France

January 29, 2017

French socialists select Hamon to carry the flag

John Egan reporting from Paris. Once again it seems that the status quo is a poisoned recipe in politics. Another election has seen a candidate with policies that not so long ago…

December 26, 2016

Montaigne view: a tower in the Dordogne

The winding river Dordogne appears as though a string of pearls has been slung down onto a map of south-west France. From Bordeaux in the west to the newly opened Lascaux cave…

November 27, 2016

Fillon takes centre stage from the right

The politician they called “Mister Nobody” now looks more like “The Man with No Name”. In this year of political surprises, few can claim as stunning an upset as François Fillon. On…

November 9, 2016

The Art of Peace at the Petit Palais

Diplomatic archives of historical and international significance – usually kept in secure concrete vaults – will be on display for the first time at Paris’ Petit Palais museum. They include a ratified…

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Putin says peace talks with Ukraine possible, but not with Zelensky
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that his country could hold peace talks with Ukraine, but ruled out speaking directly with President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he called "illegitimate". The Ukrainian leader responded by saying that Putin was "afraid" of negotiations and was using "cynical tricks" to prolong the nearly three-year conflict. US President Donald Trump has put pressure on both sides to end the fighting since coming into office on January 20, threatening tougher sanctions on Russia while claiming that Zelensky is ready to negotiate a "deal". "If (Zelensky) wants to participate in the negotiations, I will allocate people to take part," Putin said, calling the Ukrainian leader "illegitimate" because his presidential term expired during martial law. "If there is a desire to negotiate and find a compromise, let anyone lead the negotiations there … Naturally, we will strive for what suits us, what corresponds to our interests," he added. Zelensky said that there was a chance to achieve "real peace" but that the Kremlin chief was frustrating efforts to stop the fighting. France 24, January 28

Chaos and uncertainty after Trump freezes spending
A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked an order by President Trump to freeze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans. Separately, Democratic attorneys general in 22 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against the order, saying Trump had gone far beyond his legal powers. Even before 5pm, when the freeze was to take effect, a variety of systems and programs were disrupted, leaving millions unsure if they would lose access to jobs, services and health care. Trump’s order, which has led to confusion and outrage, is part of an effort to remake the government in his image, following sweeping cuts to international aid that he introduced last week and an effort to scuttle any government policy or program that he and his allies might call “woke”. The White House says government money should not “advance Marxist equity, transgenderism and Green New Deal social engineering.” New York Times, January 29

Lord Mandelson ‘to be confirmed as US ambassador despite China claims’
Lord Mandelson is expected to be confirmed as Britain’s ambassador to the US despite scrutiny over his links to China and the possibility of President Trump blocking the appointment. The Labour grandee has received “agrément” from the US government to serve as the UK’s representative in Washington, effectively an agreement in principle. It means that he is unlikely to be blocked by Trump, but his role must still be formally signed off by the US president. His appointment looked uncertain after Chris LaCivita, a senior campaign adviser to Trump, called Mandelson an “absolute moron” and questioned the decision to replace Dame Karen Pierce, who has held the role since 2020. Mandelson was critical of Trump during his first administration. The Times, January 28

Reeves expected to back Heathrow expansion plans
Rachel Reeves is set to announce a series of major infrastructure projects in a speech in which she is also expected to back plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport. The chancellor will also outline plans to create "Europe's Silicon Valley" between Oxford and Cambridge, reaffirming support for a railway between the two university cities. The series of announcements come as the chancellor faces mounting pressure to deliver on the government's main pledge to grow the UK economy in order to boost living standards. A move to encourage a planning application for the expansion of Heathrow is likely to spark strong opposition, but Reeves will say the quest for growth "will not come without a fight". The Conservatives have criticised Labour's plans as "hastily cobbled together". On Wednesday, Reeves will declare that the UK's economy has "huge potential" but will add "for too long, that potential has been held back". BBC news, January 29

UK ministers plan to subsidise EV loans to drive sales
UK ministers are drawing up plans to subsidise electric car purchases by guaranteeing consumer loans, as they look at ways to drive up sales that remain stubbornly below official targets. The government has opened private discussions with the auto finance sector to try to increase the availability of low-interest or interest-free loans to help boost the take-up of electric vehicles, according to government and industry figures. One option being discussed is for the state to underwrite private sector loans to reduce the monthly repayments to help bring EV purchase costs to levels closer to petrol or diesel vehicles, the people said. The move would be welcomed by the car industry - which has struggled to sell EVs in volumes required by government targets -- and would be tantamount to an admission that the consumer subsidies scrapped in 2022 were phased out too early. Financial Times, January 29

Roman Abramovich may owe HMRC £1bn for unpaid taxes, analysis shows
Roman Abramovich, the billionaire Russian oligarch, may owe British tax authorities as much as £1bn, according to analysis of documents that suggests his companies failed to pay tax on profits made through an elaborate offshore investment scheme. Leaked papers and court filings shed new light on how the income from a $6bn (£4.8bn) cash pile amassed by one of the world’s richest men was managed. The former owner of Chelsea FC entrusted nearly half of his fortune to more than 200 hedge funds, including some of the world’s most prestigious money managers, using a circuitous structure routed through Cyprus and the British Virgin Islands, the files show. The structure endured until at least 2022, when Abramovich was among a group of powerful Kremlin allies hit with sanctions by western governments in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Guardian, January 29

China’s AI advances spook Big Tech investors
AI advances by Chinese upstarts rattled US markets yesterday, wiping hundreds of billions of dollars from the leading tech indexes. Falling tech stocks also dented market indexes in Europe and Japan, and the dollar slipped against the currencies of major US trading partners. The slide came days after the Chinese AI company DeepSeek said it could match the abilities of cutting-edge chatbots while using a fraction of the specialized computer chips that leading AI companies rely on. The news prompted investors to rethink the valuations of companies like Nvidia, whose equipment powers the most advanced AI systems. Shares of Microsoft and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, both of which have bet heavily on AI, fell yesterday by 2.1 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively. Oracle dropped almost 14 per cent. SoftBank shed more than 8 per cent during trading in Tokyo. Meta and Apple bucked the trend, posting gains. Shares of the chip company Nvidia plunged 17 per cent, and the company lost roughly $600 billion in market value, on what was its worst trading day since the pandemic sell-off in March 2020. New York Times, January 28

Denmark launches $2bn Arctic security plan, seeks EU unity on Greenland
Denmark on Monday announced a $2bn security plan for the Arctic ahead of a visit by the country's prime minister to Berlin, Paris and Brussels to shore up "European unity" on Greenland. The announcement came after US President Donald Trump said Greenland was needed for US "national security". "We must face the fact that there are serious challenges regarding security and defence in the Arctic and North Atlantic," Denmark's Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said in a statement. Greenland is already part of a power struggle in the Arctic. As its ice melts due to global warming, the battle for its natural resources is also heating up - enormous oil and gas deposits are believed to lie under its seas. Russia and China have already increased their Arctic mining activities and military presence, and the region may soon offer new shipping routes between the US and Europe. France 24, January 27

Trump orders building of America’s own Iron Dome missile defence
President Trump has signed an executive order to build an Iron Dome missile defence shield modelled on the system that Israel has used to intercept rocket attacks. Trump had told Republican members of Congress at a Florida retreat that the order would be among a flurry of decrees to radically overhaul the US military. “We need to immediately begin the construction of a state-of-the-art Iron Dome missile defence shield, which will be able to protect Americans,” Trump said, to applause. “We have phenomenal technology … I think the United States is entitled to that.” He added that the new system “will be made right here in the USA”. He promised to build a similar defence shield for the American mainland during last year’s election campaign, although the scheme faces scepticism. The Times, J a nuary 28

UK has spent £12.5bn from energy bills to fossil fuel power plants in past decade
The UK has given more than £12.5bn from energy bills to fossil fuel power plants in the past decade through a government scheme to keep the lights on during winter, according to new analysis. The research found that, since 2015, the government has offered contracts worth £20bn through a “capacity market” to create a backup reserve of generators on standby, of which about 60 per cent were fossil fuel power plants and a quarter were energy storage and power cable projects. This has included 90 gas power plants, which each clinched a contract of up to 15 years backed by a levy on consumers’ energy bills. It could mean households will still be paying for gas plants in 2040, a decade after the government has promised to eliminate 95 per cent of fossil fuels from the UK’s electricity system. The report, by analysts at Aurora Energy Research, was published weeks after the Guardian revealed that the power grid operator was forced to use a separate scheme to pay almost £18m to two gas power plants in a single day to safeguard Britain’s electricity supplies when high demand for electricity combined with low wind speeds. The Guardian, January 28

UK to give businesses greater access to pension scheme surpluses
Sir Keir Starmer will promise on Tuesday to unlock some of the £160bn of surplus held in corporate defined-benefit pension schemes, in a bid to inject a surge of cash into the British economy and boost growth. The UK prime minister will tell an audience of executives in the City of London that restrictions on the use of pension surpluses will be eased, a move praised by former Conservative chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Starmer’s decision is intended to drive investment by businesses while also encouraging them to take more risk in their pension investment strategies. “Today’s changes will unlock billions for investment,” Starmer said. The government estimates that about 3,750 corporate defined-benefit pension schemes are in surplus, holding £160bn of assets in excess of the payments they owe to their members. Less than £70bn is eligible to be returned to companies under current rules. Total assets in the system are £1.2tn. Financial Times, January 28

Coca-Cola recalls drinks over safety concerns
Coca-Cola has recalled its drinks in some countries across Europe because they contain "higher levels" of a chemical called chlorate. The company said in a statement that the recall was focused on Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. It added just five product lines had been shipped to Britain, and they had already been sold. Affected products include the Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Tropico and Minute Maid brands, according to the Belgium branch of Coca-Cola's international bottling and distribution operation. Chlorate can be produced when chlorine-based disinfectants are used in water treatment and food processing. "Independent expert analysis concludes that any associated risk for consumers is very low," a spokesperson told the BBC. The company said the issue affected "a very small number of imported cans" of Appletiser, Coca-Cola Original Taste, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Diet Coke and Sprite Zero with production codes from 328 GE to 338 GE" which Coca-Cola said can be found on the base of the can. BBC news, January 27

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France

French socialists select Hamon to carry the flag

Montaigne view: a tower in the Dordogne

Fillon takes centre stage from the right

The Art of Peace at the Petit Palais