Your top stories on Monday: Left-wing vote surge blocks far right in France; domestic violence sentencing changes adopted

French elections: Surprise left-wing vote surge blocks far right

France faces a hung parliament and the prospect of taxing negotiations starting today to form a government, after a surprise left-wing surge blocked Marine Le Pen’s quest to bring the far right to power.

The leftist New Popular Front (NFP) emerged as the dominant force in the National Assembly after Sunday’s election, but with no single group securing a working majority the possibilities include the NFP forming a minority government or the building of a broad, unwieldy coalition.

• Left supporters take to the streets in Paris to celebrate
• What are the options to form a new government in France?

News in Ireland

• Two men who died in Grand Canal in Dublin were known to homeless services: A Garda investigation is continuing into the deaths of two men who were found in the Grand Canal near Dublin city centre over the weekend.
• Domestic violence sentencing changes adopted: Recommendations aimed at creating a “more coherent and uniform” approach to sentencing by District Court judges for domestic violence offences have been adopted by a Judicial Council committee.
• South Africa and Botswana citizens will no longer be allowed visa-free travel to Ireland: Citizens of Botswana and South Africa will be required to obtain a visa to travel to Ireland from next week under arrangements announced by the Minister for Justice.
• Childcare price hikes threaten to wipe out increased State subsidies: Thousands of parents availing of State subsidies towards the cost of early education and childcare services could miss out on up to €1,600 in increased funding that they were due to receive from September because of price increases.
• Weather forecast: Mostly dry at first today with sunny spells, however, scattered showers will break out from late morning, mainly over the northern half of the country. During the afternoon and evening, cloud will build in Munster and south Leinster with outbreaks of rain and drizzle. Highest temperatures of 15 to 20 degrees. Tonight will see outbreaks of rain and drizzle in Munster and south Leinster, gradually extending over much of Leinster through the night, and east Ulster by morning. Temperatures of 9 to 14 degrees, though slightly cooler in the north.
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Sports

• Only an epic like this from Cork could end Limerick’s five-in-a-row odyssey: When it’s like this, everything else dissolves. There’s no split season, no GAAGo, no cashless tickets keeping the poor oul’ fellas out on the streets. All there is, all that exists, is the next ball falling from the sky, writes Malachy Clerkin.
• Lengthy injury list after Ireland’s first Test loss to South Africa: Dan Sheehan is facing an extended period on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury in Ireland’s 27-20 loss to South Africa at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
• Toni Kroos castigated after tackling tough subject carefully. That’s social media for you: Sitting on a train from Düsseldorf to Munich on Sunday afternoon, I was idly counting up the number of hours I have spent on intercity trains over the last four weeks – I reckoned this journey was going to take me through the 60-hour mark – when I started to get messages about Toni Kroos, writes Ken Early.

Pricewatch

• Two Caesar salads in the same shop have wildly different prices. Is this why your shopping bill is so high?: Not long ago Pricewatch was sent a neat illustration, in the unlikely shape of a Caesar salad, which highlighted how supermarket pricing works and how sometimes it doesn’t work in our favour.

Opinion

• Una Mullally: It’s high time Fine Gael took seriously the problems confronting Dublin city
• Laura Kennedy: It is clear that polarised conversation about gender helps no one

Climate Change

• Earth bakes in heat 1.5 degrees above preindustrial average for 12 months, data shows: The world has baked for 12 consecutive months in temperatures 1.5 degrees greater than their average before the fossil fuel era, new data shows.

Business

• Looser mortgage lending rules linked to Irish house price surge, says MyHome: Looser mortgage lending rules have been cited as one of the factors driving the latest surge in house prices.

Life & Style

• From one parent to another, six tips on how to get through the summer in one piece: By now, it’s likely that the novelty of not having to make school lunches has long since worn off.

Podcast Highlights

• In the News Podcast: The shocking health problem affecting Ireland’s homeless children

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