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Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mirror
Far-right supporter 'killed Muslim neighbour in racially-motivated attack'
Christophe B, a 53-year-old boilermaker, is said to have posted messages online urging people 'to shoot foreigners' before allegedly killing his Muslim neighbour A far-right supporter has been arrested on suspicion of the 'racially-motivated' terrorist killing of a Muslim neighbour. Hichem Miraoui, a 45-year-old hairdresser from Tunisia, was shot five times in the village of Puget-sur-Argents, near Fréjus, France on Saturday night. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Christophe B, a 53-year-old boilermaker who lived in the same street, has since been arrested and is facing a murder charge. He is believed to be the first far-Right supporter to be investigated for a terrorist crime in France. Christophe B, a registered gun owner is said to have posted hateful messages online urging people "to shoot foreigners". He also praised the National Front, Marine Le Pen's far-Right party which is now called the National Rally. Pierre Couttenier, a regional prosecutor in the south of France, confirmed that Christophe B. had "posted two videos on his social media account containing racist and hateful content" before and after his attack. Mr Couttenier said the file had accordingly been handed over to counterterrorism prosecutors, because the suspect – who also shot a Turkish man in the hand – wanted to "disrupt public order through terror." Another investigating source said he was suspected of the 'racially-motivated terrorist killing' of Mr Miraoui. Linking the incident to wider anti-Muslim sentiment in France, Mourad Battikh, a lawyer for the Miraoui family, said: "Hichem's death is the direct consequence of an atmosphere fed by stigmatisation, and the trivialisation of racist violence. "We must take the time to reflect and ask ourselves how do individuals manage to carry out the most hateful crime – to take a life – in the name of the French flag. Today, the French flag is being made into the standard of a hateful ideology." It comes amid a rising tide of hate crimes against Muslims in the country. Bruno Retailleau, France's Interior Minister, has frequently been criticised for not treating attacks on Muslims as terrorist ones. Following the latest killing, Mr Retailleau said Mr Miraoui's murder was a "racist act". Mr Retailleau said: "Racism in France and elsewhere is a poison, and we can see that it is a poison that kills. Every racist act is an anti-French act." There was outrage in April when Aboubakar Cissé, a 24-year-old Malian who worked in France as a carpenter, was stabbed to death in La Grand-Combe mosque, close to Arlès, in the South of France. Mr Cissé was stabbed at least 60 times by Olivier H, 21, who turned himself in to a police station in Pistoia, Tuscany, three days after the killing. He now faces trial for the "racist and Islamophobic" murder of Mr Cissé. A spokesman for the pressure group SOS Racisme said there was a 'poisonous climate' in France caused by the "trivialisation of racist rhetoric". France is home to a Muslim community of around six million – the largest in western Europe. Along with other religious groups – such as Jewish ones – followers of Islam frequently complain about discrimination and hatred. Anti-religious and racist crimes rose by more than 10% last year, according to Interior Ministry figures, with attacks on mosques and other Islamic centres increasing. Much of it has been attributed to far-Right discourse by extremist politicians and political commentators.
El Chorouk
19-05-2025
- Politics
- El Chorouk
Bruno Retailleau, Leader of a Party That No Longer Makes Presidents in France
French Interior Minister Bruno Rotailleau has assumed the leadership of the right-wing Republicans (LR) party, with his sights set on winning the Élysée Palace in the 2027 presidential election. However, this party, which has produced several presidents in the past, is no longer capable of making presidents in France. This politician's rise to the leadership of the right-wing party coincided with a severe political and diplomatic crisis with Algeria. Many moderate politicians in Algeria and France view him as the cause of the deepening impasse in Algerian-French relations since last summer, which saw French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to distort his country's position on the Western Sahara issue by blatantly siding with the Moroccan regime. Many observers have discussed Bruno Rotailleau's political ambitions and their repercussions for relations with Algeria, pointing to the possibility of running for the French presidential election. However, this possibility remains highly unlikely, according to observers, given the weakness of his party, which came in fourth place in the last legislative elections, with only 46 seats in the French National Assembly (the lower house of parliament). This is compared to the left-wing movement, known as the 'New National Front,' which won 182 seats. The right-wing movement in France, both traditional and extreme, currently consists of four parties: the National Rally (RN), a descendant of the far-right National Front, founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen, the third-largest political party based on the results of the recent legislative elections; the Republicans (LR); the Union of the Right for the Republic, founded by Éric Ciotti, the former president of the Republicans; and another small party, the Reconquest Party (Reconquéte), founded by the Jewish extremist Éric Zemmour. For the Algerian diplomat Mustapha Zeghlache, Bruno Retailleau's ascension to the Élysée Palace remains extremely difficult, given the fragmentation of the right-wing and far-right movements, as well as the decline of the 'Republicans' LR party in the French political scene due to the divisions it has experienced, the most recent of which occurred last summer, when its former president decided to split and form an alliance with the extremist 'National Front' party. Retailleau's first statement after his victory in the Republicans' presidential election was to emphasise that his primary focus would be on unifying the right-wing faction. However, the contradictions on the ground appear far greater than he imagined, making this task difficult, if not impossible. In a statement to Echorouk, Zeghlach explained, 'Even though it's too early, and the possibility of Retailleau running for the presidency and winning is disturbing to Algeria and its interests, it will be extremely difficult to achieve his dreams, because the political landscape in France has changed significantly, and his party is no longer as popular as it once was.' It is well known that the Republicans party, formerly known as the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) before changing its name in 2015, which embodies Gaullist values, of which only the name remains, has brought numerous presidents to the Élysée Palace, such as General de Gaulle, Jacques Chirac, and most recently Nicolas Sarkozy. However, today it has not even been able to secure second or third place in legislative or local elections, underscoring the difficulty Bruno Retailleau faces in relying on this party to achieve his dreams. The former diplomat spoke about the inevitability of alliances in winning the French presidency. He also noted that the presence of right-wing figures with significant political ambitions, such as Jordan Bardella, leader of the National Rally party, following Marine Le Pen's barring from running, would complicate Retailleau's task, as he will face a left-wing alliance with which he has considerable animosity and hostility.
Irish Examiner
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Séamas O'Reilly: 'Downing St finally put down its racist dog-whistle, and unholstered a racist megaphone'
What can I say about this week in British politics that hasn't already been said about getting kicked in the head by a horse? Downing St finally put down its racist dog-whistle, and unholstered a racist megaphone, with a white paper on immigration that, at times, resembled National Front propaganda from the 1970s. Under the previous government, it told us, inward migration 'exploded' to over a million people a year. The fact that these figures will have included the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing war, or visas granted to British citizens of Hong Kong, goes unmentioned and is merely the beginning of its troubles in trading facts for histrionic scaremongering. 'The damage this has done to our country is incalculable,' Starmer continued, perhaps because no such calculation would provide the answers he wanted. 'Public services and housing access have been placed under too much pressure. Our economy has been distorted by perverse incentives to import workers rather than invest in our own skills.' This is, in a word, nonsense. Failures in public services, housing or crime are not blamed on immigrants by any reputable body, but the inanities of the paper do not stop there. Proposals to reduce immigrant visas for the care sector leave out any mention of how they're going to fill the 100,000 vacancies the sector already has. Plans to make migrants wait longer to gain permanent residence elide the likely consequence of driving them into destitution and crime. A proposed GCSE-standard English proficiency test ignores the fact most migrants already sit an English proficiency exam, and this would only set the bar so high that a third of British GCSE students would not make the grade. (Given that the fail rate for GCSE-equivalent English was closer to 50% in 1975, I'd imagine many of those spouting bile in the Daily Mail comments section would not relish a chance to test whether their own proficiency has improved in the years since). And everywhere, in this paper and in his public statements, Starmer has spent the week brining himself in the conspiratorial language of invasion, horror and disease; 'experiment', 'distorted', 'perverse', 'a wound', a 'squalid chapter', a threat 'pulling the country apart', and one that risks making the UK 'an island of strangers'. This doesn't sound like grotesque nativism, it is grotesque nativism. This is the ghoulish language of Le Pen, Orban and, of course, the real policy director of Starmer's Labour government, Nigel Farage. It's worth saying as loudly as I can that Britain has massively benefited from migrants, by every conceivable metric; from massive infrastructure projects, dug tunnels and raised skyscrapers, to the hundreds of thousands of medical workers who continue to keep the NHS afloat. In that same period of time, Britain has also been through the ebbs and flows of stagnation and social decay that accompany any capitalist society. Neoliberal policies have made life tighter, meaner and crueller for people at the bottom of the pile. In response to these effects, scapegoating immigrants has become a time-honoured ritual among a loose cohort of interdependent parties. From avowed white nativists who despise the idea that their culture is being diluted, to comfortable, news-addicted pensioners living miles away from any migrants at all, to cosmopolitan politicians and press barons - with chalets in Switzerland and wives from France - who know that there will always be utility in attacking foreigners for the problems they themselves have created. A rabidly bigoted movement aimed at protecting the very same money-siphoning plutocrats who've sold off the state for parts, and used their immense wealth and influence to shift the blame on to those who just happen to look and sound different from white Britons. Thus, begat a spin cycle; politicians and newspapers get easy headlines attacking immigrants; their readers become more xenophobic; which incentivises greater racist scaremongering from press and government; which radicalises more white British voters; and on and on, until a sizeable bloc of the British electorate look around and see shuttered factories and town centres, crumbling schools and hospitals, inadequate housing, high prices everywhere, less money in their pocket, and wonder whether all this misery caused by deregulation, austerity and privatisation, might actually be the fault of all these immigrants we hear so much about from every single corner of their political and media ecosystem. It isn't. Immigrants contribute more to the British economy than they withdraw; they commit crimes at a lower rate than native born Brits; have been at the centre of every academic, industrial and sporting success this century, and their food, language, music and art enrich the lives of millions. They are not merely our doctors, our teachers, our carers, builders, artists and community leaders, they are our friends, they are our family, they are us. All such fact-checking is, obviously, pointless. This was not a week of actual policy proposals, so much as a spittle-flecked howl to the far-right voters Starmer believes he can win by appearing tough on foreigners. He's wrong. Firstly, none of this will make any white British person's life better for the next four years. It will break untold bonds of family and friendship while also hobbling the care system and NHS even further, setting fire to public services, and bringing universities to their knees. If every dreaded foreigner is removed, the most racist man in England will not be seen quicker by his GP, have more shops on his high street, or send his kids to a more adequately funded school. Blaming immigrants is insipid, and morally repulsive but, crucially, it also solves nothing, while making most problems worse, and that will be your legacy. Secondly, as we've seen everywhere that it's ever been tried, screaming 'the far right are correct about everything, but vote for me!' tends to drive voters toward the original, not the copy. It's just that, to be honest, I find myself caring less and less about Labour's electoral prospects. This week Starmer seemed hell-bent on saying one thing to anyone who'll listen: if Reform do get in four years from now, don't worry - you'll barely feel the difference.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sir Keir risks treading the path of his predecessors on immigration
Sir Keir Starmer's warning that Britain risks becoming an 'island of strangers' has triggered howls of outrage from across the Left, with furious Labour MPs drawing comparisons with Enoch Powell's infamous 'rivers of blood' speech. The last time a Labour figure provoked such a reaction was in 2007, when then prime minister Gordon Brown said he wanted 'British jobs for British workers', a phrase David Cameron accused Mr Brown of borrowing from the rhetorical stylings of the National Front and BNP. Despite the furore, however, no significant reductions in migration followed. Sir Keir now risks treading a familiar path: promising restrictions and delivering nothing. If he wishes to persuade voters of his sincerity, he should set out precisely what he meant. The debate over migration has generally been couched in the relative safety of economics; arguments over the precise magnitude of different numbers, and the accuracy of estimates. To discuss the cultural element has frequently been ruled beyond the pale. Sir Keir, having broached the issue, faces the task of explaining what the cultural costs are, and how he intends to address them. The measures set out yesterday were thin gruel, delivering small reductions to future flows of migration into the UK. But the issues of fragmentation and division we see on our streets are a phenomenon of the stock of migration we already have. Does Sir Keir have a plan to address this, or is he hoping that a few harsh words will be enough to win over Reform-curious voters? If the latter, he, and the electorate, are likely to be mutually disappointed. 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.
India Today
05-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Tumble after Mandal: How VP Singh's caste gambit cost him PM's chair
The Narendra Modi-led Centre's announcement that caste will be counted as part of the nationwide population Census, a first since 1931, has political pundits trying to gauge the potential implications of the move. The announcement has started heated debates on caste-based politics, policies and their ramifications. Could the upcoming National Census bring the next big rejig in India's political sphere, like the Mandal Commission implementation by then Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh in 1990? With the move, VP Singh attempted to counter the temple politics of a rising BJP and change the caste arithmetic in the Janata Party's favour. However, he ended up unleashing a political storm that threw him off the PM's Singh's decision to implement the Mandal Commission report can be called the biggest step in caste politics in Independent India. It reserved 27% of central government jobs and seats in public universities for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).Singh's move triggered nationwide protests against quotas, with Delhi student Rajiv Goswami setting himself on fire, and a string of such self-immolation bids, and protesters consuming poison and hanging themselves. The Mandal move soon alienated key constituencies of VP Singh, and fractured his already shaky government. It cut short his term to just less than a year (December 1989 to November 1990).This is how the biggest caste move on the national stage before the announcement of a caste census shaped politics and brought the downfall of the then prime minister, VP SINGH'S MANDAL MOMENT: OBCs GET 27% RESERVATIONadvertisementOn August 7, 1990, PM VP Singh, leading the National Front coalition government, announced the implementation of the Mandal Commission's recommendations, which proposed a 27% reservation of seats in public universities and central government jobs and public sector undertakings (PSUs).The National Front government, formed in 1989, comprised parties like the Janata Dal, AGP, DMK, and TDP, and was running with the outside support of the BJP and the Left Front. Vishwanath Pratap Singh's Janata Dal government, with Devi Lal (L) as Deputy Prime Minister, was also supported by the Telugu Desam Party led by NT Rama Rao (R). (India Today Archives) VP Singh was leading a non-Congress government, and it was, in fact, the first non-Congress government that commissioned a study on commission, chaired by BP Mandal, was formed in 1979 on the orders of PM Morarji Desai of the Janata Party. The Mandal Commission identified OBCs as comprising 52% of India's population and suggested affirmative action to address historical caste Mandal Commission submitted its report in decision to implement the recommendations, increasing total reservations to 49.5% (including SCs and STs), was seen as a historic step toward social justice."Caste, for 5,000 years, has been the basis of unbridled torture and ostracisation. Now, it has become the basis of justice," VP Singh VP SINGH'S MANDAL IMPLEMENTATIONHowever, Singh's monumental step, aimed at uplifting OBCs, was seen more as an attempt at political survival. Singh was not only leading a minority government but also faced opposition from within his own party and the coalition he tensions with his deputy, Devi Lal, Singh sought to neutralise the Haryana leader's influence among backward castes of North Prasad Yadav, then a key ally, soon claimed credit for pushing Singh toward this RJD supremo, in his memoir, Gopalganj to Raisina: My Political Journey, co-authored with journalist Nalin Verma, claimed that he had advised VP Singh to implement the Mandal Commission report."There is a way out... The Mandal Commission gave its report in 1983, recommending a 27% quota for the backward classes in government jobs. The recommendation is gathering dust in your office. Implement it with immediate effect," Lalu claimed he told VP Singh, the then PM. Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, IK Gujral, Devi Lal, LK Advani and Atal Vihari Vajpayee during an all-party rally in Ludhiana. (India Today Archive) advertisementYet the timing of Singh's announcement, made just before Devi Lal's kisan (farmers') rally, was initially hailed as a masterstroke. Aimed at consolidating the backward castes into a new vote bank, but the lack of broader consultation ultimately proved informed allies like the BJP's LK Advani and the Left's Harkishan Singh Surjeet only after the decision was finalised, alienating crucial supporters.150 STUDENTS TRIED TO SELF-IMMOLATION, PROTESTS RAGEDThe implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations sparked immediate and ferocious opposition, particularly in northern and western India, where upper-caste youths saw their job prospects protests became a norm on the streets. Students blocked roads, shut down schools and colleges. Things got extreme when Rajiv Goswami, a 19-year-old Delhi University student, set himself on fire on September 19, 1990. He became the face of the agitation. Hundreds of others, like Monica Chadha, followed I want to teach a lesson to VP. Singh. I am proud of what I have done [this]", 19-year-old student, Chadha, who was one of the 150 students and teenagers who, since the Mandal implementation, attempted to kill themselves by immolation, consuming poison or by hanging, was quoted as saying in The Los Angeles acts galvanised upper-caste resentment, with protests marked by bandhs, hartals, and dharnas. Public life took a hit. The backlash wasn't just societal, it turned political, given PM VP Singh's shaky government and some hostile allies. The October 1990 cover of India Today Hindi featured Rajeev Goswami, the student who attempted self-immolation against the implementation of Mandal Commission recommendations. (India Today Archive) The BJP (with 85 Lok Sabha seats), a key supporter of Singh's minority government, withdrew support, citing the divisive nature of the BJP was growing with its Ayodhya Ram Mandir movement and seeking to unite its vote base under the bigger Hindutva umbrella. The Mandal move has also been seen by experts as Singh's bid to counter the BJP's Mandir Advani's Rath Yatra intensified communal tensions. Following Advani's arrest on October 23, 1990, in Bihar by the Lalu Prasad Yadav's Janata Party government prompted the BJP to withdraw support from VP Singh's government. The CPI(M), a natural champion of affirmative action for the backwards, said it chose class-based struggles over caste-based the Janata Party, factionalism, led by Devi Lal and Chandra Shekhar, weakened Singh's position further. Chandra Shekhar was eyeing the prime minister's chair, and became the next November 1990, Singh's government collapsed after a no-confidence vote (142–346). The government led by VP Singh, which had a term till 1995, collapsed in just 343 VP Singh resigned, PM Chandra Shekhar's short-lived government kept the reservation issue on hold. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court paused OBC reservations after a challenge by advocate Indira Sawhney in 1990. By 1991, PV Narasimha Rao's Congress government continued the Mandal policy but tried to pacify upper castes by adding a 10% quota for the economically weaker among them. After VP Singh resigned as prime minister, Chandra Shekhar (right) became the PM with the support of Rajiv Gandhi's Congress, despite leading a breakaway Janata Party faction with just 64 MPs. (India Today Archive) In November 1992, the Supreme Court upheld the 27% OBC reservation but struck down the 10% upper-caste quota. It also capped total reservations at 50% and excluded the "creamy layer" from quota VP Singh's Mandal moment lit a fire for social justice, it burned his political fortunes in the agitation empowered OBC leaders like Lalu Yadav in Bihar, and Mulayam Singh Yadav in Uttar caste-based parties, with entrenched identities that we see to this day, gained a great deal. Despite fulfilling a bold promise to the OBCs that no other leader dared touch, VP Singh was never fully embraced by the castes he gave benefits to. He was also abandoned by the upper 2025 caste census announcement signals the BJP's bid to reclaim the caste narrative from the opposition, which revived it in 2023 and used it in the 2024 general election to dent the ruling party's electoral fortunes. VP Singh's Mandal moment is a reminder of the unintended consequences of big caste moves, some of which came at a steep InMust Watch
