Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu told the nation in a televised address that the state is listening to secondary school students angry over teacher shortages, crumbling buildings and the Parcoursup university admissions system. More than 6,500 people, mostly minors, have been arrested since the protests began, and allegations of police violence have grown after a 15-year-old was badly hurt by a stun grenade in Lens, prompting the interior minister to halt their use against the students. Lecornu promised a government response plan by the end of October and said diesel stocks would be released to bring fuel prices back down from above 2.36 euros a litre.
Source:
Euronews · Wednesday, 7 October 2026
After a Turkish-owned cargo ship was sunk off Romania on October 5, killing two, and a ship was sunk and another damaged off Bulgaria the next day, leaving ten sailors missing there, a leaked EU defence readiness report points to serious gaps in naval munitions, air defence and protection of seabed infrastructure. The Commission has condemned both attacks and cites 65 projects worth 200 million euros under the EU's Black Sea Security Strategy, while Romania and Bulgaria are building a joint maritime security hub in the ports of Constanța and Varna. An expert at the European Policy Centre says the region lacks sensors and radar above all, not just strategy papers.
Source:
Euronews · Wednesday, 7 October 2026
EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič began two days of talks in Beijing on Thursday with China's commerce minister Wang Wentao, seeking "tangible results" EU leaders can weigh at their Brussels summit later this month. The EU's trade deficit with China is above one billion euros a day, Beijing has recently tightened export curbs on rare earths, and China has rejected an EU request for voluntary limits on hybrid car exports. Macron and Merz have pushed for a new trade tool that could be activated quickly against countries like China; Beijing says it will meet any such move with a "resolute response".
