Thousands arrested in France protests + Ozempic: The good, the bad, the ugly

Sacha Barbour Gatt (0:08)

Hello, Sacha Barbour Gatt with you. Happy Monday and welcome to The Briefing. Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, you've heard the names. They're all GLP ones that initially started as diabetes drugs, but more and more people are using them to lose weight.

And as new warnings come to light, are they really the miracle jab we've been sold?

Michael Wright (0:28)

Sometimes things are low-risk or no-risk, but I don't think these medications are. You know, they're highly effective, but they need to be dispensed for the right people. And there are some people who definitely should not use them.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (0:39)

That chat with the president of the Royal Australian College of GPs is coming up in the second half of this episode. First, though, let's get into the headlines with Chris Spyrou. It's Monday, the 19th of October.

Chris Spyrou (0:51)

Good morning, Sacha Barbour Gatt. Green Senator Jordon Steele-John has released a lengthy social media statement attempting to address the claims of inappropriate conduct towards women. In the 1400 word post to Instagram, he's denied any wrongdoing while also blaming party factionalism for the public fallout since the allegations emerged. This all started on Friday when the Greens leader David Shoebridge announced Steele-John was on leave as an independent inquiry investigated a letter signed by seven party members alleging he acted inappropriately towards women over incidents between 2017 and 2025

Sacha Barbour Gatt (1:26)

Now the WA Senator was quick to deny the claims and last night he addressed a number of the allegations individually, including detailing a previous relationship in which he says he was a victim of abuse. He also admitted to not having knowledge of another incident detailed in the letter, which is now the subject of that Greens investigation. Steele-John also addressed his rumoured nickname feels on wheels, which was mentioned in this initial letter signed by seven Greens members.

He says this was actually given to him by opposing parties in his early days of politics because he'd become emotional when speaking about the Disability Royal Commission.

Chris Spyrou (2:03)

In his statement, he also criticised Shoebridge as saying he never asked to be granted leave, as it would appear to validate the allegations against him. He says, quote, I had expected him to recognise that absent any specific allegations, there was no procedural need for me to take leave of any kind. So to be clear, I am not on leave and did not agree to the inclusion of that line within David's statement.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (2:25)

Yeah. So as to what happens next, Steele-John in his statement said he'll participate fully in the investigation process.

He says he'll continue to do his job. And at the time of recording, we haven't heard from David Schubridge's office because the statement was quite scathing of how the new Greens leader approached the whole thing, including saying that Steele-John was on leave, which as we heard, Steele-John claims that's not the case. He didn't ask to be put on leave and he doesn't want to be put on leave. So this still has a long way to play out.

Chris Spyrou (2:55)

Overseas now to France where the government is holding crisis talks after peaceful protests about school funding and the cost of living turned violent over the weekend. More than 2000 people have been arrested after ugly scenes across multiple cities, including in the capital Paris, with buildings destroyed, shops and cars torched and businesses looted.

SPEAKER_4 (3:13)

We fight because living conditions are too harsh, because the cost of gas is too high.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (3:18)

Parisian officials claim the city experienced a level of violence never seen before with a record 855 people arrested, while traders unions say the total cost of damage and stolen goods from Saturday's protests will soar into the hundreds of millions of euros. A number of historic buildings have been destroyed, including a 19th century town hall in the city of Limoges.

Chris Spyrou (3:40)

Criticism has been flying from all sides of politics about who is to blame for the protests turning violent. The Centrist government and far-right parties say ultra-left groups are behind the violence, while the far-left's leader says authorities are to blame for inflaming tensions with protesting crowds. President Emmanuel Macron will make an emergency address to the nation this morning, our time.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (4:03)

After months of holding out, Donald Trump has endorsed Benjamin Netanyahu just nine days out from the Israeli election. The US President, posting to Truth Social early this morning to back Netanyahu's re-election bid, calling him a great warrior Prime Minister and an even greater partner for peace in combating the Islamic Republic of Iran. He told Israelis their survival depends on the PM being re-elected, and if anyone else wins, the US would have to fight Iran itself, something Trump says he's quote, not inclined to do.