Gavin Mortimer is a British author who lives in Burgundy after many years in Paris. He writes about French politics, terrorism and sport.
From our UK edition
When the history of the twentieth century is written, one of the questions that will puzzle historians is the sanctification of Angela Merkel, whose memoir is published today. Merkel was Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2015, and chosen as the third most powerful person in the world by Forbes in 2016. When she stepped down as Chancellor
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Nearly a year ago the EU unveiled what it called its ‘New Pact on Migration and Asylum’ with much fanfare. The Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, boasted that the pact ‘means that Europeans will decide who comes to the EU and who can stay, not the smugglers’. As is the way with the bureaucratic
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Jaguar’s disastrous makeover has left many people wondering if it isn’t April Fool’s Day. It’s not, of course. After 89 years of success with pale, stale males, Jaguar – which is relaunching as an electric-only brand – has decided a new clientele is in order. Jaguar is gambling on attracting a younger, urban Progressive customer
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Paris prosecutors last week recommended that Marine Le Pen be jailed and banned from public office for five years. The court also wants similar sentences for 24 members of the party who, along with Le Pen, are accused of misusing public funds. The prosecutor accuses Le Pen of using money intended for EU parliamentary aides
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A headline in a recent Washington Post op-ed declared that: ‘The Trump contagion is already in Europe – and it’s spreading’. The Post‘s European Affairs columnist, Lee Hockstader, who wrote the article, described the president-elect as ‘a dangerous role model to a rising cadre of European wannabes’. Sorry, Post. Europe may have given the USA
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France play Israel this evening in an international football match in Paris. The venue is the Stade de France although the French sports daily, L’Equipe, has said that the stadium has been transformed into ‘a bunker’. And so it should. These are dangerous times for Jews in Europe. Last week dozens of Israeli football fans were
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European farmers have called for a day of protest in Brussels on Wednesday, 48 hours before the EU is expected to sign the Mercosur trade deal. The agreement, which has taken two decades to negotiate, will give Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay access to EU markets. It will be good for the German car
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Israeli football fans were attacked in Amsterdam on Thursday evening and three supporters are listed as missing this morning. It is reported that the assailants yelled ‘Free Palestine’ as they kicked and punched the Jewish supporters. According to the Israeli foreign ministry, a group of masked men, some of whom were draped in Palestine flags,
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The reaction of Marine Le Pen and her party to the stunning triumph of Donald Trump was curiously flat. Emmanuel Macron tweeted his congratulations to the 47th President of the United States early on Wednesday morning, an hour before there was any reaction from Le Pen, the woman who had once been proud to liken herself
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The first European leader to tweet their response to Donald Trump’s victory was Emmanuel Macron of France, pipping Giorgia Meloni to the prize by a matter of minutes. ‘Congratulations,’ declared the President of France. ‘Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace
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Even by the bloody standards of what France has become under Emmanuel Macron, the carnage last week was horrific. In Poitiers, a shootout left five youths seriously wounded, one of whom died of his injuries at the weekend. In Rennes, a 5-year-old remains in a serious state after being hit in the head by a
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There has always been a touch of snobbery in the way the French elite regard American politics. The word one reads and hears most often in the mainstream media is ‘vulgarity’. This is particularly true of Donald Trump, who is abhorred as much by the right-wing press as by the left. ‘Trump, vulgarity on the loose,’
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The United Nations this week criticised France for refusing to allow women and girls to wear a Muslim headscarf on the sports field. In a report published on Monday, a panel comprised of what the UN called ‘independent experts’ concluded that France’s measures banning women from wearing hijabs in sports were ‘discriminatory’. The experts said that
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Emmanuel Macron arrived in Morocco on Monday for a three day State visit, during which time he will discuss trade and security. Among his entourage is Yassine Belattar, a light entertainer with a controversial past. In September last year, the 42-year-old Franco-Moroccan was found guilty by a Paris court of making death threats against the
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Three more migrants drowned off the French coast this week when their overcrowded and flimsy boat sank. In response to this latest tragedy, a French refugee organisation Utopia 56 posted a message on social media stating that ‘since July, there have been fatal incidents almost every week, causing at least 39 victims. It’s the result
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Moldovans have voted ‘yes’ by a wafer-thin majority to joining the European Union in a referendum that was held amid ‘unprecedented interference’ by foreign powers. That is the view of the EU, whose spokesman, Peter Stano, accused Russia and its proxies of ‘aiming to destabilise the democratic processes in the Republic of Moldova’. The EU and its proxies
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A French MP was apprehended by police in Paris last week as he bought 1.35 grams of the designer drug ‘3-MMC’ from a teenager dealer. Andy Kerbrat, who is a member of the far-left La France Insoumise, admitted this on Tuesday and confessed to being addicted. The reaction from most MPs was largely sympathetic. He’s not the
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When the 27 leaders of the European Union met in Brussels this week, the migrant crisis was high on the agenda. In her opening remarks at the summit, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen drew attention to the deals agreed in the last 12 months between the bloc and countries such as Tunisia and
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It was only a few months ago that the bogeyman of the Paris elite was Jordan Bardella. Now it’s Bruno Retailleau. The 63-year-old practising Catholic may not be able to match the 29-year-old President of the National Rally when it comes to charisma and style, but nonetheless Retailleau has become the darling of the right
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Emmanuel Macron is said to be appalled by his new right-wing government. A confidant of the French president conveyed to AFP the depth of his despair. ‘I did not choose this government,’ Macron reportedly told his inner circle. ‘They make me feel ashamed.’ Macron’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level of his second
