Meeting Again in Paris, European Leaders Try to Recalibrate After Trump Sides With Russia

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The American president’s latest remarks embracing Vladimir Putin’s narrative that Ukraine is to blame for the war have compounded the sense of alarm among traditional allies.

President Emmanuel Macron of France called a second emergency meeting of European allies on Wednesday seeking to recalibrate relations with the United States as President Trump upends international politics by rapidly changing American alliances.

Mr. Macron had already assembled a dozen European leaders in Paris on Monday after Mr. Trump and his new team angered and confused America’s traditional allies by suggesting that the United States would rapidly retreat from its security role in Europe and planned to proceed with peace talks with Russia — without Europe or Ukraine at the table.

Mr. Trump’s remarks late on Tuesday, when he sided fully with Russia’s narrative blaming Ukraine for the war, have now fortified the impression that the United States is prepared to abandon its role as a European ally and switch sides to embrace President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

It was a complete reversal of historic alliances that left many in Europe stunned and fearful.

“What’s happening is very bad. It’s a reversal of the state of the world since 1945,” Jean- Yves Le Drian, a former French foreign minister, said on French radio Wednesday morning. » | Catherine Porter and Andrew Higgins | Catherine Porter reported from Paris and Andrew Higgins from Warsaw | Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Guerre en Ukraine : les dirigeants européens réunis en urgence à Paris

Feb 17, 2025 | Une réunion de dirigeants européens se tient lundi à l’Elysée, pour faire face à l’« accélération » de l’administration américaine sur le dossier ukrainien, et définir une réponse commune pour renforcer la sécurité de l’Europe.

‘We Must Speak without Fear’ | Charlie Hebdo’s Gérard Biard on Islamism, Free Speech and Courage

Jan 7, 2025 | On 7 January 2015, two Islamist terrorists, armed with Kalashnikovs, burst into the offices of Charlie Hebdo. 12 people were murdered, eight of them writers and cartoonists at the left-wing, satirical newspaper. Charlie’s supposed crime? It had published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The massacre sparked outpourings of solidarity, but also a cowardly, censorious backlash. Many decried the killings, but decried Charlie’s supposed ‘provocations’, too. 10 years on from the massacre, spiked went to Paris to meet with Gérard Biard, Charlie’s editor-in-chief. We discussed the attack, the fight for free speech and the crucial importance of courage.

Secrets Of The World's Richest Woman EP 1 | Luxury Industry

Secrets Of The World’s Richest Woman - This is the story of a small business that rose to epitomize beauty and glamour, shaped by a family whose wealth, secrets, and public controversies mirror the profound shifts and shadows of the 20th century.

Secrets Of The World’s Richest Woman EP 1 (2017)
Director: Gérard Miller & Jacques Dubuisson
Writer: Gérard Miller & Anais Feuillette
Genre: Documentary
Country: France
Language: English
Release Date: September 22, 2017 (France)

Synopsis:
The incredible journey of a small business that became the archetype of beauty and glamour is embodied through the extraordinary personalities who propelled its success, starting with its founder, Eugène Schueller—the father of Liliane Bettencourt. It’s the story of a remarkable family, so wealthy and mysterious, woven with achievements and unspoken secrets, a reverence for discretion alongside public scandals. A sweeping saga, worthy of a Balzacian novel, that takes us through the 20th century, with its sociological and aesthetic upheavals, as well as its darkest periods.


WIKIPEDIA: Liliane Bettencourt »

More articles on Liliane Bettencourt here and here.

Emmanuel Macron : Ensemble nous avons rebâti Notre-Dame.

Dec 7, 2024 | Moment historique. Ensemble nous avons rebâti Notre-Dame. Cœur de Paris. Âme de la France. Joyau de l’humanité.

'Triumphant Trip' to Paris for Trump amid French Political Turmoil: Haass

Dec 6, 2024 | President-elect Trump is heading to Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame. The visit comes amid turmoil among the French government. Council on Foreign Relations President Emeritus Richard Haass joins Andrea Mitchell to weigh in on the trip, South Korea's president facing an impeachment vote, and the current situation in Syria.

Donald Trump sera samedi à Paris pour la réouverture de Notre-Dame

LE FIGARO : Il s’agira du premier déplacement à l’étranger du président élu américain depuis sa victoire retentissante à l’élection présidentielle du 5 novembre.

Le président américain élu Donald Trump a annoncé lundi 2 décembre qu'il se rendrait samedi en France afin d'assister à la réouverture de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, où une cinquantaine de chefs d'État et de gouvernement sont attendus. «J’ai l’honneur d’annoncer que je me rendrai samedi à Paris, en France, pour assister à la réouverture de la cathédrale magnifique et pleine d’histoire de Notre-Dame, qui a été entièrement restaurée», a déclaré le républicain sur son réseau Truth Social. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | mardi 3 décembre 2024

Voici une vidéo liée à cet article.

Notre-Dame de Paris : les premières images de l’intérieur restauré de la cathérale

Nov 29, 2024 | Une semaine avant l'ouverture au public, Emmanuel Macron a effectué une ultime visite de la célèbre cathédrale parisienne, vendredi 29 novembre 2024. Voici les premières images de l'édifice restauré. Les travaux ont duré cinq ans, et ont mobilisé plus de 2 000 personnes, depuis l'incendie du 15 avril 2019. La cérémonie de réouverture est prévue le 7 décembre.

Paris 1941 - Les Halles - Market - Occupation allemande - German Occupation

Jul 10, 2024 | A detailed visit to the Paris market district of Les Halles in 1941 during World War II and the German occupation. The scenes were filmed under the guidance of the occupying authorities and are considered propaganda material to show an excellent food supply and a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere in German-occupied France. The names of the producers Serge Griboff and Richard Chenay can be found in many documentary projects for the occupation authorities at the time.

Une visite approfondie du quartier parisien "Les Halles" en 1941 pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale et l'occupation allemande. Les scènes ont été filmées sous la direction des autorités d'occupation et sont considérées comme du matériel de propagande pour montrer pour montrer un excellent approvisionnement alimentaire et une atmosphère paisible et détendue dans la France occupée par l'Allemagne. Les noms des producteurs Serge Griboff et Richard Chenay se retrouvent dans de nombreux projets documentaires pour les autorités d'occupation de l'époque.

Ein ausführlicher Besuch im Paris Marktviertel Les Halles im Jahr 1941 während des Zweiten Weltkriegs und der deutschen Besatzung. Die Szenen wurden unter Anleitung der Besatzungsbehörden gedreht und gelten als Propagandamaterial. Die Aufnahmen sollen absolute Normalität ausstrahlen. Dazu gehört eine reiche Auswahl an Lebensmitteln sowie eine friedliche und entspannte Atmosphäre. Die Namen der Produzenten Serge Griboff und Richard Chenay und der Firma Nova Film finden sich damals in vielen Dokumentarfilmprojekten für die Besatzungsbehörden. Anfragen/requests:

Anfragen/requests: archiv@koelnprogramm.de archiv@koelnprogramm.de

Jacques Delors und der Imperativ der Versöhnung

MACRON WÜRDIGT VERSTORBENEN
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Ursula von der Leyen und viele europäische Regierungschefs erwiesen dem früheren EU-Kommissionspräsidenten in Paris die letzte Ehre. Sogar Viktor Orbán war gekommen.

Der französische Präsident hat die Verdienste Jacques Delors’ zur Überwindung der europäischen Spaltung in seiner Trauerrede am Freitag in Paris in den Vordergrund gestellt. Emmanuel Macron würdigte „ein Leben voller mutiger Pionierarbeit, visionärer Intuitionen, harter Arbeit und Geselligkeit“. In Anwesenheit von Bundespräsident Frank-Walter Steinmeier erinnerte Macron daran, wie entschieden sich der damalige EU-Kommissionspräsident für die Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands einsetzte. » | Von Michaela Wiegel | Freitag, 5. Januar 2024

Charles Aznavour - Noël à Paris | Official Christmas Music Video

Premiered Dec 8, 2021

Alleged Killer of Tourist in Paris Attack Had Pledged Allegiance to Islamic State

THE GUARDIAN: Suspect detained after German-Filipino man killed and two – one British and one French – injured near Eiffel Tower

A 26-year-old man suspected of killing a German-Filipino tourist and wounding two others near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday night had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in a video released online.

The French anti-terrorism prosecutor, Jean-François Ricard, said the French suspect, named as Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab, “had recorded a video before committing the act”, in which he spoke in Arabic, swore allegiance to Islamic State and supported its jihadists in different areas from Africa to Iraq, Syria and Pakistan.

The video was posted online on his account on the social network X, which also showed numerous posts on Hamas, Gaza and Palestine. The account was started at the beginning of October. » | Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Sunday, December 3, 2023

Related articles and my comment here.

We do not have to tolerate this disgusting, brutal, barbaric behaviour. Furthermore, we must not allow these throwbacks from a far less enlightened age to take us back to the Dark Ages!

If our Western way of life doesn’t suit these people, send them back to their countries of origin – with despatch! And if the perpetrators of these heinous crimes were born in the West, re-educate them! There are ways and means of re-educating them.

Aren’t we all, by now, tired of this recalcitrant behaviour? And do we value our Western achievements so little that we are unprepared to fight to maintain them?

Our politicians are paid enough to do their jobs properly. It is high time they did them; and it is high time that they found the courage to say what is necessary to keep us, the people, safe. Forget ‘political correctness’; instead, behave politically correctly! Moreover, stop sweating the little things like whether a young man enjoys smoking a cigarette, or not; rather, start concentrating on the important things to maintain our civilization. – © Mark Alexander

German Tourist Killed and Two Others Injured in Central Paris Attack

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Police arrest a man known to authorities as a radical Islamist after passersby attacked near Eiffel Tower

A man who had served a prison sentence for planning a radical Islamist attack and who was undergoing psychiatric treatment allegedly stabbed a German tourist to death and wounded two others in a neighbourhood near Paris’s Eiffel tower on Saturday night.

The attack took place shortly after 9pm near the Bir Hakeim bridge in an area popular with tourists. France is on its highest alert for attacks against the background of the war between Israel and Hamas.

The alleged attacker first targeted a German couple near the bridge, fatally stabbing a young German man. A passing taxi driver intervened to stop him, but the suspect ran away across the bridge to the other side of the River Seine, attacking two more people and injuring one person with a hammer. Police pursued him and used a stun gun to stop him. He was being questioned by anti-terrorism police on Sunday morning. » | Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Sunday, December 3, 2023

Pour en savoir plus sur cette histoire en français, cliquez ici.

The "Religion of Peace" strikes again! Dear oh dear! Another innocent person has had to lose his life because our leaders have neither spine nor spunk! When are our Western leaders going to grow a pair? And when are they going to learn the true nature of Islam? Leaders, the West over, have for years been peddling the false notion that Islam is a religion of peace. It is NOT! Islam is a muscular, proselytizing, combative religion determined to take over the world, in order to Islamize it. Muslims view the whole world in TWO PARTS: the House of Islam, in Arabic, Dar ul Islam (دار الإسلام) and the House of War, Dar ul Harb, the House of War (دار الحرب).

There can be peace (Pax Islamica) only when the areas of the world now in the House of War have been defeated and drawn into the House of Islam. All will then have submitted to the will of Allah, will have become Muslims. Those who haven’t (yet) submitted to the will of Allah, i.e. become Muslims, will be forced to live as second-class citizens, paying the Jizyah (الجزية), in return for which the infidel is offered protection, but NOT given full rights as a citizen,

These so-called Islamists that launch these cruel attacks on innocent Westerners — unclean infidels in their eyes! — buy into this mediæval thinking. It’s a mindset — a mindset which will be extremely difficult to change. At least not without brainwashing or maybe Evangelization!

In this article, it states that the perpetrator is undergoing psychiatric treatment. It is NOT a psychiatrist that such people need. What they need is deportation. They don’t belong in the civilized West. Furthermore, Westerners need to be protected from such people. Protection from this deranged behaviour is the very least that Westerners deserve. Don’t waste taxpayers’ money on psychiatric treatment or even jail terms. Instead, kick them out of the West forever! This problem is growing, and it calls for decisive leadership. Let us solve this problem once and for all! – © Mark Alexander

Un mort et un blessé dans une attaque à Paris, l’assaillant aurait crié «Allah akbar»

LE FIGARO : La police a interpellé un «assaillant» connu des services de renseignement autour du quai de Grenelle (XVe arrondissement de Paris), ce samedi soir, annonce Gérald Darmanin, qui se rend sur place.

Une personne a été tuée et une autre blessée, ce samedi soir, à Paris, dans une attaque au couteau. Les faits se sont déroulés quai de Grenelle, dans le 15e arrondissement de la capitale.

L’homme décédé est un touriste allemand qui a aussi la nationalité philippine, a appris Le Figaro de source policière. Il a reçu plusieurs coups à la tête, au dos et aux épaules. Deux autres personnes ont été blessées dans l’attaque. L’une d’elle a été frappée à coups de marteau. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | samedi 2 décembre 2023

Le parquet antiterroriste saisi après un attentat qui a fait un mort et deux blessés à Paris, l’assaillant, déjà condamné pour terrorisme, a été interpellé : L’auteur des coups mortels, né en France en 1997 et de nationalité franco-iranienne, a été placé en garde à vue. Il a crié « Allah akbar » avant d’être interpellé, et avait déjà été condamné pour association de malfaiteurs terroriste en 2018. »

En direct, marche contre l’antisémitisme : à Paris, la manifestation s’élance dans le calme malgré quelques tensions

LE MONDE : De nombreuses personnalités politiques sont présentes. Le Golem, un collectif créé tout récemment pour lutter contre « l’antisémitisme et tous les antisémites », a tenté d’établir « un cordon sanitaire » autour du RN. LIVE EN COURS » | dimanche 12 novembre 2023

France Opens Investigation into ‘Despicable’ Antisemitic Graffiti in Paris

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Dozens of Stars of David spraypainted on buildings around French capital in acts widely seen as antisemitic

Residents of the 14th arrondissement of Paris woke up to find antisemitic graffiti depicting Stars of David. Photograph: Julien Mattia/Le Pictorium/Zuma Press/Shutterstock
French prosecutors have opened several investigations into the painting of dozens of Stars of David on buildings around Paris and its suburbs that have been widely seen as antisemitic and threatening to Jews, amid the war between Israel and Hamas.

The French prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, condemned “the despicable acts”, saying they would not go unpunished.

New stars were painted on the facades of several buildings in a southern areas of Paris this week. Many appeared to have been spraypainted using stencils. Similar tags appeared over the weekend in suburbs of the city, including Vanves, Fontenay-aux-Roses and Aubervilliers.

In the nearby town of Saint-Ouen the graffiti were accompanied by inscriptions such as “Palestine will overcome”. » | Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Related articles here.

Has Europe already forgotten the despicable crimes, horrors and atrocities visited upon the Jews in the Thirties and Forties of the last century? That anti-Semitism is in evidence in Europe at all is bad enough, but its dimensions following the ferocious and barbaric attacks of October 7th by Hamas are deeply troubling. – © Mark Alexander

Guerre Israël-Hamas : des milliers de personnes rassemblées à Paris, malgré l’interdiction de la manifestation de soutien à la Palestine

LE MONDE : Dans l’après-midi, 21 interpellations et 1 359 verbalisations ont été menées par les forces de l’ordre. La marche prévue a été limitée à un rassemblement statique.

A l’appel de plusieurs associations et collectifs, des milliers de personnes ont participé, samedi 28 octobre, à Paris, dans le calme, à un rassemblement « de soutien au peuple palestinien », aux cris notamment de « Gaza, Gaza, Paris est avec toi », a constaté une journaliste de l’Agence France-Presse (AFP). Des tensions ont toutefois éclaté avec les forces de l’ordre lors de la dispersion des manifestants. » | Le Monde avec AFP | samedi 28 octobre 2023

Vidéo connexe ici.

Police Intervene in Pro-Palestinian Demonstration in Paris

Oct 28, 2023 | Security forces intervened the demonstrators who gathered in Paris to show support for Palestine. Security forces using tear gas detained many demonstrators.

Pro-Palestinian Rallies in the UK, Europe Call for Peace in Gaza

Oct 28, 2023 | Tens of thousands of people have joined pro-Palestinian rallies in the UK and Europe, as Israel expands its response to the deadly Hamas attack of 7 October. They come after a majority of nations voted on Friday for a United Nations resolution calling for a ''sustained humanitarian truce'' in Gaza.

Auch in Kreuzberg, Deutschland.

‘Bedbugs Don’t Discriminate’: Paris ‘Scourge’ Sparks Fears of International Infestation

GUARDIAN EUROPE: After French capital hosted fashion week and Rugby World Cup there are concerns the problem will spread

Paris is burning its luggage and bed linen as it battles a “scourge” of bedbugs, stoking fears of infestation around the world as pest controllers report an uptick in inquiries and transport operators and hoteliers seek to assuage concerns.

The city of light is reportedly under siege from the nocturnal bloodsuckers, leading the French transport minister, Clément Beaune, to meet transport operators. “It’s a real nightmare,” says Yacine, a schoolteacher in Paris who declined to give his surname. “I’m so afraid to take the Métro, I don’t go to the cinema – it’s very alarmant.”

With the city having just hosted Paris fashion week and the Rugby World Cup, bringing hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city, there are mounting fears of the problem spreading as visitors return home with an unwelcome souvenir. » | Elle Hunt | Friday, October 6, 2023

Related video and articles here.

France closes seven schools over bedbug infestations: Education minister says ‘cases are piling up’ and that ‘an immediate response is needed’ »