Page 30 - BONDIA ARUBA JAN 17 2022

A30 world news
Dialuna 17 Januari 2022

French far-left presidential hopeful woos voters with jobs

all, or identifying the scents tion. April.
-- some described fruity or
marine aromas, others re- While other candidates are He was the strongest-per-
portedly smelled gasoline — railing against migration, forming left-wing candidate
or their connection to what Melenchon said migrants are in 2017, winning 19.6% of
Melenchon was saying. “welcome” in France, calling the vote, but came in fourth.
immigration the “No. 1 fac- This time there are six left-
The event came as the once- tor” in human progress. wing candidates vying for the
powerful French left wing is April 10 first-round vote, and
deeply fractured and strug- He also proudly called Rus- polls suggest none will make
gling to make its voice heard sia a “partner,” even as Euro- the likely runoff of the top
in a campaign where far-right pean governments are scram- two vote-getters on April 24.
and conservative figures have bling to find ways to avert a
grabbed most of the attention possible Russian invasion of Many voters are undecided
so far. Melenchon — a politi- Ukraine. and the field of candidates
cal firebrand with a notorious is still shifting. According to
temper — refuses to form a And he had little kindness for pollsters, Macron’s strongest
united front with other left- his rivals on the left. challengers so far are far-
wing candidates against cen- right leader Marine Le Pen,
trist President Emmanuel “We don’t need union. We who he beat in the 2017 run-
Macron, who’s expected to need clarity and people’s mo- off; conservative Republicans
seek re-election. bilization,” he said. “I’m not candidate Valerie Pecresse,
their friend.” who visited a migrant camp
(AP) — Far-left French into the exhibition hall in the At Sunday’s rally, Melenchon in Greece this weekend to
presidential candidate western city of Nantes, sur- promised to guarantee jobs Melenchon has criticized the push for stemming migration
Jean-Luc Melenchon em- rounding participants with for everyone, raise the mini- French government’s vaccine to Europe; and populist far-
braced migrants and Rus- screens and speakers. mum wage, lower the retire- and virus rules as too restric- right pundit Eric Zemmour,
sia and derided campaign ment age to 60 and hike taxes tive, but his team distributed who has been repeatedly
rivals Sunday as he sought While the videos were pow- on multinationals and rich masks at the entrance to Sun- convicted of hate speech.
to reinvigorate his flag- erful, with ocean waves and households. His campaign day’s event.
ging campaign for April’s starscapes transporting the platform calls for France to Other contenders include
election with an unusual crowd as Melenchon talked pull out of NATO, disobey The 70-year-old Melenchon Socialist Paris Mayor Anne
“immersive and olfacto- about sea pollution and the EU rules, legalize cannabis, drew attention in the 2017 Hidalgo, Greens party candi-
ry” rally. dangers of wars in space, the renationalize some business- presidential race for hold- date Yannick Jadot, and for-
aromatic part was a bit of a es, block energy price rises, ing simultaneous campaign mer justice minister Chris-
Yes, olfactory: The campaign flop. The masked crowd had and spend more on fighting rallies via hologram. A simi- tiane Taubira.
team diffused various smells trouble smelling anything at racial and other discrimina- lar show is planned for early

Mali ex-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita dies at 76

(AP) — Ibrahim Boubacar takeover following months his critics, saying he was even enjoyed broad support from tering politics.
Keita, the former presi- of public demonstrations open to redoing the vote. But former colonizer France and
dent of Mali who took of- against his presidency. Keita those overtures were swiftly other Western allies. In 2018, His early posts included am-
fice in a landmark election had three years left in his final rejected by opposition lead- Keita was reelected to a sec- bassador to neighboring Ivo-
held after a destabilizing term when mutinous soldiers ers, who said they wouldn’t ond term after receiving 67% ry Coast and diplomatic ad-
coup only to be ousted in detained him at his residence stop short of Keita’s depar- of the vote. viser to President Alpha Ou-
another military takeover in August 2020 after fir- ture. mar Konare, who took office
nearly seven years later, ing shots outside the house. Born in 1945, Keita hailed in 1992. Keita then served as
has died. He was 76. Hours later, he appeared in a Support for Keita also tum- from the town of Kouti- prime minister from 1994 to
midnight broadcast on state bled amid criticism of his ala in what is now southern 2000, and later as president of
Keita, known to Malians by television, telling Malians he government’s handling of the Mali. He studied in Bamako, the National Assembly from
his initials IBK, had been in would resign immediately. Islamic insurgency, which Dakar, Senegal, and Paris, 2002 to 2007.
declining health since his significantly expanded into earning a master’s degree in
forced resignation in August “I wish no blood to be shed to central Mali during his ten- history with postgraduate He is survived by his wife,
2020, and had sought medical keep me in power,” Keita said ure. A wave of particularly studies in politics and inter- Aminata Maiga Keita, and
treatment in Dubai, United at the time. “I have decided to deadly attacks in the north national relations before en- their four children.
Arab Emirates, shortly after step down from office.” in 2019 prompted the gov-
his release from junta cus- ernment to close its most
tody. West African regional lead- vulnerable outposts as part
ers imposed tough economic of a reorganization aimed at
His death early Sunday — sanctions earlier this month stemming the losses.
announced in an alert by the after Col. Assimi Goita, who
state broadcaster ORTM — heads the transitional govern- Keita also faced criticism for
comes as the sprawling Af- ment, indicated that the next his handling of the political
rican nation faces a deepen- presidential election won’t be crisis in the north. He signed
ing political crisis. The coup held until 2026, after initially a peace agreement with for-
leader who ousted Keita has agreeing to an election by the mer rebels, but it was never
no immediate plans for a re- end of next month. fully implemented, prolong-
turn to democracy as initially ing the instability.
promised. A protest movement against
Keita’s presidency saw tens Back in 2013, Keita had
Keita won the historic 2013 of thousands demonstrate emerged from a field of more
presidential election held in the streets in the months than two dozen candidates to
to restore democracy after a leading up to his overthrow. win Mali’s first democratic
2012 coup. But only seven As discontent with his lead- election after a 2012 coup —
years later he himself was ership mounted, Keita had a landslide victory with more
ousted by another military tried to make concessions to than 77% of the vote. He also