Due to a strike by air traffic controllers over their refusal to reform the pension system, the French General Administration of Civil Aviation asked companies to cancel 20% of their flights at Paris-Orly, Marseille, Toulouse and Bordeaux airports on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Friday, the French General Administration of Civil Aviation asked companies to cancel 20% of their flights at Paris-Orly, Marseille, Toulouse and Bordeaux airports on Tuesday and Wednesday due to a strike by air traffic controllers over their refusal to reform the pension system.
In the previous days, the General Administration had previously approved reductions in the flight program to align their number with the number of air traffic controllers and avoid further disruption.
The administration had warned that the cuts would continue throughout the weekend and into Monday, ahead of a new day of national mobilization scheduled for Tuesday.
Yesterday, Thursday, mass protests took place across France for the ninth day, protesting the passage of the retirement law without a parliamentary vote.
On Friday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced the arrest and interrogation of 457 demonstrators who participated in Thursday's protests.
Darmanin said, in televised statements to CNews, that the police dealt with a number of acts of violence, including 903 cases of setting fire to property and garbage bins in the capital, Paris.
He added that the confrontations that broke out between the protesters and the security forces resulted in the injury of 441 police and gendarmerie personnel, without revealing any cases among the demonstrators.
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that he was "ready to talk to union leaders as soon as the Constitutional Council takes its decision," according to the website.
On March 16, the government approved Macron's approval of the retirement age reform bill, without referring the final draft to a vote in the National Assembly.
The decision includes raising the retirement age for employees from 62 to 64 years.
After an activist fled to France Macron and Tabboune close the dispute and acknowledge a "misunderstanding"
The Elysee said that Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Abdelmadjid Tebboune had turned the page on the differences between the two countries, after Algeria accused French diplomats and security personnel of smuggling activist Amira Bourawi to France a few weeks ago via Tunisia, and confirmed their desire to continue to "strengthen bilateral cooperation."
On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian Abdelmadjid Tebboune turned the page on the recent diplomatic crisis between the two countries and announced their desire to continue "strengthening bilateral cooperation," according to the Elysee.
During a telephone conversation, the two presidents raised the "misunderstanding" related to the dispute over the French-Algerian activist Amira Bouraoui, and "agreed to strengthen communication channels to prevent the recurrence of this kind of unfortunate misunderstanding," according to the French presidency added in a statement.
Bouraoui was banned from traveling in Algeria after her release from prison there. She crossed the border into Tunisia by land last January and was then allowed to fly to France.
Algeria accused France of orchestrating Bouraoui's escape, including what Algeria and Tunisia described as crossing the border illegally to enter Tunisia, and exerting pressure on it to allow the activist to leave.
The Algerian ambassador to Paris was recalled for consultations, threatening months of improved relations between the two countries after French President Emmanuel Macron visited Algeria last year.
Tunisia has strengthened its relationship with Algeria, which it relies on for natural gas supplies, and which it says has helped it financially at a time when Tunisia is facing a crisis in the state budget.
Tunisian President Kais Saied sacked the foreign minister after Bouraoui left the country, in a move that many interpreted as linked to the case.
The trauma of French colonial rule in Algeria and the bitter war of independence that ended in 1962 has overshadowed relations between the two countries for decades and played a role in a diplomatic dispute that erupted last year.
Relations with Algeria became more important to France because the war in Ukraine led to increased demand in Europe for North African gas, as well as increased migration across the Mediterranean.
Meanwhile, Algeria is seeking to take advantage of high energy prices to attract European investments.
Spain: China is a global player and its voice must be heard in order to end the war in Ukraine
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says that China is a global player, and the world should listen to its voice in order to find a settlement to the war in Ukraine, since February 24, 2022.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the world should listen to China's voice for a settlement to the war in Ukraine.
Sanchez said at a press conference, Friday in Brussels, after a meeting of the European Council: "China is a global player, so naturally we must listen to its voice to see if we can put an end to this war and Ukraine can restore its territorial integrity."
Sancheth is scheduled to visit the Chinese capital on March 31 for talks with President Xi Jinping.
The meeting between the two leaders is expected to focus mostly on the conflict in Ukraine, where China has described itself as "non-aligned" and presented a 12-point peace plan while calling for a comprehensive ceasefire.
Sanchez has publicly supported Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace proposal, which includes demands for the return of Ukrainian lands to the status quo they were in before Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.