French President Emmanuel Macron talks to European Council president Charles Michel and Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel at last month’s European Union leaders summit in Brussels. Photo: Reuters French president Emmanuel Macron has been chastened by strikes and protests but there is…

"Donning their distinctive yellow vests, la France des invisibles of lorry drivers, factory workers, carers, shop assistants and many others began to be seen again" Analysis: the sense of frustration many in France felt with their politicians led to a protest movement…

Consider a tale of two New Year’s Eve messages. Boris Johnson, speaking from London on social media, was brief, jolly and vacuous. Emmanuel Macron , speaking from Paris on nationwide television, was wordy, abstract and downbeat. President Macron pledged that the 2020s…

There are worse leaders than Scott Morrison . The “international community” includes torturers, mass murderers, ethnic cleansers and kleptomaniacs beside whom he seems almost benign. But no leader in the world is more abject than the prime minister of Australia. He cuts…

Things learned from the mobilisation The unions are back, with workers realising that they’re a defence against the isolation and all-against-all competition that have dehumanised workplaces. And at the end of December a landmark court ruling found former France Télécom executives guilty…

From climate change to India’s complete take over of disputed Kashmir to massive anti-Beijing demonstrations in Hong Kong, here are some of the global protests that dominated headlines in 2019. Alaa Salah, who quickly became known as Sudan’s Nubian protest queen, can…

For the last 300 years the world was changed by mass movements of people demonstrating and then as the franchise was extended, by voting. Not anymore. The age-old means of winning change no longer seem to be working. 2019 was the year…

For the last 300 years the world was changed by mass movements of people demonstrating and then as the franchise was extended, by voting. Not anymore. The age-old means of winning change no longer seem to be working. 2019 was the year…

Up to 100,000 military-trained police are gearing up for what could be violent clashes in Paris following talks New Year’s celebrations may be hijacked by not one, but two massive crowds of protesters. French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner made the announcement, adding…

Christine Lagarde gets full marks for joining Mark Carney in making green finance a central agenda for central banks. Person of the Year, 2019? Like every year, there were several contenders. The planet recorded its highest-ever temperature and the highest decibels on…