
PARIS — The new speaker of France's lower house of parliament — the first woman to hold the post — vigorously defended the right to abortion Tuesday and called on the chamber to be "vigilant" about protecting it from reversal.
The National Assembly elected Yael Braun-Pivet as speaker on Tuesday, in its first session since President Emmanuel Macron's party lost his majority in elections this month that handed new power to far-right and far-left camps.