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Is Macron on his way to becoming an all-powerful President?

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By Rashme Sehgal

Marseilles: The French are pleased that the US President Donald Trump will join French President Emmanuel Macron at the Bastille Day celebrations in Paris to commemorate the centenary of the US entering the First World War on July 14.

Political power in France has a new look with Macron, a former investment banker and economy minister, becoming France’s youngest leader since Napoleon. The newly elected Parliament has a fresh, young look about it with 75 per cent of the new MPs who have won the electoral ballot having no political background.

Louis Tari, a financial analyst, pointed out, “For the first time elected deputies (parliamentarians) have come to work for society without carrying any political baggage. Macron has succeeded in breaking the old political structures that have dominated France for decades. He wanted the deputies to reflect the ground reality and in doing so, he has managed to put a more dynamic and younger team in place.”

The average age of the parliamentarians has come down by seven years and is now 48. Another first for this Parliament is that 223 of those elected are women.

Commenting on Macron’s mercurial rise, Yannick Mireur, a political scientist and author specialising in foreign policy who is running the think tank Nexus said, “Macron was a close aide of  Hollande but he resigned in 2014 to set up his own political ‘movement’ En Marche (Let’s Go). Within a month of his resignation, he announced his plans to become President thereby changing the political discourse of the country.

“It is clear that Macron has powerful supporters who have preferred to remain low key. Macron is seen as an outsider who may succeed in breaking an exhausted (political) system.”

Elaborating further, Mireur said, “The most far reaching changes he is expected to implement will be to change the labour laws in France in order to reduce the power of the labour unions. He is also expected to provide greater fiscal stability especially since the earlier socialist (Hollande) government kept changing the tax laws. And most important, Macron is also expected to provide greater tax breaks to French citizens and companies.”

The celebrated songwriter and French journalist Jean Pax Mefret offers a word of caution. “Both the right wing Republicans and the left leaning Socialists have been routed at the polls. Presently, the Republicans have emerged as the main Opposition party with 137 parliamentary seats but already many of their MPs have openly declared that they will support Macron on the key issue of labour reform.”

Mafret went on to state, “The extreme right wing Marine Le Pens party is down to a mere eight seats. With the opposition in complete disarray, power is now centred in Macron’s hands. That has made him extremely powerful and that is not good for democracy.”

Marie Clair who works as a chef in a local restaurant, is also apprehensive about Macron.

“I voted for him because he was young but I still do not know what he is like. We have to wait and watch. Like Napoleon he is 39 and the youngest president France has ever had but whether he will fulfil all his campaign promises is the key question,” said Marie.

Macron’s wife Brigitte Trognex , who was his drama teacher at the school in which the President studied in Amiens is 24 years older than him, but she receives nothing but praise from a cross-section of the women this reporter spoke to.

Said Clair, “His wife is a woman of tremendous courage. She is the quintessential woman. She has made him what he is today.”

Said Angelina, who has specialised in Oriental massage, “For a man to marry a woman who has been his own teacher, and also a mother of three children, is very unusual. But the French, and especially French leaders have a history of leading very complicated love lives.”

Former French President Hollande was living with a woman but this did not stop him from entering into a relationship with Julia Gayet who was 18 years his junior. Sarkozy divorced his wife the day he became President and then went on to marry former model Carla Bruni who was 13 years his junior. Another former President Francois Mitterand had a long relationship with an art historian and even had a daughter from her.

But relationships apart, Macron is also positioning himself as a global player. Macron was publicly critical of Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate pact.

He is in favour of a strong Europe and is determined to forge a better relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to achieve this objective.

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin.

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

The Kremlin today denied a US media report that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US president-elect Donald Trump had spoken on the phone last week about the Ukraine conflict.

Earlier on Sunday, The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Pution on call, urging him not to inflame the conflict. Speaking on the matter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media that the report was completely false information, and denied any phone call took place.

It was reported that US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine. It said that Donald Trump held the call from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday, just days after his stunning election victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris. The report also mentioned that both the leaders expressed an interest in further conversations to discuss the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon.

Notably, Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin. However, the US President elect has not said how he intends to strike a peace deal or what terms he is proposing.

Donald Trump’s election is seen as carrying the potential to upend the almost three-year Ukraine conflict, as he insists on a quick end to the fighting and casts doubt on Washington’s multi-billion dollar support for Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Trump on Wednesday, with the Republican’s billionaire backer Elon Musk also notably joining them on the call. Volodymyr Zelensky described the call as excellent, adding that he and Trump had agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation.

Additionally, the outgoing Democratic administration of President Joe Biden has confirmed that it will send as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the White House aims to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that it is ultimately in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar’s press conference

The MEA said that these actions yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech.

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar's press conference

A few hours after Australia Today aired External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s press conference in Australia, Canada banned the outlet. The External Affairs Minister gave remarks on the India-Canada diplomatic standoff. 

Reacting to this, India on Thursday said it was surprised by Canada’s move to ban the outlet and emphasized that it highlighted Ottawa’s hypocrisy towards freedom of speech. Australia Today, which is an important outlet for the Indian community in the country, had aired the joint press conference of S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra.

In a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that they understand that the social media handles, pages of this particular outlet, which is an important diaspora outlet, have been blocked and are not available for viewers in Canada. He continued that this happened just an hour or a few hours after this particular handle carried the press conference of S Jaishankar with Penny Wong. He called out the incident, mentioning that they are surprised, and the matter looks strange to them.

He further underlined that these are the actions which yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech. He noted that the External Affairs Minister spoke about three things: Canada making allegations and a pattern had developed without any specific evidence, surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, which he termed as unacceptable, and  the political space which has been given in Canada to anti-India elements. 

With this one can draw conclusions, why Australia Today channel was blocked by Canada, the spokesperson said. Australia Today focuses on news and analytical pieces related to the Indian community in Australia and elsewhere across the world.

This incident follows days after devotees were attacked by pro-Khalistani at a Hindu temple in Canada’s Brampton, with S Jaishankar calling it deeply concerning. Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condemned the attack and said that there were cowardly attempts to intimidate Indian diplomats.

The diplomatic standoff between India and Canada began in September last year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents might have been involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim outrightly rejected by New Delhi.

Later in October 2024, ties between both the countries nosedived when Canada termed the Indian High Commissioner a person of interest in its investigation into Nijjar’s murder. Issuing a strongly worded statement, India dismissed the fresh charge and recalled the envoy and some diplomats, while expelling six Canadian officials, including Canada’s acting High Commissioner.

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PM Modi congratulates Donald Trump on winning US President election

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump on winning the 2024 US Presidential election and said he is looking forward to renewing their collaboration to further strengthen the India-US partnership.

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

“Heartiest congratulations my friend @realDonaldTrump on your historic election victory. As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity,” PM Modi posted on his X handle.

With the results being announced for the 2024 US election on November 6, Trump became the 47th President of the United States.

Former US President Trump appeared to be on track for a remarkable political comeback in the White House race. Projections suggested that he was poised to secure the necessary 270 electoral college votes, effectively blocking Democratic candidate Kamala Harris from winning the election.

The relationship between Trump and Modi has been characterised by robust diplomatic ties, strategic collaboration, and a noticeable personal rapport. Their friendship was prominently displayed during major events such as “Howdy, Modi” in Houston in 2019 and “Namaste Trump” in Ahmedabad in 2020, where they addressed large audiences and expressed their mutual respect.

On a strategic level, Trump and Modi found common ground in matters of defense and security, both adopting a strong stance against terrorism, which reinforced their alliance, particularly concerning threats from Pakistan.

As he approaches a notable victory in the US election, Republican Presidential candidate Trump expressed gratitude to his supporters today, calling it a magnificent victory for the American people. He also referenced the assassination attempt on July 13, stating, “God spared my life for a reason.”

The 78-year-old candidate is currently projected to secure 267 electoral college votes, just three shy of the decisive 270, while his opponent, incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, holds 224 electoral votes.

Trump described the Republican campaign as the greatest political movement of all time, asserting, “We are going to help our country heal, secure our borders, and we made history for a reason tonight. This is an incredible political victory. I want to thank the American people. I will fight for you and your family with every breath I have.”

He noted that Democrats are now looking at a projected total of 315 electoral votes.

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