Tag: Macron

  • Let ‘Emily in Paris’ remain in Paris, Macron says

    Let ‘Emily in Paris’ remain in Paris, Macron says

    French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published Wednesday he hoped that Netflix’s hit series “Emily in Paris” would remain centred on the French capital rather than move to Rome.

    The fourth season of “Emily in Paris”, currently streaming, takes events to the Italian capital where the show’s star, played by Lily Collins, seeks to break new ground both personally and professionally.

    When the show was renewed for a fifth season last month, the series’ creators said it would play out between Paris and Rome, with Emily having “a presence” in Italy.

    Darren Star, the creator and showrunner of “Emily in Paris”, was quoted as saying that the show’s heroine “was becoming very comfortable in Paris. I wanted to throw her into some unfamiliar waters”.

    Asked by US magazine Variety what he thought of the move, Macron said he would not take it lying down.

    “We will fight hard,” he said. “And we will ask them to remain in Paris.”

    Macron’s wife Brigitte has a cameo appearance in the show’s fourth season, in which, during a chance meeting in a restaurant, she says she follows Emily on Instagram.

    “I was super proud, and she was very happy to do it,” the president said about his wife’s effort. “‘Emily in Paris’ is super positive in terms of attractiveness for the country. For my own business, it’s a very good initiative.”

    Was he asked to appear on the show? “I’m less attractive than Brigitte,” Macron replied.

    “Emily in Paris” has been mostly lambasted by French critics for showing the French capital in what they say is an unrealistically glamorous light. Some of them have admitted, however, that it has its moments.

    “It’s a saccharine series filled with stereotypes,” judged culture magazine Telerama when the show first aired. “And yet we can’t get ourselves to totally hate it.”

    Britain’s The Guardian came to the show’s defence. “Yes, Emily in Paris is unrealistic”, the paper said. “But when it comes to escapist TV, reality is overrated.”

  • Macron believes France, allies ‘could have stopped’ 1994 Rwanda genocide

    Macron believes France, allies ‘could have stopped’ 1994 Rwanda genocide

    President Emmanuel Macron believes France and its Western and African allies “could have stopped” Rwanda’s 1994 genocide but did not have the will to halt the slaughter of an estimated 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, the presidency said on Thursday.

    In a video message to be published on Sunday to mark the 30th anniversary of the genocide, Macron will emphasise that “when the phase of total extermination against the Tutsis began, the international community had the means to know and act”, a French presidential official said, asking not to be named.

    The president believes that at the time, the international community already had historical experience of witnessing genocide with the Holocaust in World War II and the mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey during World War I.

    Macron will say that “France, which could have stopped the genocide with its Western and African allies, did not have the will” to do so, the official added.

    The president will not be heading to Kigali to attend commemorations of the genocide this Sunday alongside Rwandan President Paul Kagame, and France will instead be represented by Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne.

    Macron, during a visit to Rwanda in 2021, recognised France’s “responsibilities” in the genocide and said only the survivors could grant “the gift of forgiveness”.

    But he stopped short of an apology and Kagame, who led the Tutsi rebellion that ended the genocide, has long insisted on the need for a stronger statement.

    A historical commission set up by Macron and led by historian Vincent Duclert also concluded in 2021 that there had been a “failure” on the part of France under former leader Francois Mitterrand, while adding that there was no evidence Paris was complicit in the killings.

    Marcel Kabanda, president of the Ibuka France genocide survivor association, welcomed Macron’s new message reported on Thursday.

    “It goes even further than the Duclert report or his message in Kigali” in 2021, he said.

    “I’m overjoyed he is giving France this positive image of a country that recognises its faults and grows through recognising its history,” he said.

    In his video message, Macron is to “reiterate the importance of the duty of remembrance, but also of developing and disseminating reference knowledge, in particular through the education of younger generations in France,” the presidency said.

  • EU parliament urges Indian PM Modi to protect minorities

    EU parliament urges Indian PM Modi to protect minorities

    On Thursday, the European Parliament urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to end ethnic violence in Manipur, and to do more to protect ethnic and religious minorities in India. Modi is currently on an official visit to France, having been invited to attend the country’s annual Bastille Day national festival as a guest of honour. 

    However, between the ceremony and the diplomatic courting, EU parliamentarians in Strasbourg approved a motion that urged India to end violence in the country’s northeastern Manipur state, and to protect the minorities there. 

    The motion also criticised the ‘national rhetoric’ of the local state government, run by Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). EU parliamentarian Pierre Larrouturou released a statement on his Twitter, with an accompanying video.

    In his tweet, Larrouturou stated that Modi and Macron can “pretend that everything is going well in India”,however, the EU parliament is recalling facts, and strongly condemns the human rights violations that take place in India.

    “Every day in India, thousands of Muslims, Christians, and members of ethnic minorities see their rights repressed,” the statement read. “To remain silent on the situation would have been a humiliation for all those who fight for their fights and suffer every day from the Hindu nationalism imposed by the Modi government.”

    In May, CNN reported how residents of Manipur say there has been a breakdown of law and order. This was after a spell of violence that left at least 58 dead and tens of thousands more homeless.

    In a speech to the public, Larrouturou went on to point out, “In Manipur, for the past two months, we have seen monstrous violence. Over 120 people have died and 1700 homes have been devastated, 250 churches have been destroyed, 40,000 people have fled for their lives.”

    Despite differences over the war in Ukraine, namely India’s continued support to Russia, as well as tensions over human rights violations in the country, Western democracies are courting Modi and what is currently the world’s most populous country, as a counterweight to China’s influence in Asia.

    India is also one of the largest global buyers of French arms. On Thursday, India approved in principle the purchase of 26 French marine Rafale jets and three Scorpene-class submarines, news agency ANI reported. 

    During Modi’s last visit to Paris in 2015, he announced a landmark deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets worth around €4 billion ($4.48 billion).

  • Modi extends condolences to families of the flood victims

    Modi extends condolences to families of the flood victims

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extends his condolences to the families of the flood victims in Pakistan.

    “Saddened to see the devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, the injured and all those affected by this natural calamity and hope for an early restoration of normalcy,” tweeted Modi.

    The devastating effects of floods across the country continue to rage on as monsoon rains have killed over 1,000 people and disrupted the lives of more than 5.7 million people.

    The federal and provincial governments are currently providing assistance to the displaced families and now the international community has also poured in their support.

    The Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha expressed “deep sorrow over the casualties, massive destruction of property and loss of life resulting from floods in Pakistan”.

    The United Nations (UN) is set to launch a Flash Appeal in support of Pakistan. The international platform will reportedly launch a $160 million appeal.

    Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said that the appeal will be launched on Tuesday, August 30.

    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that the country is currently providing support to Pakistan. “Like many Canadians across the country, I’m thinking of everyone affected by the devastating flooding in Pakistan. Canada is providing support through UNCERF and Red Cross Canada – to provide food, clean water, and other essential services as quickly as possible,” he tweeted.

    During a telephonic conversation between President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed with Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, the UAE President offered condolences and sympathy to the victims of the floods.

    PM Sharif thanked Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan for their support. Both country leaders had telephonic conversations with the premier.

    President Raisi and President Erdogan conveyed solidarity with Pakistan and assured support in relief assistance in all areas affected by heavy floods and rains.

    Moreover, PM Sharif thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for his support for the flood affectees.

    In a tweet, he said, “Grateful for President Emmanuel Macron’s message of support for the people of faced with devastating floods. We appreciate France’s solidarity and offer of help for the affected people in this hour of need.”

  • French President Emmanuel Macron loses majority in parliament

    French President Emmanuel Macron loses majority in parliament

    In legislative parliamentary elections, French President Emmanuel Macron lost his legislative majority on Monday.

    Interim results show that Macron’s coalition (ENS) won 245 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly, the French Interior Ministry announced Monday morning after the vote count ended.

    He fell short of 289 seats to get an absolute majority.

    Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said in a televised statement: “This situation constitutes a risk for our country, given the challenges that we have to confront.” She also stated, “We will work from tomorrow to build a working majority.”

    Macron, 44, is now at risk of domestic troubles as he seeks to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and play a key role as an important figure in the European Union.
    The last time a newly elected president failed to win a clear majority in France was in the 1988 parliamentary elections.

  • Shireen Mazari deletes tweet equating French president with Nazis after France strikes back

    Shireen Mazari deletes tweet equating French president with Nazis after France strikes back

    France on Sunday objected to a statement by Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari equating President Emmanuel Macron’s new measures to counter “Islamist separatism” in France with the anti-semitic policies of Nazi Germany, however, the issue was later resolved when both sides held dialogue after a false claim in the cited news article came to light.

    Earlier this week, Macron issued a “charter of republican values”, detailing a series of steps aimed at purging France of what he declared as “radical Islam”. One of the measures made it necessary for school-going children to wear an identification number that would be used to ensure they are attending school.

    Mazari, who apparently understood that the identification number would be issued exclusively to Muslim children, censured the move, saying through the new measures, “Macron is doing to Muslims what the Nazis did to the Jews” in Nazi Germany.

    “Muslim children will get ID numbers (other children won’t) just as Jews were forced to wear the yellow star on their clothing for identification,” she added linking to an online article.

    Responding to the tweet, the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs on Sunday issued a statement, calling the minister’s remark “insulting […] blatant lies, loaded with an ideology of hatred and violence.”

    The rather unceremonious statement asked Pakistan to “return to the path of dialogue based on respect.”

    The publication later amended the article and issued a clarification stating that the law mentioned in the article applies to all children in France, not specifically Muslim children.

    The embassy also sent a series of tweets to point out the mistakes in the article.

    In response to the French envoy’s message, Mazari deleted her tweet and issued a clarification on Twitter and admitted her mistake. “The French Envoy to Pak sent me the following message and as the article I had cited has been corrected by the relevant publication, I have also deleted my tweet on the same,” she tweeted.

    Responding to the minister’s tweet, the French Embassy thanked Mazari for the clarification and apology, and wrote that “freedom of expression and debates are essential in democracies, based on verified and accurate facts.”

    READ: ‘Stay out of our domestic affairs,’ French minister tells Pakistan and Turkey

    Macron on Wednesday unveiled the bill and asked Muslim leaders in France to agree to its instructions as part of a broad clampdown on so-called “Islamic extremism”. He gave the French Council of the Muslim Faith 15 days to work with the interior ministry.

    The bill includes measures which include: restrictions on home-schooling and harsher punishments for those who intimidate public officials on religious grounds; giving children an identification number under the law that would be used to ensure they are attending school and a ban on sharing the personal information of a person in a way that allows them to be located by people who want to harm them.

    Parents who break the law could face up to six months in jail as well as large fines, it said.

    The draft law — which Macron said will strengthen a 1905 law separating Church and state in France — will be discussed by the French cabinet on December 9.

    The new bill comes on the heels of three separate instances of terrorism following the publication of blasphemous caricatures by Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly best known for vulgar irreverence, and Macron’s insistence on defending the act in the name of freedom of expression.

    Following the publication of these cartoons and Macron’s defense of it, relations between France and the Muslim world grew sour as tens of thousands of Muslims in several countries joined protests, burned effigies of Macron, chanted anti-French slogans and called for a boycott of French goods.