In this April 1, 2016 file photo, the French flag above the skyline of the French capital with the Eiffel Tower, The Invalides Dome and roof tops are seen from the colonnade of the Pantheon Dome in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Paris city hall has been fined 90,000 euros ($109,408) for having appointed too many women to top positions in 2018, in breach of a law aimed at ensuring gender balance.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo denounced the fine as “unfair” and “absurd” on Tuesday during a meeting of the city council.
In 2018, 11 women and 5 men — who represent just over 30% — were appointed to top positions in the Paris city hall, leading the Civil Service Ministry to impose the fine.
A 2013 law, meant to ensure that women get better access to senior jobs in the civil service, requires a minimum of 40% of appointments for each gender.
Since then, the law has been changed to provide for exceptions to nominations when the gender balance is respected overall.
In Paris city hall, 47% of all civil servants in senior positions are women.
“Yes, we need to promote women with determination and vigor because everywhere, France is still lagging behind (on that issue),” Hidalgo said.
The U.S., South Korea and Japan will announce plans on how they will address concerns about North Korea's nuclear program at a gathering in Camp David.
A list of criminal charges in Georgia against former President Donald Trump briefly appeared Monday on a Fulton County website, but prosecutors said Trump had not been indicted in a long-running investigation of the 2020 presidential election.
A Montana judge on Monday sided with young environmental activists who said state agencies were violating their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by permitting fossil fuel development without considering its effect on the climate.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday he has appointed a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the president's son ahead of the 2024 election.
