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France’s State Council overturns ban on radical climate group

France's top administrative court on Thursday struck down a government ban on an activist climate group that clashed with police in a battle that left two people in a coma.

Published: 9 November 2023 17:58 CET
France's State Council overturns ban on radical climate group
Demonstrators hold placards reading "We are the Uprisings" during a protest against the dissolution of Soulevements de la Terre (Uprisings of the Earth) in front on the France's Conseil d'Etat. Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP

An estimated 6,000 protesters took part in the March 25th demonstration over plans to build one of a series of new reservoirs near Sainte-Soline in western France.

The protest quickly turned into pitched battles with the around 3,000 police officers deployed to defend the site.

Two protesters spent several weeks in a coma, while around 30 officers were injured. Rights groups accused the police of excessive force.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government later shut down the Soulèvements de la Terre (Uprisings of the Earth) coalition, which was behind the protests, saying it incited violence by encouraging demonstrators to come equipped with metal bars and pétanque balls.

But the Conseil d’Etat (State Council) ruling on an appeal brought by SLT, struck out the June dissolution.

The council, which rules on the legality of decisions taken by the government and public bodies, ruled that “no incitement to violence against people could be blamed on Uprisings of the Earth”.

While adding that the group had engaged in “provocations and violence involving property”, it said the decision by Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin to ban SLT was not “suitable, necessary or proportional to the gravity of the disruption likely to be caused to public order”.

SLT is part of a new wave of more radical climate activist groups, including Extinction Rebellion, that say direct action is needed in response to insufficient efforts to combat climate change.

The Council said the decision to shut down a group or association was an infringement of the freedom of association.

Such a move was only justified if the group incited violence against people or property, sought to excuse violent actions or failed to moderate incitement to violence on social networks, it said.

SLT welcomed its unbanning on X, formerly Twitter, telling Darmanin to “take that!”.

The Council did however uphold the minister’s decision to use new powers to outlaw three other groups: one from the far right, one from the far left and another accused of spreading hatred in the name of fighting anti-Muslim sentiment.

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ECONOMY

S&P downgrades French credit rating in blow to Macron

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded France's credit score on Friday citing a deterioration in the country's budgetary position, a blow to Emmanuel Macron's government days before EU parliamentary elections.

Published: 1 June 2024 15:44 CEST
S&P downgrades French credit rating in blow to Macron

In a statement, the American credit assessor justified its decision to drop France’s long-term sovereign debt rating from “AA” to “AA-” on concerns over lower-than-expected growth.

It warned that “political fragmentation” would make it difficult for the government to implement planned reforms to balance public finances and forecast the budget deficit would remain above the targeted three percent of GDP in 2027.

The S&P’s first downgrade of France since 2013 puts the EU’s second-largest economy on par with the Czech Republic and Estonia but above Spain and Italy.

The announcement will sting for Macron, who has staked a reputation as an economic reformer capable of restoring France’s accounts after low growth and high spending.

The risk of a ratings downgrade had been looming for several quarters, with the previous “AA” assessment given a “negative outlook”.

The surprise slippage in the public deficit for 2023 to 5.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) instead of the expected 4.9 percent did not play in the government’s favour.

France’s general government debt will increase to about 112 percent of GDP by 2027, up from around 109 percent in 2023, “contrary to our previous expectations”, the agency added.

Responding to the downgrade decision, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire reaffirmed the government’s commitment to slashing the public deficit to below three percent by 2027.

“Our strategy remains the same: reindustrialise, achieve full employment and keep to our trajectory to get back under the three percent deficit in 2027,” he said in an interview with newspaper Le Parisien, insisting that nothing would change in the daily lives of the French.

Le Maire claimed the downgrade was primarily driven by the government’s abundant spending during the Covid pandemic to provide a lifeline to businesses and French households.

The main reason for the downgrade was because “we saved the French economy,” he said.

Government critics offered a different rationale.

“This is where the pitiful management of public finances by the Macron/Le Maire duo gets us!” Eric Ciotti, head of the right-wing Republicans party, wrote on social media platform X.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen called the Macron administration’s handling of public finances “catastrophic” and denounced the government as being “as incompetent as they are arrogant”.

A credit downgrade risks putting off investors and making it more difficult to pay off debt.

Earlier this year, influential ratings agencies Moody’s and Fitch spared handing France a lower note.

S&P also maintained its “stable” outlook for France on Friday on “expectations that real economic growth will accelerate and support the government’s budgetary consolidation”, albeit not enough to bring down its high debt-to-GDP ratio.

“S&P’s downgrading of France’s debt simply reflects an imperative that we are already aware of: the need to continue restoring our public finances,” Public Accounts Minister Thomas Cazenave wrote in a statement sent to AFP.

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