The Prime Minister and the Minister of the Economy will go to Bourges (Cher) this Friday, March 21. François Bayrou and Éric Lombard will visit the KNDS company (formerly Nexter), which manufactures the Caesar guns, around 2 p.m.
The objective is to discuss industry and armaments in the context of ramp -up of factories in the defense sector desired by the Head of State. About 800 employees are employed on the factory site.
2 – Lille town hall: election of the designated successor of Martine Aubry
An extraordinary municipal council will take place on Friday March 21 in the Grand Carré of the town hall of Lille (North). The objective of this event is to elect the new mayor of Lille, after the resignation of Martine Aubry, who has led the city since 2001. At a press conference, the elected socialist said he was ” time “ of “Put the hand to a new generation”. Martine Aubry also assured the presidency of the Metropolis of Lille from 2008 to 2014.
His designated successor is his current first assistant Arnaud Deslandes. This faithful had been his director of cabinet from 2013 to 2020, before being elected on the list of the mayor who resigned during the last municipal elections.
3 – United States: placement on administrative leave of 1,300 employees of the Ministry of Education
On March 11, the US Ministry of Education announced that he returned half of its staff. This decision was part of a wave of layoffs in the federal administration. This Friday, March 21 will be placed on administrative leave 1,300 employees. 600 others have already agreed to leave in recent weeks as part of the state staff reduction plan.
The workforce should ultimately go from 4,100 people to around 2,200. These layoffs “Reflect the commitment of the Ministry of Education in favor of efficiency, responsibility and guarantee that resources are deployed where they have the most: with students, parents and teachers”said Minister Linda McMahon, in a statement.
4 – Closure of night grocery stores in Marseille districts
Some Marseille night grocery stores will have to close their doors tomorrow until April 21. The establishments concerned are located mainly in the city center of the Marseille city-Vieux-Port, La Joliette, the Saint-Charles station district, the Plaine and Le Cours Julien as well as the Françoise Duparc-Sakakini sector.
According to justice, the decision is motivated by “Public order disorders”. Urban nuisances are also mentioned: “Aggressive behavior, arguments, brawls, anarchic vehicle parking, visual pollution for the neighborhood, as well as risks, for these establishments, extortion and armed robbery”. The prefecture also believes that the opening of these businesses “Promotes the presence of night rallies that disturb the rest of the inhabitants”.
5 – The good news of the day
The French hostage in Iran Olivier Rondeau was released. The Minister of Foreign Affairs was delighted with this news on his X account: “This liberation honors French diplomacy and the hard work of our embassy in Tehran, the crisis and support center and the services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which I congratulate for their perseverance”.
Olivier Grondeau had been held for 887 days. He had been arrested in the south of the country in October 2022 when he traveled the world. Accused of espionage, he had been sentenced to a sentence of five years in prison on February 19, 2024 for “Plot against the Islamic Republic”.
