Gavin Mortimer is a British author who lives in Burgundy after many years in Paris. He writes about French politics, terrorism and sport.
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
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
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,
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
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
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
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,’
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
In the same week that over 1,000 migrants arrived in England, the head of MI5 admitted his agency had ‘one hell of a job’ on its hands. Ken McCallum said that while there is a threat from Russia, China and Iran, it was Islamist terrorism ‘that concerns me most’. In particular, al-Qaida and the Islamic
France’s Interior Minister is the tough-talking Bruno Retailleau. In his inaugural declaration a fortnight ago, he hammered out his three priorities: ‘The first is to re-establish order, the second is to re-establish order, and the third is to re-establish order.’ Standing behind Retailleau was Gerald Darmanin, the man he was replacing as France’s ‘top cop’.
It is a year almost to the day since a French schoolteacher was killed by a young Islamist. Dominque Bernard, a high school teacher in Arras, died almost exactly three years after another teacher, Samuel Paty, was slain in similar circumstances and by the same ideology. A memorial service this week will remember Bernard; on
Emmanuel Macron has chosen to mark the first anniversary of Hamas’ murderous attack on Israel on 7 October by criticising their response. In a radio interview, the president of France announced that ‘the priority today is to return to a political solution, to stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza’. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,
Michel Barnier was interviewed on prime time television on Thursday night and not once in his 45 minutes of conversation did he mention the name Emmanuel Macron. There was an indirect reference to the president of the Republic, when Barnier described himself as the ‘anti-Jupiter’ Prime Minister. ‘Jupiter’ was one of the nicknames bestowed on
