French unions take Israel to court for restricting media access to Gaza

Two major journalism organisations have filed a legal complaint in Paris accusing the Israeli authorities of blocking French reporters from covering the war in Gaza – a move that could test how France applies its own press-freedom protections in an international conflict.


Issued on: 02/12/2025 - RFI

Mourners and colleagues holding 'press' signs surround the body of Al-Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, killed along with his cameraman Rami al-Refee in an Israeli strike during their coverage of Gaza's Al-Shati refugee camp, on 31 July 2024. © Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP

The National Union of Journalists (SNJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) confirmed on Tuesday that they had lodged a complaint for “obstruction of the freedom to practise journalism” at a Paris court.

They argue that Israel’s restrictions on media access, along with reported intimidation and violence against French journalists working in the region, amount not only to a breach of press freedom but potentially to war crimes.

Because the allegations concern French citizens, the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office (PNAT) is authorised to open an investigation.

In a 100-page submission – made public by FranceInfo – the unions say the case is the first to lean on France’s specific offence of obstructing journalistic freedom, and the first to urge prosecutors to consider its application in an international setting where, they argue, attacks on the media have become “structural”.

'Violation of humanitarian law'

“This complaint denounces a concerted, sometimes violent, obstruction preventing French journalists from working in the Palestinian Territories and undermining press freedom,” said lawyer Louise El Yafi, one of the legal representatives behind the filing.

Her colleague, solicitor Inès Davau, said the complaint also draws attention to rising risks faced by French reporters in the West Bank. “These attacks, which violate international humanitarian law, also constitute war crimes,” she added.

The unions’ action is further supported by a French journalist – working across several French-language outlets and requesting anonymity – who has filed his own complaint after allegedly being assaulted by settlers while reporting in the occupied territories.

Multiple cases linked to Gaza

This comes as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says more than 210 media workers have been killed since Israel launched its military operation in Gaza following the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023.

Press groups have repeatedly criticised Israel’s longstanding refusal to allow foreign journalists to enter Gaza independently, with only a small number permitted to join Israeli troops under tight supervision.

The Paris complaint arrives amid a swathe of other France-based legal actions linked to the conflict.

These include cases concerning Franco-Israeli soldiers serving in an elite IDF unit, the French arms manufacturer Eurolinks, and several Franco-Israelis accused of complicity in the crime of colonisation.

Separately, PNAT has already asked an investigating judge to examine potential war crimes in the deaths of two French children killed during Israeli airstrikes in Gaza in October 2023.

(with newswires)

Tens of thousands of Gazans need medical evacuation: MSF

Geneva (AFP) – A Doctors Without Borders official has pleaded for countries to open their doors to tens of thousands of Gazans in dire need of medical evacuation, warning that hundreds have already died waiting.

Issued on: 03/12/2025

RFI

Thousands of sick and wounded Gaza Palestinians need emergency evacuations, according to the MSF charity © - / AFP

"The need is really huge," said Hani Isleem, who coordinates medical evacuations from Gaza for the charity, known by its French acronym MSF.

The numbers taken in by countries so far remains "just a drop in the ocean", Isleem told AFP in an interview on Tuesday.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 8,000 patients have been evacuated out of Gaza since the war erupted following Hamas's attack inside Israel on October 7, 2023.

It says more than 16,500 patients still need treatment outside of the Palestinian territory.

A woman and her baby arrive in Geneva among 13 children and 51 family members moved from Gaza under medical evacuations © SALVATORE DI NOLFI / POOL/AFP


Speaking at the MSF headquarters in Geneva after accompanying seriously ill and injured Gaza children to Switzerland for treatment, Isleem said that number was based only on patients registered for medical evacuation and the true figure was higher.

"Our estimate is that it is three to four times that number," he said.

To date, over 30 countries have taken patients, but only a handful, including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, have accepted large numbers.

In Europe, Italy has taken over 200 patients, while large countries like France and Germany have taken none so far.

Evacuation pace slowing

Switzerland in November took in 20 Gaza children who arrived in two batches.

The 13 children aged two months to 16 years whom Isleem accompanied last week included four babies with severe congenital heart disease, as well as cancer patients and children requiring complex orthopaedic surgery.

Without the evacuation, some of those children would not have made it, he said, pointing out that the babies basically went straight to surgery after their arrival in Switzerland to avoid "irreversible damage".

Isleem lamented that as conditions in Gaza become more desperate, the pace of medical evacuations has slowed.

Initially, some 1,500 patients left each month on average, but after Israel in May 2024 closed the Rafah crossing into Egypt, the monthly average has dropped to around 70.

A US-brokered ceasefire that came into effect on October 10 has not seemed to speed up the process.

Nor, surprisingly, has a dramatic drop in Israeli evacuation refusals.

Isleem pointed out that the Israeli authorities' denial rate had plunged from an average of around 90 percent to just five percent in recent months, adding that this was still too high.

They should not "block any patients from leaving Gaza to access treatment", he said.

Stop the 'shopping list'

Despite these shifts, there has been no big uptick in evacuations, with 148 carried out in October and 71 last month, with only around 30 expected to take place in December, Isleem said.

The problem, he said, was the long and often "politicised" process for nations to accept Gaza's medical evacuees.

"Countries are taking a long time to decide or allocate the budget for these patients, but (they cannot) wait for this discussion to happen."

More than 900 people have died while waiting for evacuations from Gaza since October 2023 -- a figure Isleem said was an underestimate.

Another problem, Isleem warned, was that "99.9 percent of countries are asking for children".

"They are ignoring completely the adults (who also) need support and lifesaving aid," he said, pointing out that three quarters of those waiting for medical evacuations were over 18.

Governments also impose other criteria, including refusing patients with accompanying family members, and especially with any male siblings over 18.

Isleem urged countries to "stop this selection shopping list", and to "focus only on the needs and saving people's lives".

© 2025 AFP

'HIV-free generations': prevention drug rollout brings hope to South Africa

Ga-Rankuwa (South Africa) (South Africa) (AFP) – Kegoratile Aphane did not flinch when the needle pierced the skin of her right buttock, injecting a yellow-coloured drug touted as a revolution that could end the HIV pandemic.


Issued on: 03/12/2025 - RFI

A nurse holds a vial of Lenacapavir at a clinic north-west of. The drug has been shown overwhelmingly to reduce the risk of HIV transmission © Ihsaan Haffejee / AFP

The 32-year-old was among the very first South Africans -- and Africans -- to receive a dose of lenacapavir, a drug taken twice a year that has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV transmission by more than 99.9 percent, making it functionally akin to a powerful vaccine.

"I didn’t even feel any pain," she said with a relieved smile after receiving the two injections that form the first dose.

Five other patients received lenacapavir Tuesday at a clinic outside of Pretoria as part of an implementation study by a Wits University research unit and funded by the international health agency Unitaid, which works on ensuring equitable access to medical innovations.

The study would enrol 2,000 people and "follow them for at least a year to understand how this prevention option works in real life", according to the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (RHI)'s Saiqa Mullick.

'Life-changing'

With close to one in five adults living with HIV, South Africa has one of the highest rates in the world, and reported last year the highest number of new infections for any single country -- 170,000.

Until now, the best available prevention drug for HIV-negative people was through a daily pill.

The twice-yearly lenacapavir jab would be "life-changing", said the clinic’s manager Magdaline Ngwato, especially for young people who struggled to maintain the daily schedule of the pill and groups like sex workers or LGBTQ patients who wanted to be discreet.

"Now with the injection it will be fine, because you can do it secretly," she told AFP, adding that many people had already expressed interest.

"Even mothers said they will send their children to come get it," Ngwato enthused. "I think we are going to have a lot of HIV-free generations."

For Aphane, the decision to take the groundbreaking treatment was deeply personal.

"I just lost my mom in 2021 -- she was HIV positive," she told AFP with emotion.

"It's a very, very, very painful disease. So that's why I (am) so serious about this. Let me be safe and try this."

Twenty-year-old student Katlego, who asked to speak under a pseudonym, was "proud" to have received one of the very first doses.

A broader national rollout is expected next year, starting with 400,000 doses that would be received through a deal between lenacapavir's manufacturer Gilead Sciences and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS.

While lenacapavir currently costs around $28,000 a year in the United States, generic versions are expected to be available from 2027 at around $40 per year in more than 100 countries through agreements by Unitaid and the Gates Foundation with Indian pharmaceutical companies.

The rollout could usher in a different world for Aphane's daughters and future grandchildren, she said.

"The more they introduce, the more they talk about it, the more they show (it) everywhere, it will save lives," she said.

© 2025 AFP

Nigeria’s defence minister steps down as abductions trigger security emergency

Nigeria’s defence minister has resigned, as the country continues to grapple with a deepening security crisis marked by a surge in mass kidnappings of schoolchildren.


Issued on: 02/12/2025 - RFI

A signboard for St Mary's Private Catholic Secondary School stands at the entrance of the school in Papiri, Agwarra local government, Niger state, on 23 November 2025. AFP -

 IFEANYI IMMANUEL BAKWENYE

According to presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, Minister of Defence Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, stepped down with immediate effect on Monday.

The 63-year-old minister reportedly cited health reasons for his departure – a move that comes in the wake of President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a nationwide security emergency last week.

“His resignation comes amid President Tinubu’s declaration of a national security emergency, with plans to elaborate on its scope in due course,” Onanuga said in a statement.

The government has promised more detail soon on what this emergency will entail, but the message for now is that Abuja intends to move swiftly

Nigeria’s former Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar © Nigeria Presidency

Nigeria – Africa’s most populous nation and no stranger to security challenges – has been left scrambling after a spate of abductions that have seen hundreds of people, mostly schoolchildren, seized within just a few days last month.

The crisis has also drawn sharp international attention. In October, US President Donald Trump designated Nigeria a "Country of Particular Concern" for religious freedom violations, citing what he described as killings of Christians by “radical Islamists”.

He even went so far as to threaten military intervention. Abuja and independent security analysts have firmly rejected Washington’s claim, but it has undoubtedly put the spotlight back on Nigeria’s long-running instability.

Mass abductions

The most dramatic incident came on 21 November, when armed gangs stormed St Mary’s co-education school in north-central Nigeria, abducting more than 300 pupils, teachers and staff.

Fifty managed to escape, yet the remainder are still being held. On a high-profile visit to Kontagora in Niger state, national security adviser Nuhu Ribadu sought to reassure anxious families, saying: “The children are fine and will be back soon.”

Such kidnappings carry grim echoes of the 2014 Chibok schoolgirl abductions, when Boko Haram militants seized nearly 300 students from their dormitories – an episode that shocked the world and exposed the Nigerian government's limited reach in remote regions.

Since then, mass abductions have become common, usually driven by criminal gangs seeking quick ransom payments.

Jihadist campaign

Alongside the kidnappings, Nigeria has been battling a jihadist insurgency across its northwestern regions since 2009, adding yet another layer to the country’s complex security landscape.

Recent raids have targeted schoolchildren and teachers, worshippers and priests, a bride and her bridesmaids, farmers, women and children – a grim roll call that spans multiple states and communities.

In response, Tinubu’s government has ordered a major recruitment drive for both police and military personnel, suggesting a push to bolster security forces stretched thin across vast territories.

(with newswires)

Italy's luxury brands shaken by sweatshop probes

Rome (AFP) – A series of investigations into exploitative work conditions within fashion subcontractors has roiled Italy's luxury industry, with the government decrying attacks on "Made in Italy".


Issued on: 03/12/2025 - RFI

Tod's iconic leather shoes are handmade, but Italian prosecutors say they have found 'degrading' conditions at its Chinese subcontractors © Gabriel BOUYS / AFP/File

Five fashion brands have been put under court administration since 2024 following probes by Milan prosecutors that uncovered worker abuses and a lack of oversight into the supply chains of some of Italy's most respected brands.

Most recently, lawyers for luxury leather company Tod's were due in a Milan court Wednesday, where prosecutors want to impose a temporary advertising ban and outside administrators in light of what they have called "malicious" actions by the company.

The investigations led by prosecutor Paolo Storari have cast a spotlight on the dark underside of the luxury industry.

At issue is the near-ubiquitous practice of brands subcontracting work to suppliers, who in turn contract to others, amid ever-tighter margins and scant oversight of labour conditions.


To date, investigations have targeted Loro Piana, Dior's Italian subsidiary Manufactures Dior, Giorgio Armani Operations and Alviero Martini -- and prosecutors have suggested more probes could come.

Italy's government has gone on the offensive, with Industry Minister Adolfo Urso saying the reputation of Italian brands was "under attack".

It has proposed a certificate for luxury companies to show they are in compliance with current law -- a measure critics have called toothless, in part because it is voluntary and would unduly shield brands from liability.

"We are taking concrete measures to firmly defend Italian fashion, to protect its reputation and the values that have made it synonymous with beauty, quality and authenticity," Urso said in October.

'Chain of exploitation'

Prosecutors last month said Tod's -- whose leather loafers can reach over $1,000 -- and three of its executives had "full awareness" of the exploitation of Chinese subcontractors but failed to set up systems to prevent it.

Tod's allegedly ignored its own audits revealing working hours and wage violations -- with workers paid as little as 2.75 euros per hour -- breaches of safety measures and what prosecutors called "degrading" sleeping areas within the factory.

Under Italian law, companies can be held responsible for offences committed by representatives -- such as approved suppliers -- acting in their interest.

Advocates for fashion industry workers have for decades pointed to widespread abuses in the supply chain.

Suppliers "are at the mercy of big brands that impose commercial conditions, starting with prices that are too low to cover all costs", said Deborah Lucchetti, national coordinator of the Clean Clothes Campaign in Italy.

That, in turn, fuels a system in which first-tier suppliers turn to subcontractors, imposing ever more stringent terms, which leads to labour abuses, most often against migrants.

"It's a chain of exploitation," she told AFP.

Italy's fashion suppliers are predominately small- and medium-sized companies, tens of thousands of whom have shuttered in recent years, according to industry associations, amid a luxury downturn and higher production costs.

Unable to invest, due to lack of guaranteed work from the commissioning brands and hyper-thin margins, the suppliers stay small. When a big order arrives, they turn to subcontractors for quick help, a system that "effectively pushes players in the supply chain to engage in illegal conduct", said Lucchetti.

Prosecutors said both Tod's and Loro Piana could not have been unaware that one of their main suppliers was externalising all its production -- given that the supplier did not have any production equipment, such as sewing machines, in its facility.

The companies targeted thus far have variously responded by cutting ties with the suppliers, condemning their actions, or blaming them for concealing abuses.

Reputational risk

Amid the reputational risk, some brands have sought to reassure consumers.

Last week, one of Italy's top luxury brands, Prada, invited journalists to its Scandicci factory outside Florence, showing the step-by-step transformation of supple leather into luxury handbags.

Asked about the investigations, Prada's Chief Marketing Officer Lorenzo Bertelli, who also heads social responsibility, said production had never been an afterthought for the company.

Other fashion executives, Bertelli said, don't view production "as an area of responsibility": "And this has led to many of things you have read in the newspapers."

Prada does not disclose how much of its production is in-house, but says it is the highest in the industry. Prada owns 25 factories, 23 of which are located in Italy.

Bertelli called it a "constant battle" to keep Prada's supply chain clean.

"We must constantly carry out inspections or checks on suppliers, this is the daily work we do."

© 2025 AFP

Angoulême's 2026 comic festival cancelled amid boycott and management row

The 2026 edition of the Angoulême International Comics Festival, France’s largest event dedicated to the art form, has been officially cancelled, one of the organisers’ lawyers confirmed on Monday. This comes after the withdrawal of public funds and a boycott by dozens of authors and publishers who say the event has been mismanaged for years.


Issued on: 02/12/2025 - RFI

Visitors look at comics on the street during the 52nd Angouleme International Comics Festival in Angouleme, on January 30, 2025. AFP - ROMAIN PERROCHEAU

"The 2026 edition is cancelled. A letter was sent at the end of last week to inform the festival’s public partners," said lawyer Vincent Brenot, representing the organising company 9e Art+.

He added that the decision, first reported by regional newspaper La Charente Libre, was “the straightforward consequence” of the stance taken by public funders.

On 18 November, the French government withdrew €200,000 of public subsidies for next year's event, putting a major hole its finances.

It marks the first time since the festival’s creation in 1974 – apart from the Covid-19 hiatus – that the event will not take place. The 53rd edition had been scheduled for 29 January to 1 February 2026.

Street in Angouleme featuring heroes from comics, 7 August 2023. © RFI/Jan van der Made

At the heart of the scandal is the management model of the festival, which has helped turn Angoulême into a centre of European production and comics expertise.

It is run by a non-profit association presided over by Delphine Groux, the daughter of co-founder Francis Groux, but has been organised by a private company, 9eArt+, since 2007.

The 9eArt+ director, Franck Bondoux, was the subject of an investigation by left-wing magazine l'Humanité before this year's event which accused him of mismanagement and an increasingly contested style.

It also reported that the company had dismissed an employee shortly after she reported being raped at the 2024 event.

French author Anouk Ricard won the Grand Prize during the 52nd Angouleme International Comics Festival in Angouleme, on 29 January, 2025. AFP - ROMAIN PERROCHEAU

Lack of transparency

For weeks, doubts have mounted over the festival’s future as a major portion of the French comics community turned against the organisers.

Many writers and artists denounced what they described as the growing commercialisation and lack of transparency at the event.

Among the authors who planned boycotters was Anouk Ricard, winner of the 2025 Grand Prix d’Angoulême and "Maus" creator Art Spiegelman.

"It is high time to turn the page on 9eArt+ so that the festival can regain, with new operators, the values that helped build its international reputation," read an open letter on 10 November signed by 22 former winners of the festival's top prize.

Superman and Spanish artists lead the charge at Angoulême Comics Festival

Several leading publishers have also withdrawn support, calling this year’s edition "compromised" and saying their trust in the organisers had been "broken".

On 20 November, the festival’s main public funders – who normally provide around half of its €6 million budget – recommended that the 2026 edition be scrapped, saying it would be “extremely difficult” to stage the event under the current circumstances.

"The 2026 Festival cannot physically go ahead under satisfactory conditions," lawyers for 9e Art+ said in a statement sent to AFP. "This situation is in no way a voluntary decision by 9e Art+, whose sole purpose is to run the Angoulême Festival, but rather a unilateral decision made without consultation by public funders."

The company expressed concern over the “human and economic consequences” of the cancellation and warned of "significant uncertainty" surrounding the 2027 edition, which it remains legally entitled to organise.

(With newswires)

Brussels In Shock As Ex-EU Diplomat Mogherini Arrested In Tender-Rigging Probe

December 3, 2025 
EurActiv
By Eddy Wax and Elisa Braun

(EurActiv) — Belgian police arrested the EU’s former top diplomat Federica Mogherini and senior Commission official Stefano Sannino as part a sweeping fraud investigation that is renewing fears about corruption in the highest ranks of the European bureaucracy.

The arrests came amid dawn raids, first reported by Euractiv, on the EU diplomatic service in Brussels and the College of Europe in Bruges, where Mogherini, who previously served as Italy’s foreign minister, is the rector. The ongoing probe involves alleged misuse of EU funds, according to people familiar with the investigation and witnesses.

In addition to Mogherini, a socialist who headed the EU’s foreign service between 2014 and 2019, and Sannino, a fellow Italian diplomat who heads the Commission’s directorate general for the Middle East and Northern Africa (DG-MENA), a third person, who works in the executive education department of the College of Europe, was also detained.

All three were questioned on suspicion of procurement fraud, corruption, and criminal conflict of interest. Sannino and Mogherini did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the EEAS said he had no information.

The criminal probe began after allegations that the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU’s diplomatic arm, and the College of Europe colluded to misuse EU public money in 2021 and 2022 to start a new diplomatic academy, according to four people with knowledge of the investigation.



The affair the latest major scandal to hit the EU in the wake of the Huawei and ‘Qatargate‘ investigations and raises serious concerns about the integrity of the senior leadership of the institutions at the core of the European ‘project’.
In Bruges

At the core of the investigation is a suspicion that the College of Europe or its representatives had prior knowledge of a public tender launched by the EEAS to host a new EU diplomatic academy. The tender, which was awarded to the College of Europe in 2022, was open to institutions of higher education across Europe.

Founded in 1949, the College of Europe is regarded as the premier finishing school for aspiring European civil servants, with alumni including top politicians and officials in the European institutions. Though it is closely affiliated with the EU, which helps fund it, the college is nominally independent.

Investigators have focused on the circumstances surrounding the college’s €3.2 million purchase of a building on Spanjaardstraat in Bruges, which now houses a dormitory for diplomats who attend the academy, the four people with knowledge of the probe said. The competition to host the academy required bidders to propose plans for housing.

The College of Europe purchased the building in 2022 during a period of financial strain for the institution, two people with knowledge of the probe said. Shortly thereafter, the EEAS awarded the college €654,000 in funding.

Authorities suspect the College of Europe and its representatives had privileged access to confidential information about the tender, giving them an unfair advantage over other bidders. During the period in question, Mogherini was rector of the College of Europe and Sannino, who had worked for Mogherini in the Italian foreign ministry, was secretary-general of the EU’s foreign service, a position that may have given him sway over the tender.

Whatever happened behind the scenes, there’s no doubt that the tender ended in Mogherini’s favour. In addition to running the College of Europe, she now also oversees the new EU Diplomatic Academy, which was launched in 2022. She began a second five-year term in Bruges this year.

During the period under scrutiny, the EEAS was led by another socialist former foreign minister, Spain’s Josep Borrell. Spokespeople for Borrell and the College of Europe declined to comment.
Early morning raids

Tuesday’s police raids, which included private residences, took place across Belgium in the early hours of the morning, with police seizing documents. Around 10 officers dressed in civilian clothes entered the EEAS headquarters at 7:30 am on Tuesday, one eyewitness said. Another EU official from the EU’s diplomatic service confirmed the raid.

Belgian federal police from West Flanders, and the EU’s anti-fraud office, OLAF, took part in the operation as part of a criminal probe led by the EU’s Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).

Spokespersons from EPPO and OLAF declined to comment.

OLAF, which has administrative powers to pursue suspected fraud involving EU money, interviewed several individuals before passing its findings to EPPO, tasked with investigating and prosecuting serious crimes against the EU’s interests.

There is no indication that OLAF or EPPO have reached conclusions of wrongdoing, and no one has been formally charged yet.

Seven defendants on trial in alleged €19bn fraud attempt against TotalEnergies

Judges in a Nanterre courtroom are untangling an alleged scheme to siphon billions from TotalEnergies through a disputed arbitration process.


Issued on: 02/12/2025 - RFI

TotalEnergies se retrouve devant la justice à Paris ce 5 juin pour «pour pratiques commerciales trompeuses», accusée de «publicité mensongère» et de «greenwashing». (Image d'illustration) © Lou Benoist / AFP

The court in the Paris suburb of Nanterre opened proceedings this week in an extensive fraud case centred on an alleged attempt to extract more than €19 billion from TotalEnergies.

Seven defendants – amongst them a former senior magistrate, two well-known Parisian lawyers and figures linked to the late businessman André "Dédé la sardine" Guelfi – are set to appear over the next three weeks as the court unravels the tangled origins of a controversial 2009 arbitration bid.

The case dates back more than a decade and a half, when in 2011, TotalEnergies filed a complaint with prosecutors in Nanterre, claiming it had been the target of an elaborate fraud attempt.

The company argued that an arbitration procedure launched two years earlier was baseless – a view supported by successive court rulings that confirmed an underlying 1992 oil exploration contract in Russia had never actually taken effect.

That agreement, struck between one of TotalEnergies’ subsidiaries – at the time part of French oil company Elf – and the Russian regions of Saratov and Volgograd, along with the company Interneft, was conditional on several preliminary requirements.

These conditions were never met, yet the Russian claimants pushed for arbitration, demanding more than €19 billion on the grounds that TotalEnergies had failed to honour the deal.

TotalEnergies posts biggest ever annual profit of almost €20bn

'Dédé la sardine'

André Guelfi, a businessman with a colourful past and an equally colourful nickname – Dédé la sardine – sits at the centre of the affair.

In the early 1990s, he acted as a fixer for Elf in the former USSR before becoming embroiled in the huge Elf corruption scandal.

Convicted of embezzling funds from the oil group, he later re-emerged in various business dealings.

Investigators believe Guelfi played a key role in steering the disputed arbitration process.

However, with his death in 2016, he was never interviewed by magistrates and his precise influence remains unclear.

Nevertheless, prosecutors argue that his relationship networks in Russia and France were instrumental in pushing forward the arbitration bid – one TotalEnergies has consistently denounced as a blatant attempt at extortion.

TotalEnergies exits Russian gas firm's board, takes $3.7bn hit

Legal heavyweights in court

Among those now facing trial is Jean-Pierre Mattei, former president of the Paris Commercial Court.

Selected in 2009 as a member of the arbitration panel, he stands accused of passive corruption and attempted fraud as part of an organised group.

He will be tried alongside the two other arbitrators chosen for the tribunal.

Two prominent Parisian lawyers – Olivier Pardo and Xavier Cazottes – are also in the dock. Pardo is charged with active corruption of an international arbitrator and of a person tasked with a public service mission.

Prosecutors suspect he sought to influence Mattei’s appointment and maintained close ties with Guelfi throughout the arbitration push. Cazottes faces similar allegations.

A solicitor close to Mattei, two additional members of the arbitration tribunal and the ad hoc administrator of the now-liquidated Elf subsidiary involved in the original contract round out the list of defendants.

Over the course of the hearings, the court will attempt to uncover the precise roles each defendant played in the arbitration initiative – and whether the process was driven by genuine legal misjudgment or outright fraud.

The court proceedings are expected to last at least three weeks.

(with newswires)

French unions call for day of strike action as draft budget enters crucial stage

French unions have called for a national day of strike action and widespread protests on Tuesday to pile pressure on the government and MPs ahead of a big day of discussions on the government's 2026 budget proposal.


Issued on: 02/12/2025 -

A protester holds a board reading in French "Strike" during a protest called by major trade unions to oppose budget cuts, on 18 September. They're renewing the call for 2 December. AP - Jean-Francois Badias

Three French unions – CGT, FSU and Solidaires – have called for the national, cross-sector strike action as part of ongoing opposition to the draft 2026 Budget, which is currently going through parliament and has to be agreed by the end of the year.

Sophie Binet, leader of the hard-left CGT union, has described the bill – which seeks to save nearly €44 billion in spending cuts, new revenue measures and taxes – as a "horror show".

"There is money – in the pockets of the ultra-rich and big business!" is one of the slogans for the strike.

In a press release, the three unions slammed the lack of fiscal justice in the draft Budget and the "resistance from the right and far right, who have joined forces to protect large fortunes".

The unions are demanding more, not less, funding for public services, jobs, pensions, industries and culture.

However, the absence of the centrist CFDT union – France's largest – could limit the extent of strike action.

Transport

France’s train provider, the SNCF, says it does not expect disruption on mainline train services and neither the high-speed TGV nor Eurostar should be impacted.

Despite a call for walkout among public transport workers (bus, tramway, Metro) Paris operator RATP said it anticipated normal services across its network.

Two minority Air France pilots’ unions plan to strike on Tuesday over cuts to jobs, which could lead to flight alterations.

Schools

The FSU union represents over 80 percent of French teachers and class closures are expected in both primary and secondary schools.

Some 4,000 teaching posts will be cut in the 2026 Budget.

"There is no shortage of reasons to go on strike in our professions," said the FSU-SNUipp, the largest primary-teaching union, citing "frozen pay, worsening working conditions, working time, burnout, hierarchical pressure, pension reform" and “insufficient resources”.

Snes-FSU, the main secondary-teaching union wants the job cuts cancelled.

Public administration, healthcare

Both CGT and Solidaires have called on public servants to walk out on Tuesday, denouncing the “removal of 3,000 posts in the civil service – especially in education, the France Travail employment office, public finance departments and social-security bodies”.

Hospital doctors cannot walk out, but services in some hospitals could be affected following strike notices covering both the state civil service and the local civil service.

“Health-facility budgets are insufficient for carrying out their public-service missions, salary increases do not even keep up with inflation, and some professions are paid below the minimum wage," says the Health and Social Action branch of the CGT. It demands a general pay rise of 10 percent.

Demonstrations are expected in major French cities, with the Paris protest set to start at 4pm.

The proposed strike action comes ahead of a crucial phase in the debates on Wednesday, when lawmakers will debate plans to scrap the highly contentious changes to the legal age of retirement.

The 2023 pension reform raised the age from 62 to 64 but France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has said he will back suspending the reform until presidential polls in 2027.

The Socialist Party has conditioned its support for the Budget on the reform being suspended and renegociated.

 UPDATE

Bulgaria withdraws 2026 budget after biggest protests in years turn violent

Organisers said around 50,000 people gathered in central Sofia, filling the square around the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers and the presidency.

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By bne IntelliNews December 2, 2025

Bulgaria’s government said on December 2 it is withdrawing its controversial 2026 budget proposal after mass protests against the plan drew tens of thousands of people onto the streets and triggered clashes between police and demonstrators.

The rallies, the largest the Balkan country has seen in years, erupted on December 1 in Sofia and at least a dozen other cities including Varna, Plovdiv and Burgas. Organisers said around 50,000 people gathered in central Sofia, filling the square around the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers and the presidency.

Chanting “Resignation!” and “We will not allow ourselves to be robbed,” demonstrators waved Bulgarian and EU flags and held banners reading “Generation Z is Coming” and “Young Bulgaria Without the Mafia”.

The protest began peacefully but later descended into violence as groups of masked youths threw bottles, stones and firecrackers at police and party offices. Riot police pepper-sprayed crowds, while garbage containers were torched and police vehicles vandalised. Around 70 people have been arrested.

The unrest reflects anger not only over the draft budget but also over longstanding grievances about corruption, cronyism and a lack of accountability in government. Bulgaria, an EU member of 6.4mn people, is rated among the bloc’s most corrupt countries.

Controversial budget abandoned

The government said it would formally withdraw the draft budget after initially pulling it back informally last week. Opposition parties, echoing protester demands, are now calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov’s minority coalition.

The draft budget had proposed higher taxes, increased social security contributions and a rise in public spending. Business groups and opposition parties warned the measures would drive investment away, expand the shadow economy and stoke inflation at a time when Bulgaria is preparing to adopt the euro on January 1, 2026.

Officials argued the budget would keep the deficit below the eurozone’s 3% threshold. Critics countered that the spending increases would be financed largely through tax hikes on workers and companies and a sharp rise in public debt.

Despite government assurances that contentious measures — including a dividend tax increase and new software requirements for traders — would be revised, opponents said legal withdrawal was necessary before any changes could be made.

Varna mayor Blagomir Kotsev, who was released from custody last week after supporters crowdfunded his bail, joined demonstrations in the Black Sea city. Solidarity protests have also taken place abroad, with Bulgarians gathering outside their embassy in London on November 30.

Political strains deepen

The protests add pressure on Zhelyazkov’s fragile cabinet, formed in January after the October 2024 snap election — the seventh since 2021 — again produced a fragmented parliament. GERB, led by former prime minister Boyko Borissov, emerged as the largest party with 69 of 240 seats and relies on an informal understanding with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS). DPS heavyweight Delyan Peevski, a polarising figure frequently invoked by protesters, is sanctioned by the United States and United Kingdom for corruption.

The government has already faced five no-confidence motions this year. The cabinet is now expected to present amendments to the budget later this week, though it remains unclear whether the revisions will ease public anger — or whether the protests will intensify into a wider challenge to the government’s survival.