The news:
Macron will visit Russia and Ukraine. Two visits to try to extinguish the crisis. Emmanuel Macron will meet Vladimir Putin on Monday in Moscow then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday in kyiv. A new diplomatic effort by the French president to achieve a de-escalation in the Ukrainian crisis. The head of state has multiplied telephone conversations in recent days with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, as well as with American President Joe Biden, in order to play mediators in this crisis.
Red alert lifted in Reunion. The prefect of Reunion announced the lifting of the red alert, after the passage of cyclone Batsirai. The confinement triggered two days earlier remains, however, still in force because of the still degraded weather conditions throughout the day, and the risks posed by the passage of the cyclone. The rescuers managed to save the 11 sailors from the Mauritian oil tanker Tresta Star which ran aground on the coast of the island on Thursday evening, beaten by the wind and the rain.
Facebook unscrews on the stock market. Facebook’s parent company, Meta, suffered a historic and brutal correction on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, losing more than a quarter of its value and wiping out more than $200 billion in valuation, a record for the company. of Mark Zuckerberg but also for Wall Street. The fortune of the boss of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, estimated at 113 billion dollars, has also suffered a severe amputation: the co-founder of the social network has been virtually relieved of almost 28 billion dollars.
CAN: a Senegal-Egypt final. The Egyptian Pharaohs qualified Thursday evening for the final of the African Cup of Nations by winning on penalties against Cameroon. Egypt joins Senegal who had qualified without difficulty the day before against Burkina Faso (3-1).
And three for Rudy Gobert. As in 2020 and 2021, French basketball player Rudy Gobert was selected to play in the All-Star Game on February 20 in Cleveland, bringing together the best NBA players. The 2m16 tricolor pivot, 29 years old, is thus rewarded for his excellent season with the Utah Jazz which for the time being the best of his career in the North American League. Among French basketball players, only the legend Tony Parker has so far done better by participating in six editions of the All Star Game.
To be continued today:
Winter Olympics 2022: here we go. It is this Friday, at 1 p.m. (French time) that the 24th Winter Olympic Games in history officially open from the Beijing Olympic Stadium, more commonly known as “bird’s Nest”. However, this new edition will start in a very special atmosphere. In addition to the health situation and the very strict rules of the Chinese authorities to avoid the slightest cluster (which can clearly be compared to the surveillance of athletes), the start of the Olympic Games will be marked above all by the diplomatic boycott of a majority leaders of Western countries. France has chosen to follow the line of the European Union, namely but a “reasonable presence”. Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu will be there in the coming days.
The podcast
“Libélysée” episode 1. From now on, Libé listens to itself too. Discover the very first episode of our podcast on the 2022 presidential election. On the menu this week: the story, analysis and behind the scenes of the fight between Eric Zemmour and Marine Le Pen just over two months before the first round. It’s here.
L’interview
Anne Hidalgo: “Being president is not Star Ac”. Despite the lowest polls and the fragile support of her party’s leadership, the Socialist candidate maintains her candidacy and wants to convince, with her program, that she is the only one on the left to have the capacity to govern. Read an interview here.
The report
Student demonstrations: “Macron clearly wants to take us towards an Americanization of the university”. In Paris, in front of a Crous establishment, a few hundred students gathered to denounce the government’s record for higher education and put the question of young people back at the center of the debates for the presidential election. Our report.
The portrait
Yaël Braun-Pivet, she comes back from laws. Mocked when she took the presidency of the Law Commission, the deputy LREM, who will seek a new mandate in 2022, ended up convincing of her competence, including in the opposition. His portrait.