france24--2020-03-12--Sanders vows to stay in US presidential race despite falling behind Biden

US Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden face off in a debate in South Carolina on March 3 , 2020 .
A resolute Bernie Sanders said on Wednesday he would stay in the Democratic presidential race despite a series of big losses to front-runner Joe Biden , promising to keep up the public pressure for his sweeping economic and social justice proposals .
Sanders acknowledged falling behind the former vice president in the count of delegates needed to win the nomination , but said he remained committed to the overarching goal of defeating Republican President Donald Trump in November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first one-on-one debate of this campaign , the American people will have the opportunity to see which candidate is best positioned to accomplish that goal , '' he told reporters .
Biden , 77 , and Sanders , 78 , will debate in Phoenix on Sunday ahead of nominating contests next Tuesday in Arizona , Florida , Illinois and Ohio .
On Tuesday , Biden notched decisive primary victories in Michigan and three other states , taking a big step toward the party 's nomination to take on Trump , 73 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders ' White House bid .
Sanders - who won in North Dakota but had hoped for an upset victory in the key state of Michigan to boost his flagging chances - said his anti-corporate economic agenda was winning the ideological battle and gaining support from young people who are the country 's future .
Many Democratic voters , however , still believe Biden has the best chance of beating Trump , Sanders said .
`` While our campaign has won the ideological debate , we are losing the debate over electability , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Vermont .
Sanders ' losses on Tuesday , coming after a series of Biden wins in last week 's Super Tuesday contests in 14 states , put Sanders in a deeper hole in the delegate count .
Biden leads Sanders 786-645 in the race for the 1,991 delegates needed to clinch the nomination at July 's Democratic convention .
Biden has already begun to look ahead to the November election , calling for party unity and making an appeal to supporters of Sanders .
`` We share a common goal , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump , '' Biden said in Philadelphia on Tuesday night , thanking Sanders and his supporters for their energy and passion .
Just two weeks ago , Sanders was seen as the front-runner after an impressive win in Nevada in mid-February , while Biden and the other moderate candidates split the vote of the party 's centrists .
But Democrats who worried Sanders ' agenda would doom the party to defeat in November have rushed to rally around Biden .
Biden 's decisive victories on Super Tuesday and in Tuesday 's showdown in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about his candidacy .
Two of the largest Democratic super PACs said they would back Biden , and former rival Andrew Yang joined other former contenders like Pete Buttigieg , Amy Klobuchar , Kamala Harris and Cory Booker in endorsing him .
During his first presidential bid in 2016 , Sanders ' battle with eventual winner Hillary Clinton lasted into June , long after the delegate math made her nomination inevitable .
Sanders said he looked forward to advocating for his progressive agenda during the debate on Sunday , and previewed some of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , what are you going to do to end the absurdity of the United States of America being the only major country on earth where healthcare is not a human right ? ''
Sanders asked .
`` Joe , what are you going to do to end the absurdity of billionaires buying elections and the three wealthiest Americans owning more wealth than the bottom half of our people , '' he said .
The debate in Phoenix will not have an in-person audience because of health concerns over the coronavirus outbreak , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Cleveland on Tuesday .
It was unclear how the pandemic might affect the campaign going forward .
Biden planned to deliver remarks on Thursday on the issue , which he has characterized as a test of presidential leadership .
His campaign canceled planned public events in Florida and Illinois and converted them into `` virtual '' campaign events to minimize health risks .

A resolute Bernie Sanders said on Wednesday he would stay in the Democratic presidential race despite a series of big losses to front-runner Joe Biden, promising to keep up the public pressure for his sweeping economic and social justice proposals.
US Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden face off in a debate in South Carolina on March 3, 2020.
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Sanders acknowledged falling behind the former vice president in the count of delegates needed to win the nomination, but said he remained committed to the overarching goal of defeating Republican President Donald Trump in November.
"On Sunday night, in the first one-on-one debate of this campaign, the American people will have the opportunity to see which candidate is best positioned to accomplish that goal," he told reporters.
Biden, 77, and Sanders, 78, will debate in Phoenix on Sunday ahead of nominating contests next Tuesday in Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio.
On Tuesday, Biden notched decisive primary victories in Michigan and three other states, taking a big step toward the party's nomination to take on Trump, 73, and casting doubt on the future of Sanders' White House bid.
Sanders - who won in North Dakota but had hoped for an upset victory in the key state of Michigan to boost his flagging chances - said his anti-corporate economic agenda was winning the ideological battle and gaining support from young people who are the country's future.
Many Democratic voters, however, still believe Biden has the best chance of beating Trump, Sanders said.
"While our campaign has won the ideological debate, we are losing the debate over electability," said the democratic socialist U.S. senator from Vermont.
Sanders' losses on Tuesday, coming after a series of Biden wins in last week's Super Tuesday contests in 14 states, put Sanders in a deeper hole in the delegate count. Biden leads Sanders 786-645 in the race for the 1,991 delegates needed to clinch the nomination at July's Democratic convention.
Biden has already begun to look ahead to the November election, calling for party unity and making an appeal to supporters of Sanders.
"We share a common goal, and together we are going to defeat Donald Trump," Biden said in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, thanking Sanders and his supporters for their energy and passion.
Was once front-runner
Just two weeks ago, Sanders was seen as the front-runner after an impressive win in Nevada in mid-February, while Biden and the other moderate candidates split the vote of the party's centrists.
But Democrats who worried Sanders' agenda would doom the party to defeat in November have rushed to rally around Biden. Biden's decisive victories on Super Tuesday and in Tuesday's showdown in Michigan created a growing sense of inevitability about his candidacy.
Two of the largest Democratic super PACs said they would back Biden, and former rival Andrew Yang joined other former contenders like Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker in endorsing him.
During his first presidential bid in 2016, Sanders' battle with eventual winner Hillary Clinton lasted into June, long after the delegate math made her nomination inevitable.
Sanders said he looked forward to advocating for his progressive agenda during the debate on Sunday, and previewed some of his questions for Biden.
"Joe, what are you going to do to end the absurdity of the United States of America being the only major country on earth where healthcare is not a human right?" Sanders asked.
"Joe, what are you going to do to end the absurdity of billionaires buying elections and the three wealthiest Americans owning more wealth than the bottom half of our people," he said.
The debate in Phoenix will not have an in-person audience because of health concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, which forced Sanders and Biden to cancel events in Cleveland on Tuesday. It was unclear how the pandemic might affect the campaign going forward.
Biden planned to deliver remarks on Thursday on the issue, which he has characterized as a test of presidential leadership. His campaign canceled planned public events in Florida and Illinois and converted them into "virtual" campaign events to minimize health risks.
(REUTERS)
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france24--2020-03-11--Ex-film mogul Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape, sexual assault

In this file photo , former film producer Harvey Weinstein arrives at the New York Criminal Court during his sexual assault trial in the Manhattan borough of New York City , US on February 24 , 2020 .
Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Wednesday following his sexual assault and rape conviction last month in a case hailed as a victory for the # MeToo movement against sexual misconduct .
The sentence was handed down in Manhattan criminal court by Justice James Burke , who presided over Weinstein ’ s trial .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 67 , guilty of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann .
Once one of Hollywood ’ s most influential producers , Weinstein had faced the possibility of a maximum sentence of 29 years in prison .
During the sentencing hearing , prosecutor Joan Illuzzi asked Burke to impose 25 years or “ near ” 25 years in prison for his conviction on a charge of criminal sexual act in the first degree involving Haleyi and to impose a consecutive sentence for the third-degree rape conviction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up to four years in prison , but the prosecution made no specific request .
Weinstein , wearing a suit , and the six women who testified against Weinstein were in court for the proceedings .
In an emotional statement in court , Haleyi spoke of the trauma she had endured since the attack , saying , “ It scarred me deeply , mentally and emotionally , perhaps irreparably , perhaps forever.
” Prosecutors in court filings last week said the sentence should reflect not only the crimes of which he was convicted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ towards others.
” More than 100 women , including famous actresses , have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct stretching back decades , fueling the # MeToo movement against sexual abuse and harassment .
Weinstein has denied the allegations and said that any sex was consensual .
The jury of seven men and five women acquitted Weinstein on the most serious charges , a single count of first-degree rape as well as two counts of predatory sexual assault , which carried a potential life sentence .
Those charges relied on testimony by actress Annabella @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the early 1990s .
Weinstein ’ s lawyers on Monday urged Burke to impose the minimum possible sentence of five years , asking him to consider Weinstein ’ s charitable activities while saying a longer sentence would likely mean Weinstein would die in prison .
“ His life story , his accomplishments , and struggles are simply remarkable and should not be disregarded in total because of the jury ’ s verdict , ” they said .
Weinstein has been awaiting sentencing in New York ’ s Rikers Island jail , where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10-day hospital stay at Bellevue Hospital where he underwent a procedure to clear a heart blockage .
He was a powerful figure in Hollywood and a contributor to Democratic candidates .
He won an Academy Award for producing “ Shakespeare in Love ” and was responsible for other acclaimed films including “ Pulp Fiction , ” “ The English Patient ” and “ Gangs of New York.
” Prosecutors portrayed Weinstein as a serial predator who had manipulated women with promises of career advancement in Hollywood , coaxing them to hotel rooms or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attacking them .
Haleyi testified at the trial that Weinstein invited her to his home in 2006 after she had worked on one of his television productions , backed her into a bedroom , held her down on the bed and forced himself on her orally .
Mann told jurors that Weinstein raped her in a Manhattan hotel room in March 2013 , about a month into what she described as an “ extremely degrading ” relationship with him that continued for several years after the attack .
Mann called Weinstein a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in public but prone to rage when they were alone .
Weinstein ’ s lawyers argued during the trial that the six women who testified against him were reframing consensual encounters as assaults out of regret .
In Friday ’ s filing , prosecutors listed more than a dozen accusations going back to 1978 , when they said he sexually assaulted an employee of his Buffalo , New York-based music company in a hotel room .
Court documents unsealed on Monday included an email to Weinstein from his estranged brother , Bob Weinstein @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ U deserve a lifetime achievement award , ” Bob Weinstein wrote in the November 2017 message , “ for the sheer savagery and immorality and inhumaneness , for the acts u have perpetrated . ''

Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Wednesday following his sexual assault and rape conviction last month in a case hailed as a victory for the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct.
In this file photo, former film producer Harvey Weinstein arrives at the New York Criminal Court during his sexual assault trial in the Manhattan borough of New York City, US on February 24, 2020.
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The sentence was handed down in Manhattan criminal court by Justice James Burke, who presided over Weinstein’s trial. A jury on Feb. 24 found Weinstein, 67, guilty of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann.
Once one of Hollywood’s most influential producers, Weinstein had faced the possibility of a maximum sentence of 29 years in prison.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Joan Illuzzi asked Burke to impose 25 years or “near” 25 years in prison for his conviction on a charge of criminal sexual act in the first degree involving Haleyi and to impose a consecutive sentence for the third-degree rape conviction involving Mann. That charge called for up to four years in prison, but the prosecution made no specific request.
Weinstein, wearing a suit, and the six women who testified against Weinstein were in court for the proceedings.
In an emotional statement in court, Haleyi spoke of the trauma she had endured since the attack, saying, “It scarred me deeply, mentally and emotionally, perhaps irreparably, perhaps forever.”
Prosecutors in court filings last week said the sentence should reflect not only the crimes of which he was convicted, but a “lifetime of abuse towards others.”
More than 100 accusers
More than 100 women, including famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct stretching back decades, fueling the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse and harassment. Weinstein has denied the allegations and said that any sex was consensual.
The jury of seven men and five women acquitted Weinstein on the most serious charges, a single count of first-degree rape as well as two counts of predatory sexual assault, which carried a potential life sentence. Those charges relied on testimony by actress Annabella Sciorra, who said Weinstein raped her in the early 1990s.
Weinstein’s lawyers on Monday urged Burke to impose the minimum possible sentence of five years, asking him to consider Weinstein’s charitable activities while saying a longer sentence would likely mean Weinstein would die in prison.
“His life story, his accomplishments, and struggles are simply remarkable and should not be disregarded in total because of the jury’s verdict,” they said.
Weinstein has been awaiting sentencing in New York’s Rikers Island jail, where he was moved last Thursday after a 10-day hospital stay at Bellevue Hospital where he underwent a procedure to clear a heart blockage.
He was a powerful figure in Hollywood and a contributor to Democratic candidates. He won an Academy Award for producing “Shakespeare in Love” and was responsible for other acclaimed films including “Pulp Fiction,” “The English Patient” and “Gangs of New York.”
Accuser: Weinstein a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ character
Prosecutors portrayed Weinstein as a serial predator who had manipulated women with promises of career advancement in Hollywood, coaxing them to hotel rooms or private apartments and then overpowering and violently attacking them.
Haleyi testified at the trial that Weinstein invited her to his home in 2006 after she had worked on one of his television productions, backed her into a bedroom, held her down on the bed and forced himself on her orally.
Mann told jurors that Weinstein raped her in a Manhattan hotel room in March 2013, about a month into what she described as an “extremely degrading” relationship with him that continued for several years after the attack. Mann called Weinstein a “Jekyll and Hyde” character, charming in public but prone to rage when they were alone.
Weinstein’s lawyers argued during the trial that the six women who testified against him were reframing consensual encounters as assaults out of regret.
In Friday’s filing, prosecutors listed more than a dozen accusations going back to 1978, when they said he sexually assaulted an employee of his Buffalo, New York-based music company in a hotel room.
Court documents unsealed on Monday included an email to Weinstein from his estranged brother, Bob Weinstein, telling him he belonged in hell.
“U deserve a lifetime achievement award,” Bob Weinstein wrote in the November 2017 message, “for the sheer savagery and immorality and inhumaneness, for the acts u have perpetrated."
(REUTERS)
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france24--2020-03-11--Paris's new public housing push aims to offset soaring rents

While cities like New York and London have let their public housing fall into disrepair , Paris is building and renovating more than ever – including in the most upscale neighbourhoods .
But despite the city ’ s best efforts , many Paris residents are being priced out .
A medieval monastery in the heart of the Latin Quarter .
An 18th-century hôtel particulier , or mansion , just steps from the Louvre .
A 19th-century barracks near the Gare de Lyon .
The former home and workshop of one of France ’ s premier piano makers , where Frédéric @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These Paris buildings have one , perhaps surprising , thing in common : They ’ ve all been transformed , partially or fully , into public housing over the past five years under Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo .
They represent a small sample of the unprecedented expansion of public ( or “ social ” ) housing in the French capital under Hidalgo as well as her predecessor , fellow Socialist Bertrand Delanoë .
With rents in the private market soaring and making the city increasingly unaffordable for all but the highest earners , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expansion of social housing a cornerstone of her platform for a more equitable city – and by extension , of her bid for re-election in a tight race later this month .
“ The function of social housing is to allow people to keep living in Paris who wouldn ’ t be able to if there were only private housing , ” says Ian Brossat , deputy mayor for housing .
Without alternatives to the market , he says , working-class people would effectively be shut out of the French capital .
To @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Paris has been creating upwards of 7,000 units of new social housing a year under Hidalgo ( up from roughly 5,000 a year under Delanoë ) , for a total of more than 100,000 units added since 2001 .
It has achieved this through a combination of new construction , conversion of existing buildings and , to a lesser extent , simply buying apartments to take them off the private market .
Altogether , Hidalgo ’ s administration aims to house 25 percent of Parisians in social housing by 2025 , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a goal Brossat says the city is already well on its way to meeting , with 23.6 percent of Parisians living in social housing as of early March .
“ What this means , very concretely , is that 550,000 Parisians live in social housing and are protected against real-estate speculation , ” he says .
In one sense , Paris is just following French law .
A landmark 2000 law – known as the loi solidarité et renouvellement urbain ( Solidarity and Urban Renewal Law ) – requires that cities set aside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as public .
It aimed to reduce the imbalance between France ’ s poorest municipalities , where most social housing is located – in many Paris suburbs or banlieues , social housing can account for more than 50 percent of the local market – and the rest .
A 2013 law increased this requirement to 25 percent by 2025 for most cities , Paris included , and stiffened the financial penalties for non-compliance .
Nevertheless , the efforts required to meet this goal in what is already Europe ’ s most densely populated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tensions , both at the level of local arrondissements ( districts ) and centre stage in the mayoral race .
Hidalgo ’ s leading opponent , conservative challenger Rachida Dati , promises to freeze construction of new social housing until “ the existing stock meets satisfying criteria ” .
Critics on the left , for their part , have accused Paris ’ s social-housing push of fuelling gentrification and displacement rather than slowing them .
The backdrop to Paris ’ s social housing efforts is one familiar to many cities .
Citywide , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) are renters , and rents have skyrocketed over the last 20 years .
A Deutsche Bank analysis found Paris to be less affordable than even San Francisco , New York or London when comparing incomes to rents , ranking the city 28th of 53 major world cities on this measure .
Compounding the problem is the explosion of short-term rental services like Airbnb .
Paris attracts more tourists than any city in the world besides Bangkok , and short-term rental listings have grown to match .
A 2018 study conducted by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ Urbanisme , or APUR , a city-funded think tank ) counted more Airbnb listings in the city than in New York , Berlin or Barcelona , in both relative and absolute terms .
This has meant that a declining share of the city ’ s precious housing is available for permanent residents .
Of the 1.4 million residences in Paris , “ we have more than 200,000 which are either totally empty or are empty a good part of the year ” , says Brossat , widening the gap between supply and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Many Parisians have responded by simply packing their bags and leaving .
Between 2012 and 2017 , the capital lost more than 53,000 residents , according to the national statistical institute Insee , with low- and middle-income workers most likely to move away .
In other words , the city lost nearly as many residents every year as it had gained in the decade before .
Paris has sought to address this crisis in several ways .
One is rent regulation , which fixes rent limits for new leases based on neighbourhood , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2015 , the measure was suspended in 2017 by a court order but restored in July 2019 after the city appealed to the French state .
Brossat emphasises , however , that the city has limited reach when it comes to curbing rents , because the French state ultimately maintains authority over the private market .
More radical alternatives to the city ’ s current rent-regulation system – such as a five-year rent freeze , recently passed in Berlin and advocated in Paris by the Green party ( Europe Ecologie les Verts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So Paris has doubled down in the area where it has the most room for manoeuvre : social housing .
Building on an old idea Like many European and North American cities , Paris built the bulk of its social housing over the course of the 20th century , at the height of its welfare state .
While its anglophone counterparts largely abandoned this effort after the 1970s , Paris kept building – and has only accelerated the pace over the last 20 years .
The homes funded by the city are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nonprofit entities known as “ social landlords ” .
The largest is Paris Habitat ( the city housing agency ) , which manages about half of all publicly owned units .
Those units are not reserved exclusively for the poorest but also for the middle class : the city says that 7 in 10 Parisians are eligible for social housing based on their income .
In practice , according to figures released through Paris ’ s open data portal , only about a quarter of units added since 2001 are destined for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to middle earners .
What all of these homes have in common is rents far cheaper than those on the private market – on average , less than €10 per square metre , according to APUR , compared to more than €35 in privately owned apartments .
As a result , demand is enormous .
As of late 2018 ( the latest figures published by APUR ) , nearly 250,000 people were on the waiting list for social housing , while just 11,000 spots were granted .
Even if Paris met its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would likely still fall far short of closing the gap .
Meanwhile , the city ’ s efforts haven ’ t come cheap .
According to Hidalgo ’ s figures , Paris has spent €3 billion on social housing over the course of her six-year term , making it the city ’ s single largest investment .
This has translated into tens of thousands of units renovated in addition to those built and converted .
For Brossat , the goal of such investment isn ’ t just increasing affordability , but to “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and poor neighbourhoods and foster greater integration .
As he told the weekly Journal du Dimanche in 2016 , his goal is nothing short of abolishing the “ ghettoes of the rich ” by prioritising the city ’ s wealthiest neighbourhoods as targets for new social housing .
On the edge of the 16th arrondissement , one of Paris ’ s wealthiest , stand a pair of sharp , nine-storey steel and glass buildings , overlooking the massive park that is the Bois de Boulogne .
Inaugurated in 2016 after a decade of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buildings contain 176 apartments managed by Paris Habitat , marking one of the flagship social housing developments completed under Hidalgo .
The development sits on boulevard Suchet , a street lined with embassies and stately pre-war apartment blocks .
On a recent Sunday , as sports cars revved by , an elderly gentleman and long-time resident of the block told FRANCE 24 the buildings were “ hideous ” but otherwise said he hadn ’ t noticed any problems since tenants moved in three years ago .
“ All the city ’ s efforts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social housing in the neighbourhoods of Paris where there is now the least , ” says Brossat .
The 16th arrondissement has been at the centre of this effort , with the share of social housing there increasing four-fold since 2001 .
That share still stands roughly at 7 percent , however , compared to 41.7 percent in the 19th arrondissement , Paris ’ s poorest district .
But for some of the residents who have claimed a spot in a chic neighbourhood , even the subsidised rents can be a burden .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , moved with his parents from the 18th arrondissement to the new complex on boulevard Suchet .
He told FRANCE 24 that his family pays close to €1200 a month for a three-bedroom apartment – more than two-thirds of the minimum state pension his parents take in every month .
Umair works at a supermarket to help make ends meet .
Moreover , the bulk of the new social housing being added is still in Paris ’ s less well-off neighbourhoods , with the 10 wealthiest arrondissements accounting for only about 20 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A closer look at the share of units being attributed to low- and middle-income residents further calls into question the effectiveness of the city ’ s efforts at integration – a project that is also mandated by French law .
A 2017 law on “ equality and citizenship ” aims to end the “ concentration of poverty ” by requiring that at least 25 percent of social housing in wealthier neighbourhoods go to the poorest applicants .
A study published by APUR in January , however , found that Paris is badly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 , this figure stood at just over 10 percent and in 2018 dropped below 8 percent .
On the other hand , middle-income social housing applicants are disproportionately represented in the lowest-income areas .
Critics like Anne Clerval , a geographer at Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée and author of the 2013 book Paris sans le peuple : la gentrification de la capitale ( Paris without the People : The Gentrification of the Capital ) , have questioned whether the city ’ s housing policies are fostering integration or only accelerating the gentrification of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a stark mismatch between the groups most in need of social housing in the capital and those who receive it .
For example , in 2017 , a majority of those applying for social housing belonged to the lowest income brackets , but a majority of the units created were destined for the higher brackets .
The city says its priority is to house those who have to live and work in Paris – Brossat lists police officers , nurses and teachers , among others – as well as the poorest .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be facing the same fundamental challenges if they hope to make the city more affordable .
In the meantime , the city is hard at work on a new project in the 7th arrondissement , converting a former military complex near the Musée d ’ Orsay into 250 apartments , with a gym and nursery on the ground floor .
The 7th arrondissement , the district represented by Hidalgo ’ s rival Dati , currently has Paris ’ s smallest share of social housing at just 2.1 percent .

While cities like New York and London have let their public housing fall into disrepair, Paris is building and renovating more than ever – including in the most upscale neighbourhoods. But despite the city’s best efforts, many Paris residents are being priced out.
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A medieval monastery in the heart of the Latin Quarter. An 18th-century hôtel particulier, or mansion, just steps from the Louvre. A 19th-century barracks near the Gare de Lyon. The former home and workshop of one of France’s premier piano makers, where Frédéric Chopin played his first public concert.
These Paris buildings have one, perhaps surprising, thing in common: They’ve all been transformed, partially or fully, into public housing over the past five years under Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo. They represent a small sample of the unprecedented expansion of public (or “social”) housing in the French capital under Hidalgo as well as her predecessor, fellow Socialist Bertrand Delanoë. With rents in the private market soaring and making the city increasingly unaffordable for all but the highest earners, Hidalgo’s team has made the expansion of social housing a cornerstone of her platform for a more equitable city – and by extension, of her bid for re-election in a tight race later this month.
“The function of social housing is to allow people to keep living in Paris who wouldn’t be able to if there were only private housing,” says Ian Brossat, deputy mayor for housing, of the French Communist Party. Without alternatives to the market, he says, working-class people would effectively be shut out of the French capital.
To help retain those low- and middle-income residents, Paris has been creating upwards of 7,000 units of new social housing a year under Hidalgo (up from roughly 5,000 a year under Delanoë), for a total of more than 100,000 units added since 2001. It has achieved this through a combination of new construction, conversion of existing buildings and, to a lesser extent, simply buying apartments to take them off the private market.
Altogether, Hidalgo’s administration aims to house 25 percent of Parisians in social housing by 2025, and up to 30 percent by 2030 – a goal Brossat says the city is already well on its way to meeting, with 23.6 percent of Parisians living in social housing as of early March.
“What this means, very concretely, is that 550,000 Parisians live in social housing and are protected against real-estate speculation,” he says.
In one sense, Paris is just following French law. A landmark 2000 law – known as the loi solidarité et renouvellement urbain (Solidarity and Urban Renewal Law) – requires that cities set aside at least 20 percent of local housing as public. It aimed to reduce the imbalance between France’s poorest municipalities, where most social housing is located – in many Paris suburbs or banlieues, social housing can account for more than 50 percent of the local market – and the rest. A 2013 law increased this requirement to 25 percent by 2025 for most cities, Paris included, and stiffened the financial penalties for non-compliance.
Nevertheless, the efforts required to meet this goal in what is already Europe’s most densely populated city have been the source of significant tensions, both at the level of local arrondissements (districts) and centre stage in the mayoral race. Hidalgo’s leading opponent, conservative challenger Rachida Dati, promises to freeze construction of new social housing until “the existing stock meets satisfying criteria”.
Critics on the left, for their part, have accused Paris’s social-housing push of fuelling gentrification and displacement rather than slowing them.
Near the Galeries Lafayette, in the 9th arrondissement, the city has upgraded and converted 29 apartments in a classic Haussmann-era building. © Colin Kinniburgh
Unaffordable: dwindling supply, high demand
The backdrop to Paris’s social housing efforts is one familiar to many cities. Citywide, most residents (more than 60 percent) are renters, and rents have skyrocketed over the last 20 years. A Deutsche Bank analysis found Paris to be less affordable than even San Francisco, New York or London when comparing incomes to rents, ranking the city 28th of 53 major world cities on this measure.
Compounding the problem is the explosion of short-term rental services like Airbnb. Paris attracts more tourists than any city in the world besides Bangkok, and short-term rental listings have grown to match. A 2018 study conducted by the Paris Urbanism Workshop (Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme, or APUR, a city-funded think tank) counted more Airbnb listings in the city than in New York, Berlin or Barcelona, in both relative and absolute terms.
This has meant that a declining share of the city’s precious housing is available for permanent residents. Of the 1.4 million residences in Paris, “we have more than 200,000 which are either totally empty or are empty a good part of the year”, says Brossat, widening the gap between supply and demand and further pushing up prices.
Many Parisians have responded by simply packing their bags and leaving. Between 2012 and 2017, the capital lost more than 53,000 residents, according to the national statistical institute Insee, with low- and middle-income workers most likely to move away. In other words, the city lost nearly as many residents every year as it had gained in the decade before.
Paris has sought to address this crisis in several ways. One is rent regulation, which fixes rent limits for new leases based on neighbourhood, building and apartment criteria. Originally established in 2015, the measure was suspended in 2017 by a court order but restored in July 2019 after the city appealed to the French state.
Brossat emphasises, however, that the city has limited reach when it comes to curbing rents, because the French state ultimately maintains authority over the private market. More radical alternatives to the city’s current rent-regulation system – such as a five-year rent freeze, recently passed in Berlin and advocated in Paris by the Green party (Europe Ecologie les Verts) – would face the same obstacle. So Paris has doubled down in the area where it has the most room for manoeuvre: social housing.
The Réfectoire des Cordeliers in the 6th arrodissement is the remnant of a 16th-century Franciscan convent. © Colin Kinniburgh
Building on an old idea
Like many European and North American cities, Paris built the bulk of its social housing over the course of the 20th century, at the height of its welfare state. While its anglophone counterparts largely abandoned this effort after the 1970s, Paris kept building – and has only accelerated the pace over the last 20 years.
The homes funded by the city are managed by a range of public and nonprofit entities known as “social landlords”. The largest is Paris Habitat (the city housing agency), which manages about half of all publicly owned units. Those units are not reserved exclusively for the poorest but also for the middle class: the city says that 7 in 10 Parisians are eligible for social housing based on their income. In practice, according to figures released through Paris’s open data portal, only about a quarter of units added since 2001 are destined for the lowest income bracket, with the rest going to middle earners.
What all of these homes have in common is rents far cheaper than those on the private market – in general, less than €10 per square metre, according to APUR, compared to more than €35 in privately owned apartments.
As a result, demand is enormous. As of late 2018 (the latest figures published by APUR), nearly 250,000 people were on the waiting list for social housing, while just 11,000 spots were granted that year. Even if Paris met its 30 percent goal by 2030, it would likely still fall far short of closing the gap.
Meanwhile, the city’s efforts haven’t come cheap. According to Hidalgo’s figures, Paris has spent €3 billion on social housing over the course of her six-year term, making it the city’s single largest investment. This has translated into tens of thousands of units renovated in addition to those built and converted.
'Ghettoes of the rich'
For Brossat, the goal of such investment isn’t just increasing affordability, but to “rebalance” the city’s rich and poor neighbourhoods and foster greater integration. As he told the weekly Journal du Dimanche in 2016, his goal is nothing short of abolishing the “ghettoes of the rich” by prioritising the city’s wealthiest neighbourhoods as targets for new social housing.
On the edge of the 16th arrondissement, one of Paris’s wealthiest, stand a pair of sharp, nine-storey steel and glass buildings, overlooking the massive park that is the Bois de Boulogne. Inaugurated in 2016 after a decade of court battles with local residents, the buildings contain 176 apartments managed by Paris Habitat, marking one of the flagship social housing developments completed under Hidalgo.
The development sits on boulevard Suchet, a street lined with embassies and stately pre-war apartment blocks. On a recent Sunday, as sports cars revved by, an elderly gentleman and long-time resident of the block told FRANCE 24 the buildings were “hideous” but otherwise said he hadn’t noticed any problems since tenants moved in three years ago.
“All the city’s efforts since 2001 have been aimed at producing social housing in the neighbourhoods of Paris where there is now the least,” says Brossat. The 16th arrondissement has been at the centre of this effort, with the share of social housing there increasing four-fold since 2001. That share still stands roughly at 7 percent, however, compared to 41.7 percent in the 19th arrondissement, Paris’s poorest district.
But for some of the residents who have claimed a spot in a chic neighbourhood, even the subsidised rents can be a burden. Umair, a student at Paris-Dauphine University, moved with his parents from the 18th arrondissement to the new complex on boulevard Suchet. He told FRANCE 24 that, utilities included, his family pays close to €1200 a month for a three-bedroom apartment – more than two-thirds of the minimum state pension his parents take in every month. Umair works at a supermarket to help make ends meet.
The new construction on boulevard Suchet © Colin Kinniburgh
A vehicle for gentrification?
Moreover, the bulk of the new social housing being added is still in Paris’s less well-off neighbourhoods, with the 10 wealthiest arrondissements accounting for only about 20 percent of units added between 2001 and 2018.
A closer look at the share of units being attributed to low- and middle-income residents further calls into question the effectiveness of the city’s efforts at integration – a project that is also mandated by French law. A 2017 law on “equality and citizenship” aims to end the “concentration of poverty” by requiring that at least 25 percent of social housing in wealthier neighbourhoods go to the poorest applicants. A study published by APUR in January, however, found that Paris is badly missing the mark: In 2016 and 2017, this figure stood at just over 10 percent and in 2018 dropped below 8 percent.
On the other hand, middle-income social housing applicants are disproportionately represented in the lowest-income areas. Critics like Anne Clerval, a geographer at Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée and author of the 2013 book Paris sans le peuple : la gentrification de la capitale (Paris without the People: The Gentrification of the Capital), have questioned whether the city’s housing policies are fostering integration or only accelerating the gentrification of working-class neighbourhoods.
Clerval has pointed out a stark mismatch between the groups most in need of social housing in the capital and those who receive it. For example, in 2017, a majority of those applying for social housing belonged to the lowest income brackets, but a majority of the units created were destined for the higher brackets.
The city says its priority is to house those who have to live and work in Paris – Brossat lists police officers, nurses and teachers, among others – as well as the poorest. But whoever wins city hall this month will be facing the same fundamental challenges if they hope to make the city more affordable.
In the meantime, the city is hard at work on a new project in the 7th arrondissement, converting a former military complex near the Musée d’Orsay into 250 apartments, with a gym and nursery on the ground floor. The 7th arrondissement, the district represented by Hidalgo’s rival Dati, currently has Paris’s smallest share of social housing at just 2.1 percent.
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france24--2020-03-12--Live: European stock markets rebound at open, as Coronavirus continues to spread around the world

Live : European stock markets rebound at open , as Coronavirus continues to spread around the world Paris and London @ @ @ @ @ at opening on Friday .
In reponse to coronavirus , everything from shops to night @ @ @ @ @ , Italy has recorded over 1,000 deaths and France 's Macron called it the worst @ @ @ @ @ .
Follow our FRANCE 24 live blog for the latest news as it happens .

Live blog
As it happened: US declares state of emergency, WHO warns Europe now 'epicentre' of coronavirus
US President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency in response to the coronavirus pandemic, aiming to make up to $50 billion available for US states and territories to fight its spread. Earlier in the day, the World Health Organization warned that Europe was now the "epicentre" of the pandemic, reporting more daily cases than China did at the height of its outbreak. Review our FRANCE 24 live blog for the news as it happened.
Police check cars at the exit of the Paznaun Valley on March 13, 2020 in Tyrol, Austria. © Jakob Gruber, AFP
Advertising Read more US President Donald Trump declared a national emergency that he said makes up to $50 billion in aid available for US states and territories.
Thousands of Algerians marched against the country’s ruling elite despite the coronavirus pandemic. In downtown Algiers, police wore face masks and a group of youngsters sold protective gear and liquid soap.
In the US Democratic presidential race, former Vice President Joe Biden is holding a town hall for Illinois voters from 800 miles away in Delaware, while Senator Bernie Sanders has ceased holding rallies around the country and is staging daily news conferences in his home state of Vermont.
Egypt reported 13 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the country’s total to 93.
"Europe has now become the epicentre of the pandemic," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a virtual press conference, describing the more than 5,000 deaths worldwide as "a tragic milestone".
In France, 79 people have died of the coronavirus (up from 61 on Thursday), while the number of cases has climbed to 3,661. All schools, crèches and universities across France will be closed from Monday.
Stock markets rebounded after Thursday’s plunge with European stocks staging a comeback, rising 8 percent by Friday afternoon after recording early losses. The Dow rose 773.20 points, or 3.6 percent, at opening to 21,973.82.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced a two-week state of emergency beginning Saturday.
Italy remains on a nationwide lockdown as its coronavirus death toll jumped by 250 in one day to 1,266, an increase of 25 percent. The country's total number of cases rose to 17,660 from 15,113, an increase of 17 percent.
China reported its lowest-ever number of new coronavirus cases: just eight on Friday, with no new domestic infections outside Hubei province.
Major sports events have been cancelled, including Champions League and Premier League matches. Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning Subscribe Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app


france24--2020-03-13--New Zealand PM Ardern reflects on changes a year after Christchurch mosque attack

Flowers and messages are seen outside the Al Noor mosque , two days ahead of the first anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shootings , in Christchurch on March 13 , 2020 .
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday that New Zealanders have become more engaged with the Muslim community in the year since a gunman killed 51 people at two mosques .
Ardern was in Christchurch attending events to mark the anniversary of last year ’ s March 15 massacre , which she has described as one of New Zealand ’ s darkest days .
On Friday she attended a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mosques that were attacked , and on Sunday she plans to attend a national memorial .
Among those speaking during the prayer service was Al Noor mosque survivor Farid Ahmed , whose wife Husna was killed in the attacks .
“ Hate does not achieve any gain for the hater , or for anyone , ” he said afterward .
“ If there are any differences , there is another way , and that way is the peaceful way .
We should talk , we should dialogue , we should ask one another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ afraid of one another.
” Ardern said people had told her they had visited mosques for the first time in the wake of the attacks and had found themselves more openly discussing differences of faith .
“ A year on , I believe New Zealand and its people have fundamentally changed .
I can ’ t see how you could have an event like this and not , ” Ardern said .
“ But the challenge for us will be ensuring that in our everyday actions — and in every opportunity where we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discrimination — calling it out as a nation.
” Some questioned why the memorial event on Sunday , which would pack thousands of people into an arena , was still going ahead after Ardern and other officials chose to cancel a festival in Auckland celebrating Pacific culture due to fears over coronavirus .
Ardern said that with only five confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand , there were no signs yet of a community outbreak .
She said the Pasifika Festival was canceled out of a specific concern the virus could spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have the health infrastructure to cope with an outbreak .
Ardern drew attention to laws changed in response to the attacks .
The deadliest types of semi-automatics are now banned , and in a nationwide buyback , gun owners turned in about 60,000 of their newly outlawed weapons for cash .
She also talked about her work on trying to eliminate terror attacks from being shown online , after the gunman livestreamed the Christchurch attacks .
Ardern brought some nations and tech companies together to work on the issue in what she named @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had helped start a new crisis response protocol .
“ As a result of the protocol and that coordination in those events where social media platforms have been used to broadcast attacks , the circulation of those videos had been far , far diminished , ” she said .
Ardern ’ s empathetic response after the attacks and her message of unity resonated around the world last year .
Images of her wearing a hijab and embracing members of the Muslim community created a lasting impression for many .
The man accused of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brenton Tarrant , is due to stand trial in June on charges of terrorism , murder and attempted murder .
If found guilty , he would face a sentence of life imprisonment .

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday that New Zealanders have become more engaged with the Muslim community in the year since a gunman killed 51 people at two mosques.
Flowers and messages are seen outside the Al Noor mosque, two days ahead of the first anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shootings, in Christchurch on March 13, 2020.
Advertising Read more
Ardern was in Christchurch attending events to mark the anniversary of last year’s March 15 massacre, which she has described as one of New Zealand’s darkest days. On Friday she attended a special joint prayer with members of both mosques that were attacked, and on Sunday she plans to attend a national memorial.
Among those speaking during the prayer service was Al Noor mosque survivor Farid Ahmed, whose wife Husna was killed in the attacks.
“Hate does not achieve any gain for the hater, or for anyone,” he said afterward. “If there are any differences, there is another way, and that way is the peaceful way. We should talk, we should dialogue, we should ask one another questions, and we should not be afraid of one another.”
Ardern said people had told her they had visited mosques for the first time in the wake of the attacks and had found themselves more openly discussing differences of faith.
“A year on, I believe New Zealand and its people have fundamentally changed. I can’t see how you could have an event like this and not,” Ardern said. “But the challenge for us will be ensuring that in our everyday actions — and in every opportunity where we see bullying, harassment, racism, discrimination — calling it out as a nation.”
Some questioned why the memorial event on Sunday, which would pack thousands of people into an arena, was still going ahead after Ardern and other officials chose to cancel a festival in Auckland celebrating Pacific culture due to fears over coronavirus.
Ardern said that with only five confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand, there were no signs yet of a community outbreak. She said the Pasifika Festival was canceled out of a specific concern the virus could spread to Pacific islands that don’t have the health infrastructure to cope with an outbreak.
Ardern drew attention to laws changed in response to the attacks. The deadliest types of semi-automatics are now banned, and in a nationwide buyback, gun owners turned in about 60,000 of their newly outlawed weapons for cash.
She also talked about her work on trying to eliminate terror attacks from being shown online, after the gunman livestreamed the Christchurch attacks. Ardern brought some nations and tech companies together to work on the issue in what she named the Christchurch Call, which she said had helped start a new crisis response protocol.
“As a result of the protocol and that coordination in those events where social media platforms have been used to broadcast attacks, the circulation of those videos had been far, far diminished,” she said.
Ardern’s empathetic response after the attacks and her message of unity resonated around the world last year. Images of her wearing a hijab and embracing members of the Muslim community created a lasting impression for many.
The man accused of the attacks, 29-year-old Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, is due to stand trial in June on charges of terrorism, murder and attempted murder. If found guilty, he would face a sentence of life imprisonment.
(AP)
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france24--2020-03-13--Sporting events around the world cancelled due to coronavirus

A woman dressed as a priestess lights the Olympic flame during the Olympic ceremony in ancient Olympia , Greece , ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games , on March 12 , 2020 .
The Players Championship golf event was halted after one round and the Australian Formula One Grand Prix scrapped as the unprecedented shutdown of elite sport triggered by the coronavirus pandemic continued around the globe on Friday .
In a frenetic 24 hours , Europe ’ s leading football leagues were placed on hold , the top men 's tennis circuit was suspended for six weeks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cricket matches ordered to be played without fans .
The summer Olympics , the biggest sports event of them all , will go ahead as planned , Tokyo organisers insisted on Friday , a few hours after the flame was lit in ancient Olympia , Greece at the start of the torch relay .
The coronavirus outbreak has left sporting bodies wrestling with the contradiction of holding events designed to bring large numbers of people together at a time when governments are desperate to stop the spread of a virus transmitted by close @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be affected in coming days , with Australia ’ s most popular sports set to be impacted by government advice against crowds of more than 500 people from Monday .
England ’ s hugely popular Premier League football will hold an emergency meeting on Friday after its London club Arsenal announced that manager Mikel Arteta had tested positive for the coronavirus .
Meanwhile , Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers , who has three players in self-isolation after showing symptoms of the virus , said England should follow the lead of Italy , France @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the season .
“ There is absolutely no doubt , from a logical perspective .
There ’ s the public health and ethical side as well , ” said Rogers .
With Formula One fans queuing at the gates of Albert Park in Melbourne early on Friday for the season-opener , the race was cancelled just a few hours before the cars were scheduled to take to the track for the first time .
The decision came after a member of the McLaren team tested positive for the coronavirus and the British-based outfit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ One world champion Lewis Hamilton welcomed the move .
“ This is really serious with people dying every day , lots of people ill and even if they are not ill , many people being affected financially and emotionally , ” the Mercedes driver said .
Fans at The Players Championship , often called the “ fifth major ” of men ’ s golf , at least got to see the first round at Sawgrass in Florida on Thursday before the PGA announced a ban on spectators at all its events until April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proved short-lived as the tournament was scrapped a few hours later along with the next three events on the PGA Tour .
“ At this point – and as the situation continues to rapidly change – the right thing to do for our players and our fans is to pause , ” the Tour said in a statement .
In Tokyo , officials said they were determined to hold a “ safe and secure ” Olympics on schedule , a day after US President Donald Trump said they should consider a one-year postponement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ IOC ( International Olympic Committee ) and 2020 organisers are not at all considering cancelling or postponing the Games.
” In tennis , the men ’ s ATP Tour announced on Thursday that no tournaments would take place until after April 20 at the earliest , wiping out the prestigious Miami Open and Monte Carlo Masters as well as events in Houston , Marrakech and Barcelona .
The WTA , which runs the women ’ s tour , stopped short of a wholesale shutdown but cancelled tournaments in Charleston , Guadalajara and Bogota @ @ @ @ @ @ @ season promised this week .
The Indian Wells tournament had already been cancelled and the International Tennis Federation ( ITF ) had suspended the revamped version of the Fed Cup Finals scheduled for Budapest .
The virus has had a big impact on North American sport with a positive test for a Utah Jazz player prompting the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) to suspended the season until further notice on Wednesday .
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman followed suit on Thursday by announcing a temporarily suspension of its ice hockey season after a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Major League Baseball suspended Spring Training and said it would place opening day on hold , while Major League Soccer announced a 30-day suspension of its season .
The NCAA ’ s “ March Madness ” basketball tournament , one of the most popular annual sporting events in America , was also cancelled .
In Europe , domestic football leagues , the Champions League and the pan-continental 2020 European Championship have all been left in limbo .
European governing body , UEFA , will hold a meeting with 55 federations on Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on leagues , European competition and Euro 2020 , which is due to start in June .
Italy ’ s Serie A has already stopped until at least April 3 with the country in lockdown after more than 15,000 infections and over 1,000 deaths .
Two Serie A players , Sampdoria ’ s Manolo Gabbiadini and Daniele Rugani of Juve , have tested positive , as has Chelsea forward Callum Hudson-Odoi , the Premier League club said .
In cricket , fans were excluded from a one-day international series between Australia and New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ground on Friday , and India ’ s government has ordered international matches to be played in empty stadiums .

The Players Championship golf event was halted after one round and the Australian Formula One Grand Prix scrapped as the unprecedented shutdown of elite sport triggered by the coronavirus pandemic continued around the globe on Friday.
A woman dressed as a priestess lights the Olympic flame during the Olympic ceremony in ancient Olympia, Greece, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, on March 12, 2020.
Advertising Read more
In a frenetic 24 hours, Europe’s leading football leagues were placed on hold, the top men's tennis circuit was suspended for six weeks, North America's NHL shut down and cricket matches ordered to be played without fans.
The summer Olympics, the biggest sports event of them all, will go ahead as planned, Tokyo organisers insisted on Friday, a few hours after the flame was lit in ancient Olympia, Greece at the start of the torch relay.
The coronavirus outbreak has left sporting bodies wrestling with the contradiction of holding events designed to bring large numbers of people together at a time when governments are desperate to stop the spread of a virus transmitted by close contact.
More events look likely to be affected in coming days, with Australia’s most popular sports set to be impacted by government advice against crowds of more than 500 people from Monday.
England’s hugely popular Premier League football will hold an emergency meeting on Friday after its London club Arsenal announced that manager Mikel Arteta had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers, who has three players in self-isolation after showing symptoms of the virus, said England should follow the lead of Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands in suspending the season.
“There is absolutely no doubt, from a logical perspective. There’s the public health and ethical side as well,” said Rogers.
With Formula One fans queuing at the gates of Albert Park in Melbourne early on Friday for the season-opener, the race was cancelled just a few hours before the cars were scheduled to take to the track for the first time.
The decision came after a member of the McLaren team tested positive for the coronavirus and the British-based outfit scratched from the race.
Six-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton welcomed the move. “This is really serious with people dying every day, lots of people ill and even if they are not ill, many people being affected financially and emotionally,” the Mercedes driver said.
Fans at The Players Championship, often called the “fifth major” of men’s golf, at least got to see the first round at Sawgrass in Florida on Thursday before the PGA announced a ban on spectators at all its events until April 5.
The relevance of that ban proved short-lived as the tournament was scrapped a few hours later along with the next three events on the PGA Tour.
“At this point – and as the situation continues to rapidly change – the right thing to do for our players and our fans is to pause,” the Tour said in a statement.
Olympics get the green light
In Tokyo, officials said they were determined to hold a “safe and secure” Olympics on schedule, a day after US President Donald Trump said they should consider a one-year postponement because of the pandemic.
“I’m aware of President Trump’s remarks,” Japan’s Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto told a news conference.
“The IOC (International Olympic Committee) and 2020 organisers are not at all considering cancelling or postponing the Games.”
In tennis, the men’s ATP Tour announced on Thursday that no tournaments would take place until after April 20 at the earliest, wiping out the prestigious Miami Open and Monte Carlo Masters as well as events in Houston, Marrakech and Barcelona.
The WTA, which runs the women’s tour, stopped short of a wholesale shutdown but cancelled tournaments in Charleston, Guadalajara and Bogota with a decision on the European claycourt season promised this week.
The Indian Wells tournament had already been cancelled and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) had suspended the revamped version of the Fed Cup Finals scheduled for Budapest.
Hockey suspended
The virus has had a big impact on North American sport with a positive test for a Utah Jazz player prompting the National Basketball Association (NBA) to suspended the season until further notice on Wednesday.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman followed suit on Thursday by announcing a temporarily suspension of its ice hockey season after a conference call with the board of governors.
Major League Baseball suspended Spring Training and said it would place opening day on hold, while Major League Soccer announced a 30-day suspension of its season.
The NCAA’s “March Madness” basketball tournament, one of the most popular annual sporting events in America, was also cancelled.
In Europe, domestic football leagues, the Champions League and the pan-continental 2020 European Championship have all been left in limbo.
European governing body, UEFA, will hold a meeting with 55 federations on Tuesday to discuss the effect of the crisis on leagues, European competition and Euro 2020, which is due to start in June.
Spain suspended all La Liga football games.
Italy’s Serie A has already stopped until at least April 3 with the country in lockdown after more than 15,000 infections and over 1,000 deaths.
Two Serie A players, Sampdoria’s Manolo Gabbiadini and Daniele Rugani of Juve, have tested positive, as has Chelsea forward Callum Hudson-Odoi, the Premier League club said.
In cricket, fans were excluded from a one-day international series between Australia and New Zealand, which started at Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday, and India’s government has ordered international matches to be played in empty stadiums.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
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