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A8 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 29 august 2018

French environment minister quits: World 'not doing enough'

By JOHN LEICESTER and his own lack of power commitment to "make our
Associated Press to force change. planet great again." Ma-
PARIS (AP) — France's high- His on-air resignation on cron's office confirmed
profile environment minister France Inter radio was so there will be a reshuffle, but
unexpectedly announced out of the blue that the first said it won't happen while
his resignation live on na- reaction from an interview- the French leader is visiting
tional radio Tuesday, la- er was: "Are you serious?" Denmark and Finland this
menting the government's "I no longer want to lie to week.
lack of decisive action on myself," Hulot said. "I don't Speaking in Denmark, Ma-
green issues. The move want to create the illusion cron defended his gov-
deals a stinging blow to the that my presence in gov- ernment as having "done
environmental credibility of ernment means that we're more than any other on
President Emmanuel Ma- up to standard on these is- this subject." He urged pa-
cron. sues, and so I am deciding tience, saying: "It's a fight
Clearly emotional, Nicolas to quit the government." that isn't won from one day
Hulot said he'd not even Recruiting Hulot as a min- to the next."
told his wife, let alone Ma- ister had been a coup for In this Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012 file photo, environmental activist Hulot expressed hope that
Nicolas Hulot, smiles as he leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris,
cron or the prime minister, Macron, who has sought to France. his resignation would stir
of his decision to stand position France as a cham- Associated Press French politicians and the
down. The long-time en- pion in the fight against en- public into action, calling it
vironmental advocate la- vironmental degradation titudes of President Donald will force a ministerial re- "an act of mobilization."
mented France's slow pace and as a counterweight Trump. shuffle and casts doubt on "I no longer believe," Hulot
of progress on green issues to the climate change at- Losing Hulot so suddenly the strength of Macron's said. q

Protests planned as N Ireland matches no-government record

By JILL LAWLESS budget, but has resisted Democratic Unionist Party
LONDON (AP) — Protest- pressure to take direct con- leader Arlene Foster said it
ers demanded Northern trol from London. was "long past the time to
Ireland's feuding political The political crisis has left get back into government,"
parties get back to govern- 1.8 million people without but claimed Sinn Fein was
ing, as the region matched a government and threat- the problem.
a world record Tuesday for ens power-sharing, the key The DUP marked Tuesday's
the longest peacetime pe- achievement of the 1998 milestone by unfurling a
riod without a government. peace accord that ended banner outside the Stor-
It has been 589 days since decades of violence and mont government building
the Catholic-Protestant bloodshed in Northern Ire- calling on Sinn Fein to end
power-sharing adminis- land. its "boycott" of government.
tration collapsed in Janu- The British government Sinn Fein says the DUP is
ary 2017 over a botched In this Monday, Jan. 16, 2017 file photo, a road sweeper van agreed there was an "ur- prolonging the stalemate
green-energy project. The passes Stormont, Belfast, Northern Ireland. gent need to resolve the by refusing to back legal
rift soon widened to broad- Associated Press current impasse." It said protection for the Irish lan-
er cultural and political is- Tuesday its priority was "to guage and by blocking
sues separating Northern Protesters used the hashtag on Tuesday evening. secure a basis for politi- same-sex marriage, which
Ireland's British unionists and #wedeservebetter to call Civil servants have run the cal talks and re-establish a is legal everywhere in the
Irish nationalists, and at- for the former governing government in Northern Ire- locally elected, demo- U.K. apart from Northern
tempts to restore the gov- parties, the Democratic land since the administra- cratically accountable de- Ireland. "Those rights issues
ernment have stalled. Unionists and Sinn Fein, to tion collapsed, with major volved government at the will continue to have to
Belgium spent 589 days restore the power-sharing spending and policy deci- earliest opportunity." be addressed, they are still
without an elected govern- government. Demonstra- sions deferred. The British But there was little sign of here, they are still part of
ment between 2010 and tors planned to hold dem- government stepped in to reconciliation from North- the reason why this institu-
2011. onstrations in several cities approve Northern Ireland's ern Ireland's politicians. tion collapsed. q