Worst riot in a decade engulfs Paris; Macron vows action

December 02, 2018

PARIS (AP) — France's most violent urban riot in more than a decade engulfed some of central Paris on Saturday as "yellow jacket" activists torched cars, smashed windows, looted stores and tagged the Arc de Triomphe with multi-colored graffiti.

Protesters angry about rising taxes and the high cost of living clashed with French riot police, who closed off some of the city's most popular tourist areas and fired tear gas and water cannon as they tried to quell the mayhem in the streets. At least 110 people were injured.

French President Emmanuel Macron denounced the violence from the G-20 summit in Argentina, saying those who attacked police and vandalized the Arc de Triomphe will be "held responsible for their acts." He said he will hold an emergency government meeting Sunday on the protests.

"(Violence) has nothing to do with the peaceful expression of a legitimate anger" and "no cause justifies" attacks on police or pillaging stores and burning buildings, Macron said in Buenos Aires. He refused to answer any questions from journalists about the situation in Paris.

It was the third straight weekend of clashes in Paris involving activists dressed in the fluorescent yellow vests of a new protest movement and the worst urban violence since at least 2005. The scene contrasted sharply with other protests in France, where demonstrations and road blockades elsewhere were largely peaceful Saturday.

The violence is Macron's biggest challenge so far as president, and even colored his international image as he had to defend his plans for fuel tax rises — the initial impetus for the protest movement — to other leaders at the G-20 summit. France's failure to quell the anger has led to copycat yellow jacket movements in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

Thousands of French police were deployed to try to contain the violence, which began Saturday morning near the Arc de Triomphe and continued well after dark. Paris police said at least 110 people, including 20 police officers, were injured in the violent protests and 224 others were arrested.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, speaking on French television channel TF1, said one protester was in a life-threatening condition after being part of a group pulling down a metal fence at the Tuileries gardens. A video on social media shows the heavy fence falling on some protesters.

By the afternoon, clashed continued down several streets popular with tourists. Pockets of demonstrators built makeshift barricades in the middle of Paris streets, lit fires, torched cars and trash cans, threw rocks at police and smashed and looted stores.

Some demonstrators removed the barriers protecting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I under the Arc de Triomphe monument to pose near its eternal flame and sing the national anthem. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw other protesters and a soldier intervene to disperse the troublemakers and protect the flame. Police later fired tear gas in the area.

Graffiti sprayed onto the Arc de Triomphe read: "yellow jackets will triumph." By Saturday afternoon, a large part of central Paris was locked down by police, with all roads leading away from the Arc closed off as more police moved in. Over 20 downtown Paris metro stations were closed for security reasons and police ordered stores in nearby neighborhoods to close early Saturday evening.

Hours later, some cars still smoldered and law enforcement and protesters were still facing off elsewhere in the capital. French television showed police leading a shaken woman away from the protesters, and loud bangs rang out near the famed Champs Elysees Avenue where the violence was centered.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted her "indignation" and "deep sadness" at the destruction and clashes with police, saying that violence is "not acceptable." In addition to rising taxes, the demonstrators are furious about Macron's leadership, saying that his government does not care about the problems of ordinary people. The grassroots protests began with motorists upset over a fuel tax hike, but now involve a broad range of demands related to France's high cost of living.

The violence in Paris, however, suggests that some protests appear to have been taken over by more radical far-right or far-left groups. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen urged the protesters to go home in a tweet.

French authorities said they counted 75,000 protesters Saturday across the country, including 5,500 in Paris, numbers that were less than last week's protest but produced much more destruction. Earlier Saturday, several hundred peaceful protesters in Paris passed through police checkpoints to reach the Champs-Elysees. They marched on the famed avenue behind a big banner that read "Macron, stop taking us for stupid people."

Access to the Champs-Elysees was closed to cars and strictly monitored by police with identity checks and bag inspections. "It's difficult to reach the end of the month. People work and pay a lot of taxes and we are fed up," said Rabah Mendez, a protester who came from a southern suburb to march peacefully in Paris.

"Our purchasing power is severely diminishing every day. And then: taxes, taxes and taxes," said Paris resident Hedwige Lebrun. "The state is asking us to tighten our belts, but they, on the contrary, live totally above all standards with our money."

Since the yellow jacket movement kicked off on Nov. 17, two people have been killed and hundreds injured in clashes or accidents stemming from the protests.

Associated Press writers Lori Hinnant in Paris and Angela Charlton in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.

Pressure on Macron after gas price protests inflamed Paris

November 26, 2018

PARIS (AP) — The pressure is on French President Emmanuel Macron after a second weekend of sometimes violent protests over rising fuel taxes that reached the heart of Paris. Scattered protests continued Monday as drivers blocked roads from the Pyrenees to Brittany.

Macron promised to explain on Tuesday his plans for weaning France off fossil fuels, the reason for the small tax hikes. The protests are a major challenge for Macron, drawing disparate demonstrators with no clear leader or mission. Tense clashes Saturday reached Paris' high-end Champs-Elysees.

A local protest leader in Toulouse, Benjamin Cauchy, said Monday on BFM television that the movement is at a turning point and the next step will hinge on what Macron has to say. Cauchy said protesters should respect the media, after journalists were attacked, chased or threatened while covering Saturday's events.

EU prolongs sanctions against Congo ruling party candidate

December 10, 2018

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has prolonged sanctions against Congolese President Joseph Kabila's chosen successor just two weeks before a historic election in the resource-rich Central African country.

EU headquarters said Monday that travel bans and asset freezes will be renewed for a year against Congo's ruling party candidate Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary and 13 other people. Shadary was sanctioned by the EU last year for obstructing Congo's electoral process and a crackdown against protesters angry over the long-delayed vote.

The decision, taken by EU foreign ministers in Brussels, could be reviewed "in the light of and following" the elections, scheduled for Dec. 23. It could be Congo's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power. The opposition fears that Kabila , who has ruled since 2001, will assert power behind the scenes if Shadary wins.

UK ministers seek to downplay chance of second Brexit vote

December 16, 2018

LONDON (AP) — Supporters of British Prime Minister Theresa May dampened suggestions Sunday that the government is planning a second referendum on whether to leave the European Union, arguing that another Brexit vote would exacerbate divisions in the U.K., not heal them.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox told the BBC that holding another vote on Britain's EU membership would settle little in a country that backed leaving the EU in 2016 by 51.9 percent with the highest turnout for a U.K. vote since 1992.

"Suppose we had another referendum. Supposing the 'remain' side won it by 52 to 48, but it was on a lower turnout - entirely possible," Fox said. "If there is another referendum, which I don't think there will be, people like me will be immediately demanding it's best of three. Where does that end up?"

The comments come as Britain struggles for a way forward after days of political drama because of unease with the terms of May's deal to leave the 28-nation bloc. The British Parliament was supposed to vote on May's Brexit plan last week, but she postponed it after it became clear that lawmakers would decisively reject it.

Lawmakers were outraged at not having a chance to have their say. May's own Conservative Party triggered a confidence vote in her party leadership, which she won, but a third of her party's lawmakers revolted against her.

Unable to secure any concessions from the EU at a summit, May faced reports in the Sunday Times that said her de-facto deputy, Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington, held talks with Labor lawmakers aimed at holding another Brexit vote.

In response, Lidington tweeted a link to a record of parliamentary proceedings in which he explained how a second vote could be "divisive not decisive." May's chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, tweeted "Happy to confirm I am (asterisk)not(asterisk) planning a 2nd referendum with political opponents (or anyone else to anticipate the next question)"

With little time to resolve the impasse before Britain's departure from the EU on March 29, fears are growing that Britain could leave the bloc with no deal at all — a situation with potentially devastating consequences for the U.K. economy.

Underscoring the acrimony in the nation over Brexit, May and former Prime Minister Tony Blair of the Labor Party traded jibes in the media. May accused Blair of "undermining" her efforts to deliver Brexit by calling for a second referendum on whether or not to leave. May said his comments were "an insult to the office he once held."

Blair shot back, saying he had a right to comment on "the most important decision our country has taken since the end of World War II." "What is irresponsible, however, is to try to steamroller MPs into accepting a deal they genuinely think is a bad one with the threat that if they do not fall into line, the government will have the country crash out without a deal," Blair said.

Brexit deal in turmoil as May postpones Parliament vote

December 10, 2018

LONDON (AP) — Facing almost certain defeat, British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday postponed a vote in Parliament on her Brexit deal, saying she would go back to European Union leaders to seek changes to the divorce agreement.

May's move threw Britain's Brexit plans into disarray, intensified a domestic political crisis and battered the pound. With EU officials adamant the withdrawal deal was not up for renegotiation, the country does not know on what terms it will leave — and whether May will still be Britain's leader when it does.

In an emergency statement to the House of Commons, May accepted that the divorce deal she struck last month with EU leaders was likely to be rejected "by a significant margin" if the vote were held Tuesday as planned.

May said she would defer the vote so she could seek "assurances" from the EU and bring the deal back to Parliament. She did not set a new date for the vote. The U.K.'s departure is supposed to take place on March 29.

Opposition lawmakers — and ones from May's Conservative Party — were incredulous and angry. Some accused her of trampling on parliamentary democracy. "The government has lost control of events and is in complete disarray," Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said.

Corbyn demanded, and was granted, an emergency debate Tuesday on the postponement. But Labour lawmaker Lloyd Russell-Moyle was expelled from Parliament for the day after he grabbed the House of Commons' ceremonial mace as a sign of protest.

The centuries-old gilded staff is the symbol of royal authority. Without it, the Commons can't meet or pass laws. Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading pro-Brexit Conservative, expressed despair at the Brexit shambles.

"It's not really governing," he said. "It's just an awful muddle." Monday's turmoil sent the pound to a 20-month low against the dollar of $1.2550. It was a new blow for May, who became prime minister after Britain's 2016 referendum decision to leave the EU. She has been battling ever since — first to strike a divorce deal with the bloc, then to sell it to skeptical British lawmakers.

May insisted the agreement hammered out with the EU after a year and a half of negotiations was "the best deal that is negotiable." But it has been scorned by lawmakers on all sides of Britain's debate about Europe.

Derisive laughter erupted in the House of Commons when May claimed there was "broad support" for many aspects of the deal. Pro-Brexit lawmakers say the deal keeps Britain bound too closely to the EU, while pro-EU politicians say it erects barriers between the U.K. and its biggest trading partner and leaves many details of the future relationship undecided.

The main sticking point is a "backstop" provision that aims to guarantee an open border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.'s Northern Ireland after Brexit. The measure would keep Britain under EU customs rules, and is supposed to last until it is superseded by permanent new trade arrangements.

Critics say it could leave Britain tied to the EU indefinitely, unable to strike new trade deals around the world. May said she would hold talks with EU leaders ahead of a summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, seeking "further reassurances" over the backstop.

"Nothing should be off the table," she said. EU leaders signaled they are prepared to help Britain, up to a point, but insisted the Brexit agreement could not be changed. "The deal is the deal," Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said. "It's taken two years to put together. It's a fair deal for both sides."

European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted: "We will not renegotiate the deal, including the backstop, but we are ready to discuss how to facilitate U.K. ratification." A key member of the European parliament's Brexit team, Green lawmaker Philippe Lamberts, predicted May's shuttle diplomacy would fail to secure changes.

"The only net result of this round of capitals will be an additional amount of CO2 in the atmosphere," he said. Despite May's dogged determination to press on, the tumult leaves her in a precarious position. Conservative rivals are preparing for a potential leadership challenge, and Labour has threatened call for a no-confidence motion in the government.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her Scottish National Party would support an attempt to topple the government and trigger a new election. "This shambles can't go on — so how about it?" Sturgeon tweeted at Corbyn.

Corbyn stopped short of calling a no-confidence vote Monday, but said if May could not renegotiate with the EU, "then she must make way." Delays in approving the Brexit deal increase the chances of Britain crashing out of the EU with no agreement. The government and the Bank of England have warned that could bring logjams to British ports and plunge the country into its deepest recession in decades.

May said the government would step up preparations for a no-deal Brexit in order to mitigate its worst effects. It has already stockpiled medicines and other key goods. Carolyn Fairbairn, head of the Confederation of British Industry, said the delay was "yet another blow for companies desperate for clarity."

"Investment plans have been paused for two-and-a-half years," she said. "Unless a deal is agreed quickly, the country risks sliding towards a national crisis." May has also warned that rejecting her deal could result in Britain not leaving the EU at all.

Some campaigners in the U.K. want just that. They got a boost Monday when the EU's top court ruled that Britain can change its mind over Brexit if it wants. Britain invoked Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty in March 2017, triggering a two-year exit process. A group of Scottish legislators had asked the European Court of Justice to rule on whether the U.K. could pull out of the withdrawal procedure on its own.

The court said Monday that when an EU member country has notified the bloc of its intent to leave, "that member state is free to revoke unilaterally that notification." May has repeatedly said the government will not seek to delay or reverse Brexit. She said Monday that Parliament had a duty to "get Brexit done and get it done right. "

And she urged lawmakers to unite in a spirit of conciliation — a plea that has, so far, fallen on deaf ears. "There will be no enduring and successful Brexit without some compromise on both sides of the debate," May said.

Associated Press writers Lorne Cook and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed.

UK's May says she'll still have her job after Brexit vote

December 03, 2018

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May brushed aside questions Monday about whether she will resign if her Brexit deal is rejected by Parliament next week, saying she's confident she'll still have a job after the crucial vote.

May is battling to persuade lawmakers to support the divorce agreement between Britain and the European Union when the House of Commons votes on Dec. 11. Opposition parties say their representatives will vote against the deal, and so have dozens of lawmakers from May's Conservative Party.

Defeat would leave the U.K. facing a messy, economically damaging "no-deal" Brexit on March 29 and could topple the prime minister, her government, or both. May predicted Monday that despite the blowback "I will still have a job in two weeks' time."

"My job is making sure that we do what the public asked us to: We leave the EU but we do it in a way that is good for them," she told broadcaster ITV. The Conservative prime minister has consistently refused to say what she plans to do if — as widely predicted — the British Parliament rejects the deal her government reached with the EU.

"I'm focusing on ... getting that vote and getting the vote over the line," she said. Politicians on both sides of Britain's EU membership debate oppose the agreement that May struck with the bloc — pro-Brexit ones because it keeps Britain bound closely to the EU, and pro-EU politicians because it erects barriers between the U.K. and its biggest trading partner.

May's opponents argue that Britain can renegotiate the deal for better terms. But the British government and the EU insist that the agreement, which took a year and a half to negotiate, is the only one on the table and rejecting it would mean leaving the bloc without a deal.

"There is no Plan B," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. Rutte cited the "red lines" drawn by both sides during negotiations, including the U.K.'s refusal to accept the free movement of people between Britain and the EU, and the need to keep an open border between the U.K.'s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

"When you take all these red lines into account, it's simply impossible to come up with something different than we have currently, the deal on the table," he told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a U.N. climate conference in Poland.

May's government is also facing a battle in Parliament over confidential advice from the country's top law officer about the Brexit deal. Under opposition pressure, the government promised last month to show Parliament the legal briefing that Attorney General Geoffrey Cox gave May's Cabinet. Such advice is usually kept confidential.

On Monday the government published a 43-page document outlining Cox's legal opinion, but opposition parties demanded the attorney general's full, original advice. Opposition parties wrote Monday to the Speaker of the House of Commons, accusing the government of being in contempt of Parliament by refusing to comply.

The most contentious legal issue arising from the Brexit agreement is how Britain could get out of a "backstop" provision that would keep the country in a customs union with the EU to guarantee an open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The backstop is intended as a temporary measure, but pro-Brexit lawmakers say it could leave Britain tied to the EU indefinitely and unable to strike new trade deals around the world. The legal advice confirmed that Britain can't unilaterally opt out of the backstop, which requires either an agreement with the EU or a decision by an arbitration panel.

In a statement to Parliament, Cox confirmed that "there is no unilateral right of either party to terminate this arrangement." Cox said he would have preferred that not to be the case, but that he supported the divorce deal as "a sensible compromise."

"The divorce and separation of nations from long and intimate unions, just as of human beings, stirs high emotion and calls for wisdom and forbearance," he said.

Frank Jordans in Katowice, Poland contributed to this story.

May faces more Brexit woes after UK minister quits

December 01, 2018

LONDON (AP) — The latest minister to quit British Prime Minister Theresa May's government because of Brexit said Saturday that the prime minister's compromise agreement would leave Britain outnumbered and outmaneuvered in future negotiations with the European Union.

Ex-Universities and Science Minister Sam Gyimah likened the agreement to playing soccer against opponents who "are the referee and they make the rules as well." May is battling to persuade British lawmakers to back the agreement when Parliament votes on it Dec. 11. She and EU leaders say rejecting the divorce terms, endorsed by the EU last weekend, would leave the U.K. facing a messy, economically damaging "no-deal" Brexit on March 29.

But many lawmakers on both sides of the Brexit debate oppose the deal — Brexiteers because it keeps Britain bound closely to the EU, pro-EU politicians because it erects barriers between the U.K. and its biggest trading partner.

The two-part agreement includes the legally binding terms of the U.K.'s departure and an ambitious but vague declaration on future relations between the two sides. Gyimah, who backed remaining in the EU during Britain's 2016 referendum, said the agreement was "a deal in name only."

"We've got a wish-list of aspirations that we intend to negotiate with the EU (after) we've lost our voice, our veto and our vote," he told Sky News. Gyimah is the seventh member of the government to quit over the Brexit deal.

His resignation came after May said Britain was abandoning efforts to retain access to the EU's Galileo satellite navigation system after Brexit. Britain has been a major player in developing the system, but the EU says only member states can work on developing high-security encrypted parts of Galileo for use by the military and critical infrastructure sectors.

May said that given the EU's decision "to bar the U.K. from being fully involved in developing all aspects of Galileo, it is only right that we find alternatives." She said Britain would develop its own sat-nav system, at an estimated cost of several billion pounds (dollars).

Gyimah said that "what has happened with Galileo is a foretaste of the brutal negotiations we will go through that will weaken our national interest, make us poorer, less secure." May has acknowledged the Brexit deal is not perfect, but says it delivers on voters' decision to leave the EU while retaining close ties with the bloc, a key trading partner and ally.

She got support Saturday from Environment Secretary Michael Gove, a key Brexit-backing minister, who wrote in the Daily Mail newspaper that lawmakers should back the deal rather than hold out for a "perfect plan."

"Does the deal deliver 100 percent of what I wanted? No. But then we didn't win 100 percent of the vote (in the referendum)," Gove wrote. "In politics, as in life, you can't always get everything that you want."