By raising for the first time the idea of sending troops to Ukraine, the French leader “has taken a further step toward belligerence,” blasted his rival Marine Le Pen, of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party. She accused him of “posing an existential risk to 70 million French people, and more particularly to our armed forces already deployed in Eastern Europe.”

"You’ve been waiting for the first opportunity to remind people of your true loyalties [and] “show your true colors,” retorted Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who had left the Paris Agricultural Show to attend the verbal joust. “When you read the investigations that are being carried out, [such as one published by the Washington Post on December 30, showing the RN’s persistent links with Moscow], you have to wonder whether Vladimir Putin’s troops aren’t already in our country,” he continued. “I’m talking about you and your troops, Ms. Le Pen.”

  • elliot_crane@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I know nothing of Macron’s policies Attal’s politics, but credit where credit is due. Someone needs to call out these right wing nutjobs cropping up across western democracies.

    • Magnor@lemmy.magnor.ovh
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      9 months ago

      French person here. Le Pen wouldn’t be where she is without Macron. He used her as a foil to win two elections, and his party has been hard at work normalising cooperation with the far right in parliament to oppose any left wing bill. He is playing with fire, and one pertinent comment from his PM should not make us forget that.

      • Killing_Spark@feddit.de
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        9 months ago

        As a German I am always surprised how little I know about french politics (I mean I know le pen and macron are and i vaguely remember that he had to form a weird coalition?). Even British politics are discussed more than French politics even though they do influence us way more. Would you say it’s the same for you?

        • bzah@discuss.tchncs.de
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          9 months ago

          It’s the same for us in France. We barely get any news from Germany, apart from who is the current chancellor and the big headlines. I now live in Germany and it feels very strange to have so few knowledge of the politics of where I live (my german is way too weak for now to properly understand it)

          • paddirn@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            It’s similar in the US with Mexico. They’re nextdoor neighbors and we barely hear anything that happens in their country outside of Drug Cartel violence, but we do get a bit more regular information on Canadian politics, so I’m guessing it’s the language barrier.