World Briefing: December 5, 2024

French lawmakers on Wednesday voted to oust the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier after just three months in office, a historic move which plunged the country further into political chaos. For the first time in over sixty years, the National Assembly lower house toppled the incumbent government, approving a no-confidence motion that had been proposed by the hard left but which crucially was backed by the far right headed by Marine Le Pen. Barnier's rapid ejection from office comes after snap parliamentary elections this summer which resulted in a hung parliament with no party having an overall majority and the far-right holding the key to the government's survival. President Emmanuel Macron now has the unenviable choice of picking a viable successor with over two years of his presidential term left. The National Assembly debated a motion brought by the hard left in a standoff over next year's austerity budget, after the prime minister on Monday forced through a social security financing bill without a vote. With the support of the far-right, a majority of 331 MPs in the 577-member chamber voted to oust the government. Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet confirmed Barnier would now have to "submit his resignation" to Macron and declared the session closed - France 24

Georgian police on Wednesday raided the offices of an opposition party and arrested its leader in an apparent attempt to squelch a wave of mass protests triggered by the governing party’s decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union. During the past six nights, riot police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, who threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the Georgian capital’s central boulevard. More than 300 protesters have been detained since Thursday and over 100 people have been treated for injuries. On Wednesday, the Coalition for Change opposition party said that police raided its offices and detained its leader, Nika Gvaramia. It shared a video showing several officers dragging Gvaramia into a car. Georgian media reported that police also raided the offices of several other opposition groups and non-government organizations - AP

Migrant workers in Saudi Arabia are facing widespread abuses across employment sectors and geographic regions, including at high-profile giga-projects funded by or linked to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. FIFA, the international football organization, is set to confirm Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 Men’s World Cup on December 11, without requiring proper human rights due diligence and binding commitments to prevent labor and other abuses. The 79-page report, “‘Die First, and I’ll Pay You Later’: Saudi Arabia’s ‘Giga-Projects’ Built on Widespread Labor Abuses,” documents widespread abuses against migrant workers, some of which may amount to situations of forced labor, including exorbitant recruitment fees, rampant wage theft, inadequate protections from extreme heat, restrictions on transferring jobs, and uninvestigated worker deaths. Saudi authorities have systematically failed to prevent or remedy these abuses, including at high-profile projects financed by its sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). “The human engine powering the construction of Saudi Arabia’s multibillion dollar giga-projects is the migrant workforce, who are facing widespread rights violations in Saudi Arabia without any recourse,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “FIFA’s fake evaluation process to award the 2034 World Cup without legally binding human rights commitments will come at an unimaginable human cost, including adverse intergenerational impacts on migrant workers and their families.” The report is based on interviews with more than 155 former and current migrant workers and families of deceased workers across employment sectors and regions.

Nearly 500 journalists are on strike at the Guardian and its sister paper, the Sunday-only Observer, to protest the planned sale of the Observer to a small digital startup. “We believe it's a total betrayal of the Guardian's values and promises that it's made," says Carole Cadwalladr, an investigative reporter and feature writer for the Observer. "The sale of the Observerto a loss-making startup is potentially the death of this historic brand." The strike, which starts Wednesday, is expected to last for two days this week and restart for a couple more days next week. Cadwalldr says the strike is intended to convince the Observer'sowner to slow down a process that the paper's union says is sprinting to a preordained conclusion. She says colleagues believe other suitors could emerge if further review shows the Guardian should divest itself of the Sunday paper. The Observer is a storied liberal title whose first issue came out on this date in 1791. It is believed to be the world's oldest Sunday paper. Its famous journalists include George Orwell. And it was central to the launch of the human rights group Amnesty International. The buyer is Tortoise Media, a well-regarded but small news outlet founded in 2019 and led by James Harding, the former director of BBC News and editor of The Times of London. Its tagline is "slow down, wise up." It promises to delve into what's driving the news rather than simply post the latest headlines. It has not yet turned a profit but has deep-pocketed backers, including the investment arm of the Thomson family that controls Reuters and owns the Globe and Mail newspaper in Canada - NPR

The Russian ruble dropped to 113 against the US dollar on November 28, its lowest level since the start of the war in Ukraine. It has since rallied slightly to 105 on December 4, but the ruble is still down around 8% against the dollar over the past month. This is not a one-off event; it is part of a developing crisis that is affecting Russia’s economy. But failure to act decisively risks further depreciation, which will only reduce confidence in the ruble even more. Analysts expect the central bank’s current interest rate of 21% to rise to stabilize the ruble and curb inflation. However, raising the rates will probably slow the economy. There is plenty for Putin to be concerned about. Falling export revenues, inflation and strained reserves all weaken Russia’s fiscal stability. And it looks as if Western economic sanctions are now having a significant effect on Russia’s ability to counter its economic difficulties - Asia Times

Mexican security forces captured more than a ton of fentanyl this week, marking the country’s largest synthetic opioid seizure, which officials on Wednesday said was equivalent to 20 million doses of the drug. It was the latest show of force in a crackdown on violence and illicit drugs by Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, ahead of the inauguration next month of President-elect Donald J. Trump. Mr. Trump has vowed to place steep tariffs on Mexico until the government stops drugs and migrants from crossing the border. Mexican authorities said officers confiscated 800 kilograms of fentanyl in a truck at a house in Sinaloa state, home of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel and a hub of fentanyl production, on Tuesday. Officials also seized chemical precursors used to make the synthetic drug, and another 300 kilos in a separate house, in addition to industrial mixers and scales - NYT

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has apologised and removed an episode of the animated American series Family Guy that references Tiananmen Square’s “Tank Man” from its in-flight entertainment system. In its reply to the Post on Tuesday night, Cathay Pacific apologised to affected customers after an internet user made a complaint on a social media page about content on the system that could potentially breach national security legislation. “We emphasise that the programme’s content does not represent Cathay Pacific’s standpoint and have immediately arranged to have the programme removed as soon as possible,” a spokesman for the carrier said - SCMP

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