France, George Bush, China: Your Monday Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/03/briefing/france-george-bush-china.html

Version 0 of 1.

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)

Good morning. Negotiations to start in France, a temporary truce in the U.S.-China trade war and the death of George Bush.

Here’s the latest:

• Turmoil continues in France.

The French government is considering declaring a state of emergency after a third week of violent protests against increased gasoline taxes. The demonstrations have left three people dead and hundreds more wounded. Politicians and law enforcement officials said the situation was close to an “insurrection.”

On Monday, the government will meet with representatives of the “Yellow Vests” protest movement and with the leaders of the opposition political parties. While the government has not signaled any intention to roll back the gas tax increase, some Yellow Vests have indicated they are ready to negotiate.

Deep frustration: The anger fueling the protests in Paris has its roots in the poor rural regions of France, our Paris correspondent reports.

_____

• A trade war truce, at least in the short term.

Over steaks at the Group of 20 meeting in Argentina this weekend, President Trump and President Xi Jinping of China, pictured above, agreed on compromises that will pause their escalating economic conflict.

Mr. Trump agreed to hold off on a major increase in tariffs on Chinese goods planned for Jan. 1. Mr. Xi agreed to increase Chinese purchases of American goods.

But the handshake deal was “less a breakthrough than a breakdown averted,” our White House correspondent writes. The two world leaders set an ambitious 90-day timeline to reach broader trade agreements, but they remain deeply divided.

China also didn’t give any specifics for its side of the deal, and state media quickly framed the agreement as a concession from the American president, leaving out any mention of the deadline.

More from the summit: Mr. Trump dodged unsavory friends, smiled through chilly encounters and was chased by legal troubles at home.

_____

• Remembering George Bush.

“I love you, too.” Those were the last words of the 41st U.S. president, above, and they were directed at the 43rd, his son.

An era ended with the death of Mr. Bush, 94, on Friday. A Republican, he was the last president to have fought in World War II. He served in Congress, the U.N. and the C.I.A. before winning the White House. Though he lasted only a single term, he was a transitional figure who helped steer the country out of the Cold War.

Mr. Bush will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol until Wednesday. Friends and family will gather for a memorial service on Wednesday, which Mr. Trump has designated as a national day of mourning. Mr. Bush will then be laid to rest in Texas.

Mr. Bush’s death has quieted a raucous political system, but the peace is unlikely to last, writes our chief White House correspondent.

Read our full obituary and this remembrance by Maureen Dowd, the longtime White House correspondent, who portrays her improbable friendship with Mr. Bush as “a screwball story.”

_____

• Getting rich off detained migrant children.

As the founder and chief executive of Southwest Key, a nonprofit that houses more migrant children than any other organization in the United States, Juan Sanchez has made millions and is indispensable to the Trump administration’s immigration policy.

But a New York Times investigation, drawing on dozens of interviews and an examination of documents, has found a record of sloppy management and possible financial improprieties including possible self-dealing with top executives.

• The global economy is slowing: Oil prices are falling, many nations are mired in stagnation or heading that way and companies are warning of disappointing profits. Our European economics correspondent thinks the mix could intensify the grievances that have contributed to the rise of populism around the world. Above, a factory in China.

• Carlos Ghosn, the head of the Renault-Nissan alliance, remains in detention in Tokyo. On Friday, a court gave prosecutors 10 more days to assess allegations of financial misconduct.

• The stolen personal data of 500 million Marriott guests has not shown up on the dark web, cyber experts say, suggesting the hacking was by a state actor for espionage purposes. Here’s how to double down on your digital security.

• Two of the world’s biggest airports — in Istanbul and Beijing — point toward a vastly expanded future of travel, when facial recognition and other technologies will help manage growing numbers of travelers.

• Coming this week: Google’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, will testify at a congressional hearing in Washington, and the oil-producing nations of OPEC will meet in Vienna.

• Here’s a snapshot of global markets.

• More than two dozen journalists worldwide have been killed by members of organized crime since the beginning of 2017, according to a new report by Reporters without Borders. Mexico has borne the brunt of the killings. [The New York Times]

• Delegates from nearly 200 nations have begun two weeks of high-stakes climate talks in Katowice, in the heart of Poland’s coal region. [Reuters]

• In Britain, calls for a new referendum on Brexit are growing. [BBC]

• A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea by crossing the countries’ heavily armed border; defectors usually flee via China. [The New York Times]

• The Israeli police recommended that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted on bribery and fraud charges, dealing another blow to his teetering government coalition. [The New York Times]

• In New York, three taxi owners and five other professional drivers have killed themselves over the past year, drawing attention to the economic despair in the industry. [The New York Times]

• A Saudi dissident based in Canada has filed a lawsuit claiming that the Saudi government, using an Israeli software company, planted spyware on his phone to eavesdrop on his communications with Jamal Khashoggi. [The New York Times]

• An Egyptian actress is facing criminal charges for having worn a lacy, revealing dress at a film festival in Cairo last week. A trial has been set for January; if convicted, she could face a five-year jail term. [The New York Times]

• NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft arrives at the asteroid Bennu on Monday after a two-year journey. Here is our interactive explainer of the mission. We will be updating with live coverage later today.

Tips for a more fulfilling life.

• Recipe of the day: Serve a comforting stew of spiced chickpeas crisped in olive oil, then simmered in a garlicky coconut milk.

• Got food allergies? Make traveling less strenuous.

• Organizing a holiday party can be a hassle. Spare everyone the endless phone notifications and try these methods.

• Albert Einstein, in a brief handwritten missive to a German philosopher in 1954, dismisses the word “God” as “the expression of and product of human weakness.” Nicknamed the “God letter,” the document is expected to fetch up to $1.5 million at auction this week.

• In the #MeToo era, our chief film critic re-examines what movies have taught her about being a woman. “Movies get into our bodies, making us howl and weep, while their narrative and visual patterns, their ideas and ideologies leave their imprint,” she writes.

• Insects are abundant yet inconspicuous and hard to meaningfully track, so the fear that they are disappearing has been more felt than documented. But a handful of determined investigators have found that they are indeed diminishing. What would become of a world without them?

The actor Priyanka Chopra and the singer Nick Jonas tied the knot this weekend in the northern Indian city of Jodhpur (where your Back Story writer was born).

Among the many dazzling details of the closely watched wedding was the venue: the Umaid Bhawan Palace, pictured above.

Named after one of Jodhpur’s kings, Maharajah Umaid Singh, the grandiose sandstone structure took 15 years to build between 1929 and 1943. Peacocks strut around its surrounding manicured gardens. Intricately carved pillars hold up its giant, jaw-dropping dome.

But perhaps most remarkable is its noble origin story. It is said that the palace was built as a mass relief program employing thousands of local people when the city was hit by a crippling drought.

After the Indian government de-recognized India’s royal families in 1971, the palace was split into three parts: the royal residence where Mr. Singh’s grandson now lives, a luxury hotel and a museum.

Alisha Haridasani Gupta, who writes the Asian and Australian edition of the briefing, wrote today’s Back Story.

_____

Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online.

Check out this page to find a Morning Briefing for your region. (In addition to our European edition, we have Australian, Asian and U.S. editions.)

What would you like to see here? Contact us at europebriefing@nytimes.com.