MEPs vote for compulsory European flag in front of town halls with more than 1,500 inhabitants and student nurse dropouts tripled in 10 years

MEPs vote for the obligation of the European flag in front of town halls with more than 1,500 inhabitants

The National Assembly voted, on the night of Wednesday May 10 to Thursday May 11, a text decried by Macronist deputies aimed at making the French and European flags compulsory on the pediment of town halls with more than 1,500 inhabitants, a use already widespread. After a tense examination, the bill was supported by 130 votes against 109 in the first reading and must now be examined by the Senate. Amendments have relaxed the initial text, allowing flags to be hoisted near town halls or on their roofs and above all by exempting municipalities with fewer than 1,500 inhabitants from the obligation to display flags, for financial reasons.

But the measure remains highly contested in the opposition, from left and right: “The exemption concerns 70% of the municipalities of France”denounced the deputy LR Philippe Gosselin. ” It does not make sense “ in “One and indivisible Republic”, he continues. At the National Rally, MP Jean-Philippe Tanguy launched a frontal attack against the starred flag, which according to him does not carry “no symbol”. “There are only three colors to which the French bow”he judged, “blue, white and red”.

READ ALSO :Compulsory European flag on the pediment of town halls: the (necessarily) divisive proposal of the Renaissance

The deputies voted an amendment to guarantee in all town halls this time the presence of the official portrait of the President of the Republic, an equally common tradition. Then two others to affix the motto Liberty, Equality, Fraternity on their facades (an amendment by the Insoumis Antoine Léaument) and display the declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen inside (by Philippe Gosselin, LR).

The number of student nurses dropping out of first year has tripled in 10 years

Students in nursing training are three times more likely to drop out of first year in 2021 than in 2011, according to a study published this Thursday, May 11 by the Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics ( drees). Thus, 10% of female students in the first year of training dropped out of their studies in 2021, whereas they were only 3% in 2011. As a result of this development, the number of female graduates per year fell by 7% between the years 2010 and 2021.

The higher number of dropouts were partially offset by the increase in the number of enrolments: 35,500 students in the first year of training in 2021, whereas this figure was stable – around 31,000 – in the 2010s. ‘a classic course lasting three years, the dropout rate for the last promotion studied, that of 2018, reached 19% for men against 13% for women and 14% for the promotion as a whole, says the study.

READ ALSO :Discouragement: more than a quarter of nurses plan to leave the profession within a year

These abandonments also affect other training sectors. Thus, one student in 10 in training as a nursing assistant or electroradiology manipulator dropped out of her studies in 2021, for example. The study, carried out using the “Schools” survey, which collects annual data on health professions training schools, does not put forward a cause to explain this increase in dropouts.

In the United States, a committee of experts recommends the over-the-counter sale of a contraceptive pill

A committee of American experts recommended, this Wednesday, May 10, the authorization of an over-the-counter contraceptive pill, that is to say, which can be obtained without a prescription. If this initiative were launched, it would be a first in the United States. After public discussions, the experts unanimously voted in this direction, estimating that the benefits of this authorization outweighed the risks. The US Medicines Agency (FDA), which will be responsible for making the final decision, generally follows the advice of these expert advisory committees, which meet at its request.

These discussions take place in a particular context in the United States, where the right to abortion is under renewed assault from conservatives. The free sale of a contraceptive pill, which prevents getting pregnant, could make it easier to access, especially for young girls. The affected contraceptive, Opill, produced by pharmaceutical company HRA Pharma, has been available in the United States by prescription for many years.

READ ALSO: United States: access to the abortion pill upheld by the Supreme Court

“We can seize this opportunity to increase access, reduce disparities, and above all increase the freedom to decide whether or not to have children for women in our country”, said Jolie Haun, one of the experts, to explain her vote. Leslie Walker-Harding, an expert at the University of Washington, said she hopes the pill will be available over-the-counter to help people who cannot “choose what they want to do with their body”. Some countries, such as the UK, already allow the over-the-counter sale of birth control pills.