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Euronews
7 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
France launches 'diplomatic reserve' to boost soft power
France on Thursday launched a "diplomatic reserve" it hopes will attract 1,000 people before the end of the year to enhance assistance to citizens including those fleeing conflicts, counter disinformation about its diplomacy, and boost its soft power abroad. "Any French or European citizen aged 18 or over can join this civic reserve, if he or she adheres to a charter and a cardinal principle: the general interest," Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a speech. "And our ambitions are high, commensurate with our diplomatic network, which, with 163 embassies and 208 consulates general, is the third largest in the world. Our diplomacy must be present everywhere, right down to the last kilometre that sometimes separates us from our most distant compatriots," he added. Reservists will have three main aims: public service and protecting French citizens abroad, defending the country's interests in all bilateral, European and multilateral forums, and ensuring France's voice is understood at home and heard around the world. Their tasks may include providing telephone support for the crisis and support centre, which coordinates the protection of French nationals and the country's emergency humanitarian action. "Since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Iran, the crisis centre has answered 12,000 calls in 12 days. And 1,000 French nationals have benefited from our assistance to return to France. In such situations, telephone assistance is essential, and requires a large number of volunteers," Barrot said. Providing logistical and protocol support during major events - including G7 meetings under the French presidency next year - as well as digital expertise to counter disinformation or promote France's efforts are among the other main tasks the reserve is looking for. The Foreign ministry will on Monday ask all its ambassadors to map out their needs before the end of the year in order to draw up a comprehensive catalogue of potential assignments. The reserve will have two contingents. The first one is to be filled with current or former employees of the foreign ministry, as well as employees of French agencies that have an international focus such as the French Development Agency, advisors to French people abroad, and academics with whom the ministry already works. About 200 people have already expressed an interest in joining, Barrot said, adding that the aim is to grow this contingent to 1,000 people before the end of the year. A second group will be made up of people who volunteer or work for international solidarity NGOs, or in French associations abroad, as well as international technical experts, think-tankers, and business leaders who "play an essential role in our economic diplomacy", Barrot said. Parliamentary approval will be required to set up this contingent, with the legal process set to kickstart next week. The establishment of this diplomatic reserve was first announced by President Emmanuel Macron in 2023 in a speech to the French diplomatic corps in which he sought to appease them after a proposed reform to their services the year before prompted them to strike for the first time. The reform sought to gradually phase out the two corps that manage diplomatic staff, in what the government said was a bid to open up diplomatic positions to greater diversity.
The Advertiser
28-05-2025
- The Advertiser
French surgeon jailed for abusing hundreds of children
A French court has found a retired surgeon guilty of sexually abusing hundreds of patients, many of them children, in a trial that has shaken France. Joel Le Scouarnec's abuse of his patients is considered France's worst case of pedo-criminality to go to trial. He stood accused of aggravated rape or sexual assault against 299 victims. Le Scouarnec had told the court he committed "despicable acts" over a 25-year period whilst he worked as doctor in western France, in a trial that has raised uncomfortable questions for the publicly-run healthcare system. Le Scouarnec, 74, was sentenced to 20 years in jail. Presiding Judge Aude Buresi, whose voice at times appeared to choke with emotion, said Le Scouarnec had preyed on victims when they were at their most vulnerable, including whilst under anaesthesia. "Your acts were a blind spot in the medical world, to the extent that your colleagues, the medical authorities, were incapable of stopping your actions," the judge told Le Scouarnec. The court ordered Le Scouarnec be placed on the sex offenders register. The judge also barred Le Scouarnec from practising medicine or having contact with minors. During the trial, Le Scouarnec told the court that he was aware that the harm he had caused was irreparable. "I owe it to all these people and their loved ones to admit my actions and their consequences, which they've endured and will keep having to endure all their lives," he added. The judge said she understood many victims hoped Le Scouarnec would never walk out of jail, but that the law did not allow her to impose a life sentence. The trial took place at a time of reckoning around sex crimes in France after the conviction of Dominique Pelicot, who was found guilty in December of drugging his wife unconscious and inviting dozens of men to their home to rape her. Le Scouarnec is already serving jail time for earlier rape convictions. In 2020, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of a child neighbour, as well as his two nieces and a four-year-old patient. Several dozen victims and rights campaigners gathered outside the courthouse ahead of the verdict, holding a banner made of hundreds of pieces of white paper with black silhouettes, one for each victim. Some of the papers bore a first name and age, while others referred to the victim as "Anonymous." The extent of Le Scouarnec's abuse was revealed after his re-arrest in 2017 on suspicion of raping his six-year-old neighbour. Police discovered electronic diaries that appeared to detail more than two decades of rapes and sexual assaults on young patients in hospitals across the region, as well as a cache of sex dolls, wigs and child pornography. The trial took place in Vannes, a small town in Brittany. The local prosecutor, whose office led the investigation into Le Scouarnec, has opened a separate investigation to ascertain if there was any criminal liability by agencies or individuals who could have prevented the abuse. A French court has found a retired surgeon guilty of sexually abusing hundreds of patients, many of them children, in a trial that has shaken France. Joel Le Scouarnec's abuse of his patients is considered France's worst case of pedo-criminality to go to trial. He stood accused of aggravated rape or sexual assault against 299 victims. Le Scouarnec had told the court he committed "despicable acts" over a 25-year period whilst he worked as doctor in western France, in a trial that has raised uncomfortable questions for the publicly-run healthcare system. Le Scouarnec, 74, was sentenced to 20 years in jail. Presiding Judge Aude Buresi, whose voice at times appeared to choke with emotion, said Le Scouarnec had preyed on victims when they were at their most vulnerable, including whilst under anaesthesia. "Your acts were a blind spot in the medical world, to the extent that your colleagues, the medical authorities, were incapable of stopping your actions," the judge told Le Scouarnec. The court ordered Le Scouarnec be placed on the sex offenders register. The judge also barred Le Scouarnec from practising medicine or having contact with minors. During the trial, Le Scouarnec told the court that he was aware that the harm he had caused was irreparable. "I owe it to all these people and their loved ones to admit my actions and their consequences, which they've endured and will keep having to endure all their lives," he added. The judge said she understood many victims hoped Le Scouarnec would never walk out of jail, but that the law did not allow her to impose a life sentence. The trial took place at a time of reckoning around sex crimes in France after the conviction of Dominique Pelicot, who was found guilty in December of drugging his wife unconscious and inviting dozens of men to their home to rape her. Le Scouarnec is already serving jail time for earlier rape convictions. In 2020, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of a child neighbour, as well as his two nieces and a four-year-old patient. Several dozen victims and rights campaigners gathered outside the courthouse ahead of the verdict, holding a banner made of hundreds of pieces of white paper with black silhouettes, one for each victim. Some of the papers bore a first name and age, while others referred to the victim as "Anonymous." The extent of Le Scouarnec's abuse was revealed after his re-arrest in 2017 on suspicion of raping his six-year-old neighbour. Police discovered electronic diaries that appeared to detail more than two decades of rapes and sexual assaults on young patients in hospitals across the region, as well as a cache of sex dolls, wigs and child pornography. The trial took place in Vannes, a small town in Brittany. The local prosecutor, whose office led the investigation into Le Scouarnec, has opened a separate investigation to ascertain if there was any criminal liability by agencies or individuals who could have prevented the abuse. A French court has found a retired surgeon guilty of sexually abusing hundreds of patients, many of them children, in a trial that has shaken France. Joel Le Scouarnec's abuse of his patients is considered France's worst case of pedo-criminality to go to trial. He stood accused of aggravated rape or sexual assault against 299 victims. Le Scouarnec had told the court he committed "despicable acts" over a 25-year period whilst he worked as doctor in western France, in a trial that has raised uncomfortable questions for the publicly-run healthcare system. Le Scouarnec, 74, was sentenced to 20 years in jail. Presiding Judge Aude Buresi, whose voice at times appeared to choke with emotion, said Le Scouarnec had preyed on victims when they were at their most vulnerable, including whilst under anaesthesia. "Your acts were a blind spot in the medical world, to the extent that your colleagues, the medical authorities, were incapable of stopping your actions," the judge told Le Scouarnec. The court ordered Le Scouarnec be placed on the sex offenders register. The judge also barred Le Scouarnec from practising medicine or having contact with minors. During the trial, Le Scouarnec told the court that he was aware that the harm he had caused was irreparable. "I owe it to all these people and their loved ones to admit my actions and their consequences, which they've endured and will keep having to endure all their lives," he added. The judge said she understood many victims hoped Le Scouarnec would never walk out of jail, but that the law did not allow her to impose a life sentence. The trial took place at a time of reckoning around sex crimes in France after the conviction of Dominique Pelicot, who was found guilty in December of drugging his wife unconscious and inviting dozens of men to their home to rape her. Le Scouarnec is already serving jail time for earlier rape convictions. In 2020, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of a child neighbour, as well as his two nieces and a four-year-old patient. Several dozen victims and rights campaigners gathered outside the courthouse ahead of the verdict, holding a banner made of hundreds of pieces of white paper with black silhouettes, one for each victim. Some of the papers bore a first name and age, while others referred to the victim as "Anonymous." The extent of Le Scouarnec's abuse was revealed after his re-arrest in 2017 on suspicion of raping his six-year-old neighbour. Police discovered electronic diaries that appeared to detail more than two decades of rapes and sexual assaults on young patients in hospitals across the region, as well as a cache of sex dolls, wigs and child pornography. The trial took place in Vannes, a small town in Brittany. The local prosecutor, whose office led the investigation into Le Scouarnec, has opened a separate investigation to ascertain if there was any criminal liability by agencies or individuals who could have prevented the abuse. A French court has found a retired surgeon guilty of sexually abusing hundreds of patients, many of them children, in a trial that has shaken France. Joel Le Scouarnec's abuse of his patients is considered France's worst case of pedo-criminality to go to trial. He stood accused of aggravated rape or sexual assault against 299 victims. Le Scouarnec had told the court he committed "despicable acts" over a 25-year period whilst he worked as doctor in western France, in a trial that has raised uncomfortable questions for the publicly-run healthcare system. Le Scouarnec, 74, was sentenced to 20 years in jail. Presiding Judge Aude Buresi, whose voice at times appeared to choke with emotion, said Le Scouarnec had preyed on victims when they were at their most vulnerable, including whilst under anaesthesia. "Your acts were a blind spot in the medical world, to the extent that your colleagues, the medical authorities, were incapable of stopping your actions," the judge told Le Scouarnec. The court ordered Le Scouarnec be placed on the sex offenders register. The judge also barred Le Scouarnec from practising medicine or having contact with minors. During the trial, Le Scouarnec told the court that he was aware that the harm he had caused was irreparable. "I owe it to all these people and their loved ones to admit my actions and their consequences, which they've endured and will keep having to endure all their lives," he added. The judge said she understood many victims hoped Le Scouarnec would never walk out of jail, but that the law did not allow her to impose a life sentence. The trial took place at a time of reckoning around sex crimes in France after the conviction of Dominique Pelicot, who was found guilty in December of drugging his wife unconscious and inviting dozens of men to their home to rape her. Le Scouarnec is already serving jail time for earlier rape convictions. In 2020, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of a child neighbour, as well as his two nieces and a four-year-old patient. Several dozen victims and rights campaigners gathered outside the courthouse ahead of the verdict, holding a banner made of hundreds of pieces of white paper with black silhouettes, one for each victim. Some of the papers bore a first name and age, while others referred to the victim as "Anonymous." The extent of Le Scouarnec's abuse was revealed after his re-arrest in 2017 on suspicion of raping his six-year-old neighbour. Police discovered electronic diaries that appeared to detail more than two decades of rapes and sexual assaults on young patients in hospitals across the region, as well as a cache of sex dolls, wigs and child pornography. The trial took place in Vannes, a small town in Brittany. The local prosecutor, whose office led the investigation into Le Scouarnec, has opened a separate investigation to ascertain if there was any criminal liability by agencies or individuals who could have prevented the abuse.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Germany eyes strongest EU army by 2031
Johann Wadephul (Deutscher Bundestag) US President Donald Trump can feel vindicated: Germany 's new foreign minister, Johann Wadephul , said this week that the government had accepted the president's demand to invest 5% of GDP in defense. Speaking at a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Antalya, Turkey, on Thursday, Wadephul also said Germany would support Nato's proposal to provide 3.5% for classic military purposes and an additional 1.5% for defense-related infrastructure. It will likely only become clear how much all the members of the security alliance plan to invest at a Nato summit scheduled for the end of June in The Hague, Netherlands. Wadephul's comments came a day after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that he wanted to transform the Bundeswehr into the "strongest conventional army in Europe." Germany plans historic security shift If Germany goes ahead and increases its defense expenditure to 5% of GDP, it will be making a historic turnaround in security policy. Since the end of the Cold War, it has primarily relied on international cooperation, diplomacy, and a culture of strategic military restraint. But former Chancellor Olaf Scholz 's Zeitenwende speech on February 27, 2022, three days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, marked a turning point. Subsequently, the German government set up a special fund of €100 billion (about $112 billion) for the Bundeswehr. In 2024, regular defense spending amounted to around €90 billion, around 2.1% of GDP. An increase to 5% will require a future defense budget of over €160 billion per year. This will have enormous implications that have not yet been fully calculated, and for which the funds have yet to be raised. The Bundeswehr currently consists of around 182,000 soldiers on active duty. The defence ministry plans to raise those numbers to at least 203,000 by 2031, with some experts even speaking of 240,000 soldiers. Ongoing modernization efforts will affect all branches of the armed forces: the aim is to replace outdated tanks, aircraft, and ships, to develop digitalization, and expand command and control capabilities. The key industrial players in Germany are Rheinmetall, Airbus Defence and Space, and the Diehl Group, which are becoming increasingly geared toward exports alongside foreign partners. France only EU state with a nuclear deterrent France, which is the only nuclear power in the EU, has pursued a strategy of global presence and military autonomy. Around 203,000 soldiers serve in the French army. The gendarmerie and other paramilitary units boast 175,000 members, and there are also at least 26,000 reservists. Thanks to its Charles de Gaulle nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and strategic submarines, the French navy also plays an important role in France's nuclear deterrence strategy. French Rafale fighter aircraft, some of which are nuclear-capable, are intended to secure air superiority. Since President Emmanuel Macron came to power in 2017, the French defense budget has increased significantly. In a dramatic televised speech at the beginning of March, Macron spoke of the "Russian threat" affecting all countries in Europe and said France should nearly double its defense spending. France's military budget used to be comparable to Germany's, but it has helped to build a more powerful army, not least because the state, which has a stake in the arms industry, has always promoted it strategically. Poland acts as bulwark on Nato's eastern flank For years, Poland has invested heavily in the military with the goal of developing the strongest land forces in Europe. In 2024, it allocated 4.12% of its GDP to its defense budget. The largest state on Nato's eastern flank specifically wants to deter Russia. The Polish Land Forces and Territorial Defence Army currently comprise about 150,000 soldiers. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk recently said the government is working on plans for the country to expand the ranks to 500,000 troops, including reservists. At the same time, the army and air force are to be supplied with more modern equipment, including more than 600 battle tanks, which have been ordered from South Korea and the US among others, as well as HIMARS rocket artillery systems, drones and F-35 fighter jets. The Polish navy, however, is considered to be rather weak. UK focuses on high tech The UK is also planning to increase its defence spending to just under 2.4% of GDP. The focus will be on high tech: drones, artificial intelligence and laser systems. The Royal Navy, which has two aircraft carriers in service, and the Royal Air Force are already considered to be very modern. The government has planned to purchase dozens more F-35 fighter jets from the US. With around 140,000 active soldiers, the British Army is comparatively small. No significant increases in personnel are currently planned, in contrast to many EU countries. Last year, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized the UK's loyalty to Nato and said the country would play a "full role" in the alliance. The UK's military equipment, particularly the nuclear weapons stored on submarines, is more dependent on US technology than that of many EU countries. Italy has powerful air force, but army in need of reform A ccording to Nato, Italy allocated 1.49% to its defense budget in 2024, which means it is still well below the 2% target. Nonetheless, the country is one of Europe's heavyweights, with 165,000 soldiers on active duty, two aircraft carriers and a powerful air force. However, Italy's land forces are considered to be outdated and in need of reform. But this is set to change, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni saying she wants her country to have the strongest armored force in Europe. Italy has ordered more 1,000 combat and multi-purpose tanks from the German company Rheinmetall. In strategic terms, Italy is largely focused on the Mediterranean region and securing global trade routes. Global firepower ranking unlikely to change Despite these multibillion euro rearmament programs in Europe, little is likely to change in the global ranking of military strength, at least in the medium term. According to the 2025 Global Firepower review, the United States clearly leads and is followed by Russia, China, India, and South Korea. The UK follows in sixth place, while France is ninth. Germany is currently 11th. For its annual review, the Global Firepower platform evaluates over 60 individual factors, from numbers of tanks and naval capacities to manpower, in order to compare the military strength of nations.
The Star
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Was this Napoleonic-era kitchen god the world's first (sexy) celebrity chef?
He's a dream in the kitchen - and elsewhere in the house. He makes a mean cream-puff tower. And he's got moves like Jagger. Alas, Antonin Careme has been dead since the 1830s, but nobody's perfect, right? Most people have heard of Napoleon, but not many are familiar - even in France - with the story of this chef who cooked for him and his contemporaries, rising from a poor kitchen boy to become a standard-bearer of French cuisine. Now a new Apple TV+ period drama, Careme , argues that he was the very first celebrity chef. There's even a Top Chef style cooking contest in front of a panel of judges. But for the vibe, think The Bear , set in post-revolutionary Paris. Careme even directs his staff at one point to say "Oui, chef.' (And we could totally imagine him, like Jeremy Allen White, in a Calvin Klein underwear ad, if those had existed back then.) The series also shows how Careme wasn't just a cook, or master pastry maker, or, well, sex god. We watch as he's pulled into political intrigue by his boss, the cunning diplomat Talleyrand, and used as a spy. Still, his goal was to be the best chef in the world. The show's first season ends with an extraordinary outdoor coronation banquet that Careme creates for thousands of people. When he places, in triumph, a tall white chef's hat on his head for the first time, it's as if he's crowning himself - and marking his ascent to celebrity. Benjamin Voisin, who's in virtually every scene, plays Careme with a scruffy head of hair, a gold earring and a bad-boy swagger that's consciously based on Mick Jagger, circa '70s. This image released by Apple TV+ shows Lyna Khoudri, left, and Benjamin Voisin in a scene from 'Careme'. Director Martin Bourboulon says the choice for the role was obvious once Voisin walked into the audition room. "When you find the right actor for the right part, 80% of the job is done,' he says. "We were very impressed with his youthful attitude but also his rock 'n' roll attitude. He is absolutely Careme in real life - very attractive for everyone, a young man who is maybe sometimes a bit insouciant, or careless. " Perhaps not surprisingly, the show plays up the sex factor. The first scene sets the tone with Careme and his lover, Henriette, in a food-tasting session that morphs immediately into sex, but then duty calls: Napoleon's soldiers are coming for dinner. Bourboulon says that first scene was very intentional, establishing in a few minutes the three main themes of the series: food, sex and politics. Did we mention sex? Of course, he wasn't an accomplished chef, so Voisin was given intensive lessons. "I spent two months in the kitchen to learn the customs of the great French tradition,' the actor says. He focused on learning how to realistically convey what Careme did best: invent dishes of wild whimsy, especially flamboyant dessert creations like a huge pyramid, or the "croquembouche' tower - a cascade of cream puffs. Careme is also known for inventing the vol-au-vent, an airy French pastry shell. Lyna Khoudri in a scene from 'Careme'. But even so, this master pastry maker can't even chop an onion correctly when he arrives for work at his first big kitchen job. The job of teaching him falls to the talented sous-chef in Talleyrand's kitchen, Agathe (Alice Da Luz). Da Luz trained alongside Voisin on the kitchen brigade at the Ferrandi culinary school in Paris - and vastly improved her skill set. "We really learned the choreography of a kitchen, we really learned technique,' she says. "And today I can boast that I cut onions at a crazy speed.' The actors had a dream workspace: The production spent six weeks building a huge, airy kitchen where they work for Talleyrand - unlike the cramped, smoky kitchens that would be more historically accurate. Viewers may feel the need to brush up on their history. The show takes place shortly after Napoleon seized political power in 1799 and became first consul, on his way to later declaring himself emperor. The actors had to brush up, too. Voisin says he knew about "the victories and defeats of Bonaparte,' but had to learn from scratch the story of Careme. Lyna Khoudri, who plays mysterious Henriette - who may or may not be on her lover's side - notes: "We're making a series about the heritage of French culinary art, a story I didn't know. I found out why we're so famous for our cuisine in France.' Da Luz had studied the period at school but dove into it more deeply once she was cast. There was not a lot to read about Agathe, but she read everything she could find. And then, she says, "I let my imagination go,' inspired to bring a woman out of the shadows of history. Jeremie Renier in a scene from 'Careme'. Jérémie Renier, who plays Talleyrand (actual name Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord), also engaged in extensive research. "It's a character who has led a thousand lives,' he said, "who lived through almost a century of history, at a time when people were guillotined for not much. So... he must have been very clever.' The show, for Renier, is in large part about ambition. "All these characters have a goal, a dream to achieve,' he says. "The question is, what are we ready to win or lose to achieve this dream?' The production is lush throughout the whole season, beginning with the gorgeous country homes - filmmakers scouted 60 of them, and chose 12. They created new dinner services to dress the tables, and made 3,000 candles to light all the candelabras - different hues for different rooms. There were 96 vases of fresh flowers at all times in Talleyrand's home, according to production notes. As for costumes, some 1,000 of them were made from scratch, because the filmmakers had a specific vision of clothing that was not period-accurate but also not completely modern. Then there was that crazy banquet that ends the season. Filming at the Parc de Saint-Cloud, which boasts dramatic fountains, the production created a giant tent covered with "an extraordinary amount of velvet,' and loaded down the tables with food, including a 60 kilo (132 pound) leg of lamb and a 50 kilo (110-pound) tuna. They also made 5,000 cream puffs, which were assembled into grand, towering structures - befitting not only a new emperor but the world's first celebrity chef. – AP
