BELFORT, France: After four decades on the production line at French trainmaker Alstom, Claude Gemino had little sympathy for Emmanuel Macron when Brussels scotched the French president's hopes of creating a European rail champion.For Gemino and many co-workers at Alstom's Belfort factory, Macron's support for the blocked merger with Germany's Siemens signaled a readiness to put shareholders ahead of jobs and protecting France's fragile manufacturing sector.But the European Commission's veto last week has raised doubts about the president's industrial strategy as he battles to quell unrest over inequality and a perception he is indifferent to the struggles of France's working class.The workers' disdain for Macron's industrial plan reflects a broader lower-class anger at the former investment banker's reforms designed to liberalize and invigorate France's heavily regulated economy.Violent "yellow vest" anti-government protests have convulsed France for the past three months and raised … [Read more...] about Few tears shed by French workers after Macron’s Alstom dream is blocked
Shedding french bulldog
The French army trolled Trump for avoiding the rain after he cancelled a U.S. cemetery visit abroad
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2018/11/12/the-french-army-trolled-trump-for-avoiding-the-rain-after-he-cancelled-a-us-cemetery-visit-abroad/aisnemarne.jpg)
By Alex Horton The Washington Post Mon., Nov. 12, 2018 A century and some change after bugle calls for ceasefire drifted over European trench lines, the French launched a salvo. “There is rain, but it does not matter,” the French army said Monday on Twitter, alongside a photo of a rain-soaked recruit crawling through an obstacle. “We remain motivated.” The French were almost certainly trolling U.S. President Donald Trump two days after he cancelled a planned visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, ostensibly because of inclement weather. The verdant hillside shrine of arcing headstones marks the final resting place of 2,289 U.S. troops, many of whom were killed in the Battle of Belleau Wood. The names of 1,060 more who were never found are inscribed on a wall there. The White House cancelled the visit, which Trump would have made aboard the presidential helicopter Marine One, after it was determined that the conditions offered … [Read more...] about The French army trolled Trump for avoiding the rain after he cancelled a U.S. cemetery visit abroad
French Bulldog’s cute face exposes it to welfare risks: study
The popularity of the French Bulldog, known to suffer breathing problems due to the same flat face deemed its cutest feature, raises animal welfare concerns, researchers said Thursday. In Britain alone, demand for the short-muzzled, wide-eyed hound has soared, following a global fashion in small, flat-faced dogs. In 2013, 1.46 percent of all puppies born in Britain were French Bulldogs, up from 0.02 percent just 10 years earlier, a team wrote in the journal Canine Genetics and Epidemiology. "Frenchies", as they are also known, are predicted to become the most popular pedigree breed in the country "soon". "There is a worry that increased demand for the French Bulldog is damaging to these dogs' welfare because of the health risks associated with their extreme physical features," said study co-author Dan O'Neill of The Royal Veterinary College. These include the dogs' flat faces, bulging eyes, and the folds in their skin, which can give rise to conditions such as eye inflammation, eczema, … [Read more...] about French Bulldog’s cute face exposes it to welfare risks: study
News UAAP volleyball: No panic, just an intervention for NU Lady Bulldogs
MANILA, Philippines – When the first round of the UAAP Season 80 women's volleyball tournament ended, the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs appeared to be a lock to make it to the Final 4 for the first time since Season 77. The Lady Bulldogs compiled a 6-1 win-loss record, which included five-set wins over last year's finalists, the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles and defending champions De La Salle University Lady Spikers. They responded to a loss to Far Eastern University (FEU) by dismissing University of the Philippines (UP) in their last match of the first round, putting them at the No. 1 spot. No other team was in a better position heading to the second round. After all, NU needed just two more wins to assure themselves of at least a playoff for a semifinal spot. Just three weeks later, NU is in the midst of an absolutely disastrous stretch. They have not won a game in the second round. In fact, they have won a grand total of just two sets in their last four … [Read more...] about News UAAP volleyball: No panic, just an intervention for NU Lady Bulldogs
French vacation is a dog’s paradise
By SUSAN SAITER SULLIVAN The New York Times N. R. KLEINFIELD Fri., March 9, 2018 The idea of bringing Pip along on our vacation to France was so we would blend in. Of course we were thinking of him, too. Pip is our dog, a runaway rat terrier we adopted from a shelter. He has leftover anxiety from his past life and we worried that he would be stressed out in a kennel. But we admit that we had a selfish reason. We wanted to experience France more as temporary residents than obvious tourists. The French cherish dogs. Their high, uncompromising regard for them is pretty much world legend. Dogs are a mainstay of French public life. Almost everywhere the French go, dogs go. When you leave your house, you take your wallet, your keys, your dog. So our notion was that Pip would bestow French cred on us, inspire the French to view us almost as indigenous: a couple of locals. A dog, we figured, could offset a lot of inevitable touristy behaviour on our part. (As for … [Read more...] about French vacation is a dog’s paradise