Municipale de Villeneuve-Saint-Georges: trois listes au second tour, pas d’accord à gauche ni à droite

Aucun accord n’a été trouvé mardi à gauche comme à droite pour le second tour de la municipale anticipée de Villeneuve-Saint-Georges (Val-de-Marne), qui verra trois listes s’affronter: le député insoumis Louis Boyard fera face, sans l’alliance PCF-EELV-PS, à deux candidats de droite. La liste d’union de la gauche, arrivée en 3e position (20,70% des voix), a en effet annoncé mardi après-midi son retrait pour “faire barrage à la droite”, sans pour autant fusionner avec celle de M. Boyard (24,89%), arrivé en tête au premier tour.Pas de fusion non plus à droite: la liste de M. Boyard, 24 ans, fera face dimanche à celle emmenée par la candidate LR Kristell Niasme, arrivée deuxième au premier tour de l’élection avec 22,70% des voix, selon un arrêté de la préfecture du Val-de-Marne.Le maire sortant DVD Philippe Gaudin, arrivé quatrième du premier tour avec 15,54% des voix, présente lui aussi sa liste au second tour. Son salut nazi en plein conseil municipal en avril avait entraîné la démission de plusieurs conseillers municipaux et la tenue de cette élection anticipée.La tête de liste de l’alliance PCF-EELV-PS, le communiste Daniel Henry, a annoncé “avec l’assentiment de ses colistiers” qu’il retirait sa liste, sans fusionner avec celle de LFI, car “les conditions pour la fusion ne sont pas remplies”, a expliqué à l’AFP Jonathan Kienzlen, premier secrétaire fédéral du PS du Val-de-Marne, à l’issue d’une conférence de presse commune avec M. Henry.- “Absence manifeste de sincérité” -Parmi les raisons du désaccord, le refus du candidat insoumis de respecter la répartition à la proportionnelle des places, en fonction des résultats du premier tour, a accusé M. Kienzlen.”Ils nous proposaient 10 places contre 20 pour eux, ce n’est pas une négociation, c’est une reddition”, a-t-il déploré, en précisant appeler “à faire barrage à la droite” lors du second tour dimanche.”Nous avons également dit que certains profils sur la liste de Louis Boyard posaient problème”, a-t-il ajouté. Une référence à un colistier du candidat insoumis qui avait qualifié le Hamas de “résistance palestinienne” qui “répond au terrorisme d’État” israélien après les attaques du 7 octobre 2023.”Chercher un prétexte de personne sur une liste c’est juste un moyen de justifier la non-fusion”, a balayé le coordinateur insoumis Manuel Bompard.  Daniel Henry a indiqué pour sa part dans un communiqué que Louis Boyard l’avait informé mardi matin, qu’il souhaitait “exclure le Parti socialiste de l’accord”. “Cette exigence nouvelle, infondée, à mois de sept heures de la limite légale de dépôt des listes, était inacceptable”, écrit la tête de liste communiste, qui dénonce une “absence manifeste de sincérité pour obtenir la fusion”.Pas de quoi améliorer les relations nationales entre Insoumis et socialistes donc, alors que les premiers accusent déjà les seconds de trahison après leur refus de voter la censure du gouvernement Bayrou à l’Assemblée plus tôt dans le mois. “Honte à ceux qui ont refusé la fusion avec la liste de Louis Boyard (…) À l’heure où les députés PS refusent de voter la censure, on voit comment le changement d’alliance est engagé de la commune au pays”, a ainsi fustigé Jean-Luc Mélenchon sur X.

Ligue 1 : Fonseca à Lyon pour apporter son expérience

Le Portugais Paulo Fonseca sera bien le prochain entraîneur de Lyon en remplacement de Pierre Sage, avec l’objectif d’apporter son expérience pour permettre à l’OL de franchir un cap dans le jeu, atteindre le Top 4 de la Ligue 1 et entretenir l’espoir de gagner la Ligue Europa.”Sauf imprévu, oui Paulo sera notre prochain entraîneur. Il lui reste quelques petites choses à régler avec son club précédent (AC Milan ndlr), mais ça avance vite et nous espérons le voir cette semaine (à Lyon). Nous espérons pouvoir l’annoncer comme notre nouvel entraîneur cette semaine”, a confié le président de l’Olympique lyonnais John Textor lors d’un entretien mardi avec l’AFP.Sage (45 ans) a été démis de ses fonctions lundi alors que l’Olympique lyonnais est 6e en Ligue 1 à deux longueurs de Nice (4e) et 5e en C3 et doit gagner jeudi contre les Bulgares de Ludogorets pour se qualifier directement pour les 8e de finale tout en étant déjà assuré de jouer au moins les barrages.”Nous sommes toujours dans une position unique de pouvoir gagner la Ligue Europa”, a souligné M. Textor.Le timing est-il le bon avec deux rendez-vous importants cette semaine ? “Il n’y a jamais de mauvais moment pour prendre la bonne décision. Le timing parfait ne se présente jamais, donc je ne me soucie pas de savoir si j’ai pris la décision au bon moment ou non”, a assuré John Textor.- Limogé de l’AC Milan -Paulo Fonseca, âgé de 51 ans, limogé le 30 décembre de l’AC Milan où il avait signé en début de saison après avoir dirigé Lille (2022-2024), ne sera probablement pas encore sur le banc à l’occasion de la réception de Ludogorets jeudi “mais il sera au moins en ville cette semaine et dans le stade et il aura rencontré l’équipe d’ici là”, selon le président de l’OL.Il reste encore quelques détails à régler avec l’AC Milan, son ancien club”, a précisé ce dernier.Concernant la mise à l’écart de Pierre Sage, John Textor a rappelé qu’il y a un an, l’entraîneur avait “dû apaiser les esprits dans un vestiaire déjà installé et gérer l’alchimie complexe de l’intégration de nouveaux joueurs”. “Et, c’est clair aujourd’hui, avec le recul, qu’il était l’homme parfait pour ce boulot, et que l’on a vu sa magie opérer”, a reconnu le dirigeant lyonnais.”Mais il a beau avoir été l’homme parfait pour ce chapitre de l’histoire du club, il est devenu entraîneur récemment et l’OL est un grand club européen… Cette année nous avons relativement mal joué par rapport à notre potentiel”, a-t-il estimé.”Maintenant, il nous faut plus que de la magie. Nous avons besoin de préparation, de constance et de plus d’expérience” a souligné John Textor.- “Besoin de discipline” -A la question de savoir si les joueurs avaient une part de responsabilité dans le limogeage de Sage, le président lyonnais a estimé “que la préparation pour les matches n’était pas assez bonne”.”Je ne vois pas, par exemple, de bloc défensif bien organisé et je ne vois pas une exécution clinique par rapport à nos occasions”, a-t-il constaté.”Nous avons besoin d’un peu de discipline. Et c’est pourquoi je pense que l’expérience compte dans ce cas, et je pense que Paulo l’a”, a insisté John Textor.Fonseca a entraîné de grands clubs européens avec plus ou moins de réussite, comme Porto, l’AS Roma, le Shakhtar Donetsk ou l’AC Milan.Par ailleurs, le dirigeant lyonnais a assuré ne pas craindre de réaction hostile d’une partie du public, les groupes de supporters ultras notamment dont certains groupes ont déjà boycotté la cérémonie des voeux de l’OL qui leur est destinée.

Trump federal spending freeze sparks confusion, fury

The healthcare system for millions of low-income Americans and rafts of other programs were thrown into disarray Tuesday after President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on federal funding, a move opponents blasted as unconstitutional.It was Trump’s latest radical step since he took office a week ago, vowing to force the US government and its employees to back his right-wing political goals or face retribution.Potentially trillions of dollars in federal grants, loans and other aid were frozen by the White House order set to take effect Tuesday at 5:00 pm (2200 GMT), casting a shadow over everything from education to small businesses.Online portals used to access the Medicaid health insurance program for poor families and disabled individuals were quickly inaccessible.”This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed,” Oregon Senator Ron Wyden posted on X.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the website would be fixed soon and that “no payments have been affected.”She defended the drastic move as part of Trump’s bid to make the government “good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”The freeze is not a “blanket” stop on spending, but a tool to check that “every penny that is going out the door is not conflicting with the executive orders and actions that this president has taken,” Leavitt said.She said the temporary pause would not impact individual Americans but would instead target programs to weed out anything “illegal.”She listed as examples racial equality and climate change programs that Trump has vowed to eradicate — and did not answer a question about whether Medicaid recipients would be cut off.The extraordinary measure follows a similar freeze on most US foreign aid.- Constitutional challenge -The order, signed by acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Matthew Vaeth, did not make clear how such a pause on disbursements of funding will work or for how long.Several non-profit groups have filed suit in federal court seeking a temporary halt to the order until its legality is assessed.Federal spending included more than $3 trillion in financial assistance like grants and loans in fiscal year 2024 — all of which was approved by Congress.Democrats accused Trump of usurping Congress’ constitutionally mandated control over budget spending as part of a broader attempt to force the government to bend to his personal will.This has included firing independent government watchdogs and several career prosecutors who were involved in an official probe of his attempts to overthrow the 2020 election.The Trump administration says the funding stoppage is just a way to enforce compliance with the administration’s policies.This is “certainly within the confines of the law,” Leavitt said, citing the White House legal team, and claiming Trump “has the power to fire anyone” in the administration.- ‘Sweeping halt’ -Democratic Senator Patty Murray called the White House spending order “a brazen & illegal move.””The law is the law — Trump must immediately reverse course, follow the requirements of the law, & ensure the nation’s spending laws are implemented as Congress intended,” she posted on X.Another Democratic senator, Richard Blumenthal, said the “illegal” order will create “havoc” in medical and research facilities, which receive major government funding.The White House memo stated that “federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities.”It stated that Social Security and Medicare benefits — used by retirees — were excluded from the pause.Areas that might be impacted, it said, include “financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal” — references to racial equality and climate change programs that Trump has vowed to overturn.The Sierra Club, an environmental organization, said the freeze could jeopardize funding for everything from disaster relief to home heating subsidies, safe drinking water programs, and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.”In issuing a sweeping halt to federal funding, grants and loans, Donald Trump has… immediately and significantly put Americans in danger,” Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous.

New film explores radicalization from perspective of IS ‘Brides’

It has been 10 years since a teenage Shamima Begum and two friends secretly left Britain to marry Islamic State group fighters in Syria.Over the past decade Nadia Fall, a British theater director of Muslim heritage, has watched the polarizing and vitriolic debate about Begum’s infamous case, online radicalization, and who is to blame.”We kept thinking ‘well these are girls, these are children really, legally,'” said Fall, who began work on a film project with writer Suhayla El-Bushra.”The stories never really were (told) from their point of view.”The resulting new drama, “Brides,” which premiered at the US-based Sundance festival and is loosely inspired by their story, is an attempt to change that.As much a road movie about friendship as it is political, the film follows two fictional Muslim teenagers on their journey through Turkey, to Syria.”Brides” does not concern itself so much with what happens in Syria, but how and why the girls traveled there in the first place.Doe and Muna suffer racist bullying at school. They live in a neighborhood where graffiti scrawled on the wall says “Behead All Muslims.” Their parents are abusive, emotionally or physically.They convince each other that the men waiting for them in Syria will treat them with more respect than they experienced back home. “This is not an apologist film,” said Fall.But “teenage brains are hardwired to take risks,” and the girls “were duped” by shadowy online voices who falsely purported to represent Islam, she said.- ‘Empathize’ -The subject matter continues to be divisive.Last year, Begum lost a high-profile bid to appeal the stripping of her British citizenship.She was 15 years old when she travelled to Syria. Now 25, Begum has not been able to return from a refugee camp in northern Syria.Tabloid newspapers, who have consistently called Begum a “vile fanatic” who has “no place on our soil,” celebrated the latest court ruling.Rights groups argue that Begum should answer for any crimes in her home country.While the film’s characters are not specifically based on Begum, the influence is clear.Actress Safiyya Ingar grew up in London’s Hackney, “ten minutes from where those girls are from.”Co-star Ebada Hassan listened to a BBC podcast to study Begum’s infamous case.”I thought it was imperative to get a person’s point of view who’d been through that, instead of just using what I’ve seen in the media for this portrayal,” she said.”It was nice to hear her voice. I tried to empathize with her before filling these shoes. But, she added, “I’m not trying to pretend to be her — at all.”- ‘Monsters’ -Fall believes that young people including Begum have been treated differently by the UK government, legal system and media due to their faith and skin color.”We didn’t want to regurgitate stories about radicalization and so on. But we just thought it was our story to tell,” said Fall.Like most films at Sundance, the movie is up for sale to potential distributors.Fall believes the subject remains urgent, as the divisive forces that drove the girls’ terrible decisions are stronger than ever.”It’s not gone away, this idea of ‘us versus them’, ‘these people are different,’ and trying to exploit other people feeling marginalized,'” said Fall.”It doesn’t have to be Syria,” she warned.

New film explores radicalization from perspective of IS ‘Brides’

It has been 10 years since a teenage Shamima Begum and two friends secretly left Britain to marry Islamic State group fighters in Syria.Over the past decade Nadia Fall, a British theater director of Muslim heritage, has watched the polarizing and vitriolic debate about Begum’s infamous case, online radicalization, and who is to blame.”We kept thinking ‘well these are girls, these are children really, legally,'” said Fall, who began work on a film project with writer Suhayla El-Bushra.”The stories never really were (told) from their point of view.”The resulting new drama, “Brides,” which premiered at the US-based Sundance festival and is loosely inspired by their story, is an attempt to change that.As much a road movie about friendship as it is political, the film follows two fictional Muslim teenagers on their journey through Turkey, to Syria.”Brides” does not concern itself so much with what happens in Syria, but how and why the girls traveled there in the first place.Doe and Muna suffer racist bullying at school. They live in a neighborhood where graffiti scrawled on the wall says “Behead All Muslims.” Their parents are abusive, emotionally or physically.They convince each other that the men waiting for them in Syria will treat them with more respect than they experienced back home. “This is not an apologist film,” said Fall.But “teenage brains are hardwired to take risks,” and the girls “were duped” by shadowy online voices who falsely purported to represent Islam, she said.- ‘Empathize’ -The subject matter continues to be divisive.Last year, Begum lost a high-profile bid to appeal the stripping of her British citizenship.She was 15 years old when she travelled to Syria. Now 25, Begum has not been able to return from a refugee camp in northern Syria.Tabloid newspapers, who have consistently called Begum a “vile fanatic” who has “no place on our soil,” celebrated the latest court ruling.Rights groups argue that Begum should answer for any crimes in her home country.While the film’s characters are not specifically based on Begum, the influence is clear.Actress Safiyya Ingar grew up in London’s Hackney, “ten minutes from where those girls are from.”Co-star Ebada Hassan listened to a BBC podcast to study Begum’s infamous case.”I thought it was imperative to get a person’s point of view who’d been through that, instead of just using what I’ve seen in the media for this portrayal,” she said.”It was nice to hear her voice. I tried to empathize with her before filling these shoes. But, she added, “I’m not trying to pretend to be her — at all.”- ‘Monsters’ -Fall believes that young people including Begum have been treated differently by the UK government, legal system and media due to their faith and skin color.”We didn’t want to regurgitate stories about radicalization and so on. But we just thought it was our story to tell,” said Fall.Like most films at Sundance, the movie is up for sale to potential distributors.Fall believes the subject remains urgent, as the divisive forces that drove the girls’ terrible decisions are stronger than ever.”It’s not gone away, this idea of ‘us versus them’, ‘these people are different,’ and trying to exploit other people feeling marginalized,'” said Fall.”It doesn’t have to be Syria,” she warned.

White House urges TikTokers to apply for press passes

Donald Trump’s new press secretary on Tuesday invited TikTokers and podcasters to apply for White House press passes, in an effort to reach beyond the mainstream media that the US president often slams.In her first time at the White House podium, Karoline Leavitt said an additional seat for “new media voices” had been reserved at the front of the cramped briefing room.Trump has repeatedly criticized traditional media as the “enemy of the people,” and he credits a series of podcast appearances for aiding his return to the White House. “As the youngest press secretary in history, thanks to President Trump, I take great pride in opening up this room to new media voices,” the 27-year-old Leavitt told a packed briefing room.”Whether you are a TikTok content creator, a blogger, a podcaster, if you are producing legitimate news content… you will be allowed to apply for press credentials to this White House,” she said.The shake-up was more modest that some news organizations had feared, after the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. talked in November about “opening up” the press room.The 49 seats in the room are allocated to a number of news organizations, including AFP, that are members of the White House Correspondents Association.Reporters without seats are allowed to stand at the side if there is space — as they did for Leavitt’s packed-out debut on Tuesday.The new press secretary also vowed to hold reporters accountable for what she said were “lies” about Trump.”We know for a fact there have been lies that have been pushed by many legacy media outlets in this country about this president, about his family, and we will not accept that,” she said.The briefing at the iconic White House podium was Leavitt’s first since Trump was inaugurated eight days ago. She has so far largely spoken to conservative television outlets including Fox News.Trump sidestepped interviews with some major US TV networks during the election campaign, opting instead to speak to several largely right-wing podcasts including the hugely popular Joe Rogan Experience.