FirstFT: Macron convenes ministers on French unrest

Receive free World updates

Events in France lead today’s news, with Emmanuel Macron and his top ministers meeting yesterday evening to mobilise the government’s response towards unrest that has shaken the country.

The meeting followed a fifth night of looting and rioting sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager known publicly as Nahel.

After discussing the crisis with Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, interior minister Gérald Darmanin and justice minister Éric Dupond-Moretti, the president called on them to “continue to do everything possible to reestablish order and restore calm”, said a person at the meeting.

An attack yesterday morning on the home of the mayor of the Parisian suburb of L’Haÿ-les-Roses, in which unidentified individuals set a car on fire and rammed it through the front gate while his family was sleeping inside, has made clear the danger of the unrest.

No one was hurt, and police are looking for the attackers. “A line was crossed,” Laurent Nuñez, Paris police prefect, said of the attack, speaking on BFM TV.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

Economic data: The manufacturing purchasing managers’ indices for the EU, France, Germany, Italy and the UK are due.
UK petrol: The Competition and Markets Authority publishes its report on the road fuel market.
Sport: Wimbledon, the British grand slam tennis tournament, begins in London.

Five more top stories

1. The crisis at Thames Water could deter overseas investment into the UK, ministers and industry figures have warned. Conservative ministers maintain that concerns about the financial resilience of water companies could create a “risk premium” for investing in UK infrastructure.

2. UBS aims to avoid using a $10bn Credit Suisse backstop, as political backlash against the takeover deal builds ahead of elections in Switzerland this year. As part of the takeover, the Swiss government agreed to shield UBS from up to SFr9bn ($10bn) in any losses from the deal, provided the bank bore the first SFr5bn. UBS is aiming to make clear that its rescue will not rely on funding from Swiss taxpayers.

3. Exclusive: Apple has cut production forecasts for its Vision Pro headset unveiled last month. The complexity of the headset design and difficulties in production are behind the scaling back of targets, people with knowledge of the manufacturing process said, while plans for a more affordable version of the device have been pushed back.

4. The EU is considering a proposal to allow a Russian bank under sanctions to create a subsidiary to safeguard a Black Sea grain deal. The plan, which was proposed by Moscow through negotiations brokered by the UN, will allow Russian Agricultural Bank’s subsidiary to handle payments related to grain exports.

5. Barclays is looking to terminate its corporate banking relationship with Odey Asset Management. Several banks have served termination notices on Odey for the prime broking and custody relationships necessary to run the hedge fund after the Financial Times reported last month that 13 women had alleged sexual assault or harassment by Crispin Odey.

The Big Read

Gunilla Osswald said neuroscience was risky for drugmakers. ‘It’s a difficult area. But the benefit can be so huge when you have something which is successful’ © Martina Holmberg/FT

A decade ago, many big pharmaceutical companies stopped trying to find treatments for Alzheimer’s, with research considered too costly. Former AstraZeneca researcher Gunilla Osswald did not give up, however, taking the helm at BioArctic, a Swedish start-up of 20 people devoted to tackling the disease. This week, the US Food and Drug Administration will decide whether to fully approve lecanemab, BioArctic’s first commercially available drug candidate.

We’re also reading . . .

Chart of the day

Table showing the number of recruitment offers at companies

Despite job cuts and the economic downturn, UK companies do not appear to have put the brakes on internship schemes. In 2022, the number of summer internships bounced back beyond pre-pandemic levels, according to the Institute of Student Employers, which found hiring was up 7 per cent compared with 2019 in a survey of 168 large employers. For this summer, companies said they hired as many interns or more than last year.

Take a break from the news

Italy boasts a gorgeous array of heavenly holiday options, from Puglia to Sicily and beyond. Here are five hotspots that are ready to book now.

Additional contributions by Benjamin Wilhelm

Recommended newsletters for you

Asset Management — Find out the inside story of the movers and shakers behind a multitrillion-dollar industry. Sign up here

The Week Ahead — Start every week with a preview of what’s on the agenda. Sign up here