É crucial um registo europeu de cidadãos indocumentados

É crucial um registo europeu de cidadãos indocumentados

Acácio Pereira

03/09/2016 – PÚBLICO

https://www.publico.pt/mundo/noticia/e-crucial-um-registo-europeu-de-cidadaos-indocumentados-1743005?page=-1

O conceito de liberdade de circulação não pode em circunstância alguma ser confundido com a mera movimentação desregulada de cidadãos entre os estados .

O conceito de liberdade de circulação, hoje tão enraizado na maioria dos europeus, não pode em circunstância alguma ser confundido com a mera movimentação desregulada de cidadãos entre os estados soberanos que compõem um espaço comum, no caso o espaço Schengen.

A garantia da segurança comum impõe que um número significativo de regras básicas sejam criadas pelo legislador, implementadas pelas autoridades e cumpridas pelos cidadãos. Daqui resultaria que todos os cidadãos, nacionais ou estrangeiros, teriam de atestar de forma clara e inequívoca a sua identidade. Coisa lógica, mas pouco certa: um dos principais crimes verificados nas fronteiras é precisamente o da falsificação e contrafacção de documentos de viagem, imediatamente seguido pelo crime de uso de identificação alheia, o que obriga os serviços de imigração e fronteiras – no caso português, o Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras – SEF – a investirem fortemente no combate a estes crimes (com considerável sucesso, diga-se em abono da verdade).

Quando surgem dúvidas sobre a verdadeira identidade e nacionalidade do jovem que atacou num comboio na Alemanha, a questão não é saber se a notícia é verdadeira, mas saber quantos mais cidadãos cuja identidade levantam dúvidas haverá por esta europa fora! Há em Portugal – e em toda a Europa Schengen – uma realidade que não tem sido devidamente avaliada nem tratada: os cidadãos indocumentados, os falsamente documentados e os falsamente indocumentados. Esta realidade, até há pouco tempo marginal, assume hoje proporções graves com os movimentos migratórios dos últimos anos e a vaga de refugiados que tomou a Europa como destino.

Na realidade, hoje existem nos centros de acolhimento de imigrantes e refugiados milhares de pessoas sobre as quais não existe qualquer capacidade de identificar correctamente e proceder a uma triagem adequada. Sendo certo que uma larga maioria não constitui uma ameaça, há os que utilizam este meio como forma de se furtar à vigilância dos serviços de segurança e infiltrarem-se nas redes terroristas e criminosas que operam na Europa.

As dificuldades de controlo são acrescidas pelo facto de muitos dos países de origem se encontrarem em situações de duvidosa estabilidade política ou em estado de conflito, em que os serviços públicos são muito permeáveis à corrupção ou atuam em conivência com grupos marginais. Acresce que há representações consulares que atuam à margem da lei recusando documentar os próprios cidadãos nacionais.

Há ainda, para complicar, regulamentos nacionais que pioram as situações. Em Portugal e em muitos países comunitários, as autoridades judiciais, quando confrontadas com cidadãos indocumentados, não têm muitas alternativas legais quando o que está em causa supostamente é apenas a situação de irregularidade da permanência em território nacional. Das duas, uma: ou as polícias (quase sempre o SEF) conseguem documentar com fiabilidade os cidadãos, ou, então, estes são libertados sem qualquer documentação (e já agora, sem residência conhecida ou qualquer outra referência). Esta é uma realidade permanente que a maioria dos inspectores do SEF enfrenta quando apresentam diariamente aos tribunais cidadãos indocumentados, dos quais dificilmente voltam a ter notícia, a não ser pelas piores razões.

Há ainda o perigo de o mesmo individuo poder repetir o feito, assumindo tantas identidades diferentes, quantos os estados por onde for passando.

Naturalmente que os direitos humanos devem ser intransigentemente garantidos a todos, nacionais ou estrangeiros, documentados ou indocumentados, mas urge equilibrar esse princípio humanista com uma evolução nos mecanismos de segurança. Não se trata de criar um “Big Brother” policial, mas de permitir que a sociedade europeia seja mais segura.

Da mesma forma que a directiva “Passenger Name Record (PNR) do Parlamento Europeu obriga as companhias aéreas ao registo e fornecimento de dados dos passageiros que viajam de avião, com o objectivo de identificar potenciais terroristas e também de facilitar investigações futuras a suspeitos de actos terroristas (numa base de dados partilhada que respeita as regras internacionais da protecção de dados pessoais), importa que seja criado um sistema Europeu de registo de cidadãos indocumentados partilhado pelas autoridades nacionais. Este deve garantir que um cidadão registado, por exemplo, em Lesbos ou em Lampedusa, possa ser identificado em Portugal ou em França. A evolução tecnológica permite hoje o recurso a dados biométricos não intrusivos, cuja recolha permite estabelecer, se não uma identificação originária, pelo menos uma identificação permanente e válida para efeitos de análise e acompanhamento de um processo de fixação de residência ou de protecção internacional.

Não deixa de ser curioso que, num mundo cada vez mais globalizado – em que as questões económicas e financeiras são alvo de uma particular acuidade legal e onde, do ponto de vista da tributação fiscal, os cidadãos são cada vez mais escrutinados e registados em bases de dados complexas –, não haja coragem política para enfrentar o “politicamente correto” e garantir às polícias as ferramentas necessárias para exercer de forma adequada a sua missão: manter a segurança de todos.

Presidente do sindicato dos inspectores do SEF – Sindicato da Carreira de Investigação e Fiscalização do Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SCIF-SEF)

China ratifica acordo de Paris para conter alterações climáticas

China ratifica acordo de Paris para conter alterações climáticas

PÚBLICO

03/09/2016 - 08:57

(actualizado às 09:59)

https://www.publico.pt/mundo/noticia/chima-ratifica-acordo-de-paris-para-conter-alteracoes-climaticas-1743080

Anúncio feito quando se aguarda encontro entre os presidentes da China e dos EUA, antes do início da cimeira do G20, para fazer uma declaração conjunta sobre as alterações climáticas.

A China, o maior poluidor do mundo, ratificou este sábado o acordo climático aprovado em Dezembro do ano passado em Paris para conter o aquecimento global, anunciou a agência de notícias chinesa Xinhua.

A ratificação foi aprovada este sábado pelo mais alto órgão legislativo do regime comunista, o Congresso Nacional Popular da China, que aceita assim formalmente submeter-se a um tratado internacional considerado histórico e que tenta conter a subida da temperatura do planeta a 1,5ºC.

Esta decisão irá "fazer avançar ainda mais uma China verde, de baixo carbono, e garantir a segurança do meio ambiente", lê-se na proposta aprovada, citada pela agência Xinhua. O documento sublinha que a ratificação é “propícia aos interesses de desenvolvimento da China", e que também irá ajudar o país a "desempenhar um papel maior na gestão global do clima".

O anúncio acontece antes de uma reunião prevista para este domingo entre os presidentes da China e dos Estados Unidos, Xi Jinping e Barack Obama, que se devem encontrar antes do início da cimeira do G20 – a realizar-se na cidade chinesa de Hangzhou – para fazer uma declaração conjunta sobre as alterações climáticas.

Segundo o jornal inglês Guardian, os activistas acreditam que a peça central dessa declaração, que implicou semanas de negociações, será um compromisso formal de ambos os países a ratificar o acordo.

O acordo de Paris, selado em Dezembro passado após intensas negociações, precisa ser ratificado por 55 países, representando 55% das emissões globais de CO2, para entrar em vigor. “A China e os EUA juntos representam cerca de 38% das emissões globais. Se ratificarem o acordo de Paris permitirão que o tratado entre em vigor mais rapidamente", explica Li Shuo, conselheiro sénior de política climática da organização ambientalista Greenpeace no Sudeste Asiático, citado pelo Guardian.

Este conselheiro, citado pela France Press (AFP), destaca a hipocrisia da China ao falar do triunfo do acordo de Paris ao mesmo tempo que mantém “generosos subsídios às indústrias de combustíveis fósseis”.

A China é o país líder em termos de investimentos na energia solar, mas Pequim aprovou em 2015 a construção de pelo menos 150 novas centrais de carvão, tendo o consumo deste mineral naquele país duplicado ao longo da década 2004-2014, nota a AFP.

A agência francesa escreve que as autoridades chinesas fecharam nas duas últimas semanas as indústrias até 300 quilómetros dos arredores de Hangzhou para garantir um céu azul aos visitantes do G20.

A mesma agência, que estima que China e EUA juntos são responsáveis por mais de 40% das emissões globais de CO2, precisa que o gigante asiático ainda produz mais de 70% da sua electricidade a partir do carvão, sendo sozinho responsável por 24% dessas emissões.

O Governo português remeteu no final de Julho à Assembleia da República, para ratificação, o acordo de Paris adoptado pela Cimeira das Nações Unidas para o Clima. Na altura do anúncio o ministro do Ambiente, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, considerou da maior importância que o documento seja ratificado antes de Dezembro, quando se irá realizar uma nova conferência da ONU sobre alterações climáticas na cidade marroquina de Marraquexe.

A Hungria e a França foram os dois primeiros países europeus a ratificar o acordo de Paris. O instituto Climate Analytics, um organismo de investigação científica sediado em Berlim, contabilizou 34 outros países que se comprometeram a ratificar o acordo até o final deste ano. Entre eles estão o Brasil, o Canadá, a Indonésia e o Japão.

Angela Merkel and Marine Le Pen: one of them will shape Europe’s future

Angela Merkel and Marine Le Pen: one of them will shape Europe’s future

Natalie Nougayrède

The two women have fiercely conflicting visions, and their battle for the continent’s soul will be crucial

Friday 2 September 2016 19.22 BST

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/02/angela-merkel-marine-le-pen-europe-destiny

Two very different women hold Europe’s future in their hands – and neither of them is Theresa May. The battle for Europe’s soul is being waged between Angela Merkel and Marine Le Pen. This is a clash of personalities and visions: Germany’s chancellor v the leader of France’s Front National, the largest far-right party in Europe. As Britain prepares to leave the EU, the Franco-German dimension of the continent’s destiny has arguably never been so important since the end of the cold war. What is at stake is momentous: whether Europe can survive as a project, and whether fundamental principles such as the rule of law, democracy and tolerance can be salvaged. The battle will play out nationally in 2017, in key elections in France and Germany, but it concerns all Europeans.

It may seem strange to reduce Europe’s existential crises to just one personal confrontation. Merkel has been in power since 2005 and is trying to remain there, while Le Pen may dream of being in office but has never approached it (last year her party failed to take control of a single French region in local elections). Some may ask: why would a French opposition figure count more than the man currently sitting in the Elysée Palace? But François Hollande has become so weak – even more so with this week’s resignation of his economics minister, Emmanuel Macron – and terrorism has transformed French politics to such a degree that Le Pen’s prospects now stand out as a key defining factor of where France, and Europe for that matter, may be heading.

It is only partly reassuring to say that Le Pen has little chance of becoming president next year (the French electoral system makes that difficult). The trouble is, in recent months, her brand of anti-Muslim, xenophobic and nationalistic politics has spread across the French mainstream right like wildfire. Le Pen is fast capitalising on this summer’s burkini episode and on the national trauma left by jihadi terrorism. It’s hard to see which French politician or movement can find the authority and strength to push back against her ideas, or counter their appeal among the French suburban middle classes as well as in rural areas. Nicolas Sarkozy hopes to win primaries in November, but his whole strategy hinges on imitating rather than disputing Le Pen’s line of thinking.

Angela Merkel and François Hollande

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‘Le Pen lashed out at Hollande, describing him as a subdued ‘vice-chancellor of Germany’, after he’d denounced populism in a speech.’ Photograph: Philippe Wojazer/AFP/Getty Images

Marine Le Pen’s single most powerful opponent is to be found outside France: Angela Merkel. Le Pen hates Merkel, and Merkel despises Le Pen. They confront each other in a fight of European proportions. Le Pen has often attacked the chancellor – once describing her as an “empress” imposing “illegal immigration” on the whole of Europe. Merkel sees Le Pen as an acute political threat to Europe, although she has rarely mentioned her in public. If France embraces the far right, the wider impact will be far more serious than it was with, say, Hungary’s illiberal slide.

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Merkel and Le Pen have never met, nor have they had any reason to. Once, last year, they sat not far from each other in the European Parliament chamber – but Merkel kept her gaze away, out of contempt. That day, Le Pen furiously lashed out at Hollande, describing him as a subdued “vice-chancellor of Germany”, after he’d denounced populism in a speech.

These two women have one thing in common and one thing only: the depth of their political conviction. Angela Merkel has been unwavering in her message that welcoming refugees is the right thing to do; Le Pen fumes against “rampant Islamisation” of the continent. Merkel wants to save the European project; Le Pen is fully aligned with forces that want to dismantle it (she recently said on CNN that France had become an EU “province”). Merkel nurtures the transatlantic link; Le Pen admires Putin’s Russia – her party sits at the heart of pro-Kremlin networks in Europe, financial ones among them. Le Pen’s ideology draws from France’s historical far right, the ideas of Charles Maurras and colonial racism; Merkel is the daughter of a Protestant pastor for whom individual freedoms are paramount values. Le Pen has always made much about being divorced and smoking cigarettes (trying to cast herself in the image of a modern woman); Merkel’s personal style is more subdued, which isn’t to say her character is less ironclad.

For decades what drove the European project was the so-called “Franco-German engine”. It is now all but broken – mainly because of France’s economic weaknesses, which have severely unbalanced the relationship. What now drives European politics is a different kind of Franco-German equation, one in which Merkel, often faulted for her eurozone policies, has on several occasions attempted to give France’s socialist government some financial breathing space against Le Pen – including by sparing France the wrath of the EU commission for disrespecting deficit targets.

Merkel’s anti-Le Pen strategy has largely been discreet. But in May she made it very plain. Speaking at Berlin’s French lycee, she said she would try to make sure “other political forces are stronger than the Front National, if that can be accomplished from abroad”. It was an unusually blunt statement. Le Pen’s supporters immediately accused the chancellor of meddling in French politics; but Merkel has long identified the populist dynamics connecting Le Pen’s rise with the rise of Germany’s far-right AfD, a party that threatens to upend politics in her own country.

This coming Sunday, regional elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern offer a key test for Merkel’s CDU party, which has trailed in local polls behind the AfD. Le Pen will be watching closely, and little wonder: one of the two will shape the future of Europe. The question is which

France’s summer stars face a tough fall / Nicolas Sarkozy, ‘exceptional man’

France’s summer stars face a tough fall

As presidential campaign season gets serious, media darlings Alain Juppé and Emmanuel Macron will come under fire.

By

Pierre Briançon

8/29/16, 5:30 AM CET

http://www.politico.eu/article/france-presidential-election-2017-alain-juppe-emmanuel-macron/

PARIS — The spring and summer darlings of the French political scene may struggle in the fall.

Alain Juppé and Emmanuel Macron became France’s two most popular politicians over the last few months as voters, tired of both sitting President François Hollande and his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, are looking for new leaders whom they consider more able to deal with the tough period France is going through.

True, the French seem to like both men for different reasons — Juppé because he has experience, Macron because he doesn’t. The former is 71 and was prime minister under conservative president Jacques Chirac more than 20 years ago. The latter is 38 and has only been economy minister — a relatively minor job in the French government — for the last two years.

But so far both men remain high in the electorate’s esteem. Juppé is still the most popular politician, according to the latest IPSOS poll, after spending most of the year in town meetings and honing his message, promising a shock-and-awe push for reform in his mandate’s first six months. And Macron seems to have benefited from his increasing political assertiveness, launching a political movement and promising his followers that he would “lead [them] to victory” next year.

It’s worth noting that part of their appeal is relative, and that they only stand out in contrast to the deep mistrust in which the French hold most other politicians.

Macron’s main problem is that he is mostly popular with conservative voters, and not that much within his own camp.

But both men will face similar challenges to translate into actual votes what IPSOS pollster Mathieu Gallard calls their “paper popularity.” Juppé is running in the conservative Les Républicains party’s primary, to be held in November. Macron is mulling leaving the Socialist government in September or October to be free to run as an independent candidate in the presidential election in May 2017 — a decision he hasn’t made yet, according to an aide.

Juppé’s main rival for now is Sarkozy, who didn’t surprise anyone last week when he officially confirmed he would run. Macron’s main problem is that he is mostly popular with conservative voters, and not that much within his own camp.

Bubble deflation

Several factors may soon challenge both men’s standing in the polls, advisers from within their own camps acknowledge. The first is that the Nice terror attacks in July have put an increased emphasis on security concerns. On the Right, that plays into the tough law-and-order campaign Sarkozy is preparing. On the Left it favors the experience of a sitting president to deal with threats both domestic and foreign.

The second reason why “the bubble may be deflating,” in the words of a top Juppé adviser, is that as France gets nearer to the primaries and the general election, both Juppé and Macron will increasingly become targets for political attacks — first from within their own camps, then from their traditional adversaries.

It has already begun. Sarkozy has spent months alluding not-so-subtly to Juppé’s age, even though he’s only 10 years younger than his rival. And Macron’s proclamations that the Socialist government he belongs to has failed has turned Prime Minister Manuel Valls, his former ally, into an arch-enemy.

“It’s high time for all of this to stop,” a visibly irate Valls said on the eve of Macron’s first big public rally in July.

Valls, meanwhile, is entertaining presidential ambitions of his own in case Hollande bows out, and the prime minister would then be likely to run on a law-and-order platform remarkably similar to that of Sarkozy.

So far the attacks against Juppé and Macron are only skirmishes compared to what awaits the duo once the campaigns start in earnest. Then the candidates’ specific ideas or proposals, which the French tend to forget when polled for popularity ratings, will come under attack.

In that respect Macron may have the most to lose if people start to really pay attention to what he is saying. “There’s a paradox that he remains highly popular with his resolutely liberal agenda — both on the economy and on social matters — in a country that is not that liberal at all,” Gallard said.

As economy minister, Macron has defended reforms that were always far more popular on the Right than on the Left — such as scrapping the 35-hour week, or liberalizing labor markets.

And ever since the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris, he has advocated a response “that would not be all about security” but would include dealing with the derelict banlieues, home to a high proportion of French Muslims. There is “too much urgency and emotion” in the current debates, he recently said.

Simple solutions

All this might make Macron look like a man running against the times, one of his own advisers admits. “Trying to be open and reasonable when politicians are competing on closed borders and demagogy is a fine line to tread,” the adviser said.

But speaking at the first rally of his official campaign on Saturday, Juppé didn’t seem to consider that a losing battle. Without naming Sarkozy, he seemed on the contrary intent on emphasizing the difference with his rival. “My campaign will not be based on fear,” he insisted.

The “three challenges” France must take on, Juppé said, were equality between men and women, the ecology and technological change.

“I will not accept a French-style Guantanamo in which thousands of people would be detained without trial on mere suspicion” — Alain Juppé

In the current context, that might be enough to make Juppé look like candidate Moonbeam.

The former PM however knows he has to talk about terrorism, which seems the only theme Sarkozy intends to run on. But he thinks French voters also want to hear what candidates have to say about the economy, education and even — he and Macron being the only two politicians to even mention the theme — Europe.

His problem is to find a way to appear firm and resolute without emulating Sarkozy’s fierce law-and-order rhetoric — which his aide called “Le Pen-light.” In the book the former president published last week announcing his candidacy, Sarkozy casually brushed off the concerns of “finicky lawyers” concerning proposals that would raise serious constitutional questions — for example on the detention of people suspected of terrorist sympathies.

“I will not accept a French-style Guantanamo in which thousands of people would be detained without trial on mere suspicion,” Juppé said Saturday in a direct answer to Sarkozy’s proposal.

“He’s not the kind to go for the simple solutions people sometimes demand in times like these,” his aide noted.

But the unspoken fear among candidates eager to appear reasonable and measured is that new terror attacks in the next few months might push French voters further towards simplicity.

 

Nicolas Sarkozy, ‘exceptional man’

The former president’s campaign hails him as nothing less than ‘extraordinary.’

By

Nicholas Vinocur

9/3/16, 5:29 AM CET

http://www.politico.eu/article/nicolas-sarkozy-exceptional-man-france-campaign/

PARIS — North Korea’s school of public relations would be proud.

As Nicolas Sarkozy gets his election campaign underway, supporters from France’s Haute-Saône region published an article on the candidate’s personal website that extolls the former president in terms echoing the breathless tone of Pyongyang news dispatches.

Titled “10 Good Reasons to Support Nicolas Sarkozy’s Campaign,” the article calls him an “exceptional,” “extraordinary” man, a “global authority” who is welcomed by leaders “around the world” with “haste and respect;” a “lucid reformer” who “never lied to the French” and will “modernize our institutions” as soon as he is re-elected.

While the first nine reasons listed for voting Sarkozy focus on his legacy and political reputation, the last one zeroes in on the human being.

“Nicolas Sarkozy is an exceptional man,” it begins.

“His background, his personality, his temperament, his legacy make him an extraordinary man. They say he is ‘divisive.’ That stems from media’s immediacy or on the superficial nature of things. When you analyze his political decisions, they are constantly underpinned by a search for compromise … He is particularly determined and shows an ability to persevere against all odds. The flow of attacks, insults and questioning would have crushed most men. His capacity to resist in any circumstances is impressive.”

Reason number three: “He never lied to the French” is a dig at French President François Hollande, whom Sarkozy accuses of lying constantly.

Reason number four: “He saved our political family,” refers to the fratricide battles taking place within the mainstream center-right party before Sarkozy took control, and promptly rebranded it as “Les Républicains” despite his rivals’ protests.

Reason number five describes Sarkozy as a “lucid reformer.” No matter that the former president himself admits having “regrets” about his time in power, especially his failure to address rigidities in labor market legislation.

Three months before the start of the Républicains primary, which will be held in two rounds on November 20 and 27, Sarkozy is determined to create what he calls a “blast” effect by saturating media with his presence at the expense of rivals, chiefly Alain Juppé, the race’s frontrunner. Sarkozy’s book, “Tout pour la France” (“Everything for France”), is available at train stations across the country, and had sold 32,000 copies three days after its release — a healthy number for a political title.

Early signs suggest the approach is paying off. A TNS-Sofres poll this week showed him neck-and-neck with Juppé in round one of the two-round election, though he was still trailing in the final round.

For an “exceptional man,” closing that gap should be child’s play.

Authors:

Nicholas Vinocur

Back to the Future: Alain Juppé's Star Is Rising in France

Back to the Future: Alain Juppé's Star Is Rising in France

By Julia Amalia Heyer

Many see Alain Juppé as boring. But the conservative former French prime minister is still the best liked candidate ahead of next year's presidential elections. He could thwart Nicolas Sarkozy's comeback and send President François Hollande into retirement.

August 30, 2016 – 02:55 PM

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/france-candidate-alain-juppe-has-inside-track-on-presidency-a-1109913.html

On a recent summer morning, Alain Juppé is visiting Roger André, a butcher in the town of Perpignan, to sample his pâté. After each bite, Juppé purrs with pleasure and commends the butcher with nods of approval.

The thermometer shows more than 30 degrees Celsius, yet Juppé is wearing a dark suit with a patterned tie. He hasn't even taken off his jacket. He is surrounded by his advisers and local politicians, all men and all of them wearing suits, except for his personal photographer and two journalists from a local radio station.

Juppé and his entourage are touring the Departement Pyrénées-Orientales, France's southernmost tip on the Spanish border. "Visiting the market" is on the day's agenda, though the market is no more than four stands in front of a police station. There are hardly any passersby and Juppé and his men represent a majority of the visitors.

Alain Juppé is the mayor of Bordeaux and is the most promising candidate from his party, Les Républicains, when the French go to the polls next year to elect a new president. In the primaries this November, the 71-year-old wants to finally achieve what he failed to do for so many years: be chosen by the French conservative party as its presidential nominee. And then be elected president. Juppé has been in politics for nearly half a century and things have never looked better for him.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, likewise from Les Républicains, also announced his candidacy for the primaries this week, but polls suggest that 80 percent of French people are uninterested in having him lead their country again. Voters prefer Juppé, and they like him even more than the incumbent, French President Francois Hollande, and the right-wing populist candidate Marine Le Pen. Their unpopularity is Juppé's chance.

He has been on the road for months now, visiting recycling centers in Le Puy-en-Velay and women's associations in Bretagne. He has even flown to the overseas territories of New Caledonia and French Polynesia to present his platform to voters there. That, in fact, is why Juppé is now at a butcher's stand sampling pâté. It doesn't bother him that the market is nearly empty: Juppé isn't the kind of person who enjoys shaking hands or patting people's shoulders.

'Best Among Us'

The butcher shakes his head as Juppé and his men in black disappear. Roger André, 55, is a friendly, corpulent man. "He's not going to save us and he won't help us either," André says of Juppé. "He's part of the old guard. What this country needs is for the younger generation to take the helm."

Alain Juppé was once prime minister and party chairman. He has also headed up the foreign, budget and environment ministries at various times. But there's one thing he has never been: particularly popular. As a graduate of France's best schools, he has always been regarded as highly intelligent -- and highly arrogant. His former mentor, Jacques Chirac, referred to him as "the best among us."

Reluctant campaigner Alain Juppé on the trail in June

Despite his good election prospects, there's still something sad about Juppé. He's been leading national polls for months, yet he still seems like a man of the past, like a symbol of the difficulty his country is facing in renewing both itself and its cadre of elites. In the late 1970s, Juppé began working for Jacques Chirac, who was prime minister at the time. He was promoted to his first ministerial post in 1986 and became prime minister in 1995. In 1997, he was forced to resign in the face of massive protests against his attempted reforms and was regarded as one of the least popular prime ministers of the Fifth Republic.

Juppé's current popularity can primarily be attributed to desperation. There are simply no better options.

The current president, Francois Hollande, has little chance of re-election. He's even more unpopular today than his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy was when he was ousted in 2012. Still, both Hollande and Sarkozy appear to want nothing more than to face off against one another one more time. Each of them seems convinced that popular aversion to the other is greater than their own unpopularity. Should such a political rematch come to pass, the greatest beneficiary would be Marine Le Pen, who is already rubbing her hands with delight behind the scenes.

Painful Platform

As such, Juppé's candidacy is a significant source of irritation. It's an inconvenience for Hollande, because the incumbent wants to position himself as a moderate, and it thwarts Sarkozy, who is pursuing a right-wing campaign strategy.

Alain Juppé's platform seems reasonable in a lot of ways. He has set out to do exactly what so many people have been saying needs to be done for so long: He wants a smaller government and less spending. He wants to extend the French work week to 39 hours from 35. He wants to raise the retirement age to 65 from 62. He wants to unburden business and boost the economy by lowering non-wage costs. He even openly admits that his plans are going to be painful.

Nicolas Sarkozy, by contrast, has reworked his old strategy of imitating the Front National in an effort to win back voters who have drifted to the far right. He rails against multicultural society, particularly against Muslims, and intends to abolish guarantees that every child born in France automatically gets French citizenship. He wants Muslim children to eat pork in school cafeterias and headscarves to be banned at universities. But his strategy has not had the desired effect thus far. A majority of French voters simply don't trust him anymore. Sarkozy's most influential adviser when he was president, Alain Minc, has come out publicly in favor of Juppé.

Conservative presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy

As such, the biggest question in the coming months is whether Juppé or Sarkozy will win the Républicains nomination. Juppé's problem isn't just that Sarkozy is able to bounce back from defeats better than any other French politician, as the Republican chairman, Sarkozy has also brought the party to heel. He can never be counted out.

Still, Juppé has a clear advantage for the time being, with surveys showing that while nearly three-quarters of party supporters view him favorably, only half support Sarkozy. In the past, "Sarko" always came out on top in political duels between the two. Perhaps things will turn out differently this time around.

Searching for Peaceful Coexistence

Either way, it would be tough to find two candidates who are more different. Whereas Nicolas Sarkozy overlays everything with peripatetic emotionalism, with exaggeration, hyperbole, bluster and flattery, Juppé is more sober, merely announcing what he intends to do in a given situation.

Whereas Sarkozy paints a picture of a France on the edge of the abyss and of himself as the only viable savior, Alain Juppé talks about his concept of an "identité heureuse," a happy identity, by which he means that a more or less peaceful coexistence is indeed possible.

While Sarkozy bellows his messages across France in an aggressive tone that is both too fervent and too grim, Juppé is plagued by a lack of passion. He sounds thoughtful, but not ardent. During his tenure as prime minister, a Gaullist party colleague once told him that France could not be led "like an administrative board." Can someone win an election if he treats party policies like a bookkeeper checking off inventory?

In interviews with Juppé about his plans for the country, the candidate seems highly practiced, to put it nicely. If he were president, what would he do first? "I would like to win back the trust of the French. They should once again be proud to be French," he says.

Juppé has established three goals for his presidency: better education for young people; a stronger, more assertive state, especially in matters of domestic security; and full employment. He repeats these goals no matter who he is talking to, usually verbatim.

Juppé spreads his tan, well groomed hands over the tablecloth as he talks about the chasm of trust between citizens and "the ones who govern us." It's a curious choice of words for someone who's belonged to the latter group for decades. But it's an absurdity that reappears whenever elections approach in France. Those who have long borne responsibility for all that has happened inside the country, whether on the right or the left, suddenly claim to be part of a rebirth.

Juppé doesn't like to be reminded of his hapless stint at the helm of France's government. He says he "accomplished great things" for his country and his city. He's been the mayor of Bordeaux for 20 years now, and even those who don't much care for him admit that he has been good for the city. Bordeaux now has a tram and bicycle lanes, and the city center has become a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Past Transgressions

But even Juppé shares responsibility for French politics losing their credibility. He wasn't only a protégé of Chirac's, he was also his henchman and vassal. As his deputy within the Paris municipal government, Juppé was involved in the dark side of city politics, from jobs that only existed on paper to dubious invoices. And Juppé was there as senior city officials were making themselves comfortable in decadent apartments in the upscale Saint-Germain-des-Près neighborhood for unimaginably low rents.

One of the most prominent tenants at the time was Alain Juppé. He had secured himself a six-room pad with a veranda along noble Rue Jacob. And his rent was a meager 13,000 francs a month, or less than 2,000 euros ($2,240) -- half the market price. Before moving in, Juppé spent half a million francs renovating the apartment -- a bill that was paid using taxpayer money. His son, daughter, half-brother and ex-wife were also able to move into extravagant apartments.

When asked about his extraordinary living conditions at the time, Juppé's expression hardens. "Those times are long gone," he says. The French people know he's not a dishonest man and he never enriched himself, Juppé says. Still, unreasonably low rents are inarguably financially advantageous.

"The laws back then were complicated," he says. For Juppé, the boost in popularity he is experiencing is also a vote of confidence.

His political career appeared to have come to an end more than once. After losing his job as prime minister in 1997, he was sentenced in 2004 to one year of ineligibility for office following a scandal involving illegal party financing. Then in 2007, after being appointed environment minister by Sarkozy, he had to immediately relinquish the post because he lost his parliamentary mandate in elections.

Maybe that's why he is so assiduously making the rounds these days, because he still has trouble relating -- not with issues, but with people. His audience may be interested, even attentive, but they are never excited.

Softer and More Indulgent

During a recent visit to a seaside resort on the Mediterranean, Juppé stood out like a sore thumb as he walked along the harbor. There he was, a man in a dark suit in a sea of flip-flop-wearing beachgoers and their brightly colored swim toys. The photographers were thrilled when he bought a scoop of strawberry sorbet, but when they were done snapping pictures, Juppé threw his ice cream away.

When a man in a Mykonos T-shift slapped Juppé on the shoulder and exclaimed, "Good luck!" he winced with fright. Often, Juppé just strides by the crowds of people; it's his staff members who do the hand-shaking and chatting with onlookers.

People who know Juppé say he has grown softer and more indulgent over the years, that he's no longer the cold technocrat who graduated from Ena, Sciences Po and École normale supérieure -- three of the most elite schools France has to offer. But he still seems to be most at ease among those like him.

Juppé says he only wants to stay in office for a single term, which is perhaps his biggest selling point. It takes the wind out of the sails of those who say he's too old to be president. The outcome of the Républicains' primary is still wide open. It remains to be seen what will ultimately convince voters -- Sarkozy's platform of fear or Juppé's demonstrative composure. If he can manage to secure his own party's nomination, it seems likely that his path to the presidency will be open.

On that summer day in Perpignan, after sampling pâté at the market in the morning, he has another campaign event in a gymnasium. Juppé has changed his shirt and suit after the long day, but the heat remains trapped inside the gym.

Lowest Common Denominator

The city's deputy mayor introduces Juppé with an enthusiastic, effusive speech of the kind the presidential candidate could never deliver himself. Juppé, the local politician says, is an Ultima Ratio of sorts, the last resort. And a voice of reason. He is, the deputy mayor intimates, the antidote to the chaos sowed by Francois Hollande and Front National.

When Juppé takes the stage, he uses his first few sentences to describe the state of the world and that of his country. He paints a picture of a world stricken by fear and endangered by ever new threats. Nevertheless, Juppé says, his voice as dull as ever, "we can't destroy everything now."

He doesn't want barriers between Germany and France or border controls within the European Union. "That would be an historical regression," he says, adding that Muslims are a part of France. "Our strength lies in our diversity."

Such sentiments aren't often heard in contemporary France, especially not from someone running for public office. They are well received, in part because of the unemotional tone in which they are delivered.

And because there doesn't appear to be a better option on the table. It is a sad truth about Alain Juppé's candidacy: Even if the French choose him as their country's next president next year, it won't be out of enthusiasm. It will be because he is the lowest common denominator in a divided country.

Motorista que trabalha com Uber atacada com dejectos de animais / Uber: the real lives of its drivers

12 questões para perceber a “revolta” dos taxistas contra a Uber

28 Abril 2016215

Ana Pimentel

http://observador.pt/explicadores/12-questoes-perceber-revolta-dos-taxistas-uber/

Motorista que trabalha com Uber atacada com dejectos de animais

Mariana Oliveira

02/09/2016 – 19:12

https://www.publico.pt/sociedade/noticia/motorista-que-trabalha-com-uber-atacada-com-dejectos-de-animais-1743035

Incidente aconteceu esta quinta-feira à tarde junto à estação de Campanhã, no Porto.

Uma motorista que trabalha com a Uber foi atacada no interior da viatura que conduz com dejectos de animais ao fim da tarde desta quinta-feira perto da estação de Campanhã, no Porto. O autor do ataque fugiu e não chegou a ser identificado pela polícia, mas a vítima acredita que foi um taxista ou alguém a mando de um destes profissionais.

A motorista Patrícia Madureira, de 42 anos, ficou com “estrume líquido” na cabeça, nos braços e no vestido que usava, como é possível ver nas fotos que partilhou no Facebook. “Já tomei mais de 20 banhos, fui cortar o cabelo a pente um e continuo com um cheiro nauseabundo”, queixa-se a condutora ao PÚBLICO, lamentando a humilhação a que foi sujeita.

A vítima, que chamou a polícia que registou a ocorrência, dirigiu-se esta sexta-feira a uma esquadra para apresentar uma queixa de agressão contra desconhecidos. Foi convocada para se apresentar no Instituto de Medicina Legal, já que não se conhece o teor da substância que a atingiu nem os eventuais efeitos nocivos para a sua saúde. A PSP do Porto confirma, através do seu porta-voz, António Veiga, que recebeu uma queixa deste teor na 4ª. esquadra e adianta que não tem conhecimento de situações idênticas.

O veículo que conduzia, um carro eléctrico que funciona integrado no serviço Uber Green, ficou com dejectos espalhados pelo interior, essencialmente no tablier, nos estofos da frente e no tecto. O proprietário da empresa, parceira da Uber, também apresentou uma participação na PSP por causa dos danos na viatura, confirmou Vítor Pessegueiro, dono da Honras e Cortesias. O empresário considera que a polícia devia ter um papel mais activo na defesa destes condutores essencialmente nas zonas onde tem ocorrido os principais problemas no Porto: as estações de Campanhã e de São Bento e na zona da Batalha. Foi neste último local, que no final de Julho um outro carro da empresa foi danificado ao pontapé por um grupo de quatro ou cinco homens, que o empresário acredita serem taxistas. “Os clientes iam dentro do carro. A parte lateral esquerda da viatura vai ser toda substituída”, explica.

Vítor Pessegueiro já teve um motorista agredido, carros apedrejados e vidros partidos. As ameaças e os insultos são um problema diário. Garante que não é a primeira vez que há ataques com dejectos de animais, mas até agora apenas terão atingido o exterior das viaturas.

Patrícia Madureira conta que tudo começou com um pedido para ir buscar clientes à Rua da Estação, uma via que dá acesso à Estação de Campanhã, um local que normalmente evita devido aos problemas que já ocorreram. “Como o pedido não era para a estação, achei que não havia problema. Onde estava não via os taxistas [que estavam na postura] e eles também não me viam”, explica.

Foi quando os clientes, três jovens estrangeiros que estavam sentados no chão com as respectivas mochilas, se preparavam para entrar no carro que um homem lhe atirou com “um tipo de estrume líquido” que trazia numa embalagem de plástico. Antes, o mesmo já a advertira que não ia fazer “esta corrida”, uma expressão própria dos taxistas. “Ele fugiu para a postura da estação e só saiu de lá quando viu chegar o carro-patrulha da polícia”, afirma.

Desde o início do ano passado, foram reportados às autoridades pelo menos 71 casos de agressões a condutores que trabalham com a multinacional norte-americana Uber em Lisboa e no Porto, uma contabilidade feita pelo PÚBLICO em finais de Abril a propósito do arranque de uma semana de luta dos taxistas contra a actividade da Uber em Portugal. A própria multinacional contabilizou entre Janeiro do ano passado e Fevereiro deste ano 43 inquéritos-crime por agressões ocorridas apenas no Porto. A estes somam-se, 28 queixas contabilizadas pela PSP em Lisboa até final de Fevereiro passado. Destas, 22 denúncias “por ameaças e agressões a condutores e danos” nas viaturas disponíveis através da plataforma digital ocorreram no ano passado e seis casos já este ano.

Câmara de Lisboa quer mais restaurantes na ala oeste do Terreiro do Paço

Câmara de Lisboa quer mais restaurantes na ala oeste do Terreiro do Paço

Liliana Borges

01/09/2016 – 18:00

https://www.publico.pt/local/noticia/transferencias-no-terreiro-do-paco-sai-o-ministerio-da-defesa-entra-mais-restauracao-1742924

Ministério da Defesa cedeu espaço ao município por 380 mil euros. Os imóveis serão colocados a concurso brevemente.

A Ala Oeste da Praça do Comércio estava até agora ocupada pelo Ministério da Defesa

O Terreiro do Paço vai ter mais restaurantes e projectos de animação cultural. As intenções foram anunciadas esta quinta-feira durante a assinatura de um auto de cedência à Câmara Municipal de Lisboa do piso térreo da Ala Oeste da Praça do Comércio, que estava sob propriedade do Estado. Os imóveis, que ocupam uma área de 338 metros quadrados, ficarão agora sob posse da autarquia durante os próximos 45 anos, numa cedência que custou ao município 387,3 mil euros.

O autarca socialista detalhou que os espaços agora cedidos à câmara deverão ser concessionados e “podem ser projectos na área da restauração, utilização de espaço livre, de restaurantes, de esplanadas”, mas também projectos de natureza cultural, recorrendo ao exemplo do Lisbon Story Centre, um centro interpretativo da história da capital, localizado na ala oposta da Praça do Comércio.

Fernando Medina sublinhou que o projecto de requalificação do Terreiro do Paço, “foi um processo iniciado há vários anos pelo presidente António Costa” e acredita que “foi, sem dúvida, o projecto que mais transformou a Baixa da cidade de Lisboa e que mais contribuiu para o desenvolvimento do turismo”. Fernando Medina lembrou a complementaridade das intervenções no Terreiro do Paço com o espaço da Ribeira das Naus e as obras no Campo das Cebolas e no Cais do Sodré.

Sem se comprometer com datas, Medina diz que está para “breve” a entrega dos espaços cedidos e que estes serão requalificados após a abertura dos concursos para a sua atribuição. O processo de requalificação "será integrado dentro do contrato com a Associação Turismo de Lisboa e, muito possivelmente, as obras serão feitas pela Associação Turismo de Lisboa ou como responsabilidade dos concessionários que vierem a ocupar estes espaços", adiantou o presidente da câmara.

O autarca referiu ainda que o município está interessado em obter outros espaços para sua propriedade, mas quis manter “em segredo” quais os imóveis em questão.

Segundo o despacho publicado em Diário da República no dia 24 de Agosto, o presidente da Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, Fernando Medina, “manifestou, junto do Secretário de Estado da Defesa Nacional, o interesse do Município na cedência desta parte do imóvel, por a considerar essencial, por um lado, ao prosseguimento do trabalho de devolução à cidade dos espaços térreos do Terreiro do Paço”, numa carta enviada a 21 de Janeiro deste ano. No mesmo documento é destacada ainda a intenção do município em "promover a requalificação e adaptação do Torreão Poente da Praça do Comércio para Núcleo do Museu de Lisboa".

De acordo com o secretário de Estado da Defesa Nacional, Marcos Perestrello, também presente na cerimónia, o centro de recrutamento do Exército instalado na Ala Oeste do Terreiro do Paço irá "para o antigo Comando Militar de Lisboa, junto da Praça de Espanha".

Marcos Perestrello vê "muito bem" esta cedência, pois "a praça precisava da parte final desta Ala Ocidental do Terreiro do Paço para completar os espaços de usufruto por parte do público". Além disso, o secretário de Estado destaca que se trata também de “um esforço de reorganização do Exército, de racionalização dos custos” que beneficiarão “de uma receita importante para a modernização das infra-estruturas" com o protocolo celebrado.