Latest news with #French-controlled
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
French interior minister wins contest to lead conservative party
PARIS (Reuters) -French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was voted the new leader of the centre-right Republicans (LR) party on Sunday, bolstering his chances ahead of a 2027 presidential election in which many believe he will run. With just over 74% of the vote in an internal LR election, Retailleau comfortably beat Laurent Wauquiez, who leads the party in France's lower house of parliament. Wauquiez caused outrage during the campaign with a proposal that migrants awaiting deportation should be shipped off to the remote French-controlled islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off Canada's coast. Since becoming interior minister last year, Retailleau has sought to crack down on immigration and drug crime, but has struggled to show strong results on either front. The rise in popularity of Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) has contributed to a right-ward shift in French politics, and Retailleau's high-profile job and conservative views could make him a viable candidate for the 2027 election. "Mr. Retailleau's rhetoric is a clear-cut theft of the National Rally," said RN spokesman Laurent Jacobelli. "If we look at his actions, however, there is a gap between rhetoric and reality." Once a cornerstone of French politics, created by former President Nicolas Sarkozy as a continuation of fellow ex-president Jacques Chirac's party, LR is now a faded force with just 48 seats in parliament, far behind the RN's 123.
Straits Times
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
French interior minister wins contest to lead conservative party
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau speaks during an end-of-campaign rally for the presidency of the Les Republicains (LR) party in Boulogne-Billancourt near Paris, France, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo PARIS - French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was voted the new leader of the centre-right Republicans (LR) party on Sunday, bolstering his chances ahead of a 2027 presidential election in which many believe he will run. With just over 74% of the vote in an internal LR election, Retailleau comfortably beat Laurent Wauquiez, who leads the party in France's lower house of parliament. Wauquiez caused outrage during the campaign with a proposal that migrants awaiting deportation should be shipped off to the remote French-controlled islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off Canada's coast. Since becoming interior minister last year, Retailleau has sought to crack down on immigration and drug crime, but has struggled to show strong results on either front. The rise in popularity of Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) has contributed to a right-ward shift in French politics, and Retailleau's high-profile job and conservative views could make him a viable candidate for the 2027 election. "Mr. Retailleau's rhetoric is a clear-cut theft of the National Rally," said RN spokesman Laurent Jacobelli. "If we look at his actions, however, there is a gap between rhetoric and reality." Once a cornerstone of French politics, created by former President Nicolas Sarkozy as a continuation of fellow ex-president Jacques Chirac's party, LR is now a faded force with just 48 seats in parliament, far behind the RN's 123. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
18-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
French interior minister wins contest to lead conservative party
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau speaks during an end-of-campaign rally for the presidency of the Les Republicains (LR) party in Boulogne-Billancourt near Paris, France, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) -French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was voted the new leader of the centre-right Republicans (LR) party on Sunday, bolstering his chances ahead of a 2027 presidential election in which many believe he will run. With just over 74% of the vote in an internal LR election, Retailleau comfortably beat Laurent Wauquiez, who leads the party in France's lower house of parliament. Wauquiez caused outrage during the campaign with a proposal that migrants awaiting deportation should be shipped off to the remote French-controlled islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off Canada's coast. Since becoming interior minister last year, Retailleau has sought to crack down on immigration and drug crime, but has struggled to show strong results on either front. The rise in popularity of Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) has contributed to a right-ward shift in French politics, and Retailleau's high-profile job and conservative views could make him a viable candidate for the 2027 election. "Mr. Retailleau's rhetoric is a clear-cut theft of the National Rally," said RN spokesman Laurent Jacobelli. "If we look at his actions, however, there is a gap between rhetoric and reality." Once a cornerstone of French politics, created by former President Nicolas Sarkozy as a continuation of fellow ex-president Jacques Chirac's party, LR is now a faded force with just 48 seats in parliament, far behind the RN's 123. (Reporting by Gabriel StargardterAdditional reporting by Gus TrompizEditing by Peter Graff)
Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Cut-price rail travel from London to the Continent could stall
Cut-price rail travel from London to the Continent, with many more routes and destinations, could get stuck in the sidings in a wrangle over where new trains can be parked and serviced. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Trains, the Italian state railway Trenitalia, and Gemini, a disruptor start-up, all want to launch new services on HS1, the high-speed line also known as the Channel tunnel rail link, to compete with the French-controlled incumbent Eurostar. But their plans to piggy-back Eurostar's dedicated rolling-stock maintenance facilities in east London are being blocked in a dispute over access to the site. While some have raised concerns that Eurostar is trying to protect its monopoly by seeking to limit access to its maintenance sheds, Eurostar insists the facility at Temple Mills near the Stratford International hub has insufficient space, especially as it has its own plans to procure an additional fleet of up to 50 new trains. The Office of Rail and Road ruled in a report that some room could be freed up at Temple Mills, though the regulator conceded: 'Alterations to infrastructure would be required to access extra capacity and allow more trains to be stabled and maintained there.' Eurostar has, however, objected to the regulator's judgment, stating: 'It is not sufficient to accommodate all potential operators, including Eurostar's own future plans which were not considered in the report. These include intensifying use of its current fleet to provide more services and buying up to 50 new trains.' Gareth Williams, general secretary of Eurostar, who heads the legal team, indicated that spare space at Temple Mills could be found for one competitor but not for several rival operations. He said the situation would be further complicated if multiple rolling stock-types went into operation. 'The regulator needs to take a step back and look at the alternatives,' Williams said. 'We need a framework from the regulator to provide impetus to support and unlock alternative sites.' In its submission to the regulator, Eurostar, which is controlled by the French state railway SNCF, said there were at least half a dozen alternative sites in Kent and east London which could have their use altered or be updated to house high-speed rolling-stock maintenance facilities. Williams said the regulator should intervene sooner rather than later because Eurostar needed to get on with its own train investment plans while would-be competitors needed confidence that there would be facilities available. 'We need a collective solution,' he said. The need to build new infrastructure would immediately make the plans of the three insurgent operators more costly as it is believed that the government would refuse to finance new facilities with public money. Virgin Trains aims to raise £700 million to begin cross-Channel services if it is granted access to the line and the tunnel which both have plenty of spare capacity for new services. Trenitalia has talked about committing €1 billion. Gemini has yet to declare its funding. The Office of Rail and Road has regulatory oversight over the Temple Mills facility and the power to compel Eurostar to offer capacity if it is available. The Temple Mills facility was given to Eurostar in 2007 when the train operator, at the time co-owned by the British government, moved its operations from London Waterloo across the capital to St Pancras. Eurostar handed over its previous North Pole depot at Wormwood Scrubs in west London which is now used by Great Western Railway and Crossrail.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump envoy: Ukraine could be divided like Berlin after Second World War
Ukraine could be divided like Berlin after the Second World War, Donald Trump's envoy to the war-torn nation has said. Keith Kellogg suggested that Ukraine could be partitioned with a British and French-controlled zone in the west and Russian forces stationed in the east as part of a peace deal to bring the war to an end. 'You could almost make it look like what happened with Berlin after the Second World War, when you had a Russian zone, a French zone, and a British zone, a US zone,' he told The Times, before clarifying that the US would not provide any ground troops under this scenario. The proposal would require Ukraine to cede control of its eastern territories, which are currently under Russian control. Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly voiced opposition to relinquishing land to Russia without Nato protection for its remaining territories. 'Ukraine will never recognise territories that are occupied by Russia as Russian territory. For us, this will be temporary occupations,' he said in March, adding: 'Our territories and our values are not for sale.' Russia is staunchly against any Nato protections for Ukraine, while the Trump administration has signalled its opposition to the country joining the military alliance. Lt Gen Kellogg, 80, suggested that an 18-mile buffer zone could be implemented along the war's existing front lines. 'You look at a map and you create, for lack of a better term, a demilitarised zone [DMZ]. Take both sides back up 15 kilometres each, that's 18 miles,' he said. 'And you have a... DMZ that you can monitor, and you've got this... no-fire zone.' 'Now, are there going to be violations? Probably, because there always are,' he admitted. 'But your ability to monitor that is easy.' Lt Gen Kellogg said that British and French forces would be deployed west of the Dnipro river, which bisects the country and flows through its capital, Kyiv. The river would provide a 'major obstacle' between the different powers, he added, suggesting that it could become a line of demarcation between Ukraine's eastern and western zones. Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron said they are prepared to commit peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to guarantee its independence from future Russian invasions. Lt Gen Kellogg warned Britain and France that they could not count on Mr Trump's support for their coalition, advising them to 'plan for the worst case'. Although he insisted that his suggestion would 'not be provocative at all' to Moscow, Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign secretary, previously said the Kremlin would not allow troops from Nato countries into Ukraine 'under any conditions'. On Friday, Steve Witkoff, another of Mr Trump's special envoys, travelled to St Petersburg in Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin to discuss a ceasefire deal. He was pictured shaking Putin's hand during the meeting, which the Kremlin said in a statement lasted for four hours while downplaying expectations of any 'breakthroughs'. On Friday, Mr Trump expressed frustration with the Russian leader as Moscow continued to launch drones and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities. 'Russia has to get moving. Too many people [are] dying, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war,' the US president wrote on social media. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
