Le 78e Festival de Cannes dévoile sa sélection officielle

Qui montera les marches aux côtés de Robert De Niro, Tom Cruise et Juliette Binoche? A un mois de l’ouverture, les dirigeants du 78e Festival de Cannes en dévoilent jeudi la très attendue sélection officielle.Producteurs et cinéastes du monde entier ont mis les bouchées doubles pour terminer la post-production de leurs films avant la conférence de presse de la présidente du festival, Iris Knobloch, et de son délégué général, Thierry Frémaux, à 11H00 (09H00 GMT).Comme chaque année, les paris vont bon train. Parmi les prétendants, le réalisateur Terrence Malick, 81 ans, plus mystique que jamais, pourrait briguer une nouvelle Palme d’or 14 ans après “The Tree of Life”, avec un film en préparation depuis des années et inspiré des récits bibliques.Autres vétérans du Festival, Jim Jarmusch (“Broken Flowers”, “Dead Man”, “Only Lovers Left Alive”) pourrait faire son retour à 72 ans, avec un film réunissant Cate Blanchett et Adam Driver, ou Wes Anderson, 55 ans, qui a réuni dans son dernier film, une nouvelle fois, un contingent inégalé de stars, de Benicio Del Toro à Tom Hanks ou Scarlett Johansson.Cette dernière pourrait apporter un vent de fraîcheur en présentant à 40 ans son premier film de réalisatrice, “Eleanor The Great”. Elle n’est pas la seule actrice à tenter le passage à la réalisation: Kristen Stewart, 34 ans, vient également de tourner son premier long-métrage.- Sang neuf -Le nouveau maître de l’horreur américain Ari Aster, 38 ans, auteur des glaçants “Hérédité” et “Midsommar”, pourrait lui aussi apporter du sang neuf à Cannes, où il n’a encore jamais été sélectionné, avec une œuvre réunissant Joaquin Phoenix et Emma Stone.Trois réalisatrices françaises ont tourné avec des castings en or: Julia Ducournau (Palme d’or avec le très gore “Titane”) pour un nouveau film avec Golshifteh Farahani et Tahar Rahim, Rebecca Zlotowski (“Les enfants des autres”, “Une fille facile”) pour un drame avec Jodie Foster, et Alice Winocour pour un film sur la Fashion Week parisienne avec Angelina Jolie.Le festival pourrait ne pas résister non plus à sélectionner la comédie “Nouvelle Vague”, présentée comme un making-of du classique “A bout de souffle”, “dans le style et l’esprit de Godard”, et signé Richard Linklater (“Boyhood”). Comme chaque année, une vingtaine de films seront en compétition officielle, en lice pour succéder à “Anora”, la Palme d’or 2024.La présidence du jury a été confiée à Juliette Binoche, l’une des stars françaises les plus connues à l’international et une personnalité engagée, pour une édition qui se déroulera, du 13 au 24 mai, dans un contexte tendu, entre inquiétudes des artistes sur la présidence Trump et guerres, en Ukraine comme au Proche-Orient.A l’écran, Kirill Serebrennikov, Andrey Zvyagintsev ou le jeune Kantemir Balagov pourraient incarner la voix d’un cinéma russe contraint à l’exil.Juliette Binoche est aussi l’un des visages de MeToo et pourrait profiter de la tribune cannoise pour évoquer de nouveau le sujet, après avoir témoigné devant la commission d’enquête parlementaire française sur les violences dans le milieu culturel.- Tom Cruise et De Niro -La présidente de cette commission, la députée écologiste Sandrine Rousseau, a appelé le Festival de Cannes à devenir “le lieu de renversement des mentalités” sur les violences sexuelles dans le cinéma, en présentant son rapport final.Côté stars, certaines sont déjà assurées de fouler les marches cannoises, dont Tom Cruise, invité au lendemain de l’ouverture pour présenter hors compétition le dernier “Mission: Impossible”.Le film, qui doit signer la fin de la saga d’action, est l’un des blockbusters les plus attendus de l’année et s’annonce comme l’un des événements de la quinzaine, trois ans après l’arrivée de la vedette hollywoodienne de 62 ans sur la Croisette en hélicoptère pour “Top Gun: Maverick”.Il succèdera à une autre légende du cinéma américain, Robert De Niro (“Taxi Driver”, “Les affranchis”, “Le parrain 2”) , invité à recevoir une Palme d’or d’honneur lors de la cérémonie d’ouverture.Cette dernière, tout comme la cérémonie de clôture, sera animée par l’acteur et humoriste français Laurent Lafitte et retransmise sur Brut et France Télévisions.

Le 78e Festival de Cannes dévoile sa sélection officielle

Qui montera les marches aux côtés de Robert De Niro, Tom Cruise et Juliette Binoche? A un mois de l’ouverture, les dirigeants du 78e Festival de Cannes en dévoilent jeudi la très attendue sélection officielle.Producteurs et cinéastes du monde entier ont mis les bouchées doubles pour terminer la post-production de leurs films avant la conférence de presse de la présidente du festival, Iris Knobloch, et de son délégué général, Thierry Frémaux, à 11H00 (09H00 GMT).Comme chaque année, les paris vont bon train. Parmi les prétendants, le réalisateur Terrence Malick, 81 ans, plus mystique que jamais, pourrait briguer une nouvelle Palme d’or 14 ans après “The Tree of Life”, avec un film en préparation depuis des années et inspiré des récits bibliques.Autres vétérans du Festival, Jim Jarmusch (“Broken Flowers”, “Dead Man”, “Only Lovers Left Alive”) pourrait faire son retour à 72 ans, avec un film réunissant Cate Blanchett et Adam Driver, ou Wes Anderson, 55 ans, qui a réuni dans son dernier film, une nouvelle fois, un contingent inégalé de stars, de Benicio Del Toro à Tom Hanks ou Scarlett Johansson.Cette dernière pourrait apporter un vent de fraîcheur en présentant à 40 ans son premier film de réalisatrice, “Eleanor The Great”. Elle n’est pas la seule actrice à tenter le passage à la réalisation: Kristen Stewart, 34 ans, vient également de tourner son premier long-métrage.- Sang neuf -Le nouveau maître de l’horreur américain Ari Aster, 38 ans, auteur des glaçants “Hérédité” et “Midsommar”, pourrait lui aussi apporter du sang neuf à Cannes, où il n’a encore jamais été sélectionné, avec une œuvre réunissant Joaquin Phoenix et Emma Stone.Trois réalisatrices françaises ont tourné avec des castings en or: Julia Ducournau (Palme d’or avec le très gore “Titane”) pour un nouveau film avec Golshifteh Farahani et Tahar Rahim, Rebecca Zlotowski (“Les enfants des autres”, “Une fille facile”) pour un drame avec Jodie Foster, et Alice Winocour pour un film sur la Fashion Week parisienne avec Angelina Jolie.Le festival pourrait ne pas résister non plus à sélectionner la comédie “Nouvelle Vague”, présentée comme un making-of du classique “A bout de souffle”, “dans le style et l’esprit de Godard”, et signé Richard Linklater (“Boyhood”). Comme chaque année, une vingtaine de films seront en compétition officielle, en lice pour succéder à “Anora”, la Palme d’or 2024.La présidence du jury a été confiée à Juliette Binoche, l’une des stars françaises les plus connues à l’international et une personnalité engagée, pour une édition qui se déroulera, du 13 au 24 mai, dans un contexte tendu, entre inquiétudes des artistes sur la présidence Trump et guerres, en Ukraine comme au Proche-Orient.A l’écran, Kirill Serebrennikov, Andrey Zvyagintsev ou le jeune Kantemir Balagov pourraient incarner la voix d’un cinéma russe contraint à l’exil.Juliette Binoche est aussi l’un des visages de MeToo et pourrait profiter de la tribune cannoise pour évoquer de nouveau le sujet, après avoir témoigné devant la commission d’enquête parlementaire française sur les violences dans le milieu culturel.- Tom Cruise et De Niro -La présidente de cette commission, la députée écologiste Sandrine Rousseau, a appelé le Festival de Cannes à devenir “le lieu de renversement des mentalités” sur les violences sexuelles dans le cinéma, en présentant son rapport final.Côté stars, certaines sont déjà assurées de fouler les marches cannoises, dont Tom Cruise, invité au lendemain de l’ouverture pour présenter hors compétition le dernier “Mission: Impossible”.Le film, qui doit signer la fin de la saga d’action, est l’un des blockbusters les plus attendus de l’année et s’annonce comme l’un des événements de la quinzaine, trois ans après l’arrivée de la vedette hollywoodienne de 62 ans sur la Croisette en hélicoptère pour “Top Gun: Maverick”.Il succèdera à une autre légende du cinéma américain, Robert De Niro (“Taxi Driver”, “Les affranchis”, “Le parrain 2”) , invité à recevoir une Palme d’or d’honneur lors de la cérémonie d’ouverture.Cette dernière, tout comme la cérémonie de clôture, sera animée par l’acteur et humoriste français Laurent Lafitte et retransmise sur Brut et France Télévisions.

US House votes to limit judges’ injunction power

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to limit federal judges’ power to oppose President Donald Trump’s policies with injunctions, after the White House blasted such hurdles.Largely backed by Republicans with 219 votes in favor and 213 against, the draft law has almost no chance of passing the Senate, where Republicans hold a majority with 53 members, but not the 60 votes needed to overcome a potential filibuster.Wednesday’s bill would prevent district court judges from issuing rulings with nationwide effects, instead restricting their orders to only the parties in the case at hand.”We are taking on activist rulings and restoring the balance of power,” said Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, who authored the bill.The White House had on Tuesday backed the text, saying that “activist federal courts are weaponizing” injunctions “in an attempt to undermine President Trump’s legitimate powers.”Many of Trump’s executive orders since he began his second term have been challenged in court, with federal judges often suspending them in the belief that the president has overstepped his bounds — including at the expense of Congress.On Wednesday, federal judges in Texas and New York temporarily blocked expulsions of foreigners under a wartime law dating back to the 18th century.The Trump administration has used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expel alleged members of a Venezuelan gang without due process.In response to the rulings, the White House has stepped up attacks on the judiciary.Trump himself called in March for the impeachment of a federal judge who had ordered a halt to a deportation drive — drawing a rare rebuke from the Supreme Court’s chief justice John Roberts.

Trump stuns with tariff backtrack but hikes China rate to 125%

US President Donald Trump abruptly paused tariffs on most countries, sparking euphoria on global markets Thursday, but upped the ante on a brutal trade war with superpower rival China.After days of turmoil, stocks on Wall Street and across Asia saw huge surges in reaction to Trump’s announcement that he was halting a levy hike for almost all nations for 90 days.But Trump also said he was raising tariffs on China to 125 percent because of a “lack of respect.”Trump denied that he had backtracked on the tariffs, telling reporters that “you have to be flexible.””People were jumping a little bit out of line, they were getting yippy, a little bit afraid,” Trump said. “Yippy” is a term in sports to describe a loss of nerves.He said he had been watching the “very tricky” state of the crucial US bonds market before his decision.”I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy,” he said, as US bond yields rose during the stocks sell-off — a major economic red light as American sovereign government debt is normally seen as a safe haven for investors in troubled times.Trump also predicted that trade deals will be made with all countries, including China, which has for now, refused to roll back retaliatory tariffs on US goods.”A deal’s going to be made with China. A deal’s going to be made with every one of them,” Trump said, adding however that China’s leaders “don’t quite know how to go about it.”Trump also said that he “can’t imagine” increasing Chinese tariffs more than he has.- China duel -Markets have been on a rollercoaster ride since Trump’s announcement of sweeping global tariffs one week ago on what he called “Liberation Day” before his dramatic pause on Wednesday.Trump had imposed a 10 percent baseline tariffs on all countries which came into effect on Saturday, and higher rates on key trading partners like China and the European Union that he accused of cheating the United States, which activated on Wednesday.But as markets swayed yet again, Trump said in a surprise announcement on his Truth Social network that “I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE” on the higher tariffs, while the baseline 10 percent would remain.He said that he took the decision after more than 75 countries reached out to negotiate and did not retaliate.Japan — which had been slapped with 24 percent under the so-called reciprocal tariffs — said it welcomed the news but still “strongly” demanded that Washington reconsider other levies on its steel and auto exports.At the same time, Trump ramped up his confrontation with China, which has announced retaliatory tariffs of 84 percent on US imports from 12:01 pm (0401 GMT) on Thursday.Beijing said Washington’s steps pile “mistakes on top of mistakes”.The European Union had earlier launched its own counterattack, announcing measures targeting some US products from next week in retaliation for American duties on global steel and aluminum exports.The 27-nation bloc will hit more than 20 billion euros’ worth of US products, including soybeans, motorcycles and beauty products.But the EU notably did not retaliate against the separate “Liberation Day” tariffs of 20 percent that came into effect on Wednesday.- ‘BE COOL!’ -Wall Street stocks rocketed on Trump’s pause announcement.The S&P 500 surged 9.5 percent to 5,456.90, snapping a brutal run of losses over the past week.Markets in Asia on Thursday also rallied, with Hong Kong, Taipei, Australia and Tokyo surging on opening after days of losses.Stocks in Chinese economic powerhouse Shanghai were also up, despite Trump’s decision to further hike tariffs.And Indonesia’s benchmark stock index rallied nearly five percent higher at the open.Before his pivot, Trump said world leaders were rushing to negotiate “tailored” deals with the United States, with Japan and South Korea among those sending delegations to Washington.”I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass,” Trump told a dinner with fellow Republicans on Tuesday night.Trump believes his policy will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the United States.The billionaire former property tycoon has particularly raged against China, accusing it of excess production and “dumping” inexpensive goods on other economies.With the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies showing little signs of abating, China told tourists on Wednesday to “fully assess the risks” before travelling to the United States.Separately, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned against Chinese “threats” as he visited Panama, whose canal is at the center of a row between Beijing and Washington.burs-oho/tym

China consumer prices slump for second straight month: data

Consumer prices in China fell in March for the second straight month, official data showed Thursday, as the world’s second-largest economy struggles to boost spending and a trade war with the United States deepens.The drop comes as Beijing seeks to boost domestic consumption, which has yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels.The consumer price index (CPI) — a key measure of inflation — was down 0.1 percent year-on-year in March, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).The figure came in slightly lower than expected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg who predicted the index would remain unchanged.But the index’s decline narrowed from the 0.7 percent drop year-on-year in February.The past two months have reversed the 0.5 percent uptick seen in January, when a surge in spending during the Lunar New Year boosted inflation to its highest rate in months.The prices of food, tobacco and alcohol in March fell by 0.6 percent year-on-year.While deflation suggests the cost of goods is falling, it poses a threat to the broader economy as consumers tend to postpone purchases under such conditions, hoping for further reductions in prices.A lack of demand can then force companies to cut production, freeze hiring or lay off workers, while potentially also having to discount existing stocks — dampening profitability even as costs remain the same.Beijing unveiled a slew of measures to boost the economy last year, including cutting interest rates and cancelling restrictions on homebuying.China’s fragile recovery is also threatened by a trade war with the United States instigated by President Donald Trump, who further raised tariffs on China to 125 percent on Wednesday.”Deflationary pressure is persistent,” wrote Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, in a note.”The policy uncertainty in the US is still elevated,” he added.Premier Li Qiang in March announced a national growth target of “around five percent” for this year — the same as 2024.Many economists consider the goal to be ambitious given the headwinds facing China’s economy.

Hamas leadership operating behind veil of secrecy

After Israel killed a string of its leaders, Hamas anointed new commanders to top ranks, this time shrouding their identities in secrecy to protect them from assassination.Israel vowed to crush Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 attack, launching a blistering offensive in Gaza that has massively weakened the movement while reducing much of the territory to rubble.Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh, the head of its armed wing Mohammed Deif, and Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7 attack, have all been killed, as have a string of other commanders and political figures.Yet unlike its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, whose cult of personality around its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah was a key pillar of its identity, Hamas has placed less of an emphasis on its top ranks.The group has remained tight-lipped over the names of its top ranks, particularly the Ezzedine al-Qassam brigades. “The name of the head of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades will remain a secret,” said a source close to Hamas’s armed wing.Researchers say it is likely that the role was inherited by Yahya Sinwar’s younger brother Mohammed, whom Hamas put in charge of the hostages taken into Gaza in 2023.”Yahya Sinwar’s personality was rather unique” and militants viewed him as a “hero”, said Laetitia Bucaille, who teaches political sociology at the INALCO institute of Middle East studies in Paris.Mohammed Sinwar’s blood link to the slain commander, coupled with his own experience in the brigades, have conferred upon him an automatic authority, she said.- Collective leadership -Israel vowed after October 7 to eradicate Hamas, and while the movement has suffered staggering losses, it has not been crushed.According to Yasser Abu Heen, founder of the Gaza-based Safa news agency, the loss of so many of its leaders has impacted Hamas, “but only temporarily”.”These hits do not pose an existential crisis, Hamas has its own way of running its institutions,” he said. “Israel will not be able to eradicate it.” Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, a member of Hamas’s political bureau described how it acts as the movement’s executive arm, voting on decisions and then taking action.Political bureau membership is decided by the larger Shura Council, the equivalent of a parliament, he added.”We will not know the new leaders’ names. There’s a push to keep their identities secret, and to maintain a collective sense of power,” said Leila Seurat of the Arab Centre for Research and Political Studies in Paris.”This isn’t a movement based on a charismatic leadership.”While Hamas has survived thus far, it has yet to make the toughest decision of all concerning its future role in Gaza and in the Palestinian struggle for statehood.Reduced under daily bombardment, Hamas faces demands not just from Israel but from powers around the world and even from some Palestinians to give up power.- Dissent -The Palestinian Authority, whose decades of corruption contributed to Hamas’s ascent, has pitched itself as a credible ruling entity for the battered territory.Within Hamas, discussions are raging on whether to hand over power.According to sources cited by the Soufan Center in New York: “The internal debate has intensified to the point where some Hamas political leaders have considered breaking with the group’s military leaders in Gaza.”Hamas is no stranger to division, with Seurat pointing to crises in the past over a range of issues from the Arab Spring to the movement’s alliance with Iran.But the war with Israel has brought to a head frustration among ordinary Gazans sick of a conflict that has killed many thousands and reduced their territory to rubble.Musa Abu Marzouk, a leading Hamas figure involved in talks over the ceasefire with Israel, told The New York Times in late February that as far as he was concerned, “if it was expected that what happened would happen, there wouldn’t have been October 7”.In March, hundreds of people took to the streets of Gaza, chanting “Out, out, Hamas out!”, after a rare call to protest circulated via Telegram.”Some Palestinians want Hamas to go. Some have always been opposed, while others are just fed up,” said Seurat.Pressure alone will not work, however, because Hamas has no viable competitor, and the people of Gaza simply do not have the means to stand up to it.”They are still in control,” said Bucaille. “While Hamas has been weakened, no one can stand up to it for now.”