## French government toppled in historic no-confidence vote

Authored by lemonde.fr

Three months after he was appointed prime minister by French President Emmanuel Macron, Michel Barnier and his government were toppled on Wednesday, December 4, after a majority of PMs voted a no-confidence motion.

With the support of the far-right, a majority of 331 MPs in the 577-member chamber voted to oust the government.

This was the first successful no-confidence vote to oust a French prime minister since 1962.

Later on Wednesday, the presidency said Barnier will on Thursday submit the resignation of his government to Macron.

Barnier is expected at the Elysee Palace at 0900 GMT for the formality which is a constitutional obligation following a vote of no confidence.

"The worst policy would be not to block such a budget," three-time far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said during the parliamentary debate, urging lawmakers to vote out the government and its "technocratic" choices.

The ousting of the Barnier government presents Macron with the task of picking a viable successor with over two years of his presidential term left. »

### Billions of people to benefit from technology breakthrough that ensures freshwater for the world

Authored by unisa.edu.au

A novel approach to make seawater evaporate faster than freshwater has been hailed as a significant breakthrough in desalination technology that will benefit billions of people worldwide.

This is a significant breakthrough since previous studies all found seawater evaporation rates were around 8% lower than pure water.

“The key to this breakthrough lies in the ion exchange process at the air-water interface,” Prof Xu says. »

### Canadian miners use China's rare metals ban to push back on Trump tariffs

Authored by financialpost.com

China’s move to ban exports of rare metals to the United States underscores the need for trade co-operation between mineral-rich Canada and its southern neighbour.

More than half of Canada’s mineral exports — valued at more than $80 billion — were destined for the U.S. in 2022, according to the Canadian group.

Canada was responsible for supplying nearly half of the U.S.’s import needs of germanium between 2019 and 2022, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Bloomberg.com. »

### Donald Trump is ready to make Republicans touch the third rail

Authored by salon.com

Their intentions are to cut benefits under Medicaid and Social Security.

Medicare was supposed to be cut as well, through a complicated mechanism that reallocated some of its funds.

Vought hasn't openly called for cutting Social Security retiree benefits but has promoted cutting disability payments and Medicaid and fully privatizing Medicare. »

### XDefiant officially shutting down as Ubisoft announces FPS end date

Authored by dexerto.com

After weeks of speculation regarding player count and ongoing support, XDefiant is officially on its way out.

“We regret to inform you that we are initiating the sunset process starting today,” a Ubisoft blog post outlined shortly after on December 3, 2024.

Ubisoft While Ubisoft claims XDefiant reached over 15 million players total, devs even admitted the daily active player count was dwindling as 2024 rolled on. »

## In pictures

## Also in the news

#### Marjorie Taylor Greene Wants A ‘Blanket Pardon’ And Everyone Has The Same Question

#### Mayor Adams says undocumented New Yorkers aren’t owed due process, defying Constitution

#### Live updates: Brian Thompson, UnitedHealthcare CEO, fatally shot in New York

#### Russian warship 'fires at' German helicopter: NATO reconnaissance aircraft incident over Baltic Sea sparks new conflict escalation fears

#### AOC mulls run to be top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee