Europe’s leaders and top officials are descending on Kyiv with pledges of fresh support as Russia continues its relentless air attacks against Ukraine.
Newly appointed French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said on Saturday in Kyiv that Ukraine will remain “France’s priority” despite “the multiplying crises” during his first foreign trip after his appointment last week. Séjourné hailed a “new phase” in joint weapons production with Ukraine during a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba.
Séjourné’s trip came on the heels of a visit Friday by U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during which he announced a multi-year security pact with Ukraine. The British leader committed £2.5 billion (€2.9 billion) in military aid to Ukraine for 2024/2025, as he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
France’s Séjourné pledged to boost joint cooperation with Ukraine and “reinforce Ukraine’s capacity to produce on its territory” with France’s top firms. France has also been negotiating a security pact with Ukraine but the details have yet to be announced.
Poland’s Donald Tusk is expected to visit Kyiv this week, possibly on Monday.
The visits by European leaders come in the wake of weeks of renewed Russian air strikes against Ukraine and amid fears that U.S. help has stalled due to a blocked Congress and this year’s American presidential election. On Saturday, Ukrainian air defenses recorded a total of 40 attacks.
Earlier this month, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz issued an unusually stark call to other EU countries to deliver more weapons to Ukraine. The arms deliveries planned so far were “too small,” he said, despite Berlin’s pledge to double its military aid to Kyiv to €8 billion this year.
According to the Kiel Institute, which tallied up military aid to Ukraine in the public domain, Germany was the second-highest donor last year after the U.S., with €17.1 billion; it was followed by the U.K. with €6.6 billion and by Nordic and eastern EU countries. France, in comparison, has only contributed €0.54 billion, Italy €0.69 billion and Spain €0.34 billion.
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron has propelled rising star Gabriel Attal center stage in a high-risk gamble aimed at stopping the far right’s surge ahead of the European election.
In a surprise move on Tuesday, Macron appointed his former education minister and one of France’s most popular politicians as the country’s youngest-ever prime minister in a bid to re-energize his flagging presidency — at the risk of hastening the end of his own reign.
Macron has been under pressure to jump-start his presidency as the far-right National Rally outstrips the centrists in polls ahead of the EU election in June, and in the wake of two brutal fights last year over immigration and pensions.
In contrast to the no-holds-barred election campaign led by 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, the National Rally’s lead candidate, Macron’s presidency has struggled to project any energy and vitality after seven years running France, and talk of a lame-duck presidency has become widespread in political circles.
Despite his short political career, the 34-year-old Attal has earned himself a reputation as an obstinate attack dog or a “word sniper” against the far right, having already crossed swords with Bardella in past election debates, and a deft operator fluent as government spokesperson during the Covid pandemic and as education minister.
“It’s a great media coup,” said a conservative Les Républicains heavyweight, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic. Macron “is doing it because [Attal] will lead the European election campaign … he was the only one who could hold his own against Bardella,” he said.
Several political insiders told POLITICO the battle of the European election was one of the main reasons Macron chose Attal.
“Gabriel Attal and Jordan Bardella are of the same generation, it’s obvious. Attal has political acumen, knows how to deliver a punchline, with substance, so it’s someone who can face off with the National Rally,” said an aide to Macron. But it’ll be thanks to “his action” that he’ll be able to beat the National Rally, he added.
The nomination of a pugnacious politician with his own ambitions also carries a sizeable risk for the president, who has in the past favored more self-effacing, technocratic figures as his lieutenants. An Attal premiership may accelerate conversations on what comes after Macron as the French president cannot run for a third term.
The meteoric rise of Attal, not unlike Macron himself, is also ruffling feathers among Macron’s heavyweight allies who look askance at the young uber-achiever taking over the reins of government. Macron was “forced to work hard” to get the nomination accepted when it was supposed to be “a slam dunk,” said an ally of the president on Monday.
Macron’s Mini-Me on the campaign
The upcoming European election will be the last time Macron faces off with his nemesis Marine Le Pen before the end of his mandate in four years. A far-right victory would resonate for years and poison the president’s legacy.
The president’s troops have emerged battered after his much-hardened immigration bill was passed with the support of the far-right, an episode that almost splintered his centrist alliance. The immigration battle came on the heels of acrimonious debates last spring over the reform of French pensions which sparked weeks of nationwide protests.
Macron is languishing in poll ratings according to POLITICO’s Poll of Polls with only 30 percent approval ratings.
His outgoing Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne was criticized as a technocrat who lacked charisma and political agility, worn out by successive struggles to pass legislation following Macron’s defeat in parliamentary elections last year. She also lost a lot of political capital when she failed to anticipate or prevent a shock defeat in parliament, when the National Assembly rejected the immigration bill without a vote in December.
Attal, on the other hand, is a fresh hand at the helm.
“It’s great news, we’re going to have a government head who is a political operator, and capable of embodying Macron’s pro-European vision,” said Alexandre Holroyd, an MP from Macron’s Renaissance Party.
“To stop the far-right, which is rising not just in France but across Europe, we have to show that political action is efficient,” and talking to the general public is one thing Attal is good at, he added.
Strategically, Attal’s nomination may also help secure the support of center-left voters, as leftwing MEP Raphaël Glucksmann emerges as a competing candidate ahead of the European election. Attal, a former Socialist Party member and the first openly gay prime minister, espouses progressive ideas and has made cyber-bullying and homophobia prominent causes.
What’s really changed?
Macron himself has tasked Attal with the “regeneration” of his government, with “audacity” and “in the spirit of 2017,” his first election year, he wrote on X.
But while Attal is a fresh face, Macron’s margin of maneuver on the domestic front is shrinking, and it’s unlikely the new premiership will be plain sailing. The centrists still lack a majority in parliament, so passing legislation will remain a painful, humiliating process as the government seeks ad hoc alliances with opposition MPs.
Macron is also struggling to find inspiration for his second mandate, and has piled up vague initiatives, such as the “100 days” last year, the “Saint Denis meetings” with opposition leaders, and this month “the meeting with the nation.”
But the nomination does partially resolve an issue that has dogged Macron’s camp for weeks: who will run as Macron’s lead candidate in the European election? The far right has been hitting the campaign trail for weeks and Macron, a notorious procrastinator, has still not chosen a lead candidate for France’s Renew campaign.
With many heavyweights in government reluctant to lead a difficult campaign, the names floated in Paris — Europe Minister Laurence Boone or Renew Group leader Stéphane Séjourné — appeared to lack sufficient clout to stand up to the far-right.
Gabriel Attal carries more than just the European campaign on his shoulders | Pool photo by Ludovic Marin via AFP/Getty Images
With this week’s reshuffle, Renew’s lead candidate in France could play more of a supporting role.
But Attal carries more than just the European campaign on his shoulders. As one of the stars of “Génération Macron,” young politicians who straddle the left-right divide and came to power with the French president, Attal will save or hasten the end of Macronism and its centrist, pro-European political offer.
It’s the “last bullet before the end of his mandate,” said the same conservative heavyweight cited above.
Global supermarket chain Carrefour will stop selling PepsiCo products in it stores in France, Belgium, Spain and Italy over price increases for popular items like Doritos, Lay’s potato chips, Quaker Oats, Lipton tea and its namesake soda.
The French grocery chain said it pulled PepsiCo products from shelves in France on Thursday and added small signs in stores that say, “We no longer sell this brand due to unacceptable price increases.”
The ban also will extend to Belgium, Spain and Italy, but Carrefour, which has 12,225 stores in more than 30 countries, didn’t say when it would take effect in those three countries.
PepsiCo said in a statement that it has “been in discussion with Carrefour for many months and we will continue to engage in good faith in order to try to ensure that our products are available.”
The company behind Cheetos, Mountain Dew and Rice-A-Roni has raised prices by double-digit percentages for seven straight quarters, most recently hiking by 11% in the July-to-September period.
Its profits are up, though higher prices have dragged down sales as people trade down to cheaper stores. PepsiCo also has said it’s been shrinking package sizes to meet consumer demand for convenience and portion control.
Many food producers opted to shrink packaging while charging the same amount — a strategy known as “shrinkflation” — after supply-chain shocks related to COVID-19 affected many parts of the food chain, contributing to the rising price of everything from berries to corn.
Still, some of the world’s largest retailers have been accused of using soaring inflation rates as an excuse to raise prices and rake in billions of dollars in additional profit. Late in 2021, the FTC launched an investigation into the profit margins of major retailers and consumer-goods companies, including Amazon, Kroger, Walmart, Kraft Heinz and Procter and Gamble.
PepsiCo, based in Purchase, New York, said price increases should ease and largely align with inflation, which has fallen considerably worldwide since crunched supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic and then Russia’s war in Ukraine sent prices surging.
However, the 20 European Union countries that use the euro currency saw consumer prices rise to 2.9% in December from a year earlier, rebounding after seven straight monthly declines, according to numbers released Friday.
Prices for food and non-alcoholic drinks have eased from a painful 17.5% in the 20-country euro area in March but were still up by 6.9% in November from a year earlier.
PepsiCo has pointed to higher costs for grain and cooking oil for its rising prices. Those costs surged following Russia’s invasion in Ukraine and are still being felt by families at supermarkets. But prices for food commodities like grain that are traded on global markets fell considerably last year from record highs in 2022.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday that its food price index was 13.7% lower in 2023 than the year before, with only its measure of sugar prices growing in that time.
Nearly 17,000 people may have died after taking hydroxycholoroquine during the first wave of COVID, according to a study by French researchers.
The anti-malaria drug was prescribed to some patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic, “despite the absence of evidence documenting its clinical benefits,” the researchers point out in their paper, published in the February issue of Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy.
Now, researchers have estimated that some 16,990 people in six countries — France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the U.S. — may have died as a result.
That figure stems from a study published in the Nature scientific journal in 2021 which reported an 11 percent increase in the mortality rate, linked to its prescription against COVID-19, because of the potential adverse effects like heart rhythm disorders, and its use instead of other effective treatments.
Researchers from universities in Lyon, France, and Québec, Canada, used that figure to analyze hospitalization data for COVID in each of the six countries, exposure to hydroxychloroquine and the increase in the relative risk of death linked to the drug.
In fact, they say the figure may be far higher given the study only concerns six countries from March to July 2020, when the drug was prescribed much more widely.
Hydroxychloroquine gained prominence partly due to French virologist Didier Raoult who had headed the Méditerranée Infection Foundation hospital, but was later removed amid growing controversy.
It was also considered something of a “miracle cure” by the then-U.S. President Donald Trump, who said: “What do you have to lose? Take it.”
On October 7, Hamas fighters launched a bloody attack against Israel, using paragliders, speedboats and underground tunnels to carry out an offensive that killed almost 1,200 people and saw hundreds more taken back to the Gaza Strip as prisoners.
Almost three months on, Israel’s massive military retaliation is reverberating around the region, with explosions in Lebanon and rebels from Yemen attacking shipping in the Red Sea. Meanwhile, Western countries are pumping military aid into Israel while deploying fleets to protect commercial shipping — risking confrontation with the Iranian navy.
That’s in line with a grim prediction made last year by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who said that Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza meant an “expansion of the scope of the war has become inevitable,” and that further escalation across the Middle East should be expected.
What’s happening?
The Israel Defense Forces are still fighting fierce battles for control of the Gaza Strip in what officials say is a mission to destroy Hamas. Troops have already occupied much of the north of the 365-square-kilometer territory, home to around 2.3 million Palestinians, and are now stepping up their assault in the south.
Entire neighborhoods of densely-populated Gaza City have been levelled by intense Israeli shelling, rocket attacks and air strikes, rendering them uninhabitable. Although independent observers have been largely shut out, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry claims more than 22,300 people have been killed, while the U.N. says 1.9 million people have been displaced.
On a visit to the front lines, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that his country is in the fight for the long haul. “The feeling that we will stop soon is incorrect. Without a clear victory, we will not be able to live in the Middle East,” he said.
As the Gaza ground war intensifies, Hamas and its allies are increasingly looking to take the conflict to a far broader arena in order to put pressure on Israel.
According to Seth Frantzman, a regional analyst with the Jerusalem Post and adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, “Iran is certainly making a play here in terms of trying to isolate Israel [and] the U.S. and weaken U.S. influence, also showing that Israel doesn’t have the deterrence capabilities that it may have had in the past or at least thought it had.”
Northern front
On Tuesday a blast ripped through an office in Dahieh, a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, Beirut — 130 kilometers from the border with Israel. Hamas confirmed that one of its most senior leaders, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed in the strike.
Government officials in Jerusalem have refused to confirm Israeli forces were behind the killing, while simultaneously presenting it as a “surgical strike against the Hamas leadership” and insisting it was not an attack against Lebanon itself, despite a warning from Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati that the incident risked dragging his country into a wider regional war.
Tensions between Israel and Lebanon have spiked in recent weeks, with fighters loyal to Hezbollah, the Shia Islamist militant group that controls the south of the country, firing hundreds of rockets across the frontier. Along with Hamas, Hezbollah is part of the Iranian-led “Axis of Resistance” that aims to destroy the state of Israel.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Iran’s foreign ministry said the death of al-Arouri, the most senior Hamas official confirmed to have died since October 7, will only embolden resistance against Israel, not only in the Palestinian territories but also in the wider Middle East.
The Israel Defense Forces are still fighting fierce battles for control of the Gaza Strip in what officials say is a mission to destroy Hamas | Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
“We’re talking about the death of a senior Hamas leader, not from Hezbollah or the [Iranian] Revolutionary Guards. Is it Iran who’s going to respond? Hezbollah? Hamas with rockets? Or will there be no response, with the various players waiting for the next assassination?” asked Héloïse Fayet, a researcher at the French Institute for International Relations.
In a much-anticipated speech on Wednesday evening, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah condemned the killing but did not announce a military response.
Red Sea boils over
For months now, sailors navigating the narrow Bab-el-Mandeb Strait that links Europe to Asia have faced a growing threat of drone strikes, missile attacks and even hijackings by Iran-backed Houthi militants operating off the coast of Yemen.
The Houthi movement, a Shia militant group supported by Iran in the Yemeni civil war against Saudi Arabia and its local allies, insists it is only targeting shipping with links to Israel in a bid to pressure it to end the war in Gaza. However, the busy trade route from the Suez Canal through the Red Sea has seen dozens of commercial vessels targeted or delayed, forcing Western nations to intervene.
Over the weekend, the U.S. Navy said it had intercepted two anti-ship missiles and sunk three boats carrying Houthi fighters in what it said was a hijacking attempt against the Maersk Hangzhou, a container ship. Danish shipping giant Maersk said Tuesday that it would “pause all transits through the Red Sea until further notice,” following a number of other cargo liners; energy giant BP is also suspending travel through the region.
On Wednesday the Houthis targeted a CMA CGM Tage container ship bound for Israel, according to the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea. “Any U.S. attack will not pass without a response or punishment,” he added.
“The sensible decision is one that the vast majority of shippers I think are now coming to, [which] is to transit through round the Cape of Good Hope,” said Marco Forgione, director general at the Institute of Export & International Trade. “But that in itself is not without heavy impact, it’s up to two weeks additional sailing time, adds over £1 million to the journey, and there are risks, particularly in West Africa, of piracy as well.”
However, John Stawpert, a senior manager at the International Chamber of Shipping, noted that while “there has been disruption” and an “understandable nervousness about transiting these routes … trade is continuing to flow.”
“A major contributory factor to that has been the presence of military assets committed to defending shipping from these attacks,” he said.
The impacts of the disruption, especially price hikes hitting consumers, will be seen “in the next couple of weeks,” according to Forgione. Oil and gas markets also risk taking a hit — the price of benchmark Brent crude rose by 3 percent to $78.22 a barrel on Wednesday. Almost 10 percent of the world’s oil and 7 percent of its gas flows through the Red Sea.
Western response
On Wednesday evening, the U.S., Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom issued an ultimatum calling the Houthi attacks “illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilizing,” but with only vague threats of action.
“We call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews. The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways,” the statement said.
The Houthi movement insists it is only targeting shipping with links to Israel in a bid to pressure it to end the war in Gaza | Houthi Movement via Getty Images
Despite the tepid language, the U.S. has already struck back at militants from Iranian-backed groups such as Kataeb Hezbollah in Iraq and Syria after they carried out drone attacks that injured U.S. personnel.
The assumption in London is that airstrikes against the Houthis — if it came to that — would be U.S.-led with the U.K. as a partner. Other nations might also chip in.
Two French officials said Paris is not considering air strikes. The country’s position is to stick to self-defense, and that hasn’t changed, one of them said. French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed that assessment, saying on Tuesday that “we’re continuing to act in self-defense.”
“Would France, which is so proud of its third way and its position as a balancing power, be prepared to join an American-British coalition?” asked Fayet, the think tank researcher.
Iran looms large
Iran’s efforts to leverage its proxies in a below-the-radar battle against both Israel and the West appear to be well underway, and the conflict has already scuppered a long-awaited security deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
“Since 1979, Iran has been conducting asymmetrical proxy terrorism where they try to advance their foreign policy objectives while displacing the consequences, the counterpunches, onto someone else — usually Arabs,” said Bradley Bowman, senior director of Washington’s Center on Military and Political Power. “An increasingly effective regional security architecture, of the kind the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are trying to build, is a nightmare for Iran which, like a bully on the playground, wants to keep all the other kids divided and distracted.”
Despite Iran’s fiery rhetoric, it has stopped short of declaring all-out war on its enemies or inflicting massive casualties on Western forces in the region — which experts say reflects the fact it would be outgunned in a conventional conflict.
“Neither Iran nor the U.S. nor Israel is ready for that big war,” said Alex Vatanka, director of the Middle East Institute’s Iran program. “Israel is a nuclear state, Iran is a nuclear threshold state — and the U.S. speaks for itself on this front.”
Israel might be betting on a long fight in Gaza, but Iran is trying to make the conflict a global one, he added. “Nobody wants a war, so both sides have been gambling on the long term, hoping to kill the other guy through a thousand cuts.”
Emilio Casalicchio contributed reporting.
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Gabriel Gavin, Antonia Zimmermann and Laura Kayali
OVER 700 Airbus airline staff have fallen ill after eating the company’s Christmas dinner.
Health authorities in France confirmed that workers were left vomiting and suffering from diarrhoea.
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More than 700 Airbus airline staff have fallen ill after eating the company’s Christmas dinnerCredit: Getty
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While it is not known what was on the festive menu, workers were left vomiting and suffering from diarrhoeaCredit: Getty
While it is not known what was on the festive menu, Agence Régionale de Santé (ARS) said that at only “around 100” were taken ill at the meal in western France last week.
Airbus has since been co-operating with the ARS, according to the BBC, “to identify the cause of the illness and ensure this cannot happen again in the future”.
But an investigation has been launched to find the source of the mass food poisoning.
Airbus is the largest aircraft maker in the world, and Airbus Atlantic is a subsidiary of the company.
Across five countries there are 15,000 people employed by the cooperation.
The Airbus group hires 134,000 people and offers products and services in the aircraft, helicopter, defence, space and security industries.
An ECDPC spokesperson said: “The outbreak strain was detected in a mixed salad dish containing cherry tomatoes among green leaf vegetables prepared on August 17, 2022, in France.
“Tomatoes in the salad in France and tomatoes suspected as vehicles of the infections in Austria were traced back to wholesalers in Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, and to tomato growers in the Netherlands, Spain, and Morocco.”
France has passed a new immigration bill backed by President Emmanuel Macron that leftists are saying may enable the far-right’s agenda. CBS News foreign correspondent Elaine Cobbe reports.
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You know the song – but do you know when it starts or finishes and why? What are the real 12 days of Christmas?
Everyone knows the song and it has been sung by groups as wide ranging as Relient K to the Muppets. First recorded in a children’s book published in London around 1780, it has been an earworm ever since. But do you know the meaning behind it? What are the real 12 days of Christmas? Europe and the US differ in celebrations.
The Fresh Toast – You know the song – but do you know when it starts? What are the real 12 days of Christmas.
The 12 days of Christmas is the period during the holiday marking the span between the birth of Christ and the coming of the Magi, the three wise men. It begins on December 25 (Christmas) and runs through January 6 (the Epiphany, sometimes also called Three Kings’ Day). Advent, and the commercial advent calendars providing everything from Legos to chocolates to buzz is a different set of dates. The four weeks preceding Christmas are collectively known as Advent, which begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on December 24.
The 12 days of Christmas ends at Epiphany (in the old South called Old Christmas). Epiphany is a Christian feast day falling on 6 January. It is when many Christians believe the Maji (also known as the Three kings or the Wise Men) followed the star to visit the newly born baby Jesus. Epiphany become a declared a holiday as it comes from the Greek word meaning to reveal and it is the day when the baby Jesus was revealed to the world. It is also called Three Kings Day.
In the 6th century, the Catholic Church declared the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany (i.e. to just before midnight 5 January as Epiphany begins 6 January) as a sacred and festive season, and established the duty of Advent fasting in preparation for the feast. In modern times, Advent is known mostly through calendars providing little gifts.
In the United States, Christmas Day and Christmas Eve are the big celebrations. In Europe, while there is still the excitement over the 24th and 25th, Epiphany is also a big time for a feast, family and joy.
In Italy, good children receive gifts not only on Christmas, but also on January 6th, in celebration of the Epiphany. Usually candies and small toys, these are whimsically said to be brought by La Befana, a kindly witch riding a broomstick. For naughty children she leaves just a lump of coal.
In France, the 6th of January is ‘l’Epiphanie’ or ‘la journée des rois’ commemorates the visit of the three wise men to baby Jesus. It’s traditional in France to eat ‘la Galette des Rois’. French people will go to the bakery to buy this king’s cake or make it themselves. Games and a crown are involved in the cake celebration and laughter should be generously added to the evening.
Both the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Catholic Church celebrate on 6 January, as opposed their feud over Easter.
An American destroyer intercepted four drones fired by Houthi militants into the busy shipping lanes of the Red Sea, as the escalating crisis saw two commercial tankers hit in one chaotic day.
In a statement issued Sunday, U.S. Central Command said its navy had “shot down four unmanned aerial drones originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen that were inbound to the USS Laboon” the day before. The American destroyer had been patrolling the area as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian, the Washington-led mission to prevent violence spilling over into the strategic waterway.
On Saturday, the Pentagon announced that a Japanese-owned, Liberian-flagged chemical tanker, the Chem Pluto, had been struck by a drone in the Indian Ocean, stating that the attack was launched from Iran.
According to data from analytics platform Kpler, seen by POLITICO, the Chem Pluto had been carrying almost 43,000 barrels of highly-flammable benzene en route to the port of Mangaluru at the time, but no casualties have been reported. The attack was well outside the usual area of operation for Houthi drones, around 300 nautical miles from the coast of India and it is believed to be the first time the U.S. has accused Iran directly of targeting commercial shipping since the crisis began.
Washington has previously said intelligence revealed Iran was “deeply involved” in planning attacks on vessels, working closely with Yemen’s Houthi rebels to cause a crisis that experts fear is already threatening the world economy. Houthi forces say they are targeting vessels with links to Israel in retaliation for its war in Gaza.
On Saturday evening, two civilian ships in the Red Sea area sounded the alarm that they were under attack. The Blaamanen, a Norwegian-flagged vessel carrying a quarter of a million tons of sunflower oil, reported it had narrowly avoided an attack drone, while Indian-flagged crude oil tanker Saibaba confirmed it had taken a direct hit.
Close to the Suez Canal which links Europe to Asia, more than 10 percent of global trade passes through the Red Sea, with around 17,000 ships a year crossing between the Mediterranean and the Arabian Sea.
In his first interview since being appointed as U.K. foreign secretary, former British prime minister David Cameron, told The Telegraph on Friday that the West must send “an incredibly clear message that this escalation will not be tolerated” to Tehran. Along with France, Italy and Spain, the U.K. is one of a handful of countries joining forces with the U.S. as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian.
Israel will allow ships from several European countries to deliver aid directly to war-torn Gaza, the country’s top diplomat said Sunday, as the Israeli military ramped up large-scale air attacks across central Gaza.
Ships from countries including France, Greece, the Netherlands and the U.K. can “immediately” start shipping aid packages via a proposed sea corridor that goes through Cyprus, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told local radio on Sunday. The measure could mean a partial lifting of Israel’s naval blockade on Gaza, first imposed in 2007 after the Hamas militant group took control of the Palestinian enclave.
Under the plan, originally proposed by Nicosia last month, ships would travel to Cyprus for security checks before heading 370 kilometers to Gaza’s coast in a route that would avoid Egyptian or Israeli borders. Paris, Athens, Amsterdam and London have yet to officially comment on the plan, though the U.K. and Greece have previously indicated they would support the measure.
The announcement comes after the U.N. Security Council earlier this month demanded that Israel guarantee “immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale” to the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Israeli jets stepped up air strikes on Maghazi and Bureij in the center of Gaza on Sunday, killing at least 35 people, including former Religious Affairs Minister for the Palestinian Authority Youssef Salama, according to local media and hospital officials.
Israel has said it would keep fighting until it eliminates Hamas after the militant group launched a surprise attack on the country in early October, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 others hostage. Israel has said it has killed 8,000 Hamas fighters so far in its military offensive. Cohen said on Sunday that the “government bears responsibility” for failing to prevent the October 7 attack, and suggested an independent inquiry should be set up after the war.
Despite growing international pressure for a cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said the war would continue for “many more months.” Israel argues that ending the conflict now would mean victory for Hamas, a stance shared by the Biden administration, which at the same time has urged Israel to do more to avoid harm to Palestinian civilians.
“We will not allow a situation in which two million people live there. If there are 100,000 to 200,000 Arabs living in Gaza, the discussion about the day after will be completely different,” Smotrich said. “They want to leave, they have been living in a ghetto and in suffering for 75 years,” he added.
Fearing a mass exodus, both Egypt and Jordan have refused to accept refugees from the embattled Gaza Strip. Netanyahu also said on Saturday that the border zone between the Gaza Strip and Egypt should be under Israel’s control.
Almost 22,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its military response, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, 70 percent of whom are women and children — while 1.9 million Palestinians have been displaced.
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron hit back Wednesday against speculation he has become a lame-duck president paving the way for the far right to come to power, a day after his flagship immigration bill was voted through — with the support of the far-right National Rally.
Macron’s government has been in crisis since his coalition splintered over a bill that was deemed too right-wing by many centrist lawmakers, raising critical questions as to whether he can still govern effectively.
In his first interview since Monday’s vote, the French president denied any long-term damage, even while National Rally leader Marine Le Pen celebrated and cast the toughened bill as an “ideological victory” for her camp.
My majority “hasn’t shrunk,” the French president said on the France 5 TV channel. “I respect the women and men who abstained or voted against the bill, but has one of them left our coalition? Has one of them said I’m breaking away?”
On Tuesday, almost a quarter of the 251 MPs in Macron’s coalition abstained or voted against the immigration bill after it was significantly hardened to win the backing of the conservative Les Républicains party. Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau resigned within 24 hours of the vote, telling journalists he could not “explain the bill.” Meanwhile, the National Rally’s 88 lawmakers voted in favor, in a surprise U-turn that has embarrassed Macron’s troops.
During 10 days of high drama in parliament, Macron’s government lost control of the bill and was forced to accede to mounting requests from conservatives, feeding speculation that the president had finally lost his ability to govern France after his defeat in parliamentary elections last year.
But on Wednesday, Macron appeared bullish and dismissed those doubts: “I haven’t finished the work. I still have three and a half years ahead of me, and let me tell you, I’m not stopping now,” he said.
The French president also pushed back against accusations he was encouraging the rise of the far right, despite Le Pen’s gleeful claims of victory.
The latest version of the immigration bill includes a host of measures to curb illegal migration, including quotas limiting the number of arrivals in France and tighter conditions for family residency permits. One of the most contentious measures is an imposed five-year wait for legal immigrants who wish to apply for social security benefits, which can be reduced to 30 months if the applicant has a job.
Macron argued that tackling the core issues of the far right — security and immigration — was the only way to stop the National Rally, which is rising in the polls.
“If you want to stop the National Rally coming to power, you have to tackle the problems that are feeding it. And what is feeding the National Rally is the impression that our answers [on migration] are not efficient,” he said.
Macron insisted he was working on exactly the sort of legislation needed to keep the right at bay.
“What we are doing with Europe, the migration pact, and this law, will very clearly help us fight trafficking networks, will help us deport people who are illegally on French soil … that’s what I call efficiency,” he added.
PARIS ― French President Emmanuel Macron scored a Pyrrhic victory late Tuesday night after passing a flagship immigration bill in a vote that leaves his parliamentary coalition deeply scarred.
The bill imposes a series of measures that have been heavily criticized by the left as pandering to Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, while the far-right party claims the Macron government has been inspired by its long-time calls for foreigners to be excluded from state welfare benefits.
In a surprise move, the National Rally on Tuesday announced it would vote in favor of the latest version of the government’s bill, embarrassing the top brass of Macron’s party, who had to choose between passing a bill with far-right support or throwing in the towel.
The government managed to pass the law thanks to a last-minute pledge not to enact the legislation if it didn’t get enough support without the far right.
A total of 349 MPs, including lawmakers from Macron’s centrist coalition, the conservatives and 88 National Rally MPs, ultimately voted Tuesday in favor of the draft legislation, while 186 were against. While that may seem a comfortable majority, almost a quarter of the MPs from Macron’s coalition abstained or voted against the bill.
“There have been moments of great difficulty, but today we can be satisfied that a majority of MPs clearly voted for very strong measures,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said after the vote.
But the government now faces a shattered coalition in parliament. The debates and compromises have left Macron’s allies badly bruised, with 27 MPs belonging to his centrist coalition voting against the latest version of the legislation.
Macron is now expected to speak on Wednesday to address the crisis.
Speculation is swelling that he might soon undertake a reshuffle including a change of prime minister to re-energize his government.
A point of contention on Tuesday was whether the government needed the National Rally votes to get its bill through parliament. During an emergency meeting at the Elysée Palace before the vote, Macron warned his party that if it failed to get a majority without the far right, he would refuse to enact the legislation. The move was meant to show that there was no tacit understanding or negotiation between Macron’s party and the party of his arch-rival Le Pen.
But while the government did not need RN MPs to pass the legislation, it would have failed if they had voted against the bill.
“It’s a sickening victory,” said far-left politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon in a scathing social media post. “Without the 88 votes of the National Rally,” the government would have “less than the absolute majority … A new political axis is appearing,” he said.
The immigration bill was a major test for Macron’s government as it seeks to repress a resurgent far right and respond to hardened public opinion on questions of migration and border control. It came after questions were raised about Macron’s ability to govern France after a defeat in parliamentary elections last year cost him his majority in the National Assembly.
French prosecutors claim Alex knew his alternative life with his mum “had to stop” after she planned to move to Finland.
Toulouse assistant public prosecutor Antoine Leroy said Alex left the home and went walking for four days, covering around 15 miles by foot and skateboard.
He was sleeping in the day and walking at night, fuelled by eating “whatever he found in the fields and gardens”.
Mr Leroy added: “It is possible that the mother has gone to Finland as she planned.
“The grandfather, who has always been with his daughter and grandson, is said to have died around six months ago.”
Describing Alex’s lifestyle over the past six years, Mr Leroy said: “They would work on the ego, there was meditation work — there was no connection with the real world. They believed in reincarnation.”
Mr Leroy said Alex was tired but in good health, adding: “He’s said to be intelligent even though he’s never been to school in this period.
“He doesn’t describe any kind of physical violence, without talking about emotional violence.
“We can’t use the term ‘sect’ as such but he talks of a spiritual community.”
Mr Leroy suggested the group were fascinated by solar panels, and that Melanie has a fear of them.
He added: “They were travelling from house to house with solar panels. They only used car-sharing, they didn’t have their own vehicle.”
Mr Leroy added: “What I’m describing is what happened in Morocco, in Spain and in France — always the same way of living.”
The Spanish town of Marbella, on the country’s south coast, is popular among overseas buyers.
Artur Debat | Moment | Getty Images
There are three European countries that are “perennial favorites” for people to buy a vacation home, according to Kate Everett-Allen, a partner at real estate firm Knight Frank.
France, Italy and Spain all have political stability, good governance and easy access to the mortgage market, factors that have helped these countries become popular with overseas buyers, she said.
It’s also easy for buyers to understand the real estate market via land registries that show how much properties have sold for, plus they deliver on “soft” factors such as attractive countryside, good food and appealing cities, Everett-Allen told CNBC via video call.
Before you start your search, think about what you want from the property, Everett-Allen said. Are you planning to own your home for five to 10 years for family vacations and extended stays? Considering the rental income you want or need is also important.
The ability to rent out a home is critical. “With the higher mortgage cost environment, we’re seeing a lot more people want to rent the property … in a hassle-free way,” Everett-Allen said. “Digital nomad” visas were introduced in some countries post-pandemic, and these are attractive because often travelers renting homes want to stay for two or three months.
Also make sure you can get there when you want to. “Certain markets you can’t actually fly to in the winter months, so … are you going to be able to access it easily from your home location?” Everett-Allen said. There is also the “lock up and leave” factor for when you’re not staying in the home, so consider what local contacts you have who can help with maintenance or security when it’s empty.
People are spending more time than previously in their vacation homes, Everett-Allen said. “Before, [people] wanted to be able to drive from the airport to their home within an hour. Now we’re finding that they’re willing to travel that little bit further because they’re going to be spending a week at a time rather than a weekend in their home,” she told CNBC.
Rules around rentals using sites like Airbnb are worth checking. The Italian city of Florence, for example, banned new short-term lets via such platforms in October, while in Paris there is a 120-day limit on renting out properties.
For Brits specifically, Brexit means they can only spend 90 days out of 180 in Schengen-area countries (which includes France, Italy and Spain), otherwise a visa is likely to be required.
France is the world’s most-visited country, per the U.N.’s World Tourism Organization, and Provence and the Alps with their striking landscapes and plenty of space are both popular places to invest for northern European buyers, Everett-Allen said.
Post-pandemic, the Alps region has been popular for its outdoors lifestyle. “It just [ticks] all the boxes in terms of views, nature, space, opportunity to keep fit … time with family and friends,” she said.
The resort of Courchevel 1850 had the highest prices for top-end property in the second quarter of 2023 at 27,250 euros ($29,866) per square meter, while the resort of Morzine had the lowest, at 9,700 euros per square meter, per Knight Frank’s research.
Vendors sell produce at the open air market in Toulon, a city in the French region of Provence.
Owen Franken | Corbis Documentary | Getty Images
There are moves to make France an easier place for U.S. residents to do business, with a plan that will see French entrepreneurs in the U.S. having access to extended visa periods and American business owners benefiting from a simplified visa procedure, according to Olivier Becht, France’s minister delegate for foreign trade, who posted on X about the deal in November.
France is also encouraging people to buy new build second homes in the country via an incentive that reimburses the standard tax rate (known as TVA) of 20% if they make the property available for rent for around 14 weeks a year. A two-bedroom, two-bathroom new-build apartment in the town of Meribel-les-Allues close to ski lifts is listed on Knight Frank’s website for around $605,000.
Tuscany, with its vineyards, farmhouses and towns and cities such as Florence, Siena and Lucca, is ever-popular, according to Everett-Allen, as are the towns and villages around the lakes found in the north of the country, with both mountains and city access within easy reach. A six-bed villa on Lake Como — where George Clooney reportedly has a home — is for sale on Knight Frank’s website for around $2.3 million.
To get more for your money, Puglia, in the heel of Italy’s “boot,” has a “stunning coastline, charming historic towns [and] delicious cuisine,” according to agent Sara Traverso, co-founder of real estate firm Nest Seekers International, in an email to CNBC. A four-bedroom, two-bathroom rural Puglian home with a pool is listed by Nest Seekers for about $497,000.
Traverso, who worked in her family’s Italian property firm for several years before moving to New York City, said the central region of Umbria is also popular for its medieval hilltop towns and relaxed lifestyle.
“The preservation of its cultural heritage attracts people looking for a quieter, more authentic Italian experience,” she said. The island of Sicily is also becoming more popular for vacation homes. And 2024 could be a good time to buy, with Traverso expecting a decrease in prices across the country and an increase in supply, which favors foreign buyers.
Traditional white houses are characteristic of Ostuni, in the region of Puglia, Italy.
Istvan Kadar Photography | Moment | Getty Images
Italy has become popular for wealthy overseas buyers taking up residence in the country because of a tax rate that was introduced in 2017, allowing people to pay a flat fee of 100,000 euros a year on income made overseas, regardless of how much that income is.
This “flat tax” program extends to family members, who pay a fixed 25,000 euros on foreign income per year and has “strongly” appealed to Knight Frank’s clients in Europe and beyond, Everett-Allen said.
Spain is popular as a place to buy among the French, British and Germans, with the Balearic Islands and the glamorous southern seaside town of Marbella among their preferred areas, according to Knight Frank’s data.
And it’s likely to become even more popular for overseas buyers due to a new digital nomad visa introduced this year, which allows people from outside the European Union to live and work in Spain for up to five years. “If you own a home and you’ve got a digital nomad in there for two or three months at a time, that’s quite useful,” Everett-Allen said.
Madrid, Spain’s capital, is set to see property prices rise ahead of other European cities in 2024, according to real estate firm Knight Frank.
Sylvain Sonnet | The Image Bank | Getty Images
Capital city Madrid, which has been “under-the-radar” for overseas buyers, is becoming popular because it is a “value play” versus London or Paris, Everett-Allen said.
“It’s a small enough city, that it has a sort of really strong identity, good culture, ease of accessibility, [as] there are so many flights now to Madrid,” she said.
Luxury property in Madrid costs around 8,000 or 9,000 euros per square meter, compared with Paris, at about 19,000 or 20,000 euros per square meter, Everett-Allen said. But real estate prices in Madrid are set to rise about 5% in 2024, per Knight Frank’s forecast, making it the fastest-growing city in European real estate — Paris luxury real estate is set to rise 2%, while the agency said that London prices will remain flat.
Authorities believe Alex Batty, a U.K. teen who went missing six years ago while on vacation in Spain, has been found in France.
Batty, now 17 years old, was found in Revel, not far from Toulouse, France when a concerned motorist picked him up, the BBC reported. Broadcasters BFMTV said the driver had spotted the adolescent looking lost and haggard by the side of a road and drove him to a police station, the Associated Press reported.
The teen told the driver that he’d been living in an alternative community with his mother, wanted to live his own life, and he decided to leave. He was taken to the prosecutor’s office where his identity was confirmed by family members, the BBC reported.
“He should soon be returning to England,” a spokesperson from the Toulouse public prosecution office said to Reuters news agency, adding that the criminal investigation into Batty’s disappearance is being led by British authorities.
The Greater Manchester police said in a statement on Thursday they have been “contacted regarding a possible sighting in France of Alex Batty, who went missing in 2017.” Officers said they are in touch with authorities in France to confirm the sighting.
“This is a complex and long-running investigation, and we need to make further enquiries as well as putting appropriate safeguarding measures in place,” a GMP spokesperson said.
Batty left the United Kingdom for Spain with his mother and grandfather for a family vacation when he was 11 years old. The three of them didn’t return on their scheduled flight and then disappeared, sparking a massive police manhunt.
His grandmother told local British media Batty and his mother lived in a commune in Morocco in 2014 as part of an “alternative lifestyle,” which she thought lay behind the boy’s disappearance. She said they did not want the boy to attend school.
The driver who picked up the missing teen said Batty told him he had been walking for days and sent his grandmother a Facebook message saying he wanted to see her, the BBC reported. He said he had been living in France for two years.
The police said his mother, Melanie Batty, and his grandfather, David Batty, are wanted in connection with the teenager’s disappearance and that their whereabouts are unknown.
THE GRANDMOTHER of a British boy who went missing six years ago spoke of her joy after he was finally found safe and well in France.
Alex Batty was just 11 years old when he disappeared during a family holiday in Spain in 2017.
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Alex Batty disappeared six years during a family holiday in SpainCredit: Greater Manchester Police
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Alex’s gran, Susan Caruana, said she was “thrilled” her grandson has been found aliveCredit: PA:Press Association
The youngster, now 17, was travelling with his mum, Melanie, then 37, and grandfather David, then 58, when they failed to return home, sparking a kidnapping investigation.
“I am just waiting for him to come home – I am thrilled.”
Susan, who never gave up hope of finding him, revealed in 2018 that she believed her daughter and ex-husband had taken him abroad to live an “alternative lifestyle”.
Alex’s grandmother Susan has never given up hope that her grandson would be found.
Wishing him his last happy birthday message, she posted on Facebook: “Please just give me a sign that you are okay.
“All I want to know is that you’re alive and well.
“It’s been years of torture. My heart is broken.
“I love you so much. I hope that I will see you again some day. I would give anything just for one hug.”
In a statement, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “We are supporting a British national in France and are in contact with local authorities.”
Alex’s mother and grandfather remain wanted in connection with his disappearance.
Prosecutors yesterday revealed that the lad has been found alive and well nearly 900 miles away in Revel, near Toulouse, France, after fleeing a “spiritual community”.
Investigators believe Alex had been living in the foothills of the Pyrenees.
After days of hiking, he was reportedly picked up by a lorry driver who became suspicious and called police.
Alex was walking along a road with a backpack, skateboard and headlamp.
On the way to the police station he reportedly asked to borrow the man’s phone and sent his grandmother a message via Facebook Messenger letting her know he was alive.
It’s claimed he’d had enough living the “alternative lifestyle” and decided to leave.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed they are in contact with the French authorities.
Local newspaper reports said: “The Alex Batty mystery is about to be solved.
“Although he did not show any official document to the gendarmes who took him in, this young 17-year-old boy provided his identity on his own.
“His face and his story correspond in every way to that of the Briton kidnapped in 2017.
“’This Thursday the Toulouse public prosecutor confirmed that it is indeed Alex Batty.
“The teenager was entrusted to the department’s social services.”
The teen reportedly told the story of what had happened to him “serenely and calmly”.
He had flown out to Spain on a pre-agreed trip with his mum and grandfather for a week-long stay in the Benahavis area, near Marbella.
But they never returned home on October 8, 2017, sparking a massive police enquiry into the boy’s apparent abduction.
Alex’s grandmother Susan, then 62, revealed at the time that Melanie and David had previously lived on a commune in Morocco with the boy in 2014.
She said: “They didn’t want Alex to go to school, they don’t believe in mainstream school.”
Both Melanie and David were apparently not supposed to be with Alex at the time due to domestic difficulties.
A spokesperson for GMP said last night: “This is a complex and long-running investigation, and we need to make further enquiries as well as putting appropriate safeguarding measures in place.”
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Alex hiked for days to escape before a lorry driver picked him up and contacted policeCredit: PA:Press Association
BRUSSELS — Western leaders are grappling with how to handle two era-defining wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine. But there’s another issue, one far closer to home, that’s derailing governments in Europe and America: migration.
In recent days, U.S. President Joe Biden, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak all hit trouble amid intense domestic pressure to tackle immigration; all three emerged weakened as a result. The stakes are high as American, British and European voters head to the polls in 2024.
“There is a temptation to hunt for quick fixes,” said Rashmin Sagoo, director of the international law program at the Chatham House think tank in London. “But irregular migration is a hugely challenging issue. And solving it requires long-term policy thinking beyond national boundaries.”
With election campaigning already under way, long-term plans may be hard to find. Far-right, anti-migrant populists promising sharp answers are gaining support in many Western democracies, leaving mainstream parties to count the costs. Less than a month ago in the Netherlands, pragmatic Dutch centrists lost to an anti-migrant radical.
Who will be next?
Rishi Sunak, United Kingdom
In Britain, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure from members of his own ruling Conservative party who fear voters will punish them over the government’s failure to get a grip on migration.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a press conference in Dover on June 5, 2023 in Dover, England | Pool photo by Yui Mok/WPA via Getty Images
Seven years ago, voters backed Brexit because euroskeptic campaigners promised to “Take Back Control” of the U.K.’s borders. Instead, the picture is now more chaotic than ever. The U.K. chalked up record net migration figures last month, and the government has failed so far to stop small boats packed with asylum seekers crossing the English Channel.
Sunak is now in the firing line. He made a pledge to “Stop the Boats” central to his premiership. In the process, he ignited a war in his already divided party about just how far Britain should go.
Under Sunak’s deal with Rwanda, the central African nation agreed to resettle asylum seekers who arrived on British shores in small boats. The PM says the policy will deter migrants from making sea crossings to the U.K. in the first place. But the plan was struck down by the Supreme Court in London, and Sunak’s Tories now can’t agree on what to do next.
Having survived what threatened to be a catastrophic rebellion in parliament on Tuesday, the British premier still faces a brutal battle in the legislature over his proposed Rwanda law early next year.
Time is running out for Sunak to find a fix. An election is expected next fall.
Emmanuel Macron, France
The French president suffered an unexpected body blow when the lower house of parliament rejected his flagship immigration bill this week.
French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on June 21, 2023 | Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images
After losing parliamentary elections last year, getting legislation through the National Assembly has been a fraught process for Macron. He has been forced to rely on votes from the right-wing Les Républicains party on more than one occasion.
Macron’s draft law on immigration was meant to please both the conservatives and the center-left with a carefully designed mix of repressive and liberal measures. But in a dramatic upset, the National Assembly, which is split between centrists, the left and the far right, voted against the legislation on day one of debates.
Now Macron is searching for a compromise. The government has tasked a joint committee of senators and MPs with seeking a deal. But it’s likely their text will be harsher than the initial draft, given that the Senate is dominated by the centre right — and this will be a problem for Macron’s left-leaning lawmakers.
If a compromise is not found, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally will be able to capitalize on Macron’s failure ahead of the European Parliament elections next June.
But even if the French president does manage to muddle through, the episode is likely to mark the end of his “neither left nor right” political offer. It also raises serious doubts about his ability to legislate on controversial topics.
Joe Biden, United States
The immigration crisis is one of the most vexing and longest-running domestic challenges for President Joe Biden. He came into office vowing to reverse the policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump, and build a “fair and humane” system, only to see Congress sit on his plan for comprehensive immigration reform.
U.S. President Joe Biden pauses as he gives a speech in Des Moines, Iowa on July 15, 2019 | Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The White House has seen a deluge of migrants at the nation’s southern border, strained by a decades-old system unable to handle modern migration patterns.
Ahead of next year’s presidential election, Republicans have seized on the issue. GOP state leaders have filed lawsuits against the administration and sent busloads of migrants to Democrat-led cities, while in Washington, Republicans in Congress have tied foreign aid to sweeping changes to border policy, putting the White House in a tight spot as Biden officials now consider a slate of policies they once forcefully rejected.
The political pressure has spilled into the other aisle. States and cities, particularly ones led by Democrats, are pressuring Washington leaders to do more in terms of providing additional federal aid and revamping southern border policies to limit the flow of asylum seekers into the United States.
New York City has had more than 150,000 new arrivals over the past year and a half — forcing cuts to new police recruits, cutting library hours and limiting sanitation duties. Similar problems are playing out in cities like Chicago, which had migrants sleeping in buses or police stations.
The pressure from Democrats is straining their relationship with the White House. New York City Mayor Eric Adams runs the largest city in the nation, but hasn’t spoken with Biden in nearly a year. “We just need help, and we’re not getting that help,” Adams told reporters Tuesday.
Olaf Scholz, Germany
Migration has been at the top of the political agenda in Germany for months, with asylum applications rising to their highest levels since the 2015 refugee crisis triggered by Syria’s civil war.
The latest influx has posed a daunting challenge to national and local governments alike, which have struggled to find housing and other services for the migrants, not to mention the necessary funds.
The inability to limit the number of refugees has put German Chancellor Olaf Scholz under immense pressure | Michele Tantussi/Getty Images
The inability — in a country that ranks among the most coveted destinations for asylum seekers — to limit the number of refugees has put German Chancellor Olaf Scholz under immense pressure. In the hope of stemming the flow, Germany recently reinstated border checks with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, hoping to turn back the refugees before they hit German soil.
Even with border controls, refugee numbers remain high, which has been a boon to the far right. Germany’s anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party has reached record support in national polls.
Since overtaking Scholz’s Social Democrats in June, the AfD has widened its lead further, recording 22 percent in recent polls, second only to the center-right Christian Democrats.
The AfD is expected to sweep three state elections next September in eastern Germany, where support for the party and its reactionary anti-foreigner policies is particularly strong.
The center-right, meanwhile, is hardening its position on migration and turning its back on the open-border policies championed by former Chancellor Angela Merkel. Among the new priorities is a plan to follow the U.K.’s Rwanda model for processing refugees in third countries.
Karl Nehammer, Austria
Like Scholz, the Austrian leader’s approval ratings have taken a nosedive thanks to concerns over migration. Austria has taken steps to tighten controls at its southern and eastern borders.
Though the tactic has led to a drop in arrivals by asylum seekers, it also means Austria has effectively suspended the EU’s borderless travel regime, which has been a boon to the regional economy for decades.
Austria has effectively suspended the EU’s borderless travel regime, which has been a boon to the regional economy for decades | Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images
The far-right Freedom Party has had a commanding lead for more than a year, topping the ruling center-right in polls by 10 points. That puts the party in a position to win national elections scheduled for next fall, which would mark an unprecedented rightward tilt in a country whose politics have been dominated by the center since World War II.
Giorgia Meloni, Italy
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made her name in opposition, campaigning on a radical far-right agenda. Since winning power in last year’s election, she has shifted to more moderate positions on Ukraine and Europe.
Meloni now needs to appease her base on migration, a topic that has dominated Italian debate for years. Instead, however, she has been forced to grant visas to hundreds of thousands of legal migrants to cover labor shortages. Complicating matters, boat landings in Italy are up by about 50 per cent year-on-year despite some headline-grabbling policies and deals to stop arrivals.
While Meloni has ordered the construction of detention centers where migrants will be held pending repatriation, in reality local conditions in African countries and a lack of repatriation agreements present serious impediments.
Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni at a press conference on March 9, 2023 | Tiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images
Although she won the support of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for her cause, a potential EU naval mission to block departures from Africa would risk breaching international law.
Meloni has tried other options, including a deal with Tunisia to help stop migrant smuggling, but the plan fell apart before it began. A deal with Albania to offshore some migrant detention centers also ran into trouble.
Now Meloni is in a bind. The migration issue has brought her into conflict with France and Germany as she attempts to create a reputation as a moderate conservative.
If she fails to get to grips with the issue, she is likely to lose political ground. Her coalition partner Matteo Salvini is known as a hardliner on migration, and while they’re officially allies for now, they will be rivals again later.
Geert Wilders, the Netherlands
The government of long-serving Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was toppled over migration talks in July, after which he announced his exit from politics. In subsequent elections, in which different parties vied to fill Rutte’s void, far-right firebrand Geert Wilders secured a shock win. On election night he promised to curb the “asylum tsunami.”
Wilders is now seeking to prop up a center-right coalition with three other parties that have urged getting migration under control. One of them is Rutte’s old group, now led by Dilan Yeşilgöz.
Geert Wilders attends a meeting in the Dutch parliament with party leaders to discuss the formation of a coalition government, on November 24, 2023 | Carl Court/Getty Images
A former refugee, Yeşilgöz turned migration into one of the main topics of her campaign. She was criticized after the elections for paving the way for Wilders to win — not only by focusing on migration, but also by opening the door to potentially governing with Wilders.
Now, though, coalition talks are stuck, and it could take months to form a new cabinet. If Wilders, who clearly has a mandate from voters, can stitch a coalition together, the political trajectory of the Netherlands — generally known as a pragmatic nation — will shift significantly to the right. A crackdown on migration is as certain as anything can be.
Leo Varadkar, Ireland
Even in Ireland, an economically open country long used to exporting its own people worldwide, an immigration-friendly and pro-business government has been forced by rising anti-foreigner sentiment to introduce new migration deterrence measures that would have been unthinkable even a year ago.
Ireland’s hardening policies reflect both a chronic housing crisis and the growing reluctance of some property owners to keep providing state-funded emergency shelter in the wake of November riots in Dublin triggered by a North African immigrant’s stabbing of young schoolchildren.
A nation already housing more than 100,000 newcomers, mostly from Ukraine, Ireland has stopped guaranteeing housing to new asylum seekers if they are single men, chiefly from Nigeria, Algeria, Afghanistan, Georgia and Somalia, according to the most recent Department of Integration statistics.
Ireland has stopped guaranteeing housing to new asylum seekers if they are single men, chiefly from Nigeria, Algeria, Afghanistan, Georgia and Somalia | Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images
Even newly arrived families face an increasing risk of being kept in military-style tents despite winter temperatures.
Ukrainians, who since Russia’s 2022 invasion of their country have received much stronger welfare support than other refugees, will see that welcome mat partially retracted in draft legislation approved this week by the three-party coalition government of Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.
Once enacted by parliament next month, the law will limit new Ukrainian arrivals to three months of state-paid housing, while welfare payments – currently among the most generous in Europe for people fleeing Russia’s war – will be slashed for all those in state-paid housing.
Justin Trudeau, Canada
A pessimistic public mood dragged down by cost-of-living woes has made immigration a multidimensional challenge for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
A housing crunch felt across the country has cooled support for immigration, with people looking for scapegoats for affordability pains. The situation has fueled antipathy for Trudeau and his re-election campaign.
Trudeau has treated immigration as a multipurpose solution for Canada’s aging population and slowing economy. And while today’s record-high population growth reflects well on Canada’s reputation as a desirable place to relocate, political challenges linked to migration have arisen in unpredictable ways for Trudeau’s Liberals.
Political challenges linked to migration have arisen in unpredictable ways for Trudeau’s Liberals | Andrej Ivanov/AFP
Since Trudeau came to power eight years ago, at least 1.3 million people have immigrated to Canada, mostly from India, the Philippines, China and Syria. Handling diaspora politics — and foreign interference — has become more consequential, as seen by Trudeau’s clash with India and Canada’s recent break with Israel.
Canada will double its 40 million population in 25 years if the current growth rate holds, enlarging the political challenges of leading what Trudeau calls the world’s “first postnational state”.
Pedro Sánchez, Spain
Spain’s autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, in Northern Africa, are favored by migrants seeking to enter Europe from the south: Once they make it across the land border, the Continent can easily be accessed by ferry.
Transit via the land border that separates the European territory from Morocco is normally kept in check with security measures like high, razor-topped fences, with border control officers from both countries working together to keep undocumented migrants out.
Spain’s autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, in Northern Africa, are favored by migrants seeking to enter Europe | Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP
But in recent years authorities in Morocco have expressed displeasure with their Spanish counterparts by standing down their officers and allowing hundreds of migrants to pass, overwhelming border stations and forcing Spanish officers to repel the migrants, with scores dying in the process.
The headaches caused by these incidents are believed to be a major factor in Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s decision to change the Spanish government’s position on the disputed Western Sahara territory and express support for Rabat’s plan to formalize its nearly 50-year occupation of the area.
The pivot angered Sánchez’s leftist allies and worsened Spain’s relationship with Algeria, a long-standing champion of Western Saharan independence. But the measures have stopped the flow of migrants — for now.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece
Greece has been at the forefront of Europe’s migration crisis since 2015, when hundreds of thousands of people entered Europe via the Aegean islands. Migration and border security have been key issues in the country’s political debate.
Human rights organizations, as well as the European Parliament and the European Commission, have accused the Greek conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis of illegal “pushbacks” of migrants who have made it to Greek territory — and of deporting migrants without due process. Greece’s government denies those accusations, arguing that independent investigations haven’t found any proof.
Mitsotakis insists that Greece follows a “tough but fair” policy, but the numerous in-depth investigations belie the moderate profile the conservative leader wants to maintain.
In June, a migrant boat sank in what some called “the worst tragedy ever” in the Mediterranean Sea. Hundreds lost their lives, refocusing Europe’s attention on the issue. Official investigations have yet to discover whether failures by Greek authorities contributed to the shipwreck, according to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
In the meantime, Greece is in desperate need of thousands of workers to buttress the country’s understaffed agriculture, tourism and construction sectors. Despite pledges by the migration and agriculture ministers of imminent legislation bringing migrants to tackle the labor shortage, the government was forced to retreat amid pressure from within its own ranks.
Nikos Christodoulides, Cyprus
Cyprus is braced for an increase in migrant arrivals on its shores amid renewed conflict in the Middle East. Earlier in December, Greece sent humanitarian aid to the island to deal with an anticipated increase in flows.
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides has called for extra EU funding for migration management, and is contending with a surge in violence against migrants in Cyprus. Analysts blame xenophobia, which has become mainstream in Cypriot politics and media, as well as state mismanagement of migration flows. Last year the country recorded the EU’s highest proportion of first-time asylum seekers relative to its population.
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides has called for extra EU funding for migration management | Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images
Legal and staffing challenges have delayed efforts to create a deputy ministry for migration, deemed an important step in helping Cyprus to deal with the surge in arrivals.
The island’s geography — it’s close to both Lebanon and Turkey — makes it a prime target for migrants wanting to enter EU territory from the Middle East. Its complex history as a divided country also makes it harder to regulate migrant inflows.
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LONDON — He’s embraced Bidenomics. Now, U.K. Labour leader Keir Starmer wants to meet U.S. President Joe Biden for face-to-face talks before both men head into elections next year.
The U.K. opposition leader — on course to become Britain’s next prime minister, if current polling proves correct — is seeking talks with Biden in 2024, two Labour Party officials told POLITICO. They were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.
“David Lammy [Starmer’s shadow foreign secretary] has been tasked with making it happen,” one of the officials said. “But it’s tricky because we don’t know when the election is going to be.”
The precise date of the U.K. election will be chosen by Starmer’s opponent, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who indicated on Monday that it would be some time in 2024.
Lammy has emerged as a key figure in Labour’s efforts to deepen its relationship with the Biden administration. He has visited the U.S. five times in his two years as shadow foreign secretary, and prides himself on his Washington contacts — even counting former U.S. President Barack Obama as a friend.
“If I become foreign secretary, I don’t just want to build on those links, I want to bring a little bit of American energy into Britain’s foreign policy,” Lammy said. “We need to travel, make connections and share ideas at more of an American pace.”
But while polls suggest Starmer is on course for victory in 2024, Biden faces a struggle to be re-elected.
There are also questions over whether Starmer’s team is really prepared for a possible win by former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2024 — and therefore how warmly the party should embrace Biden’s economic ideas in the meantime.
Hangin’ with Joe
As the U.K. election approaches, Starmer has been keen to present himself as a prime-minister-in-waiting, lining up meetings with leaders around the globe.
So far he’s sat down with France’s Emmanuel Macron, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Australia’s Anthony Alabanese, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis, among others.
Biden, however, has remained elusive — even though Labour politicians and officials have become a regular presence in Washington over the past year.
Shadow Cabinet ministers including Lammy, Rachel Reeves, John Healey, Nick Thomas-Symonds and Lisa Nandy, and top aides such as Morgan McSweeney, have all crossed the Atlantic in the past 12 months to meet senior U.S. figures.
Labour’s closeness to Biden’s administration has been likened by some to Tony Blair’s courtship of Bill Clinton’s Democrats | Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
In interviews and in private, Labour politicians stress their closeness in policy terms to the Biden administration as well as their embrace of Bidenomics — an interventionist U.S. policy characterized by robust green subsidies and a push for domestic manufacturing.
“The economic analysis — where you link foreign policy and domestic policy — is something on which there is a really, really strong sense of shared mission,” one shadow Cabinet minister said, granted anonymity to speak frankly.
They added: “The other thing which has been a real shared point is the green transition … Joe Biden has said ‘when I think climate, I think jobs, jobs jobs.’ And I think that’s very similar in terms of the approach that that we will want to take as well.”
Beyond the headline goals, key Labour figures have been talking tactics as well.
On a trip to D.C. in May, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves was convinced she had to water down her pledge to invest £28 billion a year in green projects until 2030. On her return, she downgraded this to an “ambition” that Labour hoped to meet in its first term in government.
One of the Labour officials cited earlier said that Democrat strategists had advised them to “make yourself as small [a target] as possible” by addressing any political weaknesses well ahead of the election — and that the decision to dilute the £28 billion pledge was part of that strategy. The governing Tories have used the huge spending commitment as a regular attack line against Labour.
Labour’s closeness to Biden’s administration has been likened by some to Tony Blair’s courtship of Bill Clinton’s Democrats in the run-up to the 1997 general election and the 1996 presidential run in the U.S.
Yet that proximity presents Starmer and Reeves with a problem: “If the electorate rejects [Bidenomics] in America, that puts them in a difficult position,” former Starmer aide Chris Ward told POLITICO’s Westminster Insider podcast.
“Does that mean Starmer and Reeves now suddenly say, ‘actually, do you know what? That kind of approach isn’t the right one?’”
Trumped by Trump?
Labour’s embrace of Biden also raises questions about the party’s preparedness for a Trump victory in November 2024.
Starmer told POLITICO’s Power Play podcast in September that a Trump win would not be his “desired outcome.” He later told the BBC he would have to make the relationship work if Trump did become president.
While polls suggest Starmer is on course for victory in 2024, Biden faces a struggle to be re-elected | Leon Neal/Getty Images
Asked about the prospect of a Trump victory, Starmer’s Shadow Climate Secretary Ed Miliband told guests at a private event in November that he simply hoped it wouldn’t happen, according to two of those in the room. “He seemed very unwilling to even think about Trump winning,” one of the two said.
Michael Martins, a former political and economic specialist at the U.S. State Department, suggested Labour’s approach would need to evolve as the U.S. election grows near.
“Starmer has already done a lot to rebuild Labour’s credibility,” he said. “Now the party has to develop a foreign policy that is not just sticking as close to President Biden as possible.”
“If President Trump wins in 2024 — which currently seems like the most likely outcome — Starmer will have to strike a balancing act between representing U.K. interests and managing his own party. Many Labour MPs and party members will want him to [publicly] criticize Trump and his politics.”
Bridging the divide
Nevertheless, senior Labour MPs insist they’re building links with American politicians on all sides, and would be ready to work with any administration.
Lammy and Shadow Defense Secretary John Healey traveled to Washington in September to meet senior American politicians, and held lengthy talks with Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. “He gave us a great deal of his time in a diary which normally struggles to accommodate a 5-minute meeting,” Healey said.
But Healey stressed that the broader purpose of the trip was to strengthen “Labour’s credentials as a wannabe government of Britain — not party relations with the Democrats.”
“David and I deliberately made our program bipartisan,” he said. “We met and spoke with as many Republican Senators and Congress members as we did Democrats.”
“I’m an Atlanticist who spent childhood summers with my aunt in New York, studied law at Harvard and worked as a lawyer in San Francisco,” Lammy said. “These days some of my closest political relationships, which I’ve built up over many years, are on the Hill. Not only with Democrats, but also Republicans.”
Lammy’s Republican contacts include former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Nadia Schadlow, Trump’s former deputy national security adviser .
“Whoever is in charge, the U.S. remains the UK’s most important military, intelligence and nuclear relationship,” Lammy said.
Healey agreed: “The U.S. is the U.K.’s most important security ally, and vice versa. That will remain, and has survived through decades, whatever the ups and downs of the political leaderships.”
A second Trump presidency would undoubtedly test that maxim.
AN ANTI-Semitic man wielding a knife has reportedly stormed a local daycare centre in France.
It has been claimed that the attacker broke in through the front door of the nursery and headed to the director’s office where he threatened her with a six-inch blade.
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The suspect is still on the runCredit: Getty
The Champigny-sur-Marne police force reported that the man wielded the blade in front of the director whilst he violently insulted her.
According to the police report quoted by Valeurs Actuelles, he said: “I’m going to rape you, I’m going to kill you, dirty Jew, dirty Zionist, I’m going to come back with people and make you like in Gaza.”
Despite his threats, the director was not physically assaulted.
The police were notified immediately, and nine children were shielded in another room by other teachers.
The anti-Semitic attacker was not able to reach any of the children, and fled the scene shortly after the police were contacted.
Although no one was physically harmed, the Jewish director has been shaken by the incident.
Her school, in Val-de-Marne, has many children between the ages of 3 months and 3 years-old with Jewish families.
Police have been carrying out thorough searches, but the suspect is currently still on the run.
Since Israel waged war in Gaza, anti-Semitic attacks have been on the rise in France.
According to the French interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, France has recorded more than a thousand anti-Semitic acts since October 7.
He said that 486 people had been arrested for anti-Semitic attacks, 90 of which were in Paris alone.
Just last month a woman was stabbed after answering the door to her home in broad daylight.
The assailant, said to have dressed in dark clothes and his face partially masked, stabbed her twice then fled.
The police report also alleges that the assailant painted a Swastika on her door.
The victim was rushed to hospital with stab wounds to her abdomen but her injuries are not life-threatening.
Eylon Levy, a spokesperson for the Israeli government, warned Israeli citizens not to travel anywhere due to this rise of “violent and disturbing” anti-Semitic attacks across the world.
In a statement, he said: “Globally, I want to address this moment of peril for the Jewish people worldwide as we witness a disturbing spike in anti-Semitic hate speech and even instances of violence against Jews and Israelis following the October 7 massacre.
“Today, the National Security Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs put out an unusual global travel warning.
“We are calling on all citizens of Israel to exercise heightened caution when travelling anywhere abroad.
“We know that Jewish communities and their institutions, Israeli diplomatic missions and airports handling flights to and from Israel are key targets for anti-Semites and violent anti-Semites.”
Mr Levy added: “The National Security Council is urging all Israelis to consider whether any foreign travel anywhere in the world is necessary at this dangerous moment.
“Citizens planning to travel to countries with specific travel plans are asked to postpone their visits and we emphasise Arab and Middle Eastern states, the Northern Caucasus, and countries bordering Iran.
“We are also asking citizens and truly I cannot believe that we are doing this, we are asking all citizens to avoid displaying any outward signs of their Israeli or Jewish identity when travelling anywhere in the world.
“If you must travel, please make sure you have the numbers of the emergency services and the local Israeli embassies on speed dial.
“Keep away from the anti-Israel pro-jihad protests and remain alert and vigilant about your surroundings at all times.”
