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France's Senate takes on the 'rioters pay' bill after protests

If the French Senate passes this bill, rioters will have to pay for the damage caused during the recent unrest across the country. This "casseurs-payeurs" bill comes in the wake of nationwide violence. This draft law now has an explosive add-on aimed at social media. Senators will vote on whether the government can block platforms that are too slow to act on authorities' reports of dangerous content. 

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Serbian student movement eyes power after election triumph

Emotions ran high in Belgrade on Monday after a student-led movement upset the right-wing populist Aleksandar Vucic's party in Serbia's snap election. A celebratory mood gripped the capital, with drivers honking their horns and passers-by holding up three fingers -- the winning list's ballot number and a Serbian greeting. Many wore badges and other symbols of the student movement, while a large group of residents spent the day cleaning up a park between parliament and the presidency after Vucic loyalists, who had camped there for more than a year, fled. FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks with researchers and political activist Aleksandar Matković.

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French student union leaders call for 'continued mobilisation' after meeting PM

The French government met student representatives on Monday (October 26) following weeks of unrest. Students who had been demanding a meeting for weeks hail progress. Nonetheless they are now calling for fresh demonstrations next Saturday (October 31) to press for further measures. Details by FRANCE 24’s French Politics Editor Marc Perelman.

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Belgrade in rapture as Serbian students topple Vucic in historic election

Serbia's student-led movement declared victory in parliamentary elections Sunday ending 14 years in power for Aleksandar Vucic's right-wing populist party. Vucic conceded defeat less than two hours after polls closed, triggering raucous scenes in the capital as supporters of the movement celebrated the defeat of a government they blamed for deep-rooted corruption.

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French PM meets student representatives after weeks of protests

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is set to meet with high school students on Monday afternoon (October 26) to ease tensions in the country after nearly a month of protests. This follows another meeting in which French president Emmanuel Macron promised a concrete response to demands for better education standards and funding.

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Serbia's student movement ousts longtime leader Vucic in parliament poll

Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat in an historic election on Sunday (October 25) following a near to 70% turnout at polling stations. The snap election followed nearly two years of student-led demonstrations against perceived corruption and authoritarianism triggered by the deaths of 16 people when a train station canopy collapsed in the ‌city of Novi Sad in 2024. FRANCE 24's Laurent Rouy tells us more.

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French authorities tighten restrictions and ban specific protests

France is bracing for another weekend of protests, after violence erupted on the sidelines of last week's mobilisations. Paris is extending a partial curfew in parts of the city until Monday, while protests are banned altogether in the cities of Marseille and Lyon. 70,000 security personnel will be deployed on Saturday and only union demonstrations will be authorised.

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Politics in 'materialist terms': Gen Z in Albania, Italy, France and India protesting for 'fairness'

Jean-Emile Jammine is pleased to welcome Gökçe Tuncel, Sociologist and post-doctoral researcher associated with the Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC). For Tuncel, the wave of youth-led protests across France, Albania, India and Italy reveals more than a succession of localized grievances. It signals the emergence of a political consciousness shaped by material insecurity, institutional disillusionment and an increasingly explicit demand for solidarity and social justice. "What is really striking about this Gen Z movement is how clearly young people see their material conditions," Tuncel observes.

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‘The best on Earth’: Can weak economic growth undermine Europe’s ‘very sophisticated social system’?

Can Europe continue to sustain one of the world's most ambitious social models while falling increasingly behind its major economic competitors? For Pascal Lamy, former European Commissioner for Trade and former Director-General of the World Trade Organization, this question lies at the heart of the continent's mounting economic and political tensions. Lamy looks beyond the immediate turmoil in France to identify a deeper European predicament: a widening disconnect between the continent's social commitments and its capacity to generate the economic growth needed to sustain them.

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Targeted by Trump, International Criminal Court wins top EU rights prize

Facing US sanctions, the International Criminal Court was on Thursday awarded the European Union's top rights prize, in a show of support that risks upsetting President Donald Trump. "The European Union is built on respect for multilateralism and international institutions, and this prize recognises the important work of the court in upholding international law and justice," said European Parliament chief Roberta Metsola in announcing the award. The ICC thanked the European Parliament for giving it the Sakharov Prize "at a time when the Court and its officials face unprecedented challenges". FRANCE 24's International Affairs Commentator Douglas Herbert has more.

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