News of the week

• Donald Trump's impeachment [spp-timestamp time="00:00:50″]
• Strikes in France against pension reform [spp-timestamp time="00:01:18″]
• UK on the march for Brexit [spp-timestamp time="00:01:48″]
• Strong storm kills 5 in Spain and Portugal [spp-timestamp time="00:02:35″]
• Falling sales of electric cars [spp-timestamp time="00:03:07″]
• Explanation of the week's vocabulary [spp-timestamp time="00:03:42″]

Every Saturday, HelloFrench publishes a podcast that immerses you in the news of the week. Each press review is accompanied by a transcription, d'a vocabulary list and a quizto help you improve your French and test yourself.

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Transcription

Hello,

Welcome to the press review of Hello French, the podcast that immerses you in the news of the week, to help you improve your French.

In the spotlight for this week of December 14-21, 2019

1. The US House of Representatives has voted [tooltips keyword="the impeachment" content="the impeachment"] on President Donald Trump. The president now awaits the Senate's verdict in January.
2. [tooltips keyword="Les grèves " content="the strikes"] continue in France against [tooltips keyword="la réforme des retraites " content="pension reform"]. The country is virtually at a standstill during the festive season.
3. After his victory in the general election, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, is putting the country on the road to Brexit.
4. Heavy weather in Europe has already caused 5 deaths in Spain and Portugal. A new storm named "Fabien" should arrive this weekend.
5. Electric cars: the automotive sector sees a decline in global sales in 2019. A first.

This Wednesday, December 19, the US House of Representatives voted to impeach Donald Trump for "abuse of power" and "obstructing Congress". Donald Trump is the third president in history to be impeached. His trial [tooltips keyword="procès" content="trial"] will take place in January in the Republican-controlled Senate. Barring a reversal of fortunes, the President should therefore escape [tooltips keyword="échapper " content="avoid"] impeachment. In this case, the head of state will be able to run for a second term in the presidential elections on November 4, 2020, as he had planned.

No Christmas truce [tooltips keyword="trêves de Noël " content="Christmas truce"] for strikers in France. Since December 5, the country has been experiencing a strong wave of strikes and [tooltips keyword="demonstrations" content="demonstrations"] against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform. Mainly driven by public sector workers, many sectors are affected: transport - trains, planes, subways), schools, crèches... It is not yet known when these strikes will end. Strikers have announced an indefinite strike, until the government backs down on its proposed pension reform.

On December 12, 2019, early parliamentary elections [tooltips keyword="early parliamentary elections" content="early parliamentary elections"] were held in Great Britain to elect new representatives to the House. The aim was to break the deadlock and reach an agreement on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. The Conservative party won by a wide margin. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson now holds [tooltips keyword="la majorité absolue" content="absolute majority"] in parliament. Unsurprisingly, the new [tooltips keyword="députés " content="Members of Parliament"] therefore voted this Friday, December 20, 2019, in favor of Boris Johnson's deal to leave Europe. At second reading, the text was approved by 358 MPs and rejected 234 MPs. After 3 years of crisis, the Conservative Party Prime Minister and the country are now moving forward to make Brexit a reality. The legislative process will continue after the festive season. The official Brexit date is expected to be January 31, 2020.

Heavy rain and strong winds hit Spain and Portugal this week. Dubbed Elsa, [tooltips keyword="la tempête " content="the storm"] has already claimed five lives. [Tooltips keyword="Les rafales" content="gusts"] reached 160 km/h. As a result of the [tooltips keyword="intempéries" content="bad weather"], shipping links between Spain and Morocco were interrupted on Friday morning. This weekend, "Fabien", a new high-intensity storm, will once again hit Spain, Portugal and France. With gusts of up to 120 km/h forecast, it is likely to be of a slightly lower intensity.

7 million [tooltips keyword="véhicules " content="vehicles, cars"] electric vehicles are now on the road worldwide. However, the automotive sector has recorded a decline in sales of electric vehicles this year. This is a first! This drop of 10 %, in the third quarter of 2019 compared with 2018, is probably due to a global reduction in purchase subsidies. Europe is the exception, however, with an annual increase in sales of 93 %, thanks to subsidies and tax breaks.

Vocabulary of the week

Enrich your French vocabulary, download our list of key words for the week of December 14-22, 2019.

👑Impeachment It is a sanction that consists in depriving someone of his function (king, president...).

👉The indictment trial: a procedure whereby a person is brought before a court for trial.

🔚The verdict It's the result of a trial, the judgment rendered.

👮The trial is when a dispute is submitted to a judge for justice.

🏃Escape from : to avoid something.

✊The strike Strike: It is when several people decide to stop working at the same time to show that they are not happy with a situation. These people are called: strikers.

👵Retirement Retirement is the period of life when one has stopped working. We also talk about retirement to talk about the money that is paid to someone who is retired.

🎄The Christmas Truce Christmas: a pause, a break for the Christmas period. This expression is used in the context of a crisis.

🚨The event a gathering of people who want to express their opinions together, usually in the street.

📃The legislative elections A vote to elect representatives to parliament. The expression "les législatives" is also correct.

∞ The absolute majority half of the votes + one (election).

🕴The MP the people's representative, a member of an elected assembly.

🌬The gust : a violent gust of wind.

🌧The storm : a very violent wind with rain and thunderstorms.

🌫Bad weather : the bad weather.

🚍The vehicle a means of transportation. We can use this term for a car, a truck, a motorcycle...