US President Donald Trump has issued an ultimatum to Iran: If the Strait of Hormuz, currently controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, isot fully reopened by Tuesday morning, the US will attack Iranian power stations. Iran responded by threatening to block the strait completely in the event of such attacks. Commentators examine motives and ways to de-escalate the situation.

Left-wing coalitions have emerged victorious in several major cities in the French municipal elections. Socialists Emmanuel Grégoire and Benoît Payan won in Paris and Marseille, and in Lyon, the Socialists, Communists and LFI helped the Green mayor Grégory Doucet secure re-election. The far-right populist party Rassemblement National (RN) won in some 30 municipalities.

Parliamentary elections are due to take place in Denmark on Tuesday. Mette Frederiksen, the Social Democratic Prime Minister, has been leading a centre-left coalition – an unusual arrangement for the country – since the end of 2022. Her recent success in fending off US ambitions regarding Greenland earned her international respect. Local commentators, however, are more focused on taxes and education policy.

Several thousand people – far more than the 500 announced – demonstrated on Sunday in Berlin against virtual and real-life violence against women. They were responding to a call for action by actor Collien Fernandes, who in Spiegel accused her ex-husband of humiliating her using fake online profiles and porn. In Spain, the public is in shock after a brutal femicide that took place at the weekend.