[ad_1]
We feel the heat as France rages under record temperatures for the second time this summer. But the Minister of Environment disgraced, François de Rugy, feels maybe a little more cooked than the rest of us.
We will start with the weather report.
This new wave of heat forms from the southwest and is expected to affect most of the country by Thursday. Even though the overall temperature is likely to be lower than in June, some areas are warned that they might experience record peaks. This is the case of Paris, for example, where the national weather forecaster said the absolute record of 40.4 ° C, set in July 1947, was about to be broken.
In addition to the discomfort, repeated heat waves pose major problems for French farmers. They have very little water to irrigate crops and they have virtually no grbad to feed their livestock.
The government promised to help … by asking the European Union to increase the amount allocated to French farmers during the next payment under the Common Agricultural Policy. This money will not be available until mid-October and is simply a cash advance that farmers are waiting to receive anyway.
Paris has also pledged to reactivate the national regulation on natural disasters under which 196 million euros were paid last year to farmers in difficulty.
State of declared natural disaster
In the most affected areas, the declaration of state of natural disaster will allow animals to graze on lands supposed to rest. Nearly a third of French départements are concerned that there is no source of emergency food to use in the event of a new heat wave or persistent drought.
Many farmers have already started using stored hay for next winter. The state has agreed to take over the transport of animal feed from surplus areas to areas in need.
The hope is that the desperate situation of last year, where animals were sent to the slaughterhouse because they had nothing left to feed them, can be avoided.
Another insidious and surprising aspect of the drought is that extremely dry soil can cause structural damage to buildings as foundations settle. But the problem can take years to appear and the damage, potentially huge, is not covered by the legislation or insurance in force.
An expert interviewed by the French daily Release indicates that four million French households are threatened.
And even if your house does not break down, the failure of successive French governments to take the appropriate preventive measures, says the same expert, means that you will probably be drowned by the floods or the rising level of the sea, or carried away in an accident. landslide, or swept by a storm.
So much for the good news.
Mixed news for the former minister of ecology
François de Rugy, former Minister of the Environment, was forced to leave his job last week after claiming to have thrown public money on lobster dinners for his friends and the decoration of his ministerial apartment . the hook.
Two official inquiries, which will be published tomorrow, will say that the expensive dinners were, in fact, official duties and that the quality of the food and beverages consumed was in keeping with de Rugy's status as President of the Assembly. and the caliber of his work. guests. The investigation concluded that the money spent on his official residence was 63,000 euros. It was therefore specialized work in a listed building over three hundred years old, which was not cheap.
Until here everything is fine. But why, if he is so innocent, did Rugy resign?
It turns out that there is a third charge against the former minister. Mediapart reportedly used part of its government's spending to finance the Green Europe Ecology party.
The problem is that he also seems to have deducted money from his tax bill, totaling 9,200 euros, while state spending is automatically excluded from income tax.
Damien Adam, De Rugy's parliamentary colleague, states that such a procedure is obviously wrong. If that happens to be true, Adam continues, then de Rugy made the right choice by resigning.
François de Rugy has made no statement on the latest claims. But he started legal proceedings for defamation against Mediapart.
The weak politicians, the tyrants of the media
Right wing Le Figaro says that Rugy's case proves that we are threatened by a two-headed monster: political weakness and media tyranny.
On one side, small masters who were given access to luxurious offices, unlimited service, heavy food, expense accounts, police escorts. Not everyone can keep the privileges in perspective.
The media monster is even more dangerous, says Le Figarobecause the victims are frequently executed before being properly judged.
The world wonders what would have happened in some neighboring countries if de Rugy's rumor had surfaced there.
In Norway and Sweden, he apparently went through the revolving doors of the ministry from the first charge.
Sweden has sacked a minister for buying a Toblerone with his government credit card. The rule seems to be this: quit first, prove your innocence later.
They do things differently in the UK, as Boris Johnson's prime minister proves so strongly. You can swallow the crown jewels on prime time TV and escape with a denial or an apology, suggests The worldmainly because resignations lead to by-elections. And these are dangerous business, especially in these days when the governing majorities are narrow.
Source link
