PARIS (AP) — Former soccer player Christian Karembeu, a 1998 World Cup winner with France, says two of his relatives have been killed during the unrest in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia that has left seven people dead.
Speaking during an interview with Europe 1 radio on Monday, the former Real Madrid midfielder said his two relatives were shot in the head by snipers.
“I’ve lost family members, that’s why I’ve kept quiet," Karembeu said. “Because I’m in mourning.”
Asked if these were assassinations, Karembeu replied: “I didn’t want to, because the word is strong, but ... it’s true that, yes, it’s an assassination and we hope that there will be inquiries and investigations into these murders.”
French President Emmanuel Macron decided on Monday to lift the state of emergency that was imposed earlier this month. Deadly violence erupted in the French Pacific territory after protests kicked off against the French government’s attempts to amend the French Constitution and change voting lists in New Caledonia.
Opponents fear the measure will benefit pro-France politicians in New Caledonia, where pro-independence Indigenous Kanaks have long pushed to be free of France, amid sharp economic disparities.
Karembeu, who is Kanak, grew up on the island of Lifou in New Caledonia. After moving to France as a teenager, he went on to win two Champions League titles with Madrid as a midfielder. He started for France in the 1998 World Cup final and was also part of the team that won the 2000 European Championship.
New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III, Napoleon’s nephew and heir. It became an overseas territory after World War II, with French citizenship granted to all Kanaks in 1957.
Karembeu's great-grandparents were shipped to Paris in 1931 from the French Pacific territory and exhibited as “cannibals.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Christian Karembeu of France, left, protects the ball during the international soccer match between Germany and France at Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, June 1, 1996. Former international soccer player Christian Karembeu, a 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 winner with France, says two of his relatives have been killed during the unrest in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia that has left seven people dead. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, File)
A strike by Starbucks baristas protesting the company's new dress code grew Thursday.
More than 2,000 Starbucks baristas at 120 U.S. stores have gone on strike since Sunday to protest the new dress code, according to Starbucks Workers United, a union representing the coffee giant's U.S. workers.
Starbucks put new limits starting Monday on what its baristas can wear under their green aprons. The dress code requires employees at company-operated and licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada to wear a solid black shirt and khaki, black or blue denim bottoms.
Under the previous dress code, baristas could wear a broader range of dark colors and patterned shirts. Starbucks said the new rules would make its green aprons stand out and create a sense of familiarity for customers as it tries to establish a warmer, more welcoming feeling in its stores.
But Starbucks Workers United, the union that represents workers at 570 of Starbucks’ 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores, said the dress code should be subject to collective bargaining.
“Starbucks has lost its way. Instead of listening to baristas who make the Starbucks experience what it is, they are focused on all the wrong things, like implementing a restrictive new dress code,” said Paige Summers, a Starbucks shift supervisor from Hanover, Maryland. “Customers don’t care what color our clothes are when they’re waiting 30 minutes for a latte.”
Summers and others also criticized the company for selling styles of Starbucks-branded clothing that employees no longer are allowed to wear to work on an internal website. Starbucks said it would give two free black T-shirts to each employee when it announced the new dress code.
On Wednesday, Starbucks Workers Union said a total of 1,000 workers had staged walkouts at 75 U.S. stores. Starbucks said at the time that the strike was having a limited impact on its 10,000 company-operated U.S. stores. In some cases the strikes closed stores for less than an hour, the company said.
“It would be more productive if the union would put the same effort into coming back to the table that they’re putting into protesting wearing black shirts to work," Starbucks said in a statement. "More than 99% of our stores are open today serving customers — and have been all week.”
Associated Press readers who shared their opinions had mixed views of the dress code. Some said they didn’t think Starbucks’ baristas had much to complain about, noting that many retailers require their workers to dress a certain way. Others said they thought Starbucks should focus on improving the quality and prices of its beverages, and keeping workers happy instead of worrying about what its employees wear.
Maddie Mucklow, who manages a Starbucks store in Seattle, said she's in favor of the new rules.
“I’ll be honest, I think the dress code was a difficult change for the partners at my store," Mucklow said. "But the dress code gives us a more consistent boundary for how to show up best for each other while still expressing our individuality.”
Starbucks Workers United has been unionizing U.S. stores since 2021. Starbucks and the union have yet to reach a contract agreement, despite agreeing to return to the bargaining table in February 2024.
The union said this week that it filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging Starbucks' failure to bargain over the new dress code.
FILE - Starbucks baristas stand on stage, March 20, 2019, during an annual shareholders meeting in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file)
