French lawmakers approved a bill sanctifying a women’s right to an abortion in its constitution in a 780-72 vote on March 4. The French parliament began the process of amending the constitution two years ago after the U.S. overturned Roe v. Wade. An overwhelming concern washed over the French people at the thought of losing reproductive rights.
“When women’s rights are attacked in the world, France rises and places itself at the forefront of progress,” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said in a social media post following the Senate’s vote in favor of the bill.
Parliament inscribed the amendment into the French constitution on March 8, International Women’s Day, during an open ceremony in central Paris. President Emmanuel Macron states that France will “lead this fight in our continent, in our Europe, where reactionary forces are attacking women’s rights.”
Morena party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum leads the polls after launching her 2024 Mexican presidential election campaign on March 1. Sheinbaum, the former mayor of Mexico City, continues current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s legacy due to their shared left-wing populist values. Sheinbaum plans to continue Mexico’s transformation, which President López Obrador started, and not allow corruption to return.
“I will never submit to any economic, political or foreign power. I will always work for the supreme interest of the people of Mexico and the nation,” Sheinbaum said.
According to AP, Sheinbaum controls around 59% of the vote while runner-up Senator Xóchitl Gálvez holds about 36% of the ballot. The 2024 Mexican presidential election is scheduled for June 2.
More than 5,000 leaders from across China gathered in Beijing on March 5 to participate in the week-long annual National People’s Congress (NPC) meeting. The main topic for discussion at these meetings will be new policies to help reform China’s economy after it struggled post-pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic caused consumption, production and all economic activities to decline in China, thus resulting in low economic growth.
“We expect the on-budget deficit – which excludes special bonds, policy bank bonds, and local government financing vehicle (LGFV) debt—to be set at 3.0%-3.5% of GDP, narrowing from last year’s 3.8% of GDP,” lead economist at Oxford Economics Louise Loo said. Loo studied China’s economic growth and decline since the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the summit, the NPC members will attempt to find solutions for the declining GDP and its causes. The NPC hopes to establish an economic recovery plan to return to pre-pandemic numbers.
