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Spectator
27 minutes ago
- Spectator
France doesn't need Boomers dreaming of political comebacks
If France didn't have enough to worry about right now with its soaring rates of debt, crime and immigration, now comes news of a political comeback. Dominique de Villepin, prime minister between 2005 and 2007, earlier this month launched his political party called Humanist France. 'I decided to create a movement of ideas, of citizens, through the creation of a political party,' he explained. 'This movement is for everyone. We need to unite all French people to defend social justice and the republican order,' he said. Given some of his recent statements about Israel, de Villepin will have his work cut out to unite the country. In October, the Jewish philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy accused de Villepin of anti-Semitism and last week three prominent members of France's Jewish community refused to shake his hand at a ceremony. De Villepin has strongly denied Lévy's accusations. He also angered conservatives when he said recently he has no problem with little girls wearing the hijab. 'I'm not a fashion designer,' he declared. Boomers have nothing to bequeath to France The 71-year-old de Villepin, who reportedly has his eye on the presidential election in 2027, is best known outside France for his eloquent speech to the United Nations in February 2003. At the time, he was the foreign minister in the government of Jacques Chirac when France refused to join George W Bush's coalition of the willing against Iraq. France, de Villepin told the UN, 'has never ceased to stand upright in the face of history and before mankind' but it could not back military action against Iraq because 'there is an alternative to war, disarming Iraq through inspections'. It was a dignified address from a man known for his elegance as much as his eloquence. But Villepin hasn't always been as principled since leaving political office in 2007. A year later, a French business paper remarked that de Villepin was prospering financially in his new life as a consultant and international lawyer, and 'has only to open his address book to make an appointment with [Vladimir] Putin'. In 2014 the Daily Telegraph broke an embarrassing story about whether de Villepin had repaid a €100,000 bonus awarded to him by a governmental 'administrative error'. His spokesperson said he had repaid it as soon as he realised the mistake. The next year a French current affairs weekly ran a feature headlined 'The Secret Lives of Dominique de Villepin' in which it said his business was booming: from China to Russia to Saudi Arabia and particularly Qatar, thanks to his warm relationship with the ruling Al Thani family. In an angry television interview last year, de Villepin refused to elaborate on how he earned his money and from whom. Nor did he adequately explain why his company last published its accounts in 2008. 'By definition, when you have consulting activities, you don't give the names of the people,' he explained, adding that 'I would be totally prepared to do so on a confidential basis'. He assured his interviewer that 'there is no foreign power behind it'. The interview was a grimly fascinating reminder of the arrogance of De Villepin's caste. They are the Bourgeois Boomer generation, which evolved from the protests of May 1968 convinced they were born to rule. They include Nicolas Sarkozy, Alain Juppe, Francois Hollande, Michel Barnier and Christiane Taubira. The latter was the Minister of Justice in Hollande's Socialist government a decade ago. She attempted a comeback for the 2022 presidential election but was forced to withdraw when she could muster only 181 of the 500 sponsors of elected officials required to run. Hollande is also said to be considering running for the 2027 election, forgetting that he was the most despised president in the history of the Fifth Republic. At least he was until Emmanuel Macron arrived on the scene. This generation of Boomers with their barely distinguishable centrist ideology – De Villepin claims to be from the centre-right but he is more popular these days with the left – are blamed for the terrible decline of France this century. Economically, culturally, socially, academically and morally, France is in a desperate state. Last week it was revealed that public debt hit a record €3,346 billion (£2,887 billion) at the start of 2025, €40 billion (£34.5 billion) more than at the end of 2024. Doubtless, de Villepin (who was never elected to public office during his political career) looks at some of the leading politicians in France today – such as Jordan Bardella, Gabriel Attal, Marion Marechal, Francois Xavier-Bellamy, Marine Tondelier and Mathilde Panot – and sees thirty-something whippersnappers in need of schooling. That was how Michel Barnier treated Gabriel Attal when he replaced him as prime minister last September. Three months later Barnier was out on his ear, brought down by his own incompetence. Boomers have nothing to bequeath to France. Their day has passed and they should go quietly into the night. Whether Xers and Millennials will be able to clean up their mess is uncertain. The damage caused by the 68ers to the Fifth Republic may be irreparable.
Channel 4
11 hours ago
- Channel 4
Palestinians flee West Bank villages fearing Israeli settler violence
A UN report says almost 800 Palestinians have died seeking aid from distribution points run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Gaza, with some of those also killed near aid trucks, since the end of May. According to reports, 10 more people were killed this afternoon near an aid hub near the southern city of Rafah. But while attention is focused on Gaza, attacks by Israeli settlers in the Occupied West Bank continue to force more and more Palestinians from their homes.
Glasgow Times
15 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Ukrainian maternity hospital damaged in Russian drone attack
Mothers with newborns were being evacuated to a different medical facility, Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram. Russia's recent escalation of long-range Shahed drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, which often also include ballistic and cruise missiles as well as powerful glide bombs, has brought renewed urgency to efforts to improve Ukraine's air defences after more than three years of war. 'There is no silence in Ukraine,' Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the Kharkiv bombardment. A mother with her twins walks outside their house which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike in Kyiv (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, has endured repeated and intensifying drone attacks in recent weeks, as have many other regions of the country. June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded, the UN human rights mission in Ukraine said on Thursday. Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month last year, it said. At the same time, Russia's bigger army is pressing hard on parts of the 620-mile front line, where thousands of soldiers on both sides have died since the Kremlin ordered the invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022. Mr Zelensky urged Ukraine's Western partners to quickly enact pledges of help they made at an international meeting in Rome on Thursday. Ukraine desperately needs more US-made Patriot air defence systems to stop Russian missiles and more interceptor drones to bring down the Russian-made Shaheds, he said. Russia reportedly has expedited drone production, and Mr Zelensky said Moscow plans to manufacture up to 1,000 drones a day. Mr Zelensky said on Thursday that talks with US President Donald Trump have been 'very constructive' even though the administration has given conflicting signals about its readiness to provide more vital military aid. Mr Zelensky said he is minded to replace his ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, with defence minister Rustem Umerov. Ukraine has asked foreign countries to supply it with another 10 Patriot systems and missiles, Mr Zelensky said. Germany is ready to buy two systems and Norway has agreed to buy one, which will be passed on to Ukraine, he said. Mr Trump said late on Thursday that the US is sending weapons to other Nato countries, which are paying Washington for them and giving them to Ukraine. He said he would make 'a major statement' on Russia on Monday. A new bipartisan US sanctions package that aims to force Russia to the negotiating table could go to a vote in the Senate before the August recess, its backers Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told The Associated Press on Thursday. The bill calls for a 500% tariff on goods from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. It takes aim at nations such as China and India, which account for roughly 70% of Russia's energy trade and bankroll much of its war effort. After repeated Russian drone and missile onslaughts in Kyiv, authorities announced on Friday they are establishing a comprehensive drone interception system under a project called Clear Sky. The project includes a major investment in interceptor drones, operator training, and new mobile response units, according to the head of the Kyiv Military Administration, Tymur Tkachenko. Mr Zelensky appealed to foreign partners to help Ukraine accelerate the production of the newly developed interceptor drones, which have proved successful against Shaheds. 'We found a solution, as a country, scientists and engineers found a solution. That's the key,' he said. 'We need financing. And then, we will intercept.'
