We will never forget 2020 !

WHO confirms the appearance in Wuhan of cases of pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus called “Sars-Cov-2”.

Focus // January 5th

Legendary world basketball star Kobe Bryant, 41, is killed with his daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles.

Sport // January 26th

MEPs approve with 621 votes to 49 the UK’s exit from the European Union.

Brexit // January 29th

Wildfires of unprecedented violence have devastated entire regions of Australia since September 2019.

Fire // January

Ophthalmologist Li Wenliang dies at the age of 34 from Covid-19 at Wuhan Central Hospital. He was arrested in January for trying to warn at the end of 2019 of the appearance of the new coronavirus.

Mourning // February 7th

The supporters and detractors of the citizenship law adopted on December 11th and deemed discriminatory against Muslims clash. Raids against Muslims are organized without the police interfering.

Persecutions // February 23rd

Harvey Weinstein is convicted of sexual assault and rape by a New York court. On March 11th, he will be sentenced to 23 years in prison. This case since October 2017 has allowed the freedom of women to speak on social networks.

Conviction // February 24th

Hosni Mubarak died at 91 in a military hospital in Cairo. After three decades at the head of Egypt, he will be driven out by a popular uprising during the “Arab Spring” of 2011.

Interment // February 25th

The likoud, the party of outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wins the third legislative elections. On April 20th, a coalition agreement will be signed with Kahol Lavan, the rival Benny Kantz party, which foresees a rotation of the office of the Prime Minister.

Coalition // March 2nd

The President of the Council Giuseppe Conte, orders the 60 million Italians to stay at home in order to fight against Covid-19. Confined, Italians are inspired by the Chinese of Wuhan and sing on their balconies.

Confinement // March 9th

The President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Marcon, in turn orders the general confinement of the country and the closure of all public places. Homework is required for the companies concerned.

Confinement // March 17th

Asterix’s dad, Albert Uderzo, died of a heart attack at the age of 92. Naturalized French at the age of 7, he retired in the early 2000s. The adventures of Asterix have been translated into 111 languages and dialects.

Mourning // March 24th

In a video posted to his Twitter account, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces that he has tested positive for Covid-19. Admitted to intensive care on April 6st, he will be released 3 days later. The British government favors the development of collective immunity of the population and is slow to put in place restrictive measures.

Infection // March 27th

President Donald Trump decides to suspend the American contribution to the WHO. He accuses the organization of having initially hidden the dangerousness of the virus. Six weeks later, he announced to end the relationship between the United States and the WHO.

Financing // April 14th

The 35-year-old North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, is absent during the celebration of the 108th anniversary of the birth of his grandfather Kim Il-sung, founder of the regime. It will finally reappear on May 1 for an inauguration of a fertilizer plant in Sunchon.

Rumors // April 15th

Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta has been dismissed from his post due to disagreements with President Jair Bolsonaro. Jair Bolsonaro’s anti-confinement position does not correspond to the words of the minister, in favor of confinement for the entire population.

Sacked // April 16th

The Bunderstag votes to ban so-called “conversion therapy” for homosexual people under the age of 18. Anyone proposing or advertising these practices is liable to a € 30,000 fine or to a one-year prison sentence. On May 15th, Albania will do the same.

Release // May 7th

Cases of vandalism have been listed in France following the raging anti-5G sling. This technology, which promises to offer faster Internet access and better operating capacity of connected objects, smartphones, transport or the automobile, has many detractors who fear the still little-known effects of 5G antennas on health.

5G // May

George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American, suspected of having used a counterfeit banknote in a supermarket, is killed at the end of his arrest in Minneapolis following the intervention of a filmed police officer. The next day, thousands of indignant people march in Minneapolis and around the world against police violence.

Mourning // May 25th

After more than eight weeks, France lifts its confinement under certain conditions and according to the health situation of each department. Travel is authorized within a limit of 100km with proof, wearing a mask is compulsory in transport. Reopening of bars and restaurants on May 28th only.

Deconfinement // May 28th

Rafiki, one of the country’s most famous gorillas, is killed by poachers. His age was estimated at 25 years. He was the heir to the Nkuringo group, the first used to contact with humans, especially tourists.

Poaching // June 1st

The Russians are called upon to express themselves in a referendum on the reform of the Constitution which would allow Vladimir Putin to remain in power until 2036. The Russians validate this revision of the text by more than 77%.

Reform // June 25th

The second round of municipal elections takes place with a historic abstention rate of 59%. A series of victories for the Europe Ecologie-les-Verts party in cities such as Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Tour and Pointe-à-Pitre. The outgoing mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, is re-elected with 48.7% of the vote.

Elections // June 28th

A year after the gigantic demonstrations against the seizure of Beijing, the Chinese Communist Party is imposing its national security law in Hong Kong. The text provides for punishing “acts of secession, subversion, terrorism or intelligence with foreign forces” but also “activities seriously endangering national security”.

Law // June 30th

The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, changes Prime Minister. Edouard Philippe, who was reelected as mayor of Le Havre is replaced by Jean Castex, 55, a senior right-wing official, until then in charge of the strategy to end confinement.

Government // July 3rd

Ennio Morricone, Italian film music composer died in his hometown, Rome, at the age of 91. He will compose cult music for the greatest directors Giuseppe Tornatore, Brian De Palma or Quentin Tarantino and especially Sergio Leone.

Music // July 6st

Tensions are at their height between Greece and Turkey after Turkey announces its intention to carry out seismic analyzes near the Greek island of Kastellorizo. The objective: underwater drilling in the eastern Mediterranean to obtain a share of the hydrocarbon resources.

Tensions // July 21st

A double explosion occurs in warehouses in the port of the Lebanese capital. 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate bring the city to its knees. The death toll to date is 204 dead, 6500 injured, many missing and a completely devastated city. The population accuses the negligence of the political class plagued by corruption.

Explosions // August 4th

President Alexander Lukashenko, in office for 26 years, claims his victory in the presidential election. Across the country, opponents call for protests, which are harshly cracked down by riot police.

Dissent // August 9th

The Wakashio breaks in two on a coral reef in the south-east of Mauritius. The bulk carrier had time to dump nearly 1,000 tonnes of oil into the Indian Ocean and into this reef considered an ecological gem.

Pollution // August 15th

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta announces his resignation. He was arrested earlier in the day with his Prime Minister Boubou Cissé, by mutinous soldiers who take power. On September 25th, Bah N’Daw is invested President of the Malian transition for 18 months.

Eviction // August 18th

Alexeï Navalny comes out of an artificial coma following his transfer to intensive care in the Berlin Charité hospital. The main opponent of Vladimir Putin suffered malaise on August 20 following poisoning with a potent nerve agent.

Poisoning // September 7th

Camp Moria, the largest in Europe, on the Greek island of Lesbos catches fire. One of the fires was caused by refugees refusing the isolation measures imposed to contain the pandemic in the camp. 13,000 migrants, a quarter of whom are children, find themselves on the streets. Another camp will be open and some European countries will welcome minors.

Refugees // September 9th

Heavy shelling takes place on the border between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh. This region, almost entirely populated by Armenians, declared its independence in 1991. Under the aegis of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey, signed an agreement to end hostilities on November 10th, consecrating victory to Baku. The next day, the Armenian inhabitants fled the region.

Bombing // September 27th

A video, present on Nigerian social networks, shows members of the Sars, an anti-robbery squad, leaving a young man for dead by the roadside. Nigerians express their indignation and demand the dissolution of this special police unit. Police and army fire live ammunition at peaceful protesters on October 20th.

Police // October 3rd

Samuel Paty, a history and geography professor, is beheaded in the street in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine for showing caricatures of Muhammad during a course on freedom of expression. The perpetrator, a young Chechen Islamist, was shot dead by police shortly after the incident.

Horror // October 16th

On television, Emmanuel Macron, President of the Republic, announces a second confinement of at least 4 weeks throughout the territory. Return of the travel certificate and a curfew. Homeworking is again encouraged. The reopening of bars and restaurants will not take place before January 20th and relaxations are planned around December 20th if the situation improves.

Confinement // October 28th

Sean Connery died in his sleep at the age of 90. The Scottish actor was the first to play the famous agent 007 created by Ian Fleming in seven of the films of the James Bond saga. In 1988, he won the Oscar and the Golden Globe for best actor in a supporting role in Brian de Palma’s Les Incorruptibles.

Mourning // October 31st

Democrat Joe Biden is elected 46th President of the United States, broadcast television after four days of suspense. Former Barack Obama vice president appointed Kamala Harris vice president. Outgoing President Donald Trump does not recognize the victory of the Democratic camp, which he accuses of fraud.

Election // November 7th

Presented by the majority, the bill known as “global security” is examined in the National Assembly. Article 24 triggers the anger of defenders of public freedoms: it provides for punishing one year in prison and a fine of € 45,000 for disseminating the image of the face or any other element of identification of a police officer or a gendarme in intervention.

Law // November 17th

Diego Maradonna died at the age of 60 from cardio-respiratory arrest near Buenos Aires. 3 days of national mourning is decreed by the Argentine government. He gave the victory to his team by notably scoring a goal with his hand in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup. The Argentinian was also a living god in Naples where he played from 1984 to 1991.

Mourning // November 25th

Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, President of the French Republic between 1974 and 1981, died of Covid-19 at the age of 94. In 1974, when he was elected, he was, at 48, the youngest president of the Fifth Republic. He is considered to be the one who modernized France. Among its emblematic reforms: coming of age at 18, decriminalization of abortion, divorce by mutual consent and family reunification.

Mourning // December 2nd

Germany, France and the United Kingdom are concerned about the installation of three advanced centrifuges at Natanz, a uranium enrichment site located in central Iran. A breach from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement that the European signatories are trying to maintain. Iranian leader threatens retaliation after November 27th assassination of Iranian nuclear father Mohsen Fakhrizadeh attributed to Israel.

Power // December 7th

China National Biotech Group (CNBG), Sinovac Biotech, Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech all hope to obtain approval from the health authorities to be able to deliver their anti-Covid-19 vaccine. UK becomes first western country to launch national immunization program.

Vaccine // December 8th

In its annual report, the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH) draws up an alarming assessment of the state of human rights in Algeria, and in particular of the increase in violence against women, especially during the confinement.

State // December 9th