Europe Today: French students 'retake Bastille', Trump 'unwilling' to help Ukraine

Name: Europe Today: French students 'retake Bastille', Trump 'unwilling' to help Ukraine
Uploaded: 2026-10-09T07:03:53+00:00
Duration: 19 min 39 s
Channel: euronews (in English)

00:14Good morning, it is Friday the 9th of October. I'm Maeve McMahan and this is Europe Today,

00:21your daily dose of European news and analysis live here on Euronews.

00:26Coming up, French bonds hit historic lows. Market panic is gripping Paris as the country's

00:32debt turmoil reaches levels not seen in decades. The news could have chilling implications for

00:38the wider Eurozone economy just as finance ministers were gathering in Luxembourg.

00:43Meanwhile, the European Court of Auditors warns that total EU debt could hit a staggering

00:48€1 trillion by 2027. Billions are being wasted on interest payments and spending mistakes,

00:54leaving Brussels with a massive cash crunch just as leaders try to fund defence and Ukraine.

01:00And speaking of Ukraine horror in the east of the country with at least 33 people killed

01:06after a Russian bomb hit two buses in the frontline city of Kramatorsk.

01:10Emergency services report dozens more injured in an attack. President Zelensky has called

01:15a deliberate targeting of civilian life.

01:17But first, the Bastille has been retaken. The words of French left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon

01:24after days of high school goers and student protests culminated in a mass gathering around

01:29the famous Place de la Bastille in Paris. For more on these strikes that look like they're

01:34here to stay, we can bring in now the French MEP Emma Ravovich from the Socialist Party.

01:39Good morning, Emma. Thank you so much for joining us here live on Europe Today.

01:42So, Luc Mélenchon saying the Bastille has been retaken. Do you endorse this revolutionary talk?

01:48I'm not going to speak about Jean-Luc Mélenchon. I think that what we are going to speak about

01:53and what is really important right now is the situation of high schoolers in France.

01:58Myself, actually, 15 years ago, I was also protesting. And what is completely striking for

02:05all of us here is how the situation hasn't changed for the EU.

02:09So, why has there been such little investment in this sector? What are the main issues here?

02:15Well, I would say that the main issue is the government, who actually isn't doing anything for

02:20the youth, who isn't respecting the young people, especially when they are coming from, I would say,

02:26poorer neighbourhoods or departments of the country. When we are literally all of us seeing

02:32high schools in shambles in France, you know, ceiling falling down, rats in school, lunches being

02:40basically not moment for quality time, because, well, basically, there are sometimes rats or insects

02:46in the food. This is happening right now in France, which is a rich country. And this means that there

02:52is disrespect for the young people.

02:54But the protests, of course, have been hijacked by violence. They're the images that are being

02:57captured, of course, on the front pages of all the newspapers across Europe.

03:00How can calm return to the streets of France here?

03:04Well, to me, honestly, there is something really good in protesting, and I really respect that.

03:12The problem right now is that we are seeing violence, violence from, first of all, from the police side.

03:18The minister of the interior minister actually asked that the police shows no restraint when it was

03:26basically framing or organising these mobilisations. And on the other side, of course, there are

03:33individuals who are deciding to basically profit this mobilisation to make violence movements.

03:40But I want to say that this is not what is happening in the country. Violence is not the general

03:46thing.

03:47What is happening is protesting, respectful one. We even see singing everywhere in the country.

03:53The youth are actually mobilising quite well.

03:55And what is the government doing? Are they just closing their eyes and hoping it'll go away,

04:00and then suddenly it'll be Halloween holidays?

04:02Well, you said it. I feel like it is that way, yes. And to be honest, I don't understand.

04:07I don't understand what we are doing. I feel like, you know, we are just looking the other way,

04:13hoping that the holiday will come soon, and basically that the kids will not be in the streets.

04:19I feel like they are completely irresponsible.

04:23And just one final question. Meanwhile, while all this is happening, we've seen France heading

04:27towards a potential debt crisis. How could that impact France and, of course, the wider Eurozone?

04:32The debt also is something that shows just basically how Macron was completely irresponsible.

04:39Of course, in Europe, we all had the situation during Covid, taking really important choices

04:45and obviously increasing the debt of our countries. But today, we also see a government that decided

04:51month after month, years after years, to give gifts, basically fiscal gifts, to the richest,

04:58and basically deciding now is saying now that it is a problem and that the poor people,

05:04for example, in retirement, should do big choices. And of course, we have the AI bubble on the market,

05:10who is basically, well, I would say disrupting the entire debt system and the bonds for France,

05:17of course, but for a lot of countries in Europe today. And I feel like, you know, we should say

05:23stop,

05:24that this is not enough, and we should not let that go.

05:27Okay. Emma Ravovic, thank you so much for joining us this morning. You're, of course,

05:30very critical of the French government. We'll soon bring on a voice from there to have their view as well.

05:34But now, moving on in the context of instability in the Gulf, growing pressure on global energy

05:40security and the scramble for critical raw materials, over 1,000 representatives from over

05:4555 countries have gathered in Brussels for talks. Among them is the former New Zealand Prime Minister,

05:50Helen Clark, who joins us now in the studio. Welcome.

05:53So welcome to Brussels. Just tell us more about what brings you here.

05:56It is the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Global Conference. It happens once every three years,

06:02and we bring the whole family that supports this initiative together. That's governments both

06:07supporting and countries implementing the EITI best practice, good governance standard. We also

06:14have company members from across the extractives and civil society members from around the world.

06:20That all sounds very clunky and kind of distant to our viewers. What are you actually trying to

06:23achieve here?

06:24So it was set up basically to fight corruption in the extractive industries, oil, gas, minerals.

06:30Everyone will remember blood diamonds in Sierra Leone. You remember the civil war in Nigeria over

06:36oil. There's been a lot of corruption traditionally around these sectors in many countries. This

06:43initiative was set up to drive it out and to have countries change their laws and policies and the

06:50way they governed these sectors to get better results for people.

06:54And while you're here, of course, our trade commissioner is over in Beijing. So everyone in Brussels is

06:58talking about China and the very tense EU-China relations. We've also seen Friedrich Merz and

07:02Emmanuel Macron calling for perhaps the use of a big bazooka. What would be your advice here for

07:07Europeans?

07:09When I was New Zealand Prime Minister, we became the first Western country to sign a free trade

07:14agreement with China. And I have to say, it underpinned New Zealand's prosperity for a long time.

07:21Now, it's very important to keep diverse markets, of course, but China isn't going anywhere. China is

07:27a fact of life. Countries have to engage with China. The European Commission has to engage with

07:32China. It is a power in the world. It is a huge economy. And we have to work out how

07:39we engage and

07:40how we interact.

07:41And do you think they'll manage and save off a trade war?

07:44Well, do you want another trade war? You know, there's an American trade war. Do you want a

07:49China trade war? Look, we need people talking. I am a great fan of Prime Minister Mark Carney of

07:54Canada, who's very pragmatic. His country was quite estranged from China over a number of things.

08:00He's gone there. He's talking. He's engaging. He's engaging with Europe, too. We need more

08:05pragmatic leaders who can look at how we engage around our common interests.

08:09Well, he certainly is engaging in Europe, so much so that he was in Strasbourg recently delivering

08:13his speech. The idea of an associate membership for Canada was even floated. Is that something

08:18that New Zealand would also like to explore?

08:20I'm very interested in that agreement, because I recall having a dinner with a former chair

08:26of the Commission many years ago when I was PM and came to Brussels, and he said, you know,

08:30there's one country that meets every single criterion for membership of the EU except geography.

08:37That's New Zealand. So the association agreement could be very interesting to New Zealand.

08:42What would it look like?

08:43Well, if it gave access to a common market, wouldn't that be very interesting for a distant

08:49trade country like New Zealand?

08:51And what about defence? Because that's obviously the big topic here.

08:54Well, you see, the issue is how much is Europe, the European Union, going to do defence vis-a-vis

09:00NATO? We are not obviously in NATO. We're a very long way away. But we should be in the conversation

09:07about what an association agreement means.

09:09And just one final comment. Brexit is back on the political agenda. We've had UK ministers

09:14in Strasbourg this week and also participating in meetings in Ireland who have the EU presidency

09:18now. What would your view here be?

09:21This is an incredibly difficult political issue in Europe, in the United Kingdom. And what the

09:27Prime Minister won't want to do is fire up Nigel Farage and the anti-Brexit team again.

09:32But there's no doubt, in my view, that Britain getting closer to the single market again

09:37would be good for the British economy and the British people.

09:40OK, Helen Clark, thank you so much for joining us here this morning on Europe Today. And best

09:44of luck for your talks today in Brussels.

09:47Well, now, moving on to Ukraine, where Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised US, quote,

09:52unwillingness to help his country ahead of new peace talks in Miami today.

09:55The talks come as Russia steps up deadly airstrikes against Ukraine, including one at a bus stop

10:01yesterday that killed over 33 civilians and injured dozens. For more, we can go straight

10:06over to Kyiv now and speak to Yulia Klimenko, a Ukrainian member of Parliament. Good morning,

10:11Yulia. Thank you so much for joining us. We've seen now Russia using a glide bomb to target

10:16regular bus stops. Was this a direct attack on civilians?

10:21Hello from Kyiv. Thank you for hosting me. Yes, it was deliberate and very purpose, purpose

10:28attack on civilians. Only yesterday, Russia killed the 450 injured, badly injured or killed 450 people

10:40around Ukraine. It's civilian people. I'm not talking about the army. So actually, it's a deliberate

10:47fight and genocide against civilians, because they cannot achieve anything on the front line.

10:55Moreover, for the past three weeks, we de-occupied, our army de-occupied more than 150 kilometers. So

11:02now it looks like the only war Russia can do with kids and women inside the country. So that's what

11:10they are doing, deliberately targeting. And they targeted, unfortunately, two buses killed more

11:15than 33 people yesterday by one glide bomb and injured more than 60 people in the buses. So I think

11:23it's

11:23purposely war crimes have been done by Putin, who already said to his army and generals that they can do

11:31whatever they want with the civilians.

11:33So what's your plan now? How is Ukraine responding to these kind of attacks?

11:37So our plan is very simple. We are increasing our capacity on air defense. And in parallel,

11:45we're talking to our U.S. and European colleagues and partners to proceed with the peace talks. I think

11:54this will be two parallel tracks. From one side, reinforcing army. From other side, to restart

12:02again, a peace talk. Let's see if we'll have it.

12:05Well, you mentioned peace talks. All eyes on Miami today on those talks, led by Jared Kushner and Steve

12:10Witkoff. They'll be discussing, quote, new ideas. But have you any expectations here?

12:16I think there is no new idea with Putin. He either stopped the war or proceed with war. So I

12:23think the

12:24only person who can decide to stop the war is Putin and Kushner and Witkoff have to put all

12:32possible pressure on Putin to stop the war. That's the only way how we can do it.

12:37And how is the Ukrainian economy keeping afloat? What is your message as well to European investors

12:42waiting for the war to end?

12:45Actually, European economy can help the Ukrainian economy with lanes of solidarity,

12:51with export, with more contracts, with more joint ventures, et cetera, et cetera. We have a very

12:57booming, I would say. It's very strange to say, but it's booming on the western part of Ukraine.

13:04And many companies from eastern and southern part of Ukraine relocating to the western part. And there

13:10already European investors can do investor investments and can cooperate with Ukrainian

13:15companies and businesses in this way to help Ukrainians also on economic side.

13:22Okay. Yulia Klimenko, Ukrainian MP speaking to us from Kyiv. Thank you so much for joining us this

13:27morning. Now we can move on as the French MEP of Palestinian origin, Rima Hassan, is facing an

13:33investigation after the Israeli and European Union flags were allegedly thrown to the floor at a

13:39commemoration for the 2023 Hamas attacks that set off the Gaza war that took place this week in

13:44Strasbourg. Our French correspondent Maya de la Boum actually spoke to her yesterday in Strasbourg and

13:49joins us now for an update. What does she have to say?

13:52So let's first remind our viewers of the facts. Rima Hassan is a French MEP from the left-wing

13:59France unbound. And she is primarily seen in France as a fierce supporter of the Palestinian

14:05cause and that is also what made her extremely controversial in France. So to remind the facts,

14:11on Monday she was accused of removing an Israeli flag from an exhibit commemorating the October 7th

14:19attacks. So she has since then confirmed that she had removed this flag, but she also argued that it

14:27was not an act of violence and it was primarily directed against the Israeli government and not the

14:34victims. However, we spoke to Joshua Zarca and you spoke to him, the Israeli ambassador to Paris,

14:42and he had very strong comments to make, very harsh comments. She called her a terrible person. We see

14:49it on screen now, he told Euronews. She openly supports Hamas. This is a terrible person. Our embassy

14:56and the President of the European Parliament are in dialogue with the purpose of making sure

15:01that Mrs. Rima Hassan faces the charges she needs to face. So as you said, Maeve, I interviewed Rima

15:09Hassan yesterday and she also had very strong comments to make and a strong reaction to make to

15:15the Israeli ambassador. Let's take a listen.

15:23First of all, it is worth remembering that the Israeli ambassador acts as a spokesperson for the

15:28Israeli authorities. This is therefore the official line of the Israeli authorities. I do not,

15:33therefore, expect much that is relevant or even, I would say, intelligent from an Israeli ambassador

15:39at this stage, given the current situation. On the issue of the conflict spilling over,

15:44Mr. Zarca seems to be unaware of the European Parliament's agenda. We hold debates, discussions

15:49and negotiations on texts relating to the situation in the region on a very regular basis, almost every

15:54month in plenary. On the issues of actions, specifically the act of taking down an Israeli flag,

16:00which has been highlighted, I maintain that I am absolutely opposed to the Israeli embassy being

16:05invited into the European Parliament in the same way that the Russian embassy has absolutely no

16:09authorization to come and organize or co-organize events that a Russian ambassador cannot come and

16:15address Parliament and that there is no platform for them to do so. Were you able to check the footage,

16:25the CCTV footage of what happened on Monday? I saw them this morning with the Speaker of Parliament.

16:31I was received this morning by the Speaker of Parliament. Listen, it's very clear. I even asked

16:36for these images to be made available to the press so that you could see them for yourselves. You can

16:41see

16:41me, rather softly, taking the Israeli flag down from the stand on which it was mounted. And a few seconds

16:47later, the stand actually tips over because it was unbalanced. And that is how the European flag ended up

16:52falling. But none of the flags were trampled on, thrown about or damaged. And this was confirmed by the

16:57footage I reviewed this morning in her presence. Right. But but looking back, wouldn't it be wiser

17:03to use words rather than this type of of action to express a disagreement?

17:11What I have observed is that on all other issues, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan,

17:17all the issues I've worked on, we have had no difficulty in obtaining texts. Indeed, we have even secured

17:23majorities to pass resolutions effectively condemned what was happening in this or that region of the

17:28world. The only issue is that it is literally censored. And I mean censored because we have

17:33debates, but no texts, no meaningful action is the Palestinian question. So sometimes, you know,

17:39a political mandate can be accompanied by an activist gesture, a symbolic gesture.

17:43I'd like to pick up on that precisely because we know that you're a very strong advocate for the

17:50Palestinian cause. We've seen it many times and you've demonstrated it on Monday. But how exactly do you

17:56ensure that this advocacy does not in fact end up placing the burden of responsibility for the Israeli

18:05government's actions on French Jews?

18:13Well, you just have to listen to me. I never talk, if you like, about individual responsibility on

18:19anyone's part. My political target is the State of Israel. And it is the fact that our Union of States,

18:24the European Union, our institutions and our leaders are failing to take their share of responsibility

18:30to ensure that international law is upheld. The commemoration of the victims of the 7th of October is a noble

18:36cause.

18:36I took part in it myself. In the parliament, we paid tribute to these families of the hostages,

18:41whom we welcomed during a plenary session. If you like, I am always present at all official

18:46commemorations. It is simply that these commemorations, or at least this particular event,

18:51was an unofficial event organized by the European parliament in partnership with the Israeli embassy

18:56and the AGC organization, which has been singled out in NGO reports for promoting settlement activity.

19:03This point is entirely open to question. In other words, commemorating the victims of 7th

19:08October is one thing, but not in partnership with the Israeli government, not in partnership

19:13with the Israeli authorities.

19:21Well, that brings this edition of Europe Today to an end. For news on the winner of this year's

19:25Nobel Peace Prize, stay tuned and see you soon on your own news.

Europe Today: French students 'retake Bastille', Trump 'unwilling' to help Ukraine

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