Phineas Rueckert

Paris

Journalist @FbdnStories covering threats to press freedom | ✍️ @newlinesmag, @thenation, @jacobin, @vice, @thedialmag etc | views, and bad jokes, mine

Articles

Promises made in Paris Olympics run-up broken, say undocumented workers

6 days ago | aljazeera.com | Sophie Stuber |Phineas Rueckert

Paris, France - When Moussa*, an undocumented construction worker, joined a wildcat strike at the building site of Paris's Adidas Arena in the early hours of October 17, 2023, he was hoping the protest might lead to him getting the papers he needed to travel home to Mali. Recommended Stories Since arriving in France in 2019, having first boarded a boat from Algeria to Spain, Moussa, 25, has not taken a single vacation.
The Other French Far-Right Leader Facing Corruption Charges

2 weeks ago | jacobin.com | Phineas Rueckert

It’s a well-worn story: the anti-corruption crusader who, once in office, becomes even more corrupt than his predecessor.
Taking Aim at Swiss Watchmaker Patek Philippe, a Bombing Campaign Terrorizes Geneva

3 weeks ago | airmail.news | Makana Eyre |Phineas Rueckert

On a drizzly Wednesday in March, Swiss police arrested a man standing alone at a Bitcoin A.T.M. near Geneva Airport, ending a nearly year-long manhunt. Hours earlier, the 61-year-old had reportedly bought a one-way ticket to Dubai. All that was left was to convert a supposedly large crypto-currency ransom he’d wrangled into cash. Then, presumably, he would vanish—leaving behind what federal authorities describe as a campaign of violence that had quietly terrorized Geneva.
How the Battle of Algiers Made Jean-Marie Le Pen

Dec 19, 2024 | newlinesmag.com | Phineas Rueckert

On Aug. 3, 1957, a caravan of military trucks came to a halt in front of Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral. The parade of vehicles had inched its way from the south of France to the capital city, plowing along despite the oppressive summer heat. At each stop along the way, the former military men leading the movement projected a short film for curious onlookers.
France’s Most Famous Astronomer Was Also a Ghost Hunter

Oct 31, 2024 | newlinesmag.com | Phineas Rueckert

I was standing in a room where, 100 years ago, a seance took place. The building had no electricity and the shutters were closed. Through the fading light of a rainy October evening, I could still make out peeling green wallpaper and papier-mache moldings crumbling on the ceiling. Empty shelves lined all four walls but rows of neat labels hinted at their previous contents. The study was otherwise empty. In the corner near the window, the floorboards were slightly lighter in color.
France wants to make olympics-style surveillance permanent

Oct 24, 2024 | therealnews.com | Phineas Rueckert

This story originally appeared in Jacobin on Oct. 23, 2024. It is shared here with permission. This month, when Emmanuel Macron’s newly chosen prime minister, Michel Barnier, laid out his first government agenda to the National Assembly, much attention was naturally focused on the budget and immigration. But a seemingly throwaway line pointed to another aspect of security and policing.
France Wants to Make Olympics-Style Surveillance Permanent

Oct 23, 2024 | jacobin.com | Phineas Rueckert

This month, when Emmanuel Macron’s newly chosen prime minister, Michel Barnier, laid out his first government agenda to the National Assembly, much attention was naturally focused on the budget and immigration. But a seemingly throwaway line pointed to another aspect of security and policing. “We will generalize the methods experimented with during the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Barnier promised.
Israel Maneuvered to Prevent Disclosure of State Secrets amid WhatsApp vs NSO Lawsuit

Jul 25, 2024 | forbiddenstories.org | Phineas Rueckert |Karine Pfenniger

Documents reveal how Israel seized files, suppressed information related to WhatsApp’s lawsuit against Pegasus spyware vendor NSO Amid a lawsuit pitting WhatsApp against the Israeli company NSO, the state of Israel ordered documents to be seized from the offices of the Pegasus spyware vendor Israel also emitted a gag order on the seizure to prevent further dissemination of the information Leaked files from the Israeli Ministry of Justice accessed by Forbidden Stories suggest that the MoJ...
What the Olympics Mean for Paris’s Housing Infrastructure — The Dial

Jul 16, 2024 | thedial.world | Phineas Rueckert

Aminata Konaté remembers the day she learned that she would have to vacate the room she had rented since 2020. Konaté, 34, lived in the Maison des F&Es, a fleabag hotel near the Sacré Coeur in Paris’ 18th arrondissement that was converted into temporary housing for immigrant single mothers in 2020 at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and run by the charity Basiliade. In January, the owner of the hotel called an emergency meeting.
Argentina’s Media Workers Just Knocked Back Javier Milei

Jul 15, 2024 | rsn.org | Phineas Rueckert

Argentina’s far-right president, Javier Milei, promised to close press agency Télam and sack its 700 employees. But media workers fought back — and saved the agency from being shuttered. When I first met her, Andrea Delfino was smoking a cigarette in front of the shuttered offices of Télam, the state-run press agency in Buenos Aires. It was March 24, the anniversary of Argentina’s military coup in 1976. The entrance to the building was barricaded, but outside there was a hive of activity.