- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
Ken Loach at Cannes: 'working class is undefeated'
At 86, British director Ken Loach showed he still had fighting spirit at Cannes, presenting his latest moving homage to working class solidarity and saying: "we're still in the game".
Loach has had no fewer than 15 films in competition at the Cannes Film Festival -- and won the top prize Palme d'Or twice.
His dedication to left-wing causes and showing the often harsh reality of working class Britain remains undimmed in his 16th entry, "The Old Oak", which premiered on Friday.
It tells the story of a struggling pub in a depressed ex-mining town in northern England, whose landlord helps Syrian refugees despite his own problems.
Deadline called it a "vital, moving social parable" and The Guardian a "fierce final call for compassion".
Despite widespread anti-immigrant feeling in Britain, Loach said there are still many working class communities who have shown solidarity with refugees.
"We have a tradition of solidarity born out of industrial struggle," Loach told AFP at the festival. "There are whole sections of people who campaign for refugees."
He said "The Old Oak" was a necessary blast of positivity after more downbeat recent films, "I, Daniel Blake" (which won the Palme in 2016) and "Sorry We Missed You".
"Without hope there's despair, and then you're open to the far right and that destroys us," Loach said.
"The working class is not defeated, we're still in the game."
Asked about still directing in his mid-80s, Loach joked: "If you get up and read the obituary columns and you're not in them, it's a good day. But I've been lucky to keep some health."
- Hard graft -
His long-time writing partner Paul Laverty was full of praise for Loach's dedication, saying the director still worked late for months on end to cast the film from local communities.
"That was like six months hard graft," Laverty said, before having a friendly dig: "That's fine when you're 30 but when you're 105..."
Laverty had far less kind things to say about Britain's politicians, saying that Home Secretary Suella Braverman, known for her anti-migrant rhetoric, displayed "remarkable cruelty".
"She's a scumbag who lives off the misery of other people," said Laverty.
Solidarity used to mean "joining together and sharing," Loach said.
"Today, it means charity... giving a small amount to the poor provided they are grateful and deserving and don't cause a fuss and look like victims."
Speaking about the deterioration of the National Health Service, Loach said "the extent of the crisis is catastrophic".
"We have the most sophisticated political class in the world controlling the image of Britain, but you look inside and it's rotten to the core."
D.Philippon--CPN