Intimate video blackmail: Gaël Perdriau indicted on Thursday

Yesterday, the mayor and president of the Saint-Etienne metropolitan area, the former LR Gaël Perdriau, was indicted for an intimate video blackmail case compromising his former centrist first deputy. According to a press release, the 50-year-old mayor, elected since 2014, was indicted for blackmail and placed under the status of an assisted witness for “embezzlement of public funds by a trustee of public authority.”

pcf: Roussel opens the congress in Marseille in a strong position this Friday

Fabien Roussel opens the Communist Party congress in Marseilles on Friday from a strong position. His recent statements about an “outdated” Nupes that should be expanded to the center-left cause some executives to misunderstand. Among these executives, some have said in publications how badly they feel about the hand extended to François Hollande's former Prime Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, and the questioning of the left alliance. Unfortunately for them, during an internal vote in January Roussel obtained a resounding plebiscite, crushing their policy text, also defended by former National Secretary Pierre Laurent, by 82% against 18%.

State visit to China: Macron meets Chinese students in Canton

Before a dinner with his counterpart Xi Jinping, on the last day of his state visit to China where the conflict in Ukraine dominated discussions, French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Chinese students this Friday in Canton (south). He is thus expected to attend Sun Yat-sen University, where he will “speak in front of more than 1,000 Chinese students” and answer their questions.

Attack: Israel hits Gaza and southern Lebanon

Israel says it is targeting Hamas targets in retaliation for the firing of dozens of rockets into its territory by attacking southern Lebanon and Gaza before dawn on Friday. After a relative lull in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the start of Ramadan on 23 March, these strikes are the latest episode in a sudden rise in tension in the Middle East since Wednesday. Around 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, wounding one person and causing material damage on Thursday, the day of the Jewish Passover, in an escalation on the Israeli-Lebanese front that has not been seen since 2006. The shootings took place the day after the Israeli police violently broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, with the aim of dislodging Palestinians who had barricaded themselves there.

Ukrainian grain exports: Sergei Lavrov should discuss the future of the agreement

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss the future of the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports today in Turkey. The implementation of the cereals agreement is one of the items on the agenda. In this agreement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was personally involved when it was signed in July 2022 in Istanbul. The agreement allows Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea despite the war.

IN SHORT

Green deputies won by voting for measures to support owners of cracked houses in connection with global warming. But on Thursday they failed to obtain a “food bonus” or a ban on private jets.

During a debate on pollution caused by private jets, Transport Minister Clément Beaune announced Thursday before the National Assembly that the government will propose an “increased eco-contribution” in 2024 for private commercial aviation.

A satellite took off from Florida on Thursday night to Friday. He has on board a new NASA instrument that will make it possible to measure air pollution over North America neighborhood by neighborhood, hour by hour.

After winning against Annecy (2-1), Toulouse qualified for the Coupe de France final against Nantes on Thursday with a goal from Farès Chaïbi scoring in the 85th minute.