Latest news with #MichelRose
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
France's Macron says Iran responsible for destabilising region
By Michel Rose and John Irish PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that Iran bore a heavy responsibility for destabilisation of the Middle East and that it had pushed ahead with an unjustified nuclear programme, but he also urged restraint after Israel struck Iran. After a day of talks with regional and international leaders following Israeli strikes on Iranian military targets, notably its nuclear sites, Macron said Tehran was close to a "critical point" in acquiring a nuclear weapon. Iran has consistently denied seeking one. "Iran bears a very heavy responsibility for the destabilisation of the region," Macron said. "Iran is continuing to enrich uranium without any civilian justification and to levels that are very close to what is needed for a nuclear device," he said. While he urged restraint, Macron acknowledged that resuming diplomatic efforts, specifically U.S. negotiations on a nuclear deal with Iran that started two months ago, would be difficult. "The current situation has a risk of uncontrolled escalation," he said, adding that Iran's activities threatened Europe. Warning of a possible impact on the global economy, Macron said France would defend Israel if it was attacked by Iran as it had done in the past, but he ruled out taking part in any operation against Tehran. France and Israel, traditionally close allies, have had frosty relations in recent months with Macron increasingly critical over Israel's war in Gaza. Macron said France's support for Israel was not unconditional and that Paris has the right to disagree with some Israeli government decisions because "they are sometimes against Israel's security interests."
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Macron to pitch France as reliable alternative on Asia tour amid US-China rivalry
By Michel Rose PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to south east Asia to pitch France and Europe as reliable partners with "no strings attached" as the U.S. and China use more aggressive ways to gain influence in the region, officials said. Macron is set to arrive in Hanoi on Sunday, the first trip to Vietnam by a French president in nearly a decade, move on to Indonesia and finish up in Singapore, where he will speak at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's top defence conference. Macron will present France and Europe as defenders of international cooperation and rules-based trade, at a time when other world powers such as the U.S. under President Donald Trump and China use more "coercive" or "predatory" methods. "As far as we're concerned, we defend the idea of rules for international trade, we don't advocate for the law of the jungle, where it's about survival of the fittest," a French presidential adviser said on Wednesday. Export-reliant Vietnam was caught off guard by the threat of high tariffs from the U.S. and France, and is keen to diversify its supply sources and markets to rely less on China. Dozens of deals were being prepared and could be signed during the three state visits, the Elysee told Reuters earlier. Macron is following leaders of China, Japan and other European countries in visiting the region in recent weeks, in a sign of south east Asia's strategic importance amid uncertainties on global supply chains and trade. The French leader will also use a speech to Indonesian students and the Singapore conference to dispel "misunderstandings" about the European position on conflicts beyond the region, denying any double standards on Gaza and framing Ukraine as not solely a European issue. Macron's criticism of Israel has become more strident over recent months, calling Benjamin Netanyahu's action in Gaza "shameful", which French officials hope will resonate in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country. Asked whether Indonesia, which has bought French-made Rafale warplanes, may need reassuring after at least one similar jet from the Indian army was downed by Pakistan, the French presidential adviser said the trip was not about specific "news items". "Unlike with the United States or other countries, French partners know there's "no strings attached" with (our material)," he said.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Secretive French thinkers behind Le Pen come out of the shadows
By Michel Rose and Leigh Thomas PARIS (Reuters) - A secret group of French experts and technocrats that has been discreetly shaping Marine Le Pen's nationalist programme over the past 10 years came out of the shadows on Friday, aiming to present a less extreme image of the party. Only little was known about 'Les Horaces', founded in 2015 to help Le Pen polish her party's radical populist programme, including by pushing her to drop plans to take France out of the euro currency. The group, named after the Horatii warriors who defended ancient Rome, unveiled a website and a YouTube channel on Friday, with videos of its ideas, promising that more of its 50 or so experts will come out. "We bring her academic, professional, intellectual expertise," André Rougé, founder of the group and former staff member of conservative governments under Jacques Chirac, and now a European lawmaker for Le Pen, told a press conference with six other members. He said the success of Le Pen's National Rally (RN) in parliamentary elections in 2022 and 2024, which brought some "Horaces" into public office, had encouraged the group to recast itself as a public think-tank. The group has been a central piece of Le Pen's "de-demonisation" strategy, which has sought to clean up the party's image as a fringe, racist movement keen to take France out of the European Union, and rebrand it as fit to govern. Matthias Renault, a graduate of the ENA finishing school for the French elite and now RN lawmaker, said their group did not fit a classic left- or right-wing economic mould but had pushed the RN towards "more realistic, more pragmatic" solutions: "We don't like financial speculation and rent-seeking, but we're not against entrepreneurship." On international issues, Guillaume Bigot, also a lawmaker, said the Horaces favoured a Gaullist non-aligned diplomatic line, and that France's task was not to be subsumed in the "global West". "We're in full solidarity with the Ukrainian people. It's a horrible war, but it's not our war," he said, adding that France should not be the "lapdog" of Russia, China or the United States. (Writing by Michel Rose; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
France accuses enemies of spreading fake news after 'cocaine bag' claims
By Michel Rose PARIS (Reuters) -President Emmanuel Macron's office has accused France's enemies of spreading fake news by suggesting that he and other European leaders had taken drugs on a train during a visit to Kyiv. Video footage published online showed Macron sitting at a table in a train compartment with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In the footage, Macron removes a crumpled white object from the table. Some social media users suggested - without providing evidence - that the object was a "cocaine" bag and Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova reposted the footage. Macron's Elysee office said the white object was a tissue. "When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs," the Elysee said in a post on X, above a picture of a tissue on the table captioned: "This is a tissue. For blowing your nose". "This fake news is being spread by France's enemies, both abroad and at home. We must remain vigilant against manipulation," the Elysee said, without identifying the enemies. American far-right radio host Alex Jones was among those who criticised the European leaders online. Zakharova wrote on Telegram: "As in the joke, a Frenchman, an Englishman and a German boarded the train and ... got high. Apparently, so much so that they forgot to remove the accessories (a bag and a spoon) before the arrival of the journalists." Macron, Merz, Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday in a show of solidarity with Kyiv more than three years into Russia's war in Ukraine. France has started to take a more forceful approach to countering online rumours. It has tasked its Viginum foreign disinformation watchdog with monitoring Russia-linked social media accounts and uncovering influence operations. French officials have also expressed concern about media accounts linked to the American alt-right. "Our public debate is bombarded with Russian propaganda, relayed by the American far-right," French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X last week.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In Toulon, Le Pen's legal fightback leaves many French voters cold
By Michel Rose TOULON, France (Reuters) - Yvon Castel says he has voted for the far-right National Rally for years, but is less than impressed by the tactics its leader Marine Le Pen has chosen to try to fight her way out of a legal judgement barring her way to 2027 elections. "She's not above the law," the 72-year old said - an ominous message for Le Pen and her political prospects that was echoed by others in the sun-baked, immigrant-rich port city of Toulon where the far-right has traditionally prospered. A Paris court convicted Le Pen and two dozen National Rally (RN) party members of embezzling EU funds on Monday. It imposed an immediate five-year ban on Le Pen running for office that will prevent her from standing in 2027 unless she can get the ruling overturned next summer. Le Pen has called for a peaceful mass protest in Paris on Sunday, which will give an indication of how much popular support there is for her claims of a democratic crisis. But her and her allies' attacks against the "tyranny of judges" have played badly, particularly after the lead judge who convicted her had to get police protection following death threats. President Emmanuel Macron called those threats "unbearable and intolerable." Castel was also not pleased. "I don't like the fact she's attacking judges," he said, underlining the challenges Le Pen faces winning over supporters who, for all their backing for her disruptive party, are not against the courts. Polls show a majority of French people don't see any problem with the court's decision. Some 65% of respondents said they were "not shocked" by the verdict and 54% said Le Pen was treated like any other defendant, according to an Odoxa poll. "The RN's point doesn't fly with the wider public opinion," Odoxa's Gael Sliman told Reuters. "They can't go too far in attacking judges, especially if they want to broaden their appeal. Some of their voters are not anti-establishment." That was especially the case among older voters, a segment of the population the RN is courting to win power in 2027. "You can't steal 4 million euros like that from people. The verdict was fair," Francoise Bellis, a 77-year old pensioner, said. She laughed when she heard Russia saying the verdict had "killed democracy" in France. "That's really the pot calling the kettle black," she added. FORMER RN STRONGHOLD Toulon, one of France's historic naval bases, plays a central role in the RN's history. The city was governed by what was then known as the National Front in the late 1990s, one of the first major mayorships the once-fringe party won. The experience left a bitter taste for some voters after former far-right mayor, Jean-Marie Le Chevallier, was found guilty of corruption and left the city's coffers empty. After years of trying to professionalize the party and clean up its image, Le Pen had been hoping to reconquer Toulon. Laure Lavalette, a Le Pen lieutenant who represents a Toulon voting district in the National Assembly, has yet to announce her candidacy, but is widely expected to run for mayor in 2026. Lavalette did not return a request for comment. Her rivals said Le Pen's conviction would dredge up bad memories of RN wrongdoing for many in Toulon. "The people in Toulon are going to think twice before giving their vote to the RN now," said Eddie Goujit, a young entrepreneur who has launched a long-shot bid for mayor. "I think Laure Lavalette had strong chances, but the court's decision is going to hurt a lot." THE BARDELLA ALTERNATIVE Another factor undermining the RN's anti-judicial strategy in Toulon is the fact that former Mayor Hubert Falco - a Macron supporter who was convicted of graft in 2023 - received the same public office ban as Le Pen. Falco's lawyers did not return a request for comment. Le Pen's ban has opened her up to competition from within her ranks. Her 29-year old protege, party president Jordan Bardella, is wildly popular among the RN's younger, working class voters and must now walk a tightrope between his political ambitions and loyalty to his boss. Constance Pellegrini, a 30-year-old security agent and longtime RN supporter, said Le Pen was clearly "being squashed to prevent her from becoming president". But she said a generational handover was no bad thing: "The political world is scared of her. But fingers crossed the young Bardella will replace her."
