun to either get involved in or just watch.

Sunday

Clocks change – Those in mainland France can have a lie-in on Sunday morning when clocks switch over to winter time at 2am on Sunday.

Don’t exploit her, parents of murdered girl tell French politicians

The parents of a French schoolgirl whose gruesome murder has shocked the country have urged right-wing politicians to stop exploiting her death for political ends.

Published: 24 October 2022 08:35 CEST

Protesters at a rally called by the far-right 'Institut pour la Justice'. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

A 24-year-old woman from Algeria with a history of psychiatric disorders has been charged with the rape and murder last week of the 12-year-old girl, identified only as “Lola”.

Investigators have established that the woman had overstayed a student visa and had failed to comply with a notice issued in August to leave France within 30 days.

Conservative and far-right parties have used the case to accuse President Emmanuel Macron’s government of failing to enforce immigration laws, arguing the strict application of deportation orders could have prevented the murder.

But her parents, who met with Macron earlier this week, on Friday pleaded with politicians to stop exploiting their daughter’s murder, after her photo was displayed at a far-right demonstration in Paris the day before.

In a statement sent to AFP on Friday, they called for an immediate end to “any use of the name and image of their child for political ends” so they could “honour the memory of their child in peace, respect and dignity”.

Photos and drawings of the girl have been posted widely across social media, with far-right activists using the case to berate the government over its record on illegal immigrants.

On Thursday, activists from far-right parties including Marine Le Pen’s National Rally and Eric Zemmour’s Reconquest took part in rallies in Paris in tribute to the victim, brandishing photos and portraits of her.

On Friday morning, worshippers at a mosque in Pessac, near Bordeaux in southwest France, discovered it had been defaced with slogans referring to the case and denouncing the government.

And police have opened an investigation after one of their officers, gave graphic details of the case in an interview with the television station BFMTV. The interview, filmed so as to conceal his identity, was broadcast Friday.

Dominique Sopo, president of anti-racism group SOS Racisme, has already denounced the “crass indecency” of what he described as the political exploitation of the case.

Alexandre Silva, the lawyer for the woman charged, has called for an end to the “misinformation” around the case.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Brussels summit on Friday, Macron said the family needed “the nation’s respect and affection”.

“Lola” is to be buried in the northern French town of Lillers on Monday.

On a much lighter note here are some more cats…