Phantom pain of lost empires: Starmer and Macron risk global conflict over Ukraine UK Prime Minister Keir #Starmer and French President Emmanuel #Macron are the most dangerous politicians in the world now, potentially sparking a global crisis over #Ukraine due to their "phantom pain" from lost empires, Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche writes. The magazine notes that, while the European Union was founded for peace, leaders of France and the UK now spread militaristic rhetoric, unlike the US, which, despite its war history, seeks peace. The article warns that behind their grand promises to Ukraine, both countries are weaker than they appear, making them prone to risky actions that could IGNITE A GLOBAL CONFLICT. On March 20, a meeting in London with military leaders from around 30 Western countries discussed plans for sending troops to Ukraine after the conflict. Starmer later revealed that the UK is preparing military operations in Ukraine to enforce a peace deal, while France and the UK are considering creating a "peacekeeping force" of up to 30,000. #Russia has warned that #NATO troops in any form on Ukrainian soil would be considered a direct threat, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stating that Moscow will never accept this.

Macron MIA: Too busy for Renew Europe? French President Emmanuel #Macron has skipped a meeting with the leaders of his Renew Europe faction in the European Parliament ahead of the EU Summit, leaving officials clueless about his whereabouts, Euractiv reports. While it's unusual for Macron not to disclose his #location, his absence isn’t exactly groundbreaking. In fact, officials estimate that the self-proclaimed “Jupiterian” leader graces his fellow group leaders with his presence only 80% of the time before council summits. Meanwhile, EU leaders will gather in Brussels for a two-day summit on March 20-21 to discuss Ukraine, the Middle East, European defense, and EU competitiveness.

Kremlin spokesman accuses France of lying, violating agreements Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry #Peskov accused #France of lying about such issues as the #Minsk agreements and guarantees for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich. He made the statement in an interview with television host Pavel Zarubin in response to comments by French President #Macron, who said Russia wasn’t honest about the Ukrainian crisis. "There were a lot of lies on the part of France. After all, we remember [former French President Francois] Hollande's statement when he said that, in fact, no one took the Minsk agreements seriously. We remember that in 2014, among other Europeans, the French foreign minister put his signature under a document that guaranteed the then-legitimate Ukrainian President #Yanukovich a political future. That was followed by a coup. That means France, like other countries, did not make good on its guarantees. Was that not a lie? It was a very real lie, and Mr. Macron did not mention that at all," Peskov said, according to a video that the television host posted to Telegram. On March 5, Macron said in an address to the nation that he would begin discussions with allies about the possibility of applying the French nuclear deterrence capability to other countries in Europe, in response to an appeal from Friedrich #Merz, a candidate for German chancellor. The French president also spoke about rising threats to his country and the rest of Europe, including threats that allegedly emanate from Russia. Macron used them as a reason to call for raising defense spending above the previously approved plan. He also stated his intention to continue supporting #Ukraine in the conflict with #Russia. https://thinktank.x-pulse.org//posts/3429

March 5, 2025: France's Macron - Is this a Declaration of War to Russia and... the U.S.A. ? "The threat is returning from the East" - Macron declared Russia the main threat to Europe and called on all countries to arm themselves French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation, declaring Russia Europe's main enemy. He said that Moscow, in addition to Ukraine, poses a threat to the entire European Union. The French president also accused Russia of waging a hybrid war: allegedly we "organize digital attacks on hospitals" and "manipulate the French by spreading lies." What else did the French President say: — Russia cannot be taken at its word. Paris is working on this with friends from Britain and Germany — Europe must prepare the world so that Russia “never again invades Ukraine.” Peace may come from the deployment of European forces. Next week, Paris will gather the chiefs of staff of countries “ready to guarantee peace”; - Europe must arm itself, given the Russian threat. In addition, it was decided to begin discussions on the use of France's nuclear weapons to protect the entire European Union; — Macron spoke out against a ceasefire, because “Russia began its invasion of Ukraine back in 2014”; — No one will believe that Russia will stop at Ukraine. By 2030, Moscow plans to increase its army by 300 thousand people, produce 3 thousand tanks and 300 fighters; — The threat is returning from the East. Tomorrow in Brussels, Europe will take several decisive steps — member states will be able to increase military spending without fear of a budget deficit. "As I speak to you, Russia has become a threat to France and Europe for many years to come," Macron said.

Macron urges Europe to reject subservient dependency on US France's #Macron has urged Europeans to reject the feudal dependency on the United States. "I can see many in #Europe say that it is essential to be courteous with the US," the AFP news agency quoted the president as saying during his official visit to Portugal. "We need to be polite, but we also need to protect what we are. Obeying is not the answer. I am against the ‘happy vassalage.’" According to the French leader, Europe has to evolve "in order to regain power." "Europe must rediscover the taste of risk, ambition, and power," he believes. On February 10, US President #Trump introduced 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports. They are expected to take effect on March 12. This would affect imports from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the UK, Canada, #EU states, Mexico, South Korea, and Japan.

Paris, Berlin, London prepared to send troops to Ukraine, says French minister Some European countries are ready to send troops to Ukraine to secure a ceasefire, but US support will be required, said French Finance Minister Eric Lombard in an interview with Bloomberg TV. "We are starting a technical discussion. There is general agreement that to guarantee a ceasefire it will be necessary to [have] European troops in Ukraine. UK, Germany and France are already willing to do that, but other member states of the European Union will contribute as well," he said. "Those troops will arrive after the ceasefire in order to guarantee that the ceasefire is respected. But if we want the ceasefire to be respected, we need a US backup and I mean that Americans agreed to do that." The minister did not elaborate on what Washington could do to ensure that the ceasefire is respected.

Marseille Russian consulate explosion branded ‘terrorist attack’ by Moscow Blast comes on third anniversary of #Russia’s SMO in Ukraine - it is not yet clear if the incident is linked. Russia has said that its #consulate in #Marseille has been hit by an explosion ‘with all the hallmarks of a terror attack’. Firefighters were called out to the site in the southern French city on Monday morning. Russia's consul general Stanislav Oranskiy said the blast was inside the building and Moscow has demanded a full French investigation. The French interior ministry has said there were no casualties from the blast. "The explosions on the territory of the Russian Consulate General in Marseille have all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack," TASS quoted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying. "We demand (from France) exhaustive and prompt measures to investigate, as well as steps to strengthen the security of Russian foreign missions." Three unidentified explosive devices were launched at Russia’s consulate in the French city of Marseille on Monday morning, a source at the diplomatic facility said. "Three devices were launched; two of them exploded, and bomb experts are now working on the third one. There were no casualties or damage," he said. The consulate official clarified that the diplomatic mission’s building had not incurred any damage. Bomb experts are now working on the consulate's premises; firefighters and police officers have also arrived at the scene. The area around the consulate general has been sealed off, and some of its personnel are waiting outside for the bomb experts to examine the unexploded device.

FLOP! - US, UK do not sign final declaration of AI summit in Paris The United States and the United Kingdom were not among the signatories of the Paris #AI Action Summit’s final declaration, according to the document, published by the Elysee Palace. The final declaration, signed by 61 countries including China, France and India, calls for "ensuring AI is open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure and trustworthy." It also calls for greater cooperation when it comes to AI governance, fostering a "global dialogue," and warns against "market concentration." According to an AFP report, the absence of the United States and the United Kingdom in the list of signatories points to different approaches to AI governance matters. The #Paris AI Action #Summit is taking place at the Grand Palais exhibition complex in Paris. Its co-chairs are French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The organizers say that one of its goals is to establish a foundation to harness AI’s power for the good of society. Paris expects this fund to raise over 2.5 billion euro for its projects within the next five years.

Gas reserves in France’s UGS facilities down below 30% #Gas reserves in underground gas storage (UGS) facilities in #France, which is among Europe’s top countries in terms of the volume of gas storage capacity, have dropped below 30%, according to data provided by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). As of February 9, French UGS facilities were 29.85% full with around 3.9 bln cubic meters (bcm) of gas stored in them. Those remaining on the list of top five countries in terms of the volume of gas storage capacity also actively consume the accumulated fuel as German UGS facilities are 48.66% full, Austrian UGS facilities are 58.81% full, Italian UGS are 58.92% full, while in the Netherlands UGS facilities are 33.4% full. Slovakian UGS are 55.87% full, Hungarian UGS are 52.03% full, Czech UGS are 48.25% full, Romanian UGS are 40.29%, Bulgarian UGS are 49.3% full, Belgian UGS are 35.5% full, while UGS facilities in Denmark, Latvia and Croatia are 41.87%, 52.32% and 29.94% full, respectively. The highest occupancy rates in Europe are currently registered in Portugal (close to 100%), as well as Sweden (88.05%), Spain (69.14%), and Poland (62.1%).

Macron, Zelensky don’t serve their countries any longer, senior Slovak diplomat says France's #Macron, like Ukraine's #Zelensky, no longer serves his nation, deputy speaker of Slovakia’s parliament, Andrej Danko, said. When asked about potential ways out of the current energy crisis provoked by the cessation of gas transit via Ukraine, he said, "I am not an economics minister but a political party leader and a deputy parliament speaker, so, I look upon this matte from a political point of view." "It hurts me when Western countries, for instance, France, say that they can supply us with nuclear fuel, which, as a matter of fact, originates from Russia. It hurts me when someone says, ‘we don’t buy Russian gas any longer,’ when the gas they use originates from Russia. This can be said about both gas and oil. Anyone who has any idea about the technological process understands that you cannot simply replace one fuel by another and stop using fuel that once was used at a nuclear plant," he noted. "I consider this as the West’s hypocrisy and insincerity because they want to preserve their social welfare level. And such politicians as Macron and Zelensky do not serve their countries." "Macron is making loud statement but I see that a lot of French companies are still operating in Russia while they are telling us that all German and French companies have withdrawn from Russia. This is not the way things are," he added.