Support for Édouard Philippe, the leading candidate from the centrist bloc, has eroded, while his far-right and far-left rivals benefit.

© Sebastien Salom-Gomis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

From France to Brazil, voters are railing against the status quo, even as the politics of disenchantment make lasting change nearly impossible.

Activists call for people to make their anger known over poor public services including education and housing

Street protests sweeping Europe are expected to spread to Germany and reignite in France on Saturday, with police mobilised to stop potential looting and rioting on the fringes of what organisers hope will be peaceful rallies.

Weeks of, at times violent, student demonstrations have rocked Italy, Spain, Portugal, Albania and France, where activists on Halloween have again called for people to make their anger over the cost of living and deficient public services felt across the country.

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© Photograph: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images

Activists call for people to make their anger known over poor public services including education and housing

Street protests sweeping Europe are expected to spread to Germany and reignite in France on Saturday, with police mobilised to stop potential looting and rioting on the fringes of what organisers hope will be peaceful rallies.

Weeks of, at times violent, student demonstrations have rocked Italy, Spain, Portugal, Albania and France, where activists on Halloween have again called for people to make their anger over the cost of living and deficient public services felt across the country.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images

Some 69 people have been confirmed dead but the toll may rise further, with at least 70 people reported missing

Peunte begins by paying tribute to all affected by the incident.

He says that “at present, evidence points to a failure within Adif’s command and control centre,” but adds that investigators are still looking “to clarify what exactly happened.” He says he still has confidence in the system.

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© Photograph: Manu Fernández/AP

© Photograph: Manu Fernández/AP

© Photograph: Manu Fernández/AP

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Peunte begins by paying tribute to all affected by the incident.

He says that “at present, evidence points to a failure within Adif’s command and control centre,” but adds that investigators are still looking “to clarify what exactly happened.” He says he still has confidence in the system.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Manu Fernández/AP

© Photograph: Manu Fernández/AP

© Photograph: Manu Fernández/AP

‘Miracle’ cache of letters written by French scientist who died in ill-fated La Pérouse mission give personal account of 1785 voyage

As he prepared to climb the scaffolding to be publicly executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793, Louis XVI is reported to have asked: “Is there news of Monsieur de la Pérouse?”

He was referring to Jean-François de Galaup, the count of Pérouse, a naval officer and navigator whom the French king had dispatched in 1785 on a round-the-world scientific mission to rival discoveries made by the English explorer Captain James Cook.

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© Photograph: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy

© Photograph: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy

© Photograph: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy

Possible candidate to run World Economic Forum departs ECB nine months early, saying she wants to speak her mind about world affairs

Christine Lagarde, the eurozone’s top central banker, has said she is stepping down nine months early to speak her mind about world affairs and confront the “misrepresentation of the truth”.

Ending months of speculation about her future at the European Central Bank, Lagarde said she would quit her role as president in March rather than October next year because the rules of neutrality that governed her job prevented her from influencing debate about financial and economics affairs.

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© Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

© Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

© Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

The protests roiling the continent express feelings of generational futility.

The government promised to phase out an unpopular university admissions system by 2028. Student groups are pushing for more.

© Anne-Christine Poujoulat/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The move announced on Monday seeks to quell student anger after weeks of mass protests over education and living costs.

While the police kept a lid on vandalism, the huge number of protesters and France’s fraught politics suggest unrest could grow.

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After largely peaceful marches on Saturday, clashes broke out in the evening. But a large-scale police presence, 1,000 arrests and the rerouting of protest routes kept a lid on wholesale vandalism.

© Philippe Lopez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A movement that began with a few high schools has broadened to encompass labor unions and other activists.

© Dimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Clashes erupted in Paris as a mass march drew to a close Saturday, with more than 400,000 people rallying across France over school funding and soaring living costs in a fresh challenge to President Emmanuel Macron. Police made nearly 1,000 arrests, the government said.

Hope, dread and the final stretch to Election Day.

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Looters ravaged a storied commercial avenue in France’s second-largest city. Its merchants fear that more unrest could follow.

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It is hoped the factory-bred mosquitoes will be a long-term solution to the rapid spread of the disease-carrying insects

Idyllic French stays to suit the whole tribe – from hands-on activities and great kids' clubs to Michelin-starred menus