This month, the news was marked in particular by the legislative elections in France, the decision of the American Supreme Court to revoke the federal right to abortion, again and again by the war in Ukraine but also… by the jubilee platinum from Queen Elizabeth II of England. “La Matinale” offers you an overview in ten drawings, classified according to the country of origin of the designers.
Delayed match, violence, intrusions, tear gas… The evening of Saturday May 31 turned into a fiasco on the sidelines of the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid. A failure that the French authorities initially attributed, against all evidence, to the only British supporters.
In the second round of legislative elections, Emmanuel Macron suffered a major political setback: the presidential coalition Together! (246 seats) only obtained a relative majority against the New Popular Ecological and Social Union (142 seats), several faithful of the Head of State were beaten and the National Rally achieved a historic score (89 seats).
Something unprecedented under the Fifth Republic, the Hemicycle will embody the complexity of a fragmented political landscape, and the executive will be forced to negotiate on each reform in order to be able to govern.
In the United States, abortion is no longer a federal right. The Supreme Court, dominated by conservative judges, challenged, Friday, June 24, the Roe v. Wade of 1973 and left it to the states to legislate on this issue; several (Missouri, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, etc.) have already announced that abortions are now illegal.
The British celebrated with four days of celebrations, from June 2 to 5, the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. With 70 years of reign, the sovereign has a record longevity. The 96-year-old stayed away from the festivities due to her declining health. She still made a surprise appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on the last day of the celebrations, to greet the crowd. And to the delight of the British, 75% of whom say they appreciate their queen, according to the YouGov institute.
After months of scandal, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson saved his post on Monday, June 6, by avoiding a vote of no confidence from his majority. The increasingly contested 57-year-old leader remains mired in the “partygate” affair, the parties held in Downing Street during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Boris Johnson had been booed during Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee festivities earlier this month.
Emmanuel Macron visited kyiv on June 16, between the two rounds of legislative elections, for the first time since the outbreak of the war. He was accompanied by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. All three assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of supporting his country’s “immediate candidate status for membership” in the European Union.
The war in Ukraine has just entered its fifth month, following the Russian invasion that began on February 24. To compensate for the very high loss of life, the Russian Parliament removed the age limit for enlistment; as for material losses, the capacities of the military-industrial sector to replenish arms stocks would still be quite robust.
The June 5 attack on a Catholic church in Owo, a town in southwestern Nigeria, by gunmen armed with explosives, left 40 people dead. This massacre sparked fear in the country and outrage from the international community, and was condemned by the United Nations and Pope Francis. For the Nigerian authorities, the attack would have been committed by the jihadist group Iswap, affiliated with the Islamic State organization.
The continuation of the war in Ukraine is causing serious concerns about global food security. In addition to the blockade of ports, in particular that of Odessa, from which in peacetime 95% of the production of Ukrainian grain exports leave, Moscow is accused of bombing warehouses and fields. After gas, wheat becomes a major weapon for Vladimir Putin.