France – Page 2 – Lone Candle

Opinion | Europe Needs Its Own Nukes

Posted on May 11, 2025May 11, 2025 by Lone Candle

“If Washington truly abandons its role as the world’s police officer, Europe would struggle to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s army, at least in that time frame. Many European countries, especially Germany, have neglected their own military in recent decades. While Russia has converted everything to a war economy, parts of Europe have only just woken up from the dream of a peaceful world. Military experts proclaim that it will take more than four years to manufacture an arsenal of conventional weapons of the size needed to counter a Russian invasion. While most observers consider a Russian attack on Germany unlikely, even this is not an impossible scenario.

That’s why, to deter Russia, Germany and Europe need their own nuclear shield.”

…

“relying solely on France seems risky especially with French nationalist Marine Le Pen, a known Russia sympathizer, or another figure from her nationalist party potentially taking over the Élysée Palace in the near future. A broader European solution also involving Britain’s nuclear capabilities — and possibly Poland as a front-line state — would be far more prudent.”

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/04/08/nuclear-weapons-europe-defense-trump-00278754

Rome’s ‘Weak Hand’ Won a War—Can Ukraine Do the Same?

Posted on March 7, 2025March 7, 2025 by Lone Candle

“France supported the fledgling continental army for about four years with supplies, weapons, advisors, men; you know, [the army got many of its words from the French]. Yeah, I don’t recall France ever telling the U.S. they should just surrender to England. You don’t bend the knee to Communists and dictators…you punch them in the face until they stop. If we bend the knee to Russia now, how long will it be until we beg the dragon that rises in the East to please eat us last?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-QXz9wotrU

France’s Bayrou buys himself time with overture to Socialists

Posted on March 4, 2025 by Lone Candle

“Raising the pension age has long been one of the most contentious issues in French politics. The country enjoys a generous welfare state, but as public debt piles up, policymakers are increasingly desperate to make savings.”

https://www.politico.eu/article/france-prime-minister-francois-bayrou-retirement-age-socialists/

France’s government just collapsed. What does that actually mean?

Posted on December 5, 2024December 5, 2024 by Lone Candle

“France’s government collapsed Wednesday following a vote of no confidence in the country’s prime minister, pushing the country’s political future into chaos and exacerbating its budgetary and looming economic crises.
The successful vote means center-right Prime Minister Michel Barnier will be out of a job, and that French President Emmanuel Macron will need to find someone to replace him. That’s not expected to be an easy task: While the president nominates prime ministers in France, his picks can be ousted at any time by no confidence votes, like Barnier was. And the National Assembly, the lower house of France’s parliament, is almost evenly divided between the far right, a loosely united and contentious left wing, and centrists including Macron’s allies. Few candidates will please all three factions.

Disagreement about who should be prime minister following surprise elections this past summer led to Barnier’s rise. He was seen as a capable, if not popular, choice for the job, and won enough approval to win the prime minister’s post. But he faced a significant challenge of trying to govern without a majority. His recent attempt to push through a 2025 national budget without a vote in the lower house of parliament infuriated lawmakers on both the right and left. As a result, France’s far-right party and its left-wing alliance each put forward no-confidence motions.

Now, France is stuck. Without a prime minister, the government’s ability to pass laws is hampered. In the long term, Barnier’s removal could deepen France’s ongoing budget crisis and is a reflection of an unprecedented polarization in French politics, for which a solution seems far out of reach.”

https://www.vox.com/world-politics/389827/france-government-collapse-budget-economic-crisis-bernier-macron-le-pen

Europe’s ability to deter Putin hampered by ‘unbelievable’ red tape: French general

Posted on September 6, 2024 by Lone Candle

“current obstacles to swift movement include lengthy and fragmented administrative processes to carry war materiel across borders; inadequate infrastructure — including bridges and tunnels — to move armored vehicles; and a lack of transport capacity such as rail cars.
In May, EU foreign ministers urged capitals to implement the bloc’s Military Mobility Pledge, which includes commitments to invest in infrastructure and to ensure prioritized access to road, rail and other transport methods for armed forces.

In June, France announced it would join an agreement already signed by Poland, Germany and the Netherlands to create a military transit corridor. In July, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania signed a letter of intent for cross-border military mobility cooperation.

The French army painfully realized how difficult it was to cross Europe in the spring of 2022, when it deployed a battalion to Romania in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

https://www.politico.eu/article/french-general-army-mobility-military-troop-movements-exercise-red-tape-russia-ukraine-war/