By SIMON CONSTABLE
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#FRANCE: Wheat crop and the National Rally. Simon Constable, Occitanie.
https://www.esmmagazine.com/supply-chain/worse-than-expected-french-barley-crop-raises-concern-over-wheat-268942
By SIMON CONSTABLE
In July 1944, representatives of 44 nations met in Bretton Woods, N.H., to rejigger the global monetary system and hopefully stabilize the war-ravaged world economy.
The dollar became the new reserve currency, officially replacing the British pound, which had been the dominant currency since the early 1800s. World War I almost bankrupted Britain decades earlier, so the move was long overdue.
The Bretton Woods agreement fixed the value of all exchange rates relative to the dollar. The greenback had a fixed value of $35 a troy ounce of bullion.
Marc Chandler, managing director at currency trading company Bannockburn Global Forex, says picking the greenback over other currencies made sense. “The U.S. emerged as the only major economy not hurt economically by the war,” he says.
The creation of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were both designed to raise living standards for member nations and support the new currency system. Still, American bankers had reservations, especially about providing long-term loans.
The system ended in 1971 after President Nixon broke the gold link. However, dollars still reign supreme. “Inertia and lack of alternative currencies mean the U.S. dollar continues to succeed,” Chandler says. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Things aren’t looking good for France’s economy or its budget. And the forthcoming second round of the parliamentary election Sunday could make things even worse.
"It’s almost like France has taken away the crown for financial instability from the United Kingdom," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown in Bristol, England. Britain went through similar tumult in September 2022. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
FRANCE - When the French go to the polls this Sunday, the result will likely reflect an unprecedented move to the right in what could lead to the most conservative parliament since the country was liberated in WWII, experts say.
The reasons come down to unhappiness with immigration, a weak economy, a cost-of-living crisis and dissatisfaction with the current centrist government, especially among younger voters.
"Right now, France is seeing its biggest shift to the right," Matthew Tyrmand, adviser to conservative political candidates and parties across Europe told Fox News Digital. "This is democracy at work—the people are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore." Read more here.
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By SIMON CONSTABLE
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#FRANCE: Hot weather, heated Elections in Paris and London. CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor, Simon Constable, Occitanie
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/06/26/general-election-live-sunak-starmer-farage/.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
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At 28, Jordan Bardella shakes up French politics: 'People across France have woken up'
FRANCE — Jordan Bardella is shaking things up in French politics. He’s young. He’s handsome like a male fashion model, and since 2022, he’s been president of the National Rally, the new name for the National Front party founded in 1972 by controversial far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen. The party has moved on from its far-right roots, becoming more of a populist party under Le Pen's daughter, Marine.
"Jordan Bardella, the right-wing 28-year-old without a college degree, could be the French prime minister in a few weeks," says Thomas Corbett-Dillon, a former adviser to former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and adviser to other European politicians. "This is great news for the French people that have suffered relentless attacks on their culture by left-wing Macron and the millions of migrants he imported."
Read more about Barcella here.
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