The minority government’s expected collapse looks set to deepen France’s problems at a critical time for Europe

International News via Reuters:

France’s fourth prime minister in less than two years, François Bayrou, faces defeat in a confidence vote on Monday, tipping the euro zone’s second-biggest economy further into political and economic paralysis.

The minority government’s expected collapse looks set to deepen France’s problems at a critical time for Europe, which is seeking unity in the face of Russia’s war against Ukraine, an increasingly dominant China and trade tensions with the United States.

The turmoil also threatens France’s ability to rein in its debt, with the risk of further credit downgrades looming as bond spreads – a gauge of the risk premium investors demand to hold French debt – widen.

France faces acute pressure to repair its finances, with last year’s deficit nearly double the EU’s 3% limit of economic output and public debt at 113.9% of GDP.

The confidence vote is slated for Monday afternoon after a debate from 1500 (1300 GMT) with an opening speech by Bayrou, followed by leaders from all political groups. The outcome of the vote could come by around 1700 GMT.

Opposition leaders across the political spectrum made clear they would stick to their plans to vote to oust Bayrou.

“I want to tell you how happy I am that the government will fall today. For many French it’s a relief,” Manuel Bompard, from the hard-left France Unbowed, told broadcaster franceinfo, echoing similar comments from other parties. 

Should Bayrou indeed fall, President Emmanuel Macron will likely face the job of finding yet another government chief capable of steering a budget through parliament, less than a year after the ouster of Bayrou’s conservative predecessor Michel Barnier.

Social tensions are also heating up. A number of nebulous groups that have mushroomed online have called on the French to “block everything” on Wednesday of this week, while the mainstream labour unions are planning social action on September 18 against plans for budget cuts. 

TILT TO THE LEFT?

Macron has so far ruled out dissolving parliament, as he did last year. France has been mired in a political crisis since that snap election, which resulted in an even more divided parliament.

Macron’s own alliance, already shorn of a majority since 2022, saw its numbers fall further, while the anti-immigration, far-right National Rally emerged as the biggest party. A loose coalition of left-wing parties, now deeply divided, came in as the largest bloc. No camp has a majority. 

“This crisis was provoked and fuelled by President Emmanuel Macron and all those who have served him,” Marine Le Pen, head of the National Rally’s group of lawmakers, said on Sunday. “Today, the sick man of Europe, because of them, is France.” 

After the fall of a conservative and a centrist as prime minister, many observers expect Macron to next look for a candidate from the ranks of the centre-left Socialists (PS). 

Any such candidate would face major challenges and still need to forge a delicate alliance with the president’s liberal bloc, which opposes many of the left’s ideas, including raising taxes for the wealthiest to plug the country’s financial holes. They would also have to convince the moderate right to tolerate yet another minority government. 

Laurent Wauquiez, leading lawmaker for the conservative Les Republicains (LR) party, signalled he would not call for ousting a socialist prime minister. Party chief and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, however, disagreed. 

“There is no way we will accept a socialist prime minister”, Retailleau said on Sunday. 

Like many in France, Mohamed, 80, who sells produce at the Aligre market in Paris, doesn’t think the politicians will find a way out. 

“Come back in 10 days and you’ll see nothing will have changed. There won’t be a majority, there will be no budget.”

additional reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Lucien Libert; writing by Ingrid Melander and Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Aidan Lewis

The ambulance service identified the five victims as a 50-year-old man, a woman in her fifties and three men in their thirties

International News via Reuters:

Five people were killed in a shooting at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Monday, Israel’s ambulance service said, while the police said the perpetrators had been killed.

It was not immediately clear who carried out the shooting or what was the motive. Palestinian militant group Hamas praised two Palestinian “resistance fighters” who it said had carried out the attack but it stopped short of claiming responsibility.

The ambulance service identified the five victims as a 50-year-old man, a woman in her fifties and three men in their thirties. It said 11 other people had suffered injuries, including six who were in a serious condition with gunshot wounds.

Israeli police said two attackers arrived by car and opened fire at a bus stop at Ramot Junction. They said a security officer and a civilian shot and killed the assailants. Several weapons, ammunition and a knife used by the attackers, who police only identified as “terrorists”, were recovered at the scene, police said.

Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian militant group, also praised the shooting but did not claim responsibility for it.

The junction is located in a part of Jerusalem that Israel captured in the 1967 war and later annexed in a move that the United Nations and most countries do not recognise.

The prime minister’s office said Benjamin Netanyahu was holding a “situation assessment” with security officials.

Reuters footage showed a heavy police presence in the Ramot area following the shooting. The ambulance service said a paramedic arriving at the scene reported that several victims were lying on the road and the sidewalk, some unconscious.

“This was a very severe scene,” the ambulance service cited paramedic Fadi Dekaidek as saying.

The Israeli military said it had deployed soldiers to the area and were aiding police in the search for suspects. Soldiers were also operating in areas of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to conduct interrogations and “thwart terrorism”, it said.

In October 2024, two Palestinians, one armed with a gun and the other armed with a knife, killed seven people in Tel Aviv. In November 2023, two Palestinian gunmen killed three people at a Jerusalem bus stop. Israeli security services said that the attackers in the 2023 Jerusalem shooting were linked to Hamas.

Reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Tel Aviv, Ahmed Elimam and Jana Choukeir in Dubai; Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell

Indonesia’s well-regarded finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati was removed from her position on Monday as part of a broader cabinet reshuffle

International News via Reuters:

Indonesia’s newly appointed finance minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said on Monday that 8% economic growth was “not impossible” and that he would find ways to quickly boost the economy.

Speaking to journalists shortly after he was sworn in by President Prabowo Subianto, Purbaya said he would push for more involvement in the economy by both the private sector and the government.

Indonesia’s well-regarded finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati was removed from her position on Monday as part of a broader cabinet reshuffle, with the president appointing an economist to replace her to run Southeast Asia’s largest economy amid fears of a slowdown.

Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman; Editing by John Mair, Martin Petty

OPEC+ flagged plans to further increase production from October but the amount was less than some analysts had anticipated

International News via Reuters:

Oil prices climbed more than $1 on Monday, regaining some of last week’s losses, after OPEC+’s output hike was seen as modest and due to concerns over the possibility of more sanctions on Russian crude.

OPEC+ flagged plans to further increase production from October but the amount was less than some analysts had anticipated. Reuters reported earlier this month that members were considering another hike.

“The market had run ahead of itself in regards to this OPEC+ increase,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. “Today we’re seeing a classic sell the rumour, buy the fact reaction.”

Brent crude climbed $1.16, or 1.8%, to $66.66 a barrel by 0858 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.09, or 1.8%, to $62.96 a barrel.

Both benchmarks fell more than 2% on Friday as a weak U.S. jobs report dimmed the outlook for energy demand. They lost more than 3% last week.

OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other allies, agreed on Sunday to further raise oil production from October.

OPEC+ has been increasing production since April after years of cuts aimed at supporting the oil market. The latest decision comes despite a likely looming oil glut in the Northern Hemisphere winter months.

The eight members of OPEC+ will lift production from October by 137,000 barrels per day. That, however, is much lower than increases of about 555,000 bpd for September and August and 411,000 bpd in July and June.

The impact of this increase is expected to be relatively low, because some of these members have been overproducing. So the higher output level would likely include barrels that are already in the market, analysts said.

“Expectations of tighter supply from potential new U.S. sanctions on Russia are also lending support,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he is ready to move to a second phase of sanctioning Russia, the closest he has come to suggesting he is on the verge of ramping up sanctions against Moscow or its oil buyers over the war in Ukraine.

New sanctions on buyers of Russian oil could disrupt crude flows, energy trader Gunvor’s global head of research and analysis, Frederic Lasserre, said on Monday.

Russia launched its largest air attack of the Ukraine war on Sunday, setting the main government building on fire in central Kyiv and killing at least four people, Ukrainian officials said.

Trump said on Sunday that individual European leaders would visit the United States on Monday and Tuesday to discuss how to resolve the conflict.

In a note over the weekend, Goldman Sachs said it expects a slightly larger oil surplus in 2026 as supply upgrades in the Americas outweigh a downgrade to Russia supply and stronger global demand. It left its Brent/WTI price forecast unchanged for 2025 and projected the 2026 average at $56/$52 a barrel.

Reporting by Anna Hirtenstein. Additional reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Edwina Gibbs and Joe Bavier

Nepal blocked access to several social media platforms, including Facebook, last week after they failed to register with authorities in a crackdown on misuse

International News via Reuters:

One person died as Nepali police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse young people who tried to break into parliament during a protest on Monday against a social media shutdown and alleged government corruption, state TV said.

Nepal blocked access to several social media platforms, including Facebook, last week after they failed to register with authorities in a crackdown on misuse.

The government said social media users with fake IDs have been spreading hate speech and fake news, and committing fraud and other crimes via some platforms.

Authorities imposed a curfew around the parliament building after thousands of the protesters tried to enter the legislature by breaking a police barricade.

One person was killed and more than 50 injured in the trouble, state-run Nepal Television said. Local media reported that at least six people had died.

There was no official confirmation of the deaths and injuries and Reuters could not independently verify the figures.

Several protesters were injured and taken to a nearby hospital, a Reuters witness said. A group of protesters stopped a security vehicle heading towards parliament and an ambulance was set on fire, they added.

Ekram Giri, a spokesperson for Nepal’s parliament, said some protesters entered the parliament premises but did not reach its main building. They had been driven out by police and have assembled on the road outside, he said.

“We have imposed a curfew which will remain in force until 10 p.m. local time (1615 GMT) to bring the situation under control after protesters began to turn violent,” Muktiram Rijal, a spokesperson for the Kathmandu district office, told Reuters.

Police had orders to use water cannons, batons and rubber bullets to control the crowd, Rijal said.    

The curfew had been extended to Kathmandu’s Singha Durbar area, which includes the prime minister’s office as well as other ministries, the residence of the prime minister and the president’s house, Rijal said.

PROTESTS IN OTHER CITIES

Police said similar protests were also organised in Biratnagar and Bharatpur in the southern plains and in Pokhara, gateway to the world’s 10th highest mountain, Mount Annapurna, in western Nepal.

Earlier on Monday, thousands of youths, including students, many in their school or college uniforms, were stopped by police from marching towards the parliament building, where demonstrations are not allowed.

Protesters carried the national flag and placards with slogans such as “Shut down corruption and not social media”, “Unban social media”, and “Youths against corruption”, as they marched through Kathmandu.

Television visuals showed some protesters throwing projectiles at police personnel who were dressed in riot gear and huddled in one place as smoke from tear gas shells filled the street. Protesters also pushed against police barricades and brought them down.

Many people in the Himalayan nation think corruption is rampant, and the government of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli has been criticised by opponents for failing to deliver on its promises.

Nepal’s social media shutdown comes as governments worldwide, including the U.S., EU, Brazil, India, China and Australia, take steps to tighten oversight of social media and Big Tech due to growing concern about issues such as misinformation, data privacy, online harm and national security.

Critics say many of these measures risk stifling free expression, but regulators say stricter controls are needed to protect users and preserve social order.

About 90% of Nepal’s 30 million people use the internet.

Reporting by Gopal Sharma, Writing by YP Rajesh; Editing by Helen Popper and Saad Sayeed