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Hard Numbers: French workers vs. Macron, Guinean junta buys time, Chinese manufacturing slows, Iran’s execution spree

May 01, 2022

Carlos Santamaria

and

Wajahat S. Khan

Hard Numbers: French workers vs. Macron, Guinean junta buys time, Chinese manufacturing slows, Iran’s execution spree

May 1 protests in Paris.

Elyxandro Cegarra / Panoramic

65: Thousands of French workers marked International Labor Day by protesting against newly re-elected President Emmanuel Macron for, among other things, wanting to raise the retirement age to 65 if his party wins a majority in the June legislative election. The rallies were mostly peaceful, although some demonstrators torched businesses in Paris.

39: Guinea's military junta says it's ready for the country to return to civilian rule in ... 39 months. Don't be surprised if ECOWAS, the powerful economic bloc of West African nations worried about rising coups, decides the timeline is not fast enough and slaps fresh sanctions against Guinea.

47.4: China's Purchasing Managers' Index — which measures manufacturing activity — fell to 47.4 in April, its lowest level in two years. The figure reflects the worsening economic fallout from the controversial zero-COVID policy and the Shanghai lockdown.

333: Iran carried out 333 executions last year, mostly related to drug-related offenses, a sharp spike compared to 2020. The surge has been attributed in part to the election of hardline President Ebrahim Raisi.

GZEROMEDIA

What We’re Watching: US’s Iran decision postponed, Court OK’s Trump’s use of the national guard in LA, Rwanda detains top opposition leader

A miniature statue of US President Donald Trump stands next to a model bunker-buster bomb, with the Iranian national flag in the background, in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 19, 2025.

STR/NurPhoto

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will decide whether to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities “in the next two weeks,” a move that re-opens the door to negotiations, but also gives the US more time to position military forces for an operation.

Hard Numbers: A Pride Month look at LGBTQ+ rights and challenges around the world

People ride motorcycles as South Korea's LGBTQ community and supporters attend a Pride parade, during the Seoul Queer Culture Festival, in Seoul, South Korea, June 14, 2025.

REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon

June is recognized in more than 100 countries in the world as “Pride Month,” marking 55 years since gay liberation marches began commemorating the Stonewall riots – a pivotal uprising against the police’s targeting of LGBTQ+ communities in New York.

GZEROMEDIA

What we’re watching: The subnational US-Canada relationship, Golden Dome’s leaden weight, MAGA Iran crackup

Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks during a meeting of northeastern U.S. Governors and Canadian Premiers, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., June 16, 2025.

REUTERS/Sophie Park

While the national level drama played out between Donald Trump and Mark Carney at the G7 in Kananaskis, a lot of important US-Canada work was going on with far less fanfare in Boston, where five Canadian premiers met with governors and delegations from seven US states.

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Hard Numbers: French workers vs. Macron, Guinean junta buys time, Chinese manufacturing slows, Iran’s execution spree

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Hard Numbers: French workers vs. Macron, Guinean junta buys time, Chinese manufacturing slows, Iran’s execution spree

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Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

More from GZERO Media

In his latest Quick Take, Ian Bremmer breaks down the US decision to formally join Israel in military strikes against Iran, marking a major escalation in the Middle East.

Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will decide whether to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities “in the next two weeks,” a move that re-opens the door to negotiations, but also gives the US more time to position military forces for an operation.

June is recognized in more than 100 countries in the world as “Pride Month,” marking 55 years since gay liberation marches began commemorating the Stonewall riots – a pivotal uprising against the police’s targeting of LGBTQ+ communities in New York.

Eurasia Group’s biodiversity and sustainability analyst María José Valverde sat down with Rebecca Hubbard, the director of the High Seas Alliance, to discuss the High Seas Treaty.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Canada recorded a population growth of 0% in the first quarter of 2025, the lowest mark since 2020.

While the national level drama played out between Donald Trump and Mark Carney at the G7 in Kananaskis, a lot of important US-Canada work was going on with far less fanfare in Boston, where five Canadian premiers met with governors and delegations from seven US states.

The G7 meeting this week was always going to be a tricky one.

What’s next for Iran’s regime? Ian Bremmer says, “It’s much more likely that the supreme leader ends up out, but the military… continues to run the country.”