French political discussion megathread: Yellow Vest Redux

[Agafin]

Macron was in my country today, and as expected, something controversial was said.

https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/europe/manifestations-en-ukraine/au-cameroun-emmanuel-macron-accuse-l-afrique-d-hypocrisie-au-sujet-de-l-invasion-de-l-ukraine-par-la-russie_5278879.html

Translation:

In Cameroon, Macron accuses Africa of ''hypocrisy'' over Russia's invasion of Ukraine

The French president assures that he is "not fooled" about the "diplomatic pressures" that explain the refusal of some leaders to describe the situation in Ukraine as "war".

Countering Moscow's influence in Africa was one of the objectives of Emmanuel Macron's visit to Cameroon, Benin, and Guinea-Bissau. The French president addressed the subject in his first speech on Tuesday, July 26 in Yaoundé, during a press conference with his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya. He criticized the "hypocrisy" of the continent vis-à-vis Russia and its invasion of Ukraine.

"I see too often hypocrisy, especially on the African continent (...) not knowing how to qualify a war, because there are diplomatic pressures, I am not fooled," said the head of state, without directly naming Russia. He sees a contrast between this attitude and that of the Europeans, which "is in no way to participate in this war, but to recognize and name it.

"We need you, because otherwise, this pattern will be repeated over and over again," continued Emmanuel Macron. He assured that France was "the country that is most committed to African states at their request for their security," while Russia is more involved in this area through the group of mercenaries Wagner.

Questioned on Monday by a group of Cameroonian political parties who called on him to recognize the "crimes of colonial France", Emmanuel Macron did not do so. But he expressed the wish that "a joint work of Cameroonian and French historians" be launched to "shed light" on "painful" and "tragic" moments. He made a "solemn commitment to open our archives in full to this group of historians," as François Hollande had already done in 2015.

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I actually agree with Macron here and I'm absolutely tired of my fellow  countrymen who on one hand support the war on Russia, but then also complain when everything becomes more expensive as a result of it. They complain about french imperialism but are fine with russian imperialism (which will certainly be worse). It's crazy but based on my observation, I believe  something like 80-90% of people in my country are on Russia's side and I assume it's similar in other african countries. Putin's biggest geopolitical win was converting anti-Western sentiment into a pro-Russian sentiment in the global South

[Agafin]

He is right, but I don't see how saying it in these terms helps. The only way France can hope to salvage its geopolitical position in Africa is by actually, you know, providing actual material support that makes the relationship beneficial to both parties - something it has rarely been in the past 60 years (although admittedly I doubt Russia or China will be any better in the long run). And yeah, also acknowledging France's colonial crimes might help a bit.

Meh, most african leaders are so incredibly corrupt that the only way to meaningfully help the actual population would involve such a tight level of control over any material support (to prevent embezzlement) that it would still end up being construed as neocolonialism by most.

I honestly don't think that there's anything that the West can do to prevent China from dominating the continent. China doesn't really (nor dores it pretend to) care about human rights. All they want is for their interests in any given country to be safe. That means that they will always be the first choice of most leaders in the continent when it comes to investments. They believe China will never try to blackmail them. And the population by and large is also fine with that since they are heavily opposed  to things like gay rights which they believe is being forced upon them by the West. There's just no way to compete with that unless you are willing to become as morally bankrupt.

[Agafin]

Rioting is always bad but to riot because a criminal was unjustly killed is just bizarre. The police action was wrong but I can't blame him too much since that teenager was trying to run away from arrest. How many people have been killed by a reckless driver attempting to flee?

[Agafin]

Sounds like these riots are a gift from the heavens to Le Pen

I honestly think that le Pen would win by over 20 points at least against someone like Mélenchon who does not clearly come out against these riots. Only a tiny minority can truly support this. Seeing all those videos of people stuck in their cars with children, of destroyed buildings, businesses, infrastructure, vehicles, most of which probably belonging to average Joe's just trying to get by. And just the general chaos...All that for what? The (unjustified) killing of a criminal.  This sucks.

Edit: So I've just read that some rioters have burned  a school ( a kindergarten),. Congrats dumbasses, you've just turned 80-90% of the public against you. Do people even care about the initial issue (police violence) at all?

[Agafin]

D'après une enquête Ifop pour Le Figaro, publiée ce vendredi, 69% des Français y sont également favorables, et 31% défavorables. Par ailleurs, 69% des sondés condamnent les actes de violences, 28% les comprennent mais ne les approuvent pas et 3% les approuvent.

Rough translation:

According to an ifop poll for Le Figaro, published this Friday, 69% of French people agree [imposing state of emergency], and 31% disagree. Also, 69% of polled condemn acts of violence, 28% understand them but disapprove and 3% approve.

https://www.bfmtv.com/police-justice/mort-de-nahel-sept-francais-sur-dix-favorables-a-l-etat-d-urgence-selon-un-sondage_AN-202306300880.html.

So yeah, only 3% support the riots. I assume the 28% are the nupes supporters, the 3% are anarchists (who probably don't vote) and the 69% encompass pretty much the rest of the population from the center to the far-right. Also, it's interesting to note that the current strategy of Le Pen is to pretty much stay quiet. Probably for the better for her.

[Agafin]

Teacher killed in France school stabbing

A teacher has been killed and two people seriously injured in a knife attack at a school in France.

The attack happened at Gambetta high school in the northern city of Arras at about 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT).

The attacker has been arrested and is now in custody.

Witness say he shouted "Allahu Akbar", or "God is greatest", during the attack. Visiting the school, President Emmanuel Macron condemned the "barbarity of Islamist terrorism".

Mr Macron called on French people to stay "united" in the face of the attack, to "not give in to terror or let anything divide us".

He said police had averted another attempted attack in another part of France.

The man killed was a French language teacher. Those injured were another teacher and a security guard.

Mr Macron said the teacher had "come forward to protect others and had without doubt saved many lives".

The attacker, named as 20-year-old Russian national Mohamed Mogouchkov, is of Chechen origin and known to the security services for his involvement with radical Islam, according to police.

[Agafin]

The fact that the killer has the exact same profile as the murderer of Samuel Paty from three years ago is a tragedy. It is obvious that France made a mistake allowing these chechen "refugees" in. This might not be politically correct to say but there really seems to be a problem with Islam. If I were french, I'd certainly vote for Lepen over Melenchon.