There has been another wave of school protests across France. According to official figures, 160,000 people took to the country's streets on Tuesday. The organisers put the figure at 480,000. Access to numerous universities was also blocked by the demonstrations. Further protests in which university students and trade unions also intend to take part are planned for Saturday. Europe's press looks at the reasons for the protests and why they are spreading to other sections of the population.
The scandal-hit US Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, has resigned at Donald Trump's request amid allegations that she suggested in Athens that Washington could topple governments in the region if they refused to buy expensive US liquefied natural gas. Shortly afterwards, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's government in Romania collapsed.
Relations between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky have once again cooled: early this week the Ukrainian army's access to US data on Russian missile launches was restricted, which delayed the triggering of air raid sirens. The functionality of Starshield – the military version of the satellite-based internet service Starlink – has also been limited. Europe's media draw their own conclusions.
Without explicitly mentioning headscarves, the Azerbaijani government has passed a decree that bans religious clothing in state schools, on the grounds that it contradicts the principle of secularism in the education system and undermines school uniform rules. The ban has led to protests and violence in Baku. In Turkey, too, it is being sharply criticised, especially by government supporters there.
More than a month after the general election in Sweden, the bid of the Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson to be elected by the Swedish parliament as Prime Minister failed on Thursday. Given that the Swedish constitution imposes a limit of four proposed PM candidates, the national press speculates on whether it could come to a snap election.
The US will elect a new House of Representatives and a third of the members of the Senate in its midterm elections on 3 November. For President Donald Trump a lot is at stake: if the Republicans lose their majority in Congress it will be far more difficult for him to pursue his policies. Europe's press discusses the ramifications of the midterms for the US, Ukraine and Europe.
The Vatican has announced that Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery on Tuesday to remove the lower lobe of his right lung after an adenocarcinoma was discovered during a routine check-up. The operation is reported to have been successful and without complications. The media look at what the 71-year-old pope's illness could mean for the Catholic Church.
The trial over the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022 has begun in Hamburg. Ukrainian ex-officer Serhii K. has been charged with leading a group of divers who blew up three of the four gas pipelines that run between Russia and Germany. The public prosecutor's office classifies such acts as a war crime against civilian infrastructure.
Google plans to build several data centres in Finland and invest around 13 billion euros in digital infrastructure. At one location, 300 hectares of woodlands were cleared before the environmental impact assessment had been completed. The Finnish supervisory authority ordered all environmentally detrimental construction work to be suspended. After a long silence, Google has apologised and work on the sites has been suspended.
The negotiations on the EU budget for the years 2028 to 2034 are entering a critical phase. The Commission had presented a draft budget of about two trillion euros which has immediately come under fire from the net contributors – Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria. The Irish EU presidency has now proposed a new budget for around 160 billion euros less as a compromise.
US President Donald Trump has struck a diesel deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin while the EU is struggling to reach a consensus on the next package of sanctions against Moscow. At the same time, voices within the EU are increasingly calling into question aid for Ukraine. Commentators ask how Europe should position itself to find an appropriate response.