This month, the news in France was marked by the movement of farmers, mobilized in particular to demand better incomes and a simplification of standards. Internationally, Donald Trump stunned by calling into question the principle of solidarity within NATO, and Iran and the United States embarked on a dangerous escalation of tensions. In nine drawings, “La Matinale” looks back at some of the highlights of the past month.
Suspension of the Ecophyto plan aimed at reducing the use of pesticides by 50% by 2030, placing under supervision of agents of the French Biodiversity Office, reduction of regulations on hedges… To respond to the anger of farmers , mobilized to demand decent incomes and working conditions, the government this month undermined several measures and mechanisms aimed at protecting biodiversity.
Donald Trump’s statements on Saturday February 10 were a reminder of what a possible second term for the Republican candidate would mean for the balance of power in the world. By suggesting that he would let Russia attack any NATO member that does not contribute sufficiently to the Alliance’s budget, his camp’s primary favorite is attacking one of the pillars of the common charter, Article 5, which establishes solidarity between the members of the organization.
It took almost a month for Emmanuel Macron and Gabriel Attal to finalize their government team on Thursday February 8. A record in the history of the Fifth Republic. Among the list of recruits completing the “pack” of ministers appointed on January 11, only one surprise: the return of former Minister of Justice Nicole Belloubet, appointed to the Ministry of Education in place of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, carried away by a succession of controversies and who finds her former portfolio limited to sports and the Olympic Games.
After more than seven months of opposition and suspense, France finally decided, Friday February 2, to ratify the AI Act. The draft European regulation on artificial intelligence was therefore unanimously validated by the ambassadors of the twenty-seven countries of the European Union meeting in Brussels. The European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, welcomed a “historic regulation, a world first”.
Three weeks after his appointment to Matignon, Gabriel Attal presented his government’s priorities to the National Assembly on Tuesday January 30. Multiplying the announcements, he outlined in particular a reform of low wages and “a supply shock” on housing, involving a revision of the SRU law. The “generalization” of the universal national service at the start of the 2026 school year was also mentioned, as well as that of wearing a uniform at school if its experiment is “conclusive”.
After the death of three soldiers in a drone attack in Jordan, the peak of a campaign of harassment of American troops by groups close to Iran, the United States responded on February 2 by bombing seven sites (four in Syria, three in Iraq) belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (the main Iranian armed force) and to pro-Iranian armed militias. B-1 bombers flying direct from the United States participated in the operation.
Two environmental activists threw soup on the armored glass protecting the Mona Lisa at the Louvre on Sunday January 28. They justified their action by their desire to promote “the right to healthy and sustainable food”. The action was claimed by Riposte Alimentaire, a collective which presents itself as “a French civil resistance campaign which aims to bring about a radical change in society on a climatic and social level”.
With its 365 meters long, 20 decks, 2,805 cabins and 40 restaurants, the new largest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, cast off from the port of Miami (Florida) on Saturday January 27, for her maiden voyage to the Caribbean. Registered in the Bahamas, it is the first ship of the American cruise giant to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The Icon of the Seas can accommodate 5,610 passengers and 2,350 crew members. Divided into eight different districts, it includes seven swimming pools, nine jacuzzis and a 17-meter-high waterfall…