The Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) was formed in 2019 following widespread demonstrations | A new political party, the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), is set to dominate the Netherlands’ upper house of parliament after it secured 15 senate seats in provincial elections, stunning the political establishment. ● BBB was established in 2019 as a riposte to Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s conservative VVD party, which sought to fall in line with European Union regulations on nitrogen emissions by significantly decreasing livestock numbers and buying out thousands of farms. 💬 “Nobody can ignore us any longer,” party leader Caroline van der Plas told Dutch broadcaster Radio 1 as the results of the election became clear. “Voters have spoken out very clearly against this government’s policies.” ● The BBB platform was primarily based on influencing the nitrogen issue, after environmental groups saw success in court cases petitioning the government to limit emissions to preserve nature before building permits can be granted. This, in turn, heavily impacted the construction sector.

The French police have detained over 200 people at protests against the controversial pension reform in central Paris, French media reported on Thursday, citing a police source. | Earlier in the day, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said that the government had adopted the law on raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years by invoking Article 49.3 of the constitution, which allowed the government to pass the bill without parliamentary approval. ● The latest figures released by reports suggest some 217 people have been arrested, although the tally is expected to increase as protests continue. Police units are chasing several hundred protesters who scattered through the streets in central Paris after police dispersed the protest on the Place de la Concorde, reports have detailed. Protesters have overturned trash bins, which have piled up in large numbers on the streets as a result of the garbage collectors' strike. In the meantime, protests continue across France, local media report.

■ Elisabeth Borne déclenche l'article 49.3 pour faire adopter la réforme des retraites (France Soir)(Vidéo)

Copenhagen has refused to allow Moscow’s participation in pipeline bombing probe | Denying Russia access to the investigation of sabotage on the Nord Stream gas pipelines makes a mockery of those probes, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed on Thursday. 💬 “This is such a fraud, a total scam, not even a con but a threepenny game, which in my opinion no one has been buying for a very long time,” Zakharova said in an interview with Rossiya-1. “They are playing this for themselves, but the story with Nord Stream will not end the same way as many other stories they have buried or covered up, I think, for the simple reason that there’s a lot of money at stake,” Zakharova added. ● Earlier in the day, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said that Moscow won’t be permitted to participate, telling reporters that “Denmark, Sweden and Germany all have rule of law and one can have confidence in our investigations.”