Our daily tour around the world

🇫🇷 More than 1.2 million people gathered across France yesterday to protest against raising the retirement age. About one-quarter of France’s public sector workers walked out on strike, causing widespread disruption of travel, schools, and services within the country. It marked the sixth mass demonstration so far this year against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the age at which retirees can draw a full government pension from 62 to 64, which Macron has said is necessary to keep the system financially viable.

🇨🇦🇨🇳 Canadian PM Justin Trudeau appointed a special investigator to look into allegations that China illegally helped his Liberal Party in the 2021 election. Last month, The Globe and Mail reported that China worked to defeat Conservative politicians considered unfriendly to Beijing in Canada’s most recent nationwide election, citing top-secret documents from the country’s intelligence service. Alongside a special investigator, PM Trudeau also asked lawmakers in Canada’s national security committee to investigate the alleged election interference, which China has denied.

🇮🇷 Iran announced its first arrests in a series of mysterious poisonings targeting schoolgirls. In an interview with state television on Monday, Iranian officials said more than 5,000 female students across 25 of the country’s 31 provinces have suffered from symptoms like nausea, shortness of breath, and vertigo in recent months after reporting unpleasant odors on school premises. International human rights orgs have raised concerns that the attacks could be a form of retaliation for ongoing female-led protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September.