Pour Bayrou et le MoDem, le retour à l’ordinaire

Comme si de rien n’était… ou presque. Trois semaines après la chute de François Bayrou, le MoDem effectue sa traditionnelle rentrée politique ce week-end dans le Vaucluse, avec l’intention de peser sur les débats budgétaires à venir.Cette année, le parti centriste a délaissé le Morbihan pour prendre ses quartiers automnaux dans un centre de vacances de L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (Vaucluse). Au programme, débats et conférences, carte blanche au doyen Jean-Marie Vanlerenberghe (86 ans), qui vient de quitter le Sénat, activités ludiques comme les “foulées démocrates”, un footing le samedi à 06H30 du matin.Quelques invités extérieurs – l’enseignante Delphine Girard, l’essayiste David Djaïz, l’économiste Nicolas Bouzou…- sont attendus, dont des politiques: Gabriel Attal, Renaud Muselier, Juliette Méadel, Clara Chappaz… Sollicités, Hervé Marseille et Édouard Philippe n’étaient pas disponibles. Quant au très discret Premier ministre Sébastien Lecornu, espéré vendredi soir, sa venue n’était plus au programme à l’ouverture des travaux.Programme classique, donc… A ceci près que depuis la dernière rentrée du MoDem, François Bayrou a eu le temps d’être nommé à Matignon et d’en partir à peine neuf mois plus tard, après un vote de confiance, sollicité à la surprise générale, qui s’est soldé par une réponse cinglante des députés à qui il demandait un minimum de consensus sur le constat de l’impasse budgétaire.La rentrée du parti centriste constitue donc sa première prise de parole depuis la passation de pouvoir expéditive avec son successeur à Matignon. François Bayrou s’exprimera dimanche, après une brève introduction vendredi après-midi.”La situation -je ne veux pas faire de superlatifs- est pour moi la plus grave que la France ait rencontrée depuis soixante ans”, a-t-il déclaré à cette occasion.”Un pays qui refuse officiellement, par la voie de ses parlementaires (…) de reconnaître la réalité de la situation qu’elle doit affronter et d’envisager les yeux ouverts les décisions -acceptables- qu’elle doit prendre (…), avec des institutions discutées (…) politiques et judiciaires, ce pays-là a besoin de se réinventer”, a insisté l’ancien Premier ministre.- “Mode tortue” -Quant au MoDem, “on est là pour aider. Le jour où il y aura un gouvernement, on l’aidera de toutes nos forces”, a dit M. Bayrou. Officiellement, les cadres du MoDem sont soudés derrière leur patron, qui a entièrement façonné ce parti depuis sa création en 2007. Mais “pour en avoir discuté avec quelques figures du MoDem, ils l’ont là” (en travers de la gorge), expliquait récemment une ministre d’un parti allié.”Mais ils ne l’avoueront jamais. Le MoDem a une qualité certaine de ressaisissement dans les moments difficiles. C’est assez impressionnant. Même s’ils n’ont qu’une envie, se foutre sur la gueule, ils passent en mode tortue”, poursuit cette source.Quelques-uns, cependant, admettent à demi-mot une impression de “gâchis” d’un Premier ministre ayant sollicité la confiance sans vraiment la bâtir. D’un chef qui a choisi son moment et sa manière pour sortir de Matignon, avec un nombre très restreint de proches dans la confidence.Tous nourrissent l’espoir que le temps lui donnera raison sur l’urgence budgétaire. Et le MoDem compte bien peser dans les débats en portant les thèmes qu’il défend, parfois sans succès depuis le début de l’ère Macron.Dans un entretien aux Echos, le président du groupe à l’Assemblée, Marc Fesneau, a notamment prôné l’instauration d’un “impôt sur la fortune improductive, qui ressemble à l’ancien ISF, en excluant le patrimoine utile à l’économie”.Le groupe MoDem souhaite également une “hausse limitée de la flat tax” et la pérennisation de la contribution sur les hauts revenus “jusqu’à ce que le déficit soit revenu sous les 3% du PIB”.Sera-t-il entendu ? Sébastien Lecornu a en tout cas fermé la porte vendredi soir au retour de l’ISF et à la taxe Zucman, concédant néanmoins que “certains impôts augmenteront” dans sa copie initiale du budget.François Bayrou pourrait également verser ces questions fiscales au débat. Les yeux rivés sur 2027 ? Le désormais ancien Premier ministre balaie la question. La présidentielle n’est pas en jeu. En ajoutant néanmoins, hors micros: “personne ne peut dire à ce stade comment 2027 va se passer”.

Iran sanctions look set to return after last-ditch UN vote

Sweeping UN sanctions look likely to return on Iran despite a last-ditch effort on Friday by China and Russia to secure a delay to allow further talks, diplomats say.European powers were urging Iran to reverse a series of steps it took after Israel and the United States bombed its nuclear sites in June.Complaining that Iran has not complied with a landmark but moribund deal, the Europeans have triggered a return of sweeping UN sanctions — notably on its banking and oil sectors — that are set to take effect at the end of Saturday.China and Russia at a Security Council session on Friday put forward a draft resolution, seen by AFP, that would give another half year for talks, or until April 18, 2026.But diplomats said they did not expect it to receive the nine votes on the 15-member Security Council for passage.French President Emmanuel Macron met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday and said a deal was possible to avoid the sanctions, but that Iran had only hours left.One diplomat, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said late Thursday that the Europeans believed they had “done everything to try to move things,” but that Iran did not offer the desired flexibility.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday the Security Council vote was “a fleeting opportunity for the Council to say ‘No’ to confrontation and ‘Yes’ to cooperation.””Iran has put forward multiple proposals to keep the window for diplomacy open,” he wrote on X.France — speaking for itself, Germany and Britain — has told Iran it must allow full access to UN nuclear inspectors, immediately resume nuclear negotiations and offer transparency on highly enriched uranium, the whereabouts of which has been the subject of speculation.- ‘Illegal and irresponsible’ -The 2015 deal, negotiated during Barack Obama’s presidency, lifted sanctions in return for Iran drastically scaling back its controversial nuclear work.President Donald Trump in his first term withdrew from the deal and imposed sweeping unilateral US sanctions, while pushing the Europeans to do likewise.The Chinese and Russian draft resolution, in a reference to the United States, would call on all initial parties to the deal to “immediately resume negotiations.”On Thursday, Araghchi met his British counterpart, Yvette Cooper, to discuss the row.Araghchi “strongly criticized the position of the three European countries as unjustified, illegal and irresponsible,” the Iranian foreign ministry said.Steve Witkoff, Trump’s real estate friend and roving envoy who had been negotiating with Iran until Israel attacked, said Wednesday that Iran was in a “tough position” but also held out hope for a solution.”I think that we have no desire to hurt them. We have a desire, however, to either realize a permanent solution and negotiate around snapbacks,” Witkoff told the Concordia summit on the sidelines of the General Assembly.”If we can’t, then snapbacks will be what they are. They’re the right medicine,” Witkoff said.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech to the United Nations on Friday demanded the reimposition of the sanctions, calling on the world to “remain vigilant” on Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran has long contended that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, pointing to an edict by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and US intelligence has not concluded that the country has decided to build a nuclear weapon.But Israel, the United States and European countries have long been skeptical due to the country’s advanced nuclear work, believing it could quickly pursue a bomb if it so decided.Standing at the General Assembly rostrum this week, Pezeshkian showed pictures of people killed in the 12-day Israeli military campaign against Iran in June, which Tehran says killed more than 1,000 people.The United States joined in the campaign on June 22, striking several of Iran’s nuclear facilities.dt-abd-gw-sct/md

UN identifies 158 firms linked to Israeli settlements

The United Nations on Friday released a long-awaited update of its database of companies with activities in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories, listing 158 firms from 11 countries.UN rights chief Volker Turk has condemned as a war crime Israel’s policy of settlements on Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.While several companies including Alstom and Opodo had been removed from the non-exhaustive database, major firms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Motorola Solutions and TripAdvisor remained on the list. Contacted by AFP for their reaction, the companies have not so far responded.While most of the companies were based in Israel, others were based in Canada, China, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Britain and the United States.The report, from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), urged companies to “take appropriate action to address the adverse human rights impacts” of their activities.Turk said in a statement: “This report underscores the due diligence responsibility of businesses working in contexts of conflict to ensure their activities do not contribute to human rights abuses.”Israel denounced the report as “a document with no legal ground and far beyond the scope of the OHCHR”.The country’s UN office in Geneva added: “The OHCHR continues to misuse UN resources to tarnish Israel, proving that it is not able to execute its mandate in any adequate way.”We call on friends not to yield to this ugly attempt to blacklist Israeli firms.”- Mostly Israeli firms -The list was first produced in 2020 after a UN Human Rights Council resolution called for a database of firms that profited from business in illegally occupied Palestinian territory. The UN rights office was asked to list companies found to be taking part in any of 10 activities, including construction, surveillance, demolitions and destruction of agricultural land in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.Listing companies in the database was “not, and does not purport to be, a judicial or quasi-judicial process”, it stressed.Despite a requirement for the database to be updated annually, it has been revised just once before, in 2023, when some companies named in the original list were removed.Friday’s release marks the first update that includes fresh names.”A total of 68 new companies were added to the list published in 2023, while seven of those… were removed as they were no longer involved in any of the activities concerned,” the rights office said.- Contentious -The list is not exhaustive, the rights office said, acknowledging that it had only had time to review 215 of the 596 companies about which it received submissions.For this latest update it said it had prioritised companies with a direct physical link in the settlements, in the fields of construction, real estate, mining and quarries.The remainder will be assessed in future updates, it said.The exercise has been contentious from the start.In 2020, Israel and the United States  condemned the creation of the database.The then Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz slammed it as “a shameful surrender to pressure from countries and organisations who want to harm Israel”.Today, nearly two years into the war raging in Gaza, where Israel faces growing accusations of committing genocide, the issue has become even more contentious.Israel has controlled the West Bank since 1967 in an occupation considered illegal under international law.Violence in the West Bank has also soared since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel at the start of the Gaza war, even as Israeli government ministers have ramped up their calls to annex the West Bank.

UN identifies 158 firms linked to Israeli settlements

The United Nations on Friday released a long-awaited update of its database of companies with activities in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories, listing 158 firms from 11 countries.UN rights chief Volker Turk has condemned as a war crime Israel’s policy of settlements on Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.While several companies including Alstom and Opodo had been removed from the non-exhaustive database, major firms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Motorola Solutions and TripAdvisor remained on the list. Contacted by AFP for their reaction, the companies have not so far responded.While most of the companies were based in Israel, others were based in Canada, China, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Britain and the United States.The report, from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), urged companies to “take appropriate action to address the adverse human rights impacts” of their activities.Turk said in a statement: “This report underscores the due diligence responsibility of businesses working in contexts of conflict to ensure their activities do not contribute to human rights abuses.”Israel denounced the report as “a document with no legal ground and far beyond the scope of the OHCHR”.The country’s UN office in Geneva added: “The OHCHR continues to misuse UN resources to tarnish Israel, proving that it is not able to execute its mandate in any adequate way.”We call on friends not to yield to this ugly attempt to blacklist Israeli firms.”- Mostly Israeli firms -The list was first produced in 2020 after a UN Human Rights Council resolution called for a database of firms that profited from business in illegally occupied Palestinian territory. The UN rights office was asked to list companies found to be taking part in any of 10 activities, including construction, surveillance, demolitions and destruction of agricultural land in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.Listing companies in the database was “not, and does not purport to be, a judicial or quasi-judicial process”, it stressed.Despite a requirement for the database to be updated annually, it has been revised just once before, in 2023, when some companies named in the original list were removed.Friday’s release marks the first update that includes fresh names.”A total of 68 new companies were added to the list published in 2023, while seven of those… were removed as they were no longer involved in any of the activities concerned,” the rights office said.- Contentious -The list is not exhaustive, the rights office said, acknowledging that it had only had time to review 215 of the 596 companies about which it received submissions.For this latest update it said it had prioritised companies with a direct physical link in the settlements, in the fields of construction, real estate, mining and quarries.The remainder will be assessed in future updates, it said.The exercise has been contentious from the start.In 2020, Israel and the United States  condemned the creation of the database.The then Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz slammed it as “a shameful surrender to pressure from countries and organisations who want to harm Israel”.Today, nearly two years into the war raging in Gaza, where Israel faces growing accusations of committing genocide, the issue has become even more contentious.Israel has controlled the West Bank since 1967 in an occupation considered illegal under international law.Violence in the West Bank has also soared since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel at the start of the Gaza war, even as Israeli government ministers have ramped up their calls to annex the West Bank.

UN identifies 158 firms linked to Israeli settlements

The United Nations on Friday released a long-awaited update of its database of companies with activities in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories, listing 158 firms from 11 countries.UN rights chief Volker Turk has condemned as a war crime Israel’s policy of settlements on Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.While several companies including Alstom and Opodo had been removed from the non-exhaustive database, major firms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Motorola Solutions and TripAdvisor remained on the list. Contacted by AFP for their reaction, the companies have not so far responded.While most of the companies were based in Israel, others were based in Canada, China, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Britain and the United States.The report, from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), urged companies to “take appropriate action to address the adverse human rights impacts” of their activities.Turk said in a statement: “This report underscores the due diligence responsibility of businesses working in contexts of conflict to ensure their activities do not contribute to human rights abuses.”Israel denounced the report as “a document with no legal ground and far beyond the scope of the OHCHR”.The country’s UN office in Geneva added: “The OHCHR continues to misuse UN resources to tarnish Israel, proving that it is not able to execute its mandate in any adequate way.”We call on friends not to yield to this ugly attempt to blacklist Israeli firms.”- Mostly Israeli firms -The list was first produced in 2020 after a UN Human Rights Council resolution called for a database of firms that profited from business in illegally occupied Palestinian territory. The UN rights office was asked to list companies found to be taking part in any of 10 activities, including construction, surveillance, demolitions and destruction of agricultural land in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.Listing companies in the database was “not, and does not purport to be, a judicial or quasi-judicial process”, it stressed.Despite a requirement for the database to be updated annually, it has been revised just once before, in 2023, when some companies named in the original list were removed.Friday’s release marks the first update that includes fresh names.”A total of 68 new companies were added to the list published in 2023, while seven of those… were removed as they were no longer involved in any of the activities concerned,” the rights office said.- Contentious -The list is not exhaustive, the rights office said, acknowledging that it had only had time to review 215 of the 596 companies about which it received submissions.For this latest update it said it had prioritised companies with a direct physical link in the settlements, in the fields of construction, real estate, mining and quarries.The remainder will be assessed in future updates, it said.The exercise has been contentious from the start.In 2020, Israel and the United States  condemned the creation of the database.The then Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz slammed it as “a shameful surrender to pressure from countries and organisations who want to harm Israel”.Today, nearly two years into the war raging in Gaza, where Israel faces growing accusations of committing genocide, the issue has become even more contentious.Israel has controlled the West Bank since 1967 in an occupation considered illegal under international law.Violence in the West Bank has also soared since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel at the start of the Gaza war, even as Israeli government ministers have ramped up their calls to annex the West Bank.

UN identifies 158 firms linked to Israeli settlementsFri, 26 Sep 2025 16:19:35 GMT

The United Nations on Friday released a long-awaited update of its database of companies with activities in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories, listing 158 firms from 11 countries.UN rights chief Volker Turk has condemned as a war crime Israel’s policy of settlements on Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.While several companies including Alstom and …

UN identifies 158 firms linked to Israeli settlementsFri, 26 Sep 2025 16:19:35 GMT Read More »

Foot: avec la blessure de Marquinhos, le PSG touché sur toutes les lignes

La blessure de Marquinhos est un coup dur de plus pour le Paris SG, déjà handicapé en attaque et au milieu, à la veille de la réception d’Auxerre en Ligue 1 (21h05) et à quelques jours du déplacement à Barcelone.L’annonce, vendredi matin par communiqué, de l’absence du capitaine brésilien pour “plusieurs semaines” après une blessure au “quadriceps gauche” n’était presque pas surprenante tant l’effectif du PSG s’est peu à peu étiolé ces dernières semaines.Le défenseur central rejoint à l’infirmerie Ousmane Dembélé (cuisse), Désiré Doué (mollet) et Joao Neves (cuisse), qui “poursuivent leurs processus de rééducation”, selon le club. En revanche, Bradley Barcola ne figure plus dans la liste des blessés, lui qui, à cause d’une gêne musculaire à une cuisse, avait manqué le match à Marseille lundi (défaite 1-0). Il s’est entrainé vendredi matin lors de la séance collective, au cours de laquelle Fabian Ruiz a couru à part. C’est dès le déplacement à Marseille et non à l’entraînement ces derniers jours que Marquinhos s’est blessé. “Ca a été la dernière action du match contre Marseille (perdu 1-0 lundi), a relaté Luis Enrique. Il a ressenti une petite douleur, rien d’important, mais il faut être attentif et nous ne voulons prendre aucun risque.””Dommage pour nous parce que c’est notre capitaine”, a déploré l’entraîneur du PSG, conscient que l’expérience de Marquinhos pourrait manquer au moment d’aller défier le FC Barcelone, mercredi (21h00) pour le deuxième match de Ligue des champions de la saison. L’Espagnol s’est cependant attaché à relativiser cette litanie de blessures: “C’est le football, c’est la normalité, il faut s’adapter… Je ne suis pas préoccupé”.- Zabarnyi attendu au tournant -Les joueurs paient-ils le Mondial des clubs, terminé mi-juillet, et la reprise le 6 août? “Non, c’est la même chose que l’année dernière, je connais les journalistes, vous êtes préoccupés tout le temps, quand une équipe perd c’est la préparation physique qui est en cause et quand elle gagne c’est mental”, a raillé le coach.C’est Illya Zabarnyi, recruté cet été et qui effectue un début de saison solide, qui devrait remplacer Marquinhos, à moins d’une surprise Lucas Beraldo, qui a fait son retour le week-end dernier après son entorse contre Lens mi-septembre.Pour le reste, “l’adaptation” passera par les jeunes du centre de formation, situé en contre-bas des terrains d’entraînement de l’équipe première, au Campus PSG de Poissy (Yvelines). “Bien sûr qu’ils peuvent aider en cas de blessure. Il faut normaliser cet espace entre l’équipe de moins de 19 ans et l’équipe première”, a souligné Luis Enrique.La défaite contre le grand rival marseillais lundi, pour la première fois au Vélodrome en Ligue 1 depuis 2011, a frustré les Parisiens, d’autant qu’ils pensaient au départ assister à la cérémonie du Ballon d’Or, avant le report du match pour cause d’intempéries. “On n’a pas mérité de perdre, on s’est créé les occasions de but suffisantes pour marquer”, a-t-il jugé.- Le Ballon d’Or célébré samedi -Le PSG a néanmoins marqué le coup du Ballon d’Or attribué à Dembélé, qui dès mardi a apporté son trophée auprès de l’équipe. Luis Enrique lui a donné une accolade appuyée malgré sa clavicule récemment cassée, et toute l’équipe l’a fêté lors de la soirée de gala de la fondation du PSG mardi soir, selon les images du club.Le Parc des Princes aura l’occasion de fêter les lauréats samedi lors d’une présentation des trophées après le match: le Ballon d’Or, mais aussi le trophée Johan-Cruyff de meilleur entraîneur et celui de meilleur club.Le PSG, rejoint par Monaco, Lyon et Strasbourg en tête du championnat, espèrera alors, dans les minutes qui précèdent, avoir fait le travail contre Auxerre pour reprendre sa marche en avant.Interrogé sur les imprécisions de ses joueurs à Marseille, Luis Enrique ne s’est pas dérobé: “Si nous voulons gagner les deux prochains matches, surtout Barcelone, il ne faut pas rater de passes, sinon tu es mort”.Mais, et c’était peut-être son grand message du jour envers et contre les blessures et les méformes, “les joueurs ne sont pas des machines”.

Comey: ex-FBI chief on decade-long collision course with Trump

Donald Trump brands his opponent James Comey a “dirty cop.” At an imposing six feet, eight inches (two meters), Comey would likely call himself the ultimate tough cop.Abruptly fired from his post as FBI chief by Trump in 2017, Comey went into opposition, winning widespread praise for his independence — and engaging in a years-long feud that has now seen the 64-year-old indicted.Thursday’s charges of making false statements and obstruction of justice thrust Comey to the forefront of a broader and growing battle over Trump’s unprecedented efforts during his second term to amass power and to punish perceived enemies.But the feud is rooted all the way back in the opening days of Trump’s first presidency and shock 2016 election win against Democrat Hillary Clinton.Comey was four years through a standard 10-year term as FBI director when he sparked controversy on the eve of Election Day by issuing a damning assessment of Clinton’s use of a private, rather than government email server.No charges were brought. But Democrats say that bringing the FBI’s focus on the issue just as voters were about to go to the polls might have cost Clinton the tight contest.When Trump decided to keep Comey — who had been appointed by Democratic president Barack Obama — critics suspected that the FBI director was being rewarded by the Republican for damaging Clinton.But just months later, Comey clashed with Trump. In a March 2017 hearing followed live by millions around the world, Comey confirmed for the first time that the FBI was investigating Russian interference in the 2016 vote and possible collusion with Trump’s campaign.A furious Trump fired him in May 2017, overturning inbuilt protections against interference in the FBI and sparking outcry even among some prominent Republicans.- Tenacity and drama -Before coming to prominence for his fight with Trump, Comey was known for his tenacity at the head of the FBI.He locked horns with Silicon Valley magnates as he sought to force Apple to unlock a smartphone used by the perpetrator of a terror attack in California. The FBI’s own experts ended up breaking into the device.The Clinton emails investigation saw him attacked by Democrats, but he was widely respected within the FBI and credited for independence.The father of five began his career in New York and racked up experience as a federal prosecutor in New York and the Washington area. In 2003, he became deputy attorney general and by March 2004 plunged into the kind of high-profile national drama which would come to define his career.Comey had refused to sign off on extending a secret — and hugely controversial — domestic surveillance program that had been instituted after the September 11 terrorist attacks and was about to expire.With his boss, John Ashcroft, in hospital for emergency surgery, Comey was serving as acting attorney general.But two senior aides of then-president George W. Bush tried to circumvent Comey, rushing to see the ailing Ashcroft. Comey was alerted and also went to his boss’s bedside — and the backdoor bid was shut down.