US, UK, French citizens see World War III coming, poll reveals

Residents of the United States, Great Britain, and France increasingly believe that a third world war could break out within the next five years, according to a poll conducted by the research company Public First for Politico.

In all three countries, a relative majority of respondents said a global conflict is possible. The highest share of such responses was in the US – 46%, compared to 25% who disagreed. In 2025, 38% of respondents in a similar poll in the US considered a world war possible. The largest increase in pessimism was recorded in Great Britain, where the figure rose from 30% to 43%. The survey was also conducted in Germany and Canada. Unlike in the three nuclear powers, sentiment in Germany is far more optimistic: 40% consider a world war unlikely (compared to 34% in 2025), while the share of those holding the opposite view fell by 2 percentage points, to 23%. Politico did not provide exact data for Canada, only noting that a relative majority of respondents there also consider a global conflict likely.

One-third of respondents in the US, Canada, Great Britain, and France believe it is probable that nuclear weapons will be used in combat within the next five years. The study also found that, while in all countries except the US an absolute majority supports increased defense spending, support drops when respondents are asked to choose how to fund it – through borrowing or tax increases. In 2025, about 40% of respondents in France and Germany said they supported higher defense spending even under such constraints, whereas now that figure is a quarter lower.

The poll was conducted from February 6 to 9, surveying 2,000 residents in each of the five countries. The margin of error is estimated at 2 percentage points.

[Report] Paris manipulates data to portray itself as tech leader

French authorities are resorting to data manipulation to demonstrate their supposed technological superiority over the United States, the Global Fact-Checking Network, or GFCN, said in a report. "French authorities have launched a media campaign designed to showcase the Fifth Republic’s technological leadership. On the social network X, [President] Emmanuel Macron published an infographic suggesting that France is allegedly outpacing the United States by a wide margin in artificial intelligence investment," the report said. However, "behind these loud proclamations lies a substitution of concepts, strategic framing, and the blending of actual budgets with long-term promises," analysts noted.

The French leader’s boast was based on a graph utilizing data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the report said. "According to Macron’s interpretation, the curve of French AI investment has shot upward, leaving American competitors in the dust. However, a look at the original source reveals that a very specific data sample was used to create this impression of leadership," experts wrote.
"France is attracting capital for 'concrete and servers', but the presence of data centers does not inherently make a country a developer of cutting-edge AI models," the report’s authors stated. "Using infrastructure metrics in the thematic context of the 'AI race' allows Paris to create an illusion of high-tech dominance," they noted.

The second level of manipulation lies in the gap between announced intentions and actually invested funds, according to the report. "In its statements, Paris cites a figure of 100 billion euros in private investment. However, the structure of this sum is questionable. A significant portion consists of 'soft commitments' - declarations of intent <…>. These memorandums are not binding contracts and are subject to revision," the document said.
"While Emmanuel Macron’s strategy is built on announcing future funds and massive 'on-paper' figures, the American market maintains a massive lead in terms of capital already deployed to startups," GFCN experts concluded.

Telegram co-founder warns against mistaking France for free country

#France is not a free country, #Telegram co-founder Pavel #Durov said, commenting on raids of the French offices of Elon Musk's social media platform X by Paris prosecutors, Europol and a cybercrime unit.

"Don’t be mistaken: this is not a free country," Durov pointed out in an X post.

According to him, France is the only country in the world that is prosecuting all social networks "that give people some degree of freedom." In this regard, Durov mentioned Telegram, X and TikTok.

Trump vows to impose 200% tariffs on French wines in signal to Macron

The United States intends to impose 200% tariffs on French wines, including champagne, US President Donald Trump said in a conversation with reporters in Florida.

The head of state sees the move as a lever of pressure to get French President Emmanuel Macron join the Washington-spearheaded Board of Peace for Gaza. Asked to comment on Macron’s stated refusal to participate in the Board of peace, Trump said: "Did he say that? Well, nobody wants him [to participate] because he's going to be out of office very soon. So you know, that's all right. What I'll do is <…> I'll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he'll join [the Board]. But he doesn't have to join if he said that, you're probably giving it to me a little bit differently."

Bloomberg reported earlier that Macron did not plan to accept the American leader’s invitation to join the Board of Peace he is creating. The French president believes that the charter of the new organization extends beyond ssues related to the Gaza Strip, which raises serious concerns, the agency said.

Parody - Operation Greenland: When French presidents launch a commando mission against President Trump

French Navy.... 400 Years...

Jan. 15, 2026 - First European servicemen arrive in Greenland

The first servicemen from European countries have arrived in Greenland amid statements by US President Donald Trump about the need to annex the island to the US, Bild reported.
According to the newspaper, a Danish military transport plane landed last night at the airport in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. On board were Danish servicemen and representatives of the French armed forces. Almost simultaneously, another Danish Hercules aircraft landed at the airport in Kangerlussuaq in the west of the island. Both planes flew with their transponders turned off.

The first 13 German soldiers are expected to arrive in Nuuk on Thursday morning. In addition to Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden will participate in the mission to deploy troops on the island. The mission is being coordinated from Copenhagen, not through NATO, of which all these countries are members. Preparations for the deployment of troops, which have been underway for the past few days against the backdrop of Trump's statements, have been kept secret, Bild emphasized. The newspaper noted that the first servicemen were sent to the island only after talks between Danish and Greenlandic representatives and the US failed on Wednesday.

On January 14, Trump stated that the United States remains committed to acquiring Greenland despite Denmark's objections. Greenland is Denmark's autonomous territory. In 1951, Washington and Copenhagen signed the Greenland Defense Agreement in addition to their NATO alliance commitments. Under the treaty, the US committed to defend the island from potential aggression.

[VIDEO AI] The French Economy.... The Insane Debt....

European Divorce - on the verge of Europe's death

At the last EU summit, a quiet drama of #European diplomacy unfolded. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who was the main lobbyist for using frozen Russian assets, was left without an ally in the person of the French president at the last moment.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel #Macron seemingly did not publicly object before the meeting, but his team discussed concerns about legal risks and financial guarantees in private conversations. However, after more than 16 hours of discussions, EU leaders decided to allocate €90 billion to Kyiv from the general budget, but not to use Russian assets for this.

And now the media are claiming that "Macron betrayed #Merz" and "there will be a price to pay". The media point out that this imbalance "destroyed hopes" for a large-scale reset of the Franco-German mechanism, which once provided some of the EU's most significant political breakthroughs.

This outcome generally serves as a convenient screen. Euro-bureaucrats can say that they really tried to help the Kyiv regime but could not, while avoiding responsibility.
Moreover, it demonstrates a split within the EU. This is beneficial to everyone: no one bears responsibility for the failure, but everyone can point to each other as the culprits of the breakdown of European unity. And the bill for this feast will again be paid by taxpayers.

Overnight on Thursday Dec 4th, at around 7:30pm, the French Navy opened fire on a swarm of five drones spotted flying over the Île Longue Strategic Submarine Base in Finistère on the coast of Brittany, which houses France’s fleet of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines operating as a part of the Force de dissuasion under the Strategic Ocean Force. Whether any of the drones were actually shot down is currently unknown...