06:16⇢French Hostage Returns From Iran As Pension Talks Collapse
⌨The newspapers report extensively on the release of French citizen Olivier Grondeau, detained in Iran since 2022, now "free" and back in France according to President Macron's announcement (BFMTV, Le Parisien). Domestically, pension reform negotiations are collapsing after multiple unions including CGT, FO, and U2P withdrew from François Bayrou's "conclave" discussions following the Prime Minister's rejection of returning to retirement at age 62 (France TV Info, Le Point). European defense is another major focus, with the EU preparing a white paper on transitioning to a "war economy" by 2030, emphasizing autonomous defense capabilities and strengthening the European military industrial base (Le Figaro, Les Echos, Libération).