Left-wing primary turnout exceeds expectations as candidates clash over Gaza
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The first round of the primary for the French left drew over 140,000 voters, a turnout high enough to leave the race open and the organizers surprised. The candidates are currently distinguished less by their domestic programs than by their vocabulary: a public rift has opened over whether to describe the situation in Gaza as a genocide.
Protests have closed 141 high schools across the country. The education minister, Édouard Geffray, offered to deploy 3,000 replacement teachers to the most affected schools, a gesture the CFDT union described as below expectations. The demonstrations have been marked by reports of police cars driving through crowds and the confiscation of protest signs; the NBA star Victor Wembanyama is the latest athlete to weigh in on the movement.
Deputies in the Assembly rejected a government proposal to close a tax loophole used by the ultra-rich to shield billions in assets. Elsewhere, eight staff members in Gennevilliers face trial following a Mediapart investigation into the physical and psychological abuse of autistic students during after-school activities.