french protests

Keir Starmer spent the morning in Stoke-on-Trent. Not WOKE-on-Trent, as one hilarious Tory Red-wall-er reminded him.

But attempts to fire up the culture war are something Rishi Sunak wants no part in.

And recent polling suggests it's the right call. Today we look at the state of play of the two main political parties and what the numbers are currently telling us -with James Kanagasoorium of Focaldata.

And we ask whether we mind have a billionaire prime minister who pays a million pound tax bill. Lewis is on the streets of Paris where they are rioting. And not just because of something he said.

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This episode contains strong language

Millions of people have taken to the streets in France to protest a government effort to raise the retirement age to 64, from 62, bringing the country more in line with its European neighbors.

Today, as Parliament holds a key vote on the proposal, we look into why the issue has hit such a nerve in French society.

Guest: Roger Cohen, the Paris bureau chief for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• After large protests, all eyes were on the French Parliament on Thursday as it prepared to vote on the measure to increase the retirement age by two years.
• Here are some of the reasons so many people in France are protesting the proposals.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.