#austerity-measures

#austerity-measures

France got a new prime minister Wednesday, welcomed into office by some 175,000 "block everything" protesters across the country, who blocked roads and train stations and lit fires in demonstrations against budget cuts. At least 473 people were arrested, the Interior Ministry told reporters. The protests fell on the first day in office for French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, the country's fifth in less than two years, although they were scheduled before the previous government collapsed and Lecornu's inauguration was set.

French interior minister Bruno Retailleau announced there had been nearly 200 arrests in the first hours of the planned day of nationwide protests. He added that a bus was set on fire in the western city of Rennes, while damage to a power line blocked trains on a line in the south-west. Mr Retailleau alleged that protesters are attempting to create "a climate of insurrection".

At least seven people have died, hundreds have been injured and public buildings have been burnt and looted after thousands of people took to the streets in anti-government protests across Indonesia over the past week. The clashes between riot police and rock-throwing protesters that began in the capital and quickly spread beyond Jakarta have been seen as a major test for President Prabowo Subianto, a former general who has been in office for less than a year.

The French prime minister Francois Bayrou has surprised France by calling a sudden confidence vote on 8 September, saying he needs backing from parliament for austerity measures to reduce France's public debt. Bayrou is almost certain to lose the gamble. All opposition parties from the far-right to the left have said they will vote to topple the prime minister and his minority government after only nine months in office. This would create a fresh political crisis.

Many of Argentina's top scientists are abandoning research or taking on extra work as ride-share drivers, food vendors, tutors or artisans, due to plummeting salaries.

Everyone deserves a fair chance, and that means ensuring support is in place when people need it most. It is never an easy decision to change the support we offer, but...we must face the reality that with decreased funding to local councils following a decade of austerity...