Important Takeaways:
- The French government has drawn up a 20-page ‘survival manual’ to prepare its citizens for a potential invasion.
- Drawn up by the General Secretariat for Defense and National Security (SGDSN), the booklet contains 63 safety measures to follow in case of military threat or natural disasters, such as a nuclear leak or industrial accident.
- The French government has drawn up a 20-page ‘survival manual’ to prepare its citizens for a potential invasion.
- Drawn up by the General Secretariat for Defense and National Security (SGDSN), the booklet contains 63 safety measures to follow in case of military threat or natural disasters, such as a nuclear leak or industrial accident.
- French newspaper Le Figaro noted that the timing of the kit’s release “could easily suggest that the state is reaching to the unstable international situation.”
- But officials from the defense department say it is “absolutely not” intending to prepare its citizens for “the prospect of war – unlike in Sweden.”
- The Scandinavian country issued five million leaflets to its citizens last year, encouraging them to be prepared for the possibility of war, as well as natural disasters and cyber-attacks.
- It was an updated version of a leaflet that has been distributed five times since the Second World War, but it did not mention Russia, Ukraine or any other country by name.
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Important Takeaways:
- A politician vying to replace Justin Trudeau as Canada’s next leader has suggested forming a closer alliance with Britain and France as the NATO nations possess nuclear weapons, which could help safeguard the Canadians against potential threats posed by President Donald Trump.
- Chrystia Freeland, former deputy prime minister under Trudeau, warned that Trump poses a direct “threat” to Canada’s sovereignty by saying that the country could potentially become the 51st U.S. state.
- What Happens Next
- Canada is hoping that the head of state, Britain’s King Charles III, will condemn Trump’s statements on annexing the nation. Trudeau met with the king on Monday at the monarch’s royal residence Sandringham, Norfolk, east England.
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Important Takeaways:
- Thousands are feared dead after an island in the Indian Ocean was hit by a devastating cyclone which carried 163mph winds and left a trail of destruction likened to the aftermath of a nuclear war.
- Cyclone Chido hit Mayotte, France’s poorest region, over the weekend, and has been considered the most violent that the island has experienced in almost a century.
- Chido’s dizzying winds tore through the archipelago and left buildings heavily damaged, vehicles destroyed, and the main airport and hospital completely wrecked.
- Mayotte Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville told local TV: ‘I think there are some several hundred dead, maybe we’ll get close to a thousand, even thousands… given the violence of this event.’
- However, he said it was currently ‘extremely difficult’ to get an exact number.
- The Interior Ministry echoed these concerns, saying it could not confirm any figures at this stage, as a Mayotte local explained: ‘What we are experiencing is a tragedy, it feels like the day after a nuclear war. I saw an entire neighborhood disappear.’
- French civil security spokesperson Alexandre Jouassard told the France 2 news channel: ‘The next minutes and hours are very important.
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Important Takeaways:
- The US has been given a chilling ‘WW3 by Christmas’ warning by pro-Putin spokesperson Sergey Markov.
- Western allies, also including Britain and France, have taken a “big jump” towards a nuclear conflict by giving Ukraine permission to fire Western long-range missiles into Kremlin territory, Markov claims.
- A regular Putin “mouthpiece”, Markov warned that the shock move by President Joe Biden could mean that Britons could be facing a Christmas in shelters.
- The threat, in an interview on the BBC Radio 4’s The World At One, was also echoed by President-Elect Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., who suggested that those behind the move to approve Ukraine’s use of the missiles wanted to “make sure they got World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives”.
- President Biden’s move, however, has been welcomed by Ukraine, by senior UK defense sources and by many European leaders.
- The move will allow Ukraine to fire US ATACM missiles, UK Storm Shadow missiles and French Scalp missiles into Kremlin territory.
- Speaking to BBC Radio 4, he said: “My reaction [to the White House’s decision] was awful, I couldn’t sleep well because I am just afraid nuclear war is coming.
- “This decision of United States, Great Britain and France is not a step towards nuclear war it is a big jump to nuclear war, nuclear catastrophe.
- “It is a very dangerous decision. The point is these rocket-missiles cannot be fired by the Ukrainian army, technically.
- “Because, these rocket-missiles need to have very good map of the Russian territory and only the US has this map, even Great Britain and France does not have this map.”
- “So, we regard this as the start of a direct war by Britain, America and France against Russia, another nuclear power.
- “American rocket missiles against our territory. This is a clear escalation of the war.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Omar is the son of Osama bin Laden, the Saudi-born founder of the al-Qaeda terrorist group and the mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which killed almost 3,000 people in the biggest terror attacks on US soil in 2001.
- France’s Interior Minister announced Omar bin Laden had been deported from a Normandy village he was living in after he was accused of glorifying terrorism on social media.
- In a post shared on X early Tuesday morning, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau accused Omar bin Laden of “posting comments on his social media accounts in 2023, which made an apology for terrorism”.
- Calling the matter “a decision of national security”, the post did not detail when exactly Omar bin Laden had been deported nor reveal where he was sent to.
- The administrative ban ensures that Mr. bin Laden cannot return to France, for any reason whatsoever,” Retailleau said.
- According to local newspaper Le Publicateur Libre, a controversial tweet was posted by bin Laden on 2 May 2023, the date of his father’s birthday.
- The post from the now-deleted account @omarbinladin1 read: “History is written only with the blood of these people — to tell the story of these martyrs who made history, built nations and brought glory. Their blood is the lifeline of our faith until judgment day. Rest in peace.”
- “A person from another country managed to get the password of my Twitter account and posted a Tweet using my name. They were not my words. I reported the Tweet to Twitter and after a week or so, the account was thankfully blocked,” bin Laden said.
- “I no longer have access to my Twitter account,” he added, “so I was unable to remove it myself. I want to tell people I condemn terrorism and violence with all my heart”, he added.
- Although Omar bin Laden began training in al-Qaeda camps at the age of 14, he left the terrorist organization in 2000. In a 2008 interview with ABC News, he said, “my father is very kind man… and he was very sorry when he did something like 11 September.”
- “He believed if he brought two buildings down, maybe some people, few would die… But millions other would (be) save(d). He believed that”, Omar added.
- Omar bin Laden went on to assert that he did not agree with his father’s actions “I believe what he did was wrong.”
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Important Takeaways:
- France’s high-speed train lines were targeted by multiple “malicious” acts including arson on Friday, in what has been described as “an attack on France” and “coordinated sabotage” to disrupt travel ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
- No-one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but given their scale and precision, it is clear they are more than just random acts of vandalism.
- The operator said the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern high-speed lines were impacted, with damage caused to several of its facilities
- At the same time, France has been among many European countries impacted by a wave of attacks that have been linked by officials to Russia. They have included arson and acts of sabotage against infrastructure. Russia has not responded to the allegations.
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Important Takeaways:
- French police have arrested a Russian man suspected of planning to destabilize the Olympics, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday, just days before the Games begin.
- The 40-year-old man was detained on Tuesday after police raided his house at the request of the Interior Ministry, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
- The evidence found at his home raised “fears of his intention to organize events likely to cause destabilization during the Olympic Games,” it said.
- Relations between France and Russia have been deteriorating for months as President Emmanuel Macron is a prominent critic of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and a strong supporter of the Kyiv government.
- The arrested man has been placed in pre-trial detention and could face up to 30 years in prison, the statement said.
- Russia’s embassy in Paris said it had not received official notification of the detention.
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Important Takeaways:
- French President Emmanuel Macron and his allies this morning launched a fresh week of intense campaigning hours after their party was humiliated last night in the first round of parliamentary elections by the hard-right National Rally (RN).
- Rioting engulfed the streets of Paris last night as thousands of enraged left-leaning voters set light to rubbish, smashed up shop windows and launched fireworks after Marine Le Pen’s RN steamed to victory with 33% of the first round vote.
- Hordes of riot cops were dispatched across the city, particularly in the French capital’s Place de la République where the police clashed with flare-toting rioters into the early hours of the morning.
- Macron’s Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who is likely to be forced to resign after the second round, warned that the right was now at the ‘gates of power’ and implored voters to block the RN in the second round set for Sunday July 7.
- But Macron’s centrist alliance is languishing in a distant third place with just 20% of the vote behind the left-wing New Popular Front alliance on 28%.
- Le Pen late last night gleefully declared that Macron’s party had been ‘wiped out’ as she celebrated the victory, with the RN now targeting an absolute majority in the second round of elections this coming Sunday.
- Such a victory would mark the first time a hard-right force has taken power in France since World War II amid the occupation by Nazi Germany – a fact not lost on left-wing politicians.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Ukrainian government praised France’s “determination” for sending military advisors to the country, saying it hoped Paris making the first move would encourage other Western partners to deploy troops too.
- A months-long drama over French President Emmanuel Macron’s apparently intractable desire to deploy French soldiers directly to Ukraine appears to be approaching the point of action, as Ukraine reveals it has now legally cleared the way for foreign troops to arrive.
- Ukraine’s new Commander in Chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi and the nation’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov had talks with their French counterpart Defense Minister Sebastien Lecorne, they said on Sunday, underlining how they welcomed French troops and appealed to the country for more equipment and ammunition to be donated.
- France’s Macron faced a barrage of criticism from fellow NATO leaders over going public with his views on sending troops to Ukraine, but despite the furor has restated that position dozens of times since. Earlier this month, Macron said he would not “rule anything out”, stating his view that: “If Russia wins in Ukraine, there will be no security in Europe”.
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Important Takeaways:
- Emmanuel Macron has said he would be prepared to send troops to Ukraine if Vladimir Putin’s forces break through the front lines – further raising the risk of NATO forces clashing with Russia’s armies.
- In an interview published today, the French president said the issue of sending troops would ‘legitimately’ arise if Kyiv and President Volodymyr Zelensky made such a request.
- The Economist said Macron gave the interview after delivering a keynote speech last week where he declared that Europe is ‘mortal’ and could ‘die’ partly due to the threat posed by Russian aggression after its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
- It also came as Russia claimed its forces had taken another town in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, with Moscow’s armies continuing to push against Kyiv’s defenses.
- Russia is rushing to advance against struggling Ukrainian forces ahead of the long-awaited arrival of the bulk of US weapons to the front for Kyiv’s outgunned troops.
- ‘I’m not ruling anything out, because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out,’ Macron said when asked if he stood by comments earlier this year not excluding the sending of Western troops that sent shockwaves around Europe.
- Such a move would see NATO troops go head-to-head with those in the Russian army, dramatically increasing the risk of an escalation.
- ‘I have a clear strategic objective: Russia cannot win in Ukraine,’ Macron said.
- ‘If Russia wins in Ukraine, there will be no security in Europe,’ he warned.
- ‘Who can pretend that Russia will stop there? What security will there be for the other neighboring countries, Moldova, Romania, Poland, Lithuania and the others?’
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