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PROTESTS

Students blockade Paris schools in election protest

Students blockaded five schools in Paris on Tuesday to demonstrate their political concerns ahead of the second round of the Presidential elections on Sunday.

Students of Louis Le Grand high school in Paris block the entrance to their school to raise awareness of ecological and social issues
Students of Louis Le Grand high school in Paris block the entrance to their school to raise awareness of ecological and social issues. (Photo: Thomas Coex / AFP)

In addition to the five blockaded lycées, the université Paris 8 in Saint-Denis was closed “for security reasons”.

The students – who are too young to make their voices heard at the ballot box – were protesting against the options available to voters in the second round – where incumbent Emmanuel Macron takes on far-right leader Marine Le Pen – and follows earlier student protests at the Sorbonne.

Many were demonstrating in protest at what they saw as inadequate policies on climate change and social issues from both candidates in the final round of voting, as well as the lack of choice for the electorate.

“It is a continuation of what happened at the Sorbonne,” one student told AFP. “We want a third social round, because the two candidates qualified for the second round have no social or ecological programmes. 

“We want to give a new breath to this Fifth Republic a little at the end of the race.

“We are fed up with the fascist state. We are here against Marine Le Pen, against fascism, for the climate and against capitalism,” another student at the lycée Louis-le-Grand in the capital’s fifth arrondissement said.

“We have blocked all the entrances. We will stay there as long as possible.”

About 100 students blockaded the prestigious school. Some students chant slogans against the “Front National” – the former name of second-round candidate Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National party.

The blockades ended peacefully at the end of the day.

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POLITICS

Joint leader of Sweden’s Green Party announces resignation

Märta Stenevi, the embattled leader of Sweden's Green Party, has said she is resigning to focus on her mental health, her children and her partner.

Joint leader of Sweden's Green Party announces resignation

The decision comes less than three weeks after Stenevi took an indefinite period of sick leave, saying that she needed time to recover after a bruising period that saw the party launch an internal investigation into complaints about her management style.

There has also been extensive press coverage over the alleged conflict she has with Daniel Hellden, the man chosen as the party’s other leader at a conference in November. 

“This is a very difficult decision,” Stenevi told the Aftonbladet newspaper. “I put myself forward for reelection and received a renewed mandate from the congress, but I don’t believe I can be my best self right now and I don’t really know how long it will take to get back on my feet.”

“The party deserves better than to be in some kind of limbo, where one of the spokespeople [as the party calls its leaders] cannot fully carry out the role. And I need to focus on getting better again, being a good mum and a pleasant partner.”  

Writing on Instagram, Stenevi’s joint leader Daniel Helldén said that he was sorry to see Stenevi go. 

“I have respect for her decision, but personally I think it’s a real shame. I have very much enjoyed working together with Märtha,” he said. 

Stenevi said that the leaks to the media about complaints about her management style in the autumn had been difficult for her to handle. 

“It put me under enormous pressure. It wasn’t the media attention: I understand that you are going to be continually criticised and investigated, but what happened in the autumn was that there was a lot of anonymous briefing, so you didn’t know who you could trust or where it was coming from, and that made it much more difficult and much more draining.” 

When Stenevi went on sick leave last month, the party’s secretary, Katrin Wissing, told TT that her relationship with Daniel Helldén had not played a role in her departure.

“On the contrary, Daniel has been giving Märta extremely good support,” she said. 

Although Stenevi is resigning as party leader, she intends to remain in parliament is an MP, and has not decided to give up her career in politics. 

“When I’m back on track, I’ll see what happens, but I don’t feel completely finished with politics,” she said. “But this is the right decision, both for me, my family and my party.” 

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