Briefly

FRANCE

Bardella warns people will suffer over budget

French far-right leader Jordan Bardella said on Tuesday that the French people would suffer most from more uncertainty over the budget, suggesting his party would likely not back no-confidence motions against Francois Bayrou's minority government. Bayrou rammed the 2025 budget bill through parliament on Monday, betting that he had made enough concessions to his rivals, to survive a no-confidence motion that could cut short his premiership.

SOUTH KOREA

Impeached president back in court, defiant

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has been arrested and suspended from duties over his declaration of martial law, was in court again on Tuesday for hearings that will decide whether to officially remove him from office. Yoon suggested at the hearing that even if he had ordered the arrest of MPs to prevent them from voting down his decree, it would not legally matter because it had not been carried out. At previous hearings, Yoon denied instructing top military commanders to "drag out" lawmakers from parliament, a claim refuted by opposition MPs. Yoon's lawyers on Tuesday filed a motion in court to cancel his detention, saying they had made the move "in consideration of the illegality of the probe" into his alleged crime.

NORWAY

Stoltenberg returns to govt as finance minister

Former NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that he is returning to government in his native Norway as finance minister. Stoltenberg led NATO from 2014, until he handed over to current Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the beginning of October. Before taking over at NATO, Stoltenberg served as Norway's prime minister from 2000 to 2001, and 2005 to 2013.

Agencies Via Xinhua