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Pauline Bock is a New Statesman contributing writer based in Brussels. She writes about Brexit, the EU, France and the Macron presidency.
After a disastrous fire at a chemical plant in Rouen, few are reassured by the government’s insistence that the air is safe.
Violent treatment of protesters is deterring tourists and undermining France’s reputation as the birthplace of human rights.
As the biggest strike for more than a decade has shown, the French president has picked a fight with the entire working population.
As exhaustion and frustration spread in Brussels, countries are warming to the idea of denying the UK an extension.
The EU is considering categorising a no-deal Brexit as a major natural disaster to allow it to distribute emergency funds to member states.
Emmanuel Macron’s liberal image is at odds with his record on climate change and civil liberties.
Hospital staff and thousands of others are striking in protest at a lack of funding, deteriorating working conditions and rampant precarisation.
Protesters fight for vastly different causes, yet are faced with similar experiences of police’s tear gas, grenades and rubber bullet guns.
The scale of discontent against the French president means even the summer provides no respite.
Social groups who rarely cross paths are rediscovering the true meaning of fraternity.
