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Fallout from riots in France
Fallout from riots in France | Quick Take | GZERO Media

Fallout from riots in France

Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: Hi, everybody, and a happy Fourth to you. Just a couple of days in Nantucket. Very enjoyable. And wanted to talk a little bit about a place that is a little less enjoyable right now, which is France.

You've seen massive riots across the country over almost a week, the worst in nearly 20 years in France, which is really saying something for that country. Social protest is basically taken as sport and riots are frequent. But even in that context, this has been notable and exceptional. What what sparked it off has nothing to do with extending pensions from 62 to 64. Those were major demonstrations across the country, but basically just shut down the economy for a period of time. Not so much violent protests. No, these violent riots and lootings and the like were set off by the French police gunning down a 17 year old French boy about Algerian descent. He was trying to get away from the police. They were trying to stop him. The police immediately said that he was killed in self-defense, that he was trying to run the police over. That turned out very quickly to be a lie because there was video capturing the French gunning at him as he was trying to get away and that it's kind of a George Floyd type situation in France. The response is deeply political. In other words, what you believe about who is responsible depends very little on the facts of the case and overwhelmingly on where you happen to stand politically. On the one hand, you've got Muslims that are seen by the right in France as taking over French identity, as not really being French. Big structural problems in France, in the suburbs outside of the wealthier French cities where most of the Muslim population lives. A lot of drug trafficking there, a lot of violent crime, a lot of poverty. If you ask the average French citizen what percentage of the population is Muslim, on average, they respond by saying a third, which is insane. It's actually some 10%. But that sensibility gives you a sense of how this is played on the right politically in France.

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French riots highlight policing problem
TITLE PLACEHOLDER | Europe in :60 | GZERO Media

French riots highlight policing problem

Carl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations and former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics.

Does France have a policing problem?

Well, I mean, primarily they got a riot problem. This is a third major wave of severe riots that President Macron is facing. The first was the "yellow vests," as they were called. The second was the protest over pension reforms, which was more overtly political. And this has been triggered by the police killing a young guy in a Paris suburb a couple of days ago. It's a severe issue. They do have a police problem, although substantially less than we find in the United States. Let's see what happens. President Macron has been forced to cancel his important visit to Berlin in order to focus on these issues. Let's see what happens. It's a rather French phenomenon.

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George Floyd Police Reform Bill unlikely to pass Senate
George Floyd Policing Reform Bill Following Chauvin Conviction? | US Politics In :60 | GZERO Media

George Floyd Police Reform Bill unlikely to pass Senate

Jon Lieber, Managing Director of the United States for the Eurasia Group, shares his insights on US politics:

With the conviction of Derek Chauvin, will there be a George Floyd Policing Reform Bill?

Unlikely right now. It's possible, but there's a big divide between Republicans and Democrats over the issue of eliminating qualified immunity. Democrats want to get rid of it. Republicans want to keep it in order to make sure that cops aren't exposed to too much liability while they're on the job. And to get anything done in the Senate, you need 60 votes, which would, of course, require 10 Republicans. So, conversations are likely to be ongoing, but this issue went nowhere during the Trump administration because both sides decided they wanted something, to make something political out of it, and I don't think that much is going to change now.

Why did President Biden flip-flop on the refugee cap?

President Biden promised during the campaign that he would lift President Trump's refugee cap from 15,000 to its old level of 65,000. But with a surging migrant crisis on the southern border, Biden decided this wasn't a priority and changed his mind a little bit on undoing the refugee cap. The administration announced this last Friday and there was a lot of pushback from migrant and refugee advocates against them for doing so. They later that evening flip-flopped again and said that sometime in May they were going to announce a new policy that would satisfy most of their allies on the left. But the issue of the border is still a big one for President Biden, one that's been dormant for quite some time. But with a surging number of children in particular rising on the southern border, it's not going to go away.

Will Washington, DC become the 51st state?

I'm standing here on a street corner in DC and I think the answer is probably also unlikely. And the reason is similar to the George Floyd Bill, that you cannot get 60 votes in the Senate to pass this. You'd have to eliminate the filibuster and even if you did that, it's unclear today if there are 50 Democrats in the Senate who would favor doing so. The House has now passed the bill multiple times to make DC a state, but the outlook in the Senate is just not that good. Stay tuned, because this is going to be a really important political issue throughout the year, especially as the Democrats look at the likelihood they might lose the House of Representatives next year.

Why are young people fed up in Nigeria?

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has been rocked for two weeks by major unrest, as youth-led groups have hit the streets to protest police brutality and the lack of jobs. The demonstrations caught authorities by surprise — could they herald a broader and more permanent shift in which young Nigerians demand a bigger say in shaping their country's future?

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Toronto the next Silicon Valley; AI in policing; NYC Marathon
Toronto the next Silicon Valley; AI in Policing; NYC Marathon | Tech In :60 | GZERO Media

Toronto the next Silicon Valley; AI in policing; NYC Marathon

Nicholas Thompson, editor-in-chief of WIRED, discusses technology industry news today:

Will Toronto become the next Silicon Valley?

A lot of really smart engineers are going to Toronto instead of the United States because of this country's self-defeating immigration policies. Building Silicon Valley requires even more. And ideally, there will be time for the United States to reverse all of its bad policies.

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GOP & police reform bill; US public on reopening; Biden's lead on Trump
GOP Police Reform Bill Blocked; Reopening the US; 2020 Election | US Politics In :60 | GZERO Media

GOP & police reform bill; US public on reopening; Biden's lead on Trump

Jon Lieber, managing director for the United States at Eurasia Group, provides his perspective:


What is the status of the federal police reform bill?

Well, the House has passed a bill already and the Senate has their own version. The big differences between the two is that the Senate bill doesn't ban chokeholds. It doesn't ban no knock warrants. And it allows qualified immunity for police to continue. Senate Democrats have said this is unacceptable. The bill cannot be fixed and have refused to even allow it to come to the floor of the Senate for debate. Not a great moment in U.S. congressional history. And it looks like this isn't going to happen.

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Justice for Adama Traoré: Police brutality in France
Justice for Adama Traoré: Police Brutality in France | GZERO World

Justice for Adama Traoré: Police brutality in France

The George Floyd protests in the United States have inspired countries around the world to take a closer look at their own problems with police brutality and racism. In France, thousands have recently taken to the streets to demand justice for Adama Traoré, a Frenchman of African origin who died in police custody in 2016. But how similar are the French and American experiences with policing and racial injustice?

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America after George Floyd: Deval Patrick on ending systemic racism
America After George Floyd | Deval Patrick on Ending Systemic Racism | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

America after George Floyd: Deval Patrick on ending systemic racism

The images of George Floyd's death, captured on video and seen around the world, ignited global rage and calls for an end to the systemic racism that has plagued policing in the U.S. since its founding. On the latest episode of GZERO World, Ian Bremmer talks about possible solutions and paths to real change with Deval Patrick, former governor of Massachusetts.

In an in-depth interview, Gov. Patrick details his reaction to yet another incident of police brutality claiming the life of a black man, his own personal experiences with racism in America, and why he feels "Defund the Police" isn't a practical fix for this widespread problem.

Gov. Patrick also discusses VP Joe Biden's presidential campaign and previous gaffes and policy blunders around race and criminal justice. He describes Biden as "evolving" and "empathetic," and encourages the Democratic party to rally in this crucial election.

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