A knife-wielding man injured three women, including a pregnant woman, during a stabbing spree in central Paris, reportedly shouting that Allah had ordered him to do it.
The suspect attacked three women, ages 19, 24, and 36, on Monday morning with two kitchen knives near Porte de Clichy in Paris, severely wounding two of them, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/french-police-arrest-man-after-knife-attack-paris-2026-07-27/">told reporters</a>. Police have not yet released the identities of the suspect or victims. 
Two of the women remain in critical condition, <a href="https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/paris-stabbing-pregnant-woman-three-injured-knife-attack">according to GB News</a>. One woman was stabbed in the lower back, while another suffered a stab wound to the abdomen. An off-duty police officer is said to have detained the disturbed man at the scene.
<a href="https://x.com/ScopeReport_/status/2081701503203455484?s=20">Multiple videos</a> circulating on social media appear to capture moments before and after the attack. Footage shows the suspect, who has long black hair and is wearing a cream-colored tracksuit, carrying two large knives. In one clip, he is seen running down a street before appearing to lunge at a woman who is walking alone.
French outlet Le Figaro reported that the suspect shouted, “It is Allah who ordered me.&#8221; At the scene, however, police urged caution, insisting the man made &#8220;incoherent&#8221; statements and that investigators had not yet identified a motive.
Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro <a href="https://x.com/benshapiro/status/2081736070643757447?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">posted</a> on X: &#8220;What was his motive? We may never know.&#8221;
The Paris stabbing spree came roughly 40 hours after another Islamic terror attack rocked a neighboring European country.
German police on Sunday <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/known-islamic-terrorist-on-the-run-unleashed-machete-attack-after-plowing-van-into-crowd?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Known+Islamic+Terrorist+On+The+Run+After+Deadly+Berlin+Car-Ramming+Attack">shot and killed</a> a Muslim man who previously tried to join the Islamic State after he rammed a vehicle into Berlin’s Pride festival on Saturday and then attacked bystanders with a machete, leaving one person dead and several others injured.
The Associated Press reported 21-year-old Abdul Ballout was shot and killed by police at a complex in Spandau, one of Berlin’s boroughs.
Police said Ballout fled the “horrific scene” on foot. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt <a href="https://x.com/SkyNews/status/2081357342902300677?s=20">connected</a> the attack to radical Islamist ideology.
The BBC reported Sunday <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3r2nz9ed3lt?post=asset%3Af7bf096b-0bc4-4496-b0f8-d2def8c5a207#post">Ballout</a> was a German citizen of Lebanese background who was known to police for being part of Berlin’s “Islamist scene” and had previously “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3r2nz9ed3lt?post=asset%3A679975ea-dc63-4cff-b17e-cc95f0cbef6f#post">committed a number of crimes</a>.” Ballout was born in Germany, and his mother became a naturalized German citizen in 2002, three years before his birth, police told the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/germany-berlin-lgbtq-pride-parade-van-ramming-3ba5e3f1becffd0da5f47b29aa08da9d">Associated Press</a>.
<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/26/abdul-ballout-berlin-pride-suspect-tried-join-islamic-state/">The Telegraph</a> reported Ballout was a convicted terrorist who tried to join the Islamic State terror group. Ballout was previously arrested in Lebanon after he was accused of attempting to join the Islamic State in Syria and plotting a terrorist attack. Then, he returned to Germany, where, according to Die Welt, he was arrested by German authorities and sentenced to one year and 10 months in prison for plotting a “serious act of violence that threatened the state.”
“Horrendous attack in Berlin last night,” Nigel Farage, leader of the U.K.’s Right-wing Reform UK party, said of the attack. “The strange left-wing alliance between Islamists and the LGBT community in this country cannot last.”

Louvre Museum

‘It Is Allah Who Ordered Me’: Knife-Wielding Man Targets Three Women In Brutal Rampage

attack

Europe

France

Germany

Islam

Knives

News

radical islamic terrorism

Stabbing

Terrorism

Austria has opened a police station inside the house where Adolf Hitler was born, transforming the property in an effort to prevent it from becoming a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis.
The building’s conversion comes as Jewish communities across Europe continue to report high levels of antisemitism and growing concerns about their safety, Semafor <a href="https://www.semafor.com/newsletter/07/23/2026/semafor-flagship-the-assault-as-barely-begun?utm_source=nowshare&amp;utm_medium=flagship&amp;utm_campaign=flagshipnumbered10#l">reported</a>.
A stone memorial outside the newly converted police station commemorates the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust. Austrian officials hope the building’s new purpose will discourage neo-Nazis from treating Hitler’s birthplace as a place to gather or pay tribute.
The move comes amid persistent antisemitism across Europe, including sharp increases reported by Jewish organizations following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the war in Gaza that followed.
A 2024 survey from the <a href="https://fra.europa.eu/en/news/2024/jews-europe-still-face-high-levels-antisemitism">European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights</a> (FRA) found that 80% of Jewish respondents believed antisemitism had increased in their country during the previous five years. Ninety percent said they had encountered antisemitism online during the year before the survey, while 37% said they had been harassed because they were Jewish.
The survey included nearly 8,000 Jewish people across 13 European Union countries, including Austria, France, and Germany. It was conducted between January and June 2023, before the October 7 attack, though the agency also collected more recent information from 12 Jewish community organizations.
Some of those organizations reported that antisemitic incidents had risen by more than 400% since October 2023, according to the agency.
The survey also found that many European Jews have changed how they live because of safety concerns. Seventy-six percent said they concealed their Jewish identity at least occasionally, while 34% said they avoided Jewish events or locations because they did not feel safe.
More than half of respondents said they worried about their own safety, and 60% expressed concern for the safety of their families. Three-quarters said they believed people held them responsible for the actions of the Israeli government simply because they were Jewish.
The agency said antisemitism affected Jewish people both online and in their daily lives. Fifty-six percent of respondents said they had encountered offline antisemitism from people they knew during the previous year, while 51% said they encountered it in the media.
The problem has remained particularly severe in several major European countries.
France recorded <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/macron-calls-stronger-measures-against-antisemitism-france-2026-02-13/">1,320 antisemitic acts</a> in 2025. Those incidents represented 53% of all anti-religious acts recorded in the country that year.
Although the number declined by 16% from the previous year, France’s Interior Ministry said antisemitic incidents had remained at historically high levels for three consecutive years. France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish community.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for stronger action against antisemitism during a February ceremony commemorating Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old Jewish man who was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered in 2006.
Macron said schools, the justice system, and elected officials all needed to take part in confronting antisemitism. He also condemned online hatred and urged the European Commission to hold large technology platforms accountable for antisemitic content.
“In the France of the Enlightenment, ‘free speech’ stops at antisemitism and racism,” Macron said.
Other European countries have reported similarly high numbers.
Britain recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents in 2025, a 4% increase from the year before and the second-highest annual total on record, according to data cited by Reuters.
Germany recorded 8,627 cases of antisemitism during the same year, nearly twice its previous total. The cases included violence, vandalism, and threats connected to the conflict in Gaza, Reuters reported.
The FRA has urged European governments to strengthen security for Jewish communities, improve the reporting and recording of antisemitic incidents, and ensure that national strategies against antisemitism receive adequate funding.
The agency has also called on online platforms to address illegal antisemitic content and comply with the European Union’s Digital Services Act.
“Europe is witnessing a wave of antisemitism, partly driven by the conflict in the Middle East,” FRA Director Sirpa Rautio said when the agency released its findings.
Against that backdrop, Austria’s decision to change Hitler’s birthplace into a police station is intended to prevent the property from becoming a gathering place for those seeking to celebrate or glorify the Nazi dictator.
Austria&#8217;s conversion of Hitler&#8217;s birthplace into a police station reflects an effort to prevent the property from becoming a pilgrimage site for neo Nazis as antisemitic incidents remain heightened across Europe.

Austria, Salzkammergut, view of Hallstatt and Dachstein over lake Hallstaetter See at sunrise in winter

Amid Rising Jew Hatred, Austria Remodels Hitler’s Home To Prevent Nazi Pilgrimages

antisemitism

Austria

Neo-Nazis

A French model recruiter who had ties to the late convicted pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was discovered dead in his home in France on Monday evening.
Daniel Siad, 69, was found dead in his home in Colombes — a suburb of Paris — Marie-Céline Lawrysz, the deputy public prosecutor at the Nanterre Judicial Court, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/22/europe/model-recruiter-epstein-dead-france-intl">said</a> in a statement to CNN. 
“An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the discovery,” said the Nanterre prosecutor&#8217;s office. An autopsy of Siad’s body will also be performed to determine his official cause of death.
Siad&#8217;s name was mentioned around 2,000 times ​in the Epstein files, which were released by the U.S. Department of ⁠Justice, Reuters reported. Despite the clear connection, Siad had denied any knowledge of Epstein’s evils. Previously, French media had reported that five women accused Siad of human trafficking and rape — accusations which he also denied.
Siad’s lawyer <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/french-modelling-scout-linked-epstein-found-dead-2026-07-22/">wrote</a> an emailed statement to Reuters, saying that he was never formally the subject of judicial proceedings.
In France, after a preliminary probe, suspects are then placed under formal investigation. The preliminary probe is done to help investigative magistrates determine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe a crime has been committed — at which point, a deeper investigation might be warranted.
&#8220;Daniel Siad never stopped proclaiming his innocence,&#8221; said his lawyer, Meyna Arab-Tigrine. She added that “Siad had died of a heart attack.” 
Anya, a victim of Epstein who used an alias, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8en38vpd3o">told</a> the BBC that Siad had introduced her to the sex offender. “It was a complete set-up,” Anya said. She described Siad as “essentially a professional trafficker.”
Before his death, Siad was interviewed by CNN. He told the network that there was no reason for him to believe that two women he&#8217;d scouted for Epstein had been harmed — but the women told CNN a different story. Both women told CNN that they were abused by Epstein.
Siad continued doing business with Epstein even after Epstein&#8217;s 2008 conviction on sex crimes. He said he believed Epstein was a casting director for Victoria’s Secret and MC2, another modeling agency, but CNN did not find evidence of this.
“I trusted him and believed this guy was a professional person,” Siad told CNN. “I never heard anything from anyone I introduced to him who came back to me that they had a bad situation. I believed this guy is a professional person.”
In one email from the Epstein files, Siad wrote in bad English: “In This busyness I feel like fisherman some time I cache quick, some time no fish.”
The DOJ released files that revealed Epstein paid tens of thousands of dollars to Siad, according to CNN.
During his travels, Siad would send photos of young women to Epstein. Some pictures showed the women in very provocative poses, according to the DOJ.
“Cute French girl in Marrakesh … She said that she will [be] happy to meet you,” Siad said in one message.
Siad said that Epstein asked him to help find an assistant. Another message showed Siad sent Epstein a picture of a woman who was “very polite” and who had “potential” as a “model” or “assistant.”
“Too old,” Epstein replied.
Siad is the ​second man who died in France with a public relationship with Epstein, according to Reuters. Jean-Luc Brunel, a modelling agent, was arrested by French authorities in 2020 after allegedly acquiring women for Epstein. 
In 2022, Brunel was found hanged in his prison cell after spending 14 months awaiting his trial on charges of sexual harassment and rape of minors. Brunel had denied both involvement with Epstein and the charges against him.
In 2019, Epstein committed suicide in his New York prison cell while in custody, awaiting his trial for sex trafficking.

Jeffrey Epstein

Epstein-Linked Model Recruiter Found Dead In France

Epstein Files

modeling

Sex Trafficking

French lawmakers voted Tuesday to ban social media for children under 15, making France the first European Union country to adopt such a restriction and adding momentum to a growing global push to protect minors online.
Both chambers of Parliament approved the sweeping ban, delivering a significant policy victory to French President Emmanuel Macron. The legislation also includes restrictions on mobile phones in high schools, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/france-social-media-ban-macron-94abd981ccea85138af314cfb1ea62cf">Associated Press.</a>
One in two French teenagers spends between two and five hours a day on a smartphone, according to the Associated Press, which cited a government watchdog report showing that about 90% of children ages 12 to 17 use cellphones daily for internet access.
Under the new legislation, children under 15 will be barred from opening social media accounts beginning September 1, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/french-lawmakers-vote-social-media-ban-children-2026-07-21/">Reuters</a>. After that, social media platforms will have four months to close existing accounts and must implement age-verification systems. 
Members of the left-wing France Unbowed party opposed the bill, arguing that it&#8217;s unconstitutional and unenforceable. Macron, who is set to leave office in 2027, is pushing for the law to take effect ahead of the upcoming school year. 
The movement is gaining traction in parts of the United States as well, with several <a href="https://abcnews.com/Politics/states-banning-cellphones-schools/story?id=125515186">states and school districts</a> passing laws restricting cell phone use in classrooms.
About six-in-ten American adults support banning anyone under the age of 16 from using social media sites, according to a new <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/07/01/majority-of-americans-support-banning-social-media-for-kids-under-16/">Pew Research Center survey. </a>
In December 2025, Australia <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/australias-novel-social-media-ban-for-kids-sparks-debate-as-some-platforms-get-a-free-pass">became the first nation</a> to ban children under 16 from creating accounts on many social media platforms. 
“We haven’t really seen a plan like this be put into action,” said Jessica Melugin, the director of the Center for Technology &amp; Innovation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “So I think the world is certainly watching.”
Under the law, Australia requires social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube, to take “reasonable steps” to block children under 16 years old from creating accounts. Any platform that fails to restrict children under 16 from gaining access could face civil penalties of up to $49.5 million AUD, according to Australia&#8217;s <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases/platforms-on-notice-to-comply-with-social-media-minimum-age">eSafety Commissioner</a>. In June, the government announced plans to double those fines to $99 million AUD (about $68 million).
The United Kingdom has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/millions-of-kids-could-soon-be-banned-from-tiktok-and-youtube">debated a similar proposal,</a> though it remains unclear whether the current government will pursue it. 
Closer to home, Canadian lawmakers also introduced a social media ban for children. 
It remains unclear whether a full-scale ban, as seen in Europe and Australia, would pass First Amendment muster in the United States.

child cell phone

Another Major Country Bans Children From Social Media

cell phones

Social Media

Two bombs <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/explosions-heard-damascus-reasons-unknown-witness-says-2026-07-07/">detonated</a> and wounded 18 people in Damascus on Tuesday shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron left his hotel for meetings with Syria’s new president.
The blasts went off shortly after Macron’s motorcade left the Four Seasons hotel for the presidential palace, where he met with Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa. Macron’s office said the French president did not hear the explosions, and his visit continued as planned.
Syria’s Interior Ministry said security forces had identified two improvised explosive devices near the Ministry of Tourism and were preparing to dismantle them when they detonated. One device had been placed inside a vehicle parked along the road, while the other was hidden in a trash container, officials said.
Authorities said the bombs were outside the security zone designated for Macron’s residence and did not pose a direct threat to the French president or his official schedule. Four police officers were <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/7/explosions-heard-in-syrias-damascus">among those wounded</a>, according to Syrian state media.
<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?is=tEgVCSZ09djQPEOu&amp;v=lhvZcZ16UsI&amp;feature=youtu.be">Footage from the scene</a> showed smoke rising over the capital and a vehicle engulfed in flames as emergency crews responded. Reuters footage captured smoke and fire billowing from the site, while the second explosion went off near an ambulance that had already arrived at the scene.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, and Syrian officials said search operations were underway to identify those behind it.
The explosions came during a politically significant visit for both France and Syria. Macron traveled to Damascus as Syria’s new government works to rebuild diplomatic ties and stabilize the country after more than a decade of civil war. Sharaa, who once commanded an al-Qaeda-affiliated insurgent group before breaking with the organization, has sought closer relations with Western governments while pledging to build a more inclusive post-Assad order.
Macron was accompanied by French business leaders, including executives from TotalEnergies and shipping giant CMA CGM. His visit focused not only on diplomacy but also on reconstruction, as France signaled willingness to help rebuild Syria’s economy and banking sector.
The Élysée said CMA CGM signed a partnership agreement with Syria that included air cargo freight handling at Damascus airport. France and Syria also agreed to begin the process of returning €51 million in assets that had been confiscated from Rifaat al-Assad, the late uncle of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
The visit marked a sharp diplomatic shift for a country that had been isolated by much of the West during Assad’s rule and the civil war that devastated Syria for more than a decade. Macron had previously pushed for the lifting of Western sanctions on Syria after Assad’s fall, and his trip to Damascus was intended to signal France’s support for the country’s new political direction.
In a <a href="https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/2074429009329308088">post</a> on X after the explosions, Macron said nothing could undermine Syrians’ desire to live in a sovereign and secure country. He added that he had met Syria “in all its diversity” and saw “dignity, courage, and determination.”
The bombings also came just days after another deadly explosion in Damascus. Last week, a bomb at a central café killed at least nine people and wounded about 20 others. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for that attack either.
The Islamic State, which fought against Sharaa during Syria’s civil war, has claimed several attacks against government forces since February, when the terror group announced what it described as a new phase of operations against the Syrian government. Authorities have not publicly linked the group to Tuesday’s explosions.

Emmanuel Macron

Bombs Explode Near Hotel Moments After French President Leaves

bombing

Syria

<a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/29/world-news/paris-official-blames-americans-and-their-air-conditioning-for-europe-heat-wave-that-has-killed-1300-people/?utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social">There were more than 1,200 deaths in France last Wednesday. 1,400 more on Thursday. Another 1,400 on Friday.</a> For context, the country&#8217;s normal daily death toll runs around 900. The body count is climbing so fast that Paris’s <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/29/world-news/europes-record-heat-has-overwhelmed-paris-mortuaries-and-left-families-in-distress/">mortuaries</a> are turning away the dead because they’re full.
And what’s to blame for this sudden mort spike? A lack of air conditioning. Because, apparently, keeping your home below 90 degrees is a vice.
While acknowledging that this is a horrible situation — elderly French citizens kicking the bucket too soon because their government seemingly cares more about virtue-signaling on climate than keeping them alive — Americans can still make light of it all. It&#8217;s what we do.
Thousands of journalists, influencers, and hysterical posters have taken to social media to mock European governments for their abysmal handling of la canicule plaguing the land across the pond.
Americans have every right to do this because those deaths were entirely preventable. It just so happens that in the 20th century, some of the brightest human minds discovered a way to not die from heat. Europe is still, inexplicably, opting out.
In France, only one in four homes has air conditioning, and that&#8217;s been true through a parade of &#8220;once in a generation&#8221; heat waves: <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/free-expression/extremism-in-the-defense-of-air-conditioning-is-no-vice-b74489b3">2025, 2003, 1993, 1911, 1865,</a> and onward. In the old days, presumably, they just blamed Mother Nature for going through menopause.
<a href="https://archive.ph/Szz5O#selection-3521.0-3521.273">Today, however, Parisians are blaming, wait for it, America.</a>
<a href="https://x.com/nypost/status/2071682128476000262">Paris&#8217;s Deputy Mayor Audrey Pulvar</a> took to Instagram this week to angrily declare that the U.S. bears a &#8220;significant amount of responsibility&#8221; for grandmère dying of a heat-induced stroke.
She says it’s just “rich” that we would dare mock the French, because it&#8217;s America&#8217;s use of air conditioning that contributed to their summer oven.
Well, chérie, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but there is this country called China… and even if the United States zeroed out its entire 11-ish percent share of global emissions tomorrow, shuttered every factory, blacked out every city, it would do roughly nothing to the planet&#8217;s thermostat. It would, however, gut American manufacturing, torch the energy sector, and raise the cost of literally everything for actual American families. Meanwhile, the CCP, which accounts for north of 30 percent of global CO2 emissions on its own, would keep chugging along, industrializing, polluting, and burning coal like there’s no tomorrow.
If every American simply flipped off their AC tomorrow in penance, thousands more of us would die of heat every year, our summers would get considerably more pungent, and the planet would not notice. Residential cooling is something like <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-lasted-nine-days-without-ac-europeans-dont-have-a-choice?author=Chloe+Trapanotto&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=I+Lasted+Nine+Days+Without+AC.+Europeans+Don%E2%80%99t+Have+A+Choice.">3%</a> of total U.S. emissions. China alone outpaces our entire economy&#8217;s output by more than double. So if you&#8217;re looking for the country actually moving the needle on global temperature, Madame Pulvar, you&#8217;re pointing your finger at the wrong continent.
Meanwhile, back home, France isn&#8217;t just under-equipped for the heat — it&#8217;s <a href="https://www.connexionfrance.com/practical/what-are-the-rules-on-fitting-air-conditioning-in-french-homes/666489">actively legislated against fixing it.</a> Because of strict rules on exterior units, historic-preservation restrictions in cities like Paris that make installing AC a bureaucratic nightmare, and a cultural campaign treating air conditioning as an indulgence have left people with one real option: public fountains. Videos of <a href="https://x.com/tirajnews/status/2071700235051565147/video/1">Parisians</a> <a href="https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/man-cools-off-warsaw-fountain-132113565.jpg?resize=683,1024&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all">wading</a> into them fully clothed have been circulating all week, which is delightful content and a genuinely bleak admission that &#8220;go stand in the Trocadéro&#8221; is the national heat plan.
So no, Madame Pulvar, we will not be powering down. We&#8217;ll keep feeling that glorious blast of cold air on a 100-degree day, and we&#8217;ll keep mocking a government that would rather let its elderly undergo a sweatocide than admit a window unit might have saved them.
Of course, <a href="https://www.climatebonds.net/news-events/blog/frances-green-budget-2026-good-start">Paris could fix this tomorrow.</a> Outfitting every household in France with a basic in-window AC unit would cost an estimated 4 billion dollars, which is nothing compared to the 41 billion euros France has earmarked for “green” spending in 2026 alone, or against the country&#8217;s actual climate adaptation fund, the one built specifically to help France survive disasters like this exact heat wave, which just got <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DaLrzSZGT0i/">slashed from 1.5 billion euros to 837</a> million in this year&#8217;s budget.
They have the money. They are just choosing not to spend it on the living.
It&#8217;s hard not to suspect the French government doesn&#8217;t actually want this problem solved. Dead pensioners stop drawing on the state&#8217;s beloved socialized medicine, and a rising body count is a far more useful prop for &#8220;global warming is happening&#8221; than a budget line about window units would ever be. Mais peut-être que je me trompe.
I love you, Paris. I really do. But you are making yourself very hard to defend lately. Strip away the gorgeous men, the breathtaking architecture, and sassy disdain for tourists, and what&#8217;s left is a government that would rather let its people cook than turn on the AC.
Maybe try the window unit. Until then, the mocking continues.

Local Weather France 2026

Mocking France Makes America Cooler

Air conditioning

DW Opinion

Global Warming

I&#8217;m on day nine of no air conditioning in my Washington, D.C. apartment. The building decided to upgrade the HVAC systems in the dead of June. In one of the swampiest cities in America.
I feel like a European.
And I hate it.
The silver lining (if you can call slow-roasting inside your own home a silver lining) is that I now have some sympathy for the people forced to endure this reality year in and year out. Not because of broken buildings or bad timing, but because their governments decided that sweating to death is a form of environmental virtue.
They are wrong. Catastrophically and lethally wrong.
Europe&#8217;s anti-AC policies are doing almost nothing to stop climate change. They are, however, killing people. According to the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-heat-and-health">WHO</a>, Europe averages more than 175,000 heat-related deaths every single year. In 2024 alone, a peer-reviewed study <a href="https://www.isglobal.org/en/-/62.700-muertes-asociadas-con-el-calor-del-verano-de-2024">published</a> in Nature Medicine put the summer death toll at nearly 63,000, compared to roughly <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2822854">2,400</a> in the United States that same year.
So Europe, with a population just 40% larger than ours, is losing tens of thousands of people to heat every summer, while we lose thousands. The difference isn&#8217;t climate, it’s ideology. The EU&#8217;s Green Deal and its accompanying &#8220;degrowth&#8221; ideology — the belief that every kilowatt of energy consumed is a sin against the planet — have spent decades actively discouraging AC installation, mandating carbon-neutral buildings, and pushing &#8220;passive cooling solutions&#8221; like fans and open windows. The result is not a greener planet, but a deadlier one.
The European heat death toll is <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/28/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-us/">twelve times</a> America&#8217;s gun homicide rate. Liberals will go on and on about &#8220;genocides&#8221; in their favorite third-world countries, yet never say a peep about the grim-heater knocking on thousands of their neighbors&#8217; doors every single summer. No marches. No hashtags. No candlelight vigils.
Just grandma dying because a bureaucrat decided a thermostat was too carbon-heavy.
And right now, it&#8217;s happening again. France is currently in the grip of a historic June heatwave. Fifty-four of its 96 departments are under red alert as of this week. Schools are closed, trains are canceled – the whole catastrophe is being compared to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_European_heatwave">2003 heat wave</a> that killed an estimated 15,000 people. Already, 40 people have drowned in rivers and lakes, jumping in to escape the heat. Only about <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/world/europe/heat-waves-france-air-conditioning.html">20%</a> of French homes have air conditioning.
According to <a href="https://www.leparisien.fr/meteo/il-mest-arrive-de-tomber-a-cause-des-etourdissements-le-calvaire-dune-retraitee-dans-sa-bouilloire-thermique-17-06-2026-NZIFJMZBO5DZBB6FK56QNHKD4M.php?at_medium=email&amp;at_emailtype=acquisition&amp;at_campaign=Newsletter&amp;at_creation=75-Paris">Le Parisien</a>, one 67-year-old woman is enduring 90-degree temperatures inside her home, so dizzy she can barely stand. Her survival strategy: three to four cold showers a day and hosing down her house with a garden hose.
The garden hose.
Meanwhile, the French ecological transition agency advises that even the elderly shouldn&#8217;t set their AC below 79 degrees Fahrenheit. For everyone else — the pregnant, the chronically ill, the merely human — the French public health agency has assembled a truly heroic list of <a href="https://www.ameli.fr/assure/sante/themes/canicule-chaleur/que-faire">tips</a>: &#8220;Wear a hat.&#8221; &#8220;Bend your legs regularly.&#8221; Eat &#8220;water-rich foods like cold soups.&#8221; Avoid using &#8220;your oven, computer, hairdryer.&#8221; “Dim the lights.”
They might as well hand out paper-free pamphlets on how to write a will and what to wear at your own funeral.
Dying because European governments won&#8217;t permit a box that sucks heat out of your living room. Welcome to the third world, Europe.
The climate scolds&#8217; math doesn&#8217;t even work. Cooling accounts for roughly <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/air-conditioning-causes-around-greenhouse-gas-emissions-will-change-future">3%</a> of global greenhouse gas emissions. If every European turned on an air conditioner tomorrow, models project it might add <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-69393-1">0.05</a> degrees Celsius to global temperatures by 2050. That&#8217;s not saving the planet. That&#8217;s a rounding error.
Meanwhile, the bodies keep piling up from actual heat exhaustion. Studies show proper air conditioning slashes the risk of dying on brutally hot days by <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/how-can-the-world-reduce-deaths-from-extreme-heat">75%</a>. The U.S. figured this out decades ago and now has near-universal AC with a tiny fraction of Europe’s heat-death toll despite plenty of nasty summers.
In fact, cold-related deaths across the globe still <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/part-one-how-many-people-die-from-extreme-temperatures-and-how-could-this-change-in-the-future">substantially</a> outnumber heat-related deaths. Over time, moderate warming could actually reduce net temperature-attributable mortality in many regions by cutting cold deaths faster than it raises heat deaths. So the entire premise that keeping Europeans sweltering indoors is some heroic act of planetary sacrifice falls apart on its own terms. They&#8217;re not preventing deaths. They&#8217;re just redistributing them.
Get Europe some air conditioning. Cut the heat deaths. And maybe even reduce cold deaths down the road. Bingo.
Because grand-mère isn&#8217;t dying from climate change. She&#8217;s dying because some bureaucrat in Paris decided sweltering until she’s six feet under was virtuous.
And I&#8217;m dying because my building decided June was a great time to upgrade the HVAC.
But at least I know it&#8217;s coming back. For far too many Europeans, it was never there at all.

FRANCE-WEATHER-CLIMATE-HEATWAVE

I Lasted Nine Days Without AC. Europeans Don’t Have A Choice.

Climate Change

Heat wave

A French doctor tested positive for Ebola after returning home from a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the French Ministry of Health said on Wednesday. 
A list of passengers that the patient was in contact with on the Air France flight is being reported to the health authorities, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/france/20260624-france-confirms-first-ebola-case-in-doctor-returning-from-dr-congo-mission">according</a> to France 24, and the risk of a wider outbreak appears to be relatively low. The low risk, particularly in France and across Europe, is attributed to better access to hygiene and generally cleaner and less cramped living conditions.
The infected doctor was isolated when he arrived in France before he was officially diagnosed, the health ministry <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9gzr9rdjlo">said</a>. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s office said he is monitoring the situation “very closely.”
Ebola is a rare but sometimes fatal illness with early symptoms that may include fever, aches, pains, and fatigue. As the illness progresses, symptoms may shift to &#8220;wet&#8221; symptoms, including diarrhea, vomiting, and unexplained bleeding, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ebola/about/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Ebola is often spread through contact with bodily fluids.
This strain of Ebola is known as Bundibugyo — which is rare and does not have a vaccine or treatments — but is typically less deadly. The fatality rate for the Bundibugyo strain is around 25%, just half of the Ebola average fatality rate of 50%. This is the first Ebola case detected in France, and the only one reported outside of Africa during this current outbreak. 
The 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC was declared on May 15 after there were several deaths in the eastern Ituri province.
Last week, it was revealed that the first line of defense against Ebola had collapsed. The number of infected has risen faster for this outbreak of Bundibugyo than any past Ebola outbreak on record, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ebola/situation-summary/index.html">according</a> to the CDC. Around 781 people are infected, and 267 are dead, making this the second-largest outbreak the DRC has ever faced, but Oxfam said the true number is most likely much higher. 
Some cases in the North Kivu province have only been identified as Ebola after the patient has died, meaning they were unaware they had the illness and could not take any precautions. 
The DRC’s water infrastructure and contact tracing programme are at a breaking point. People do not have access to clean water or hygiene facilities. In Ituri, the worst-affected area, only one in five health centers has access to enough clean water. 
Health experts believe the risk for a worldwide outbreak is relatively low due to the low contagiousness of the virus.
The CDC has not reported any outbreaks in the United States.

Health Officials Race To Contain Deadly Ebola Outbreak In Congo

Historic Ebola Outbreak Hits New Continent

Democratic Republic of Congo

Ebola

As World Cup travelers experience the modern marvels of everyday life in the United States, the headlines are replete with appreciation for <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/world-cup-fans-found-buc-130000689.html">Buc-ee’s</a>, <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/world-cup-fans-found-buc-130000689.html">Bass Pro Shops</a>, and bottomless chips and salsa. With summer’s arrival, here’s another one for that list not getting attention but should: air conditioning.
Roughly <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/02/climate/europe-air-conditioning-heat-wave-intl-latam">1 in 5 homes</a> in Europe have air conditioning, compared to an <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/02/climate/europe-air-conditioning-heat-wave-intl-latam">estimated 90%</a> in the United States. While we may take it for granted, the implications mean more than tossing and turning during sleepless nights: it’s a matter of life and death, literally.
A comparison of heatwave-related deaths between the United States and Europe from 2020 to 2025 is alarming. In our country, 9,436 people died. In Europe, <a href="https://x.com/levelsio/status/2069436709993898007?s=46">248,875</a> died, an increase of more than 2,500%.
In any other circumstance, the preventable deaths of a quarter of a million people would demand a United Nations condemnation. Heat takes the lives of the vulnerable: the sick and the elderly, those trapped in higher floors in government housing, those convalescing in windowless hospital beds or nursing homes.
So why the relative silence from the French, still a first-world destination despite their economic stagnation? Because in their country, air conditioning is not a convenience or even a necessity — it’s a controversy. Sacrifice your citizens in the name of battling climate change, and those deaths are an acceptable casualty for the green cause.
During a brutal stretch of heat last summer, one <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/world/europe/heat-waves-france-air-conditioning.html">left-leaning</a> French newspaper described air conditioning as “an environmental aberration that must be overcome.” Since 2007, the government has mandated that air conditioning be set at no lower than 79°F in public spaces.
And France accepts it. The great American economist Thomas Sowell made famous a profoundly complex, yet common-sense, quote: “There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.”
The lack of air conditioning in France is not a solution, but a trade-off. The most extreme of the tradeoffs is death.
The cold is even more deadly. Annually, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542519625000543">nine times</a> as many people die from the cold as from the heat, though it gets much less attention. This past winter, the East Coast endured brutal conditions. The climate protesters were nowhere to be found when large swaths of the country were buried under 18 inches of ice and snow for weeks. No one was glued to the George Washington Parkway, headed to Reagan Airport at -15. The heat makes us ornery and angry, explaining the undercurrent of every Tennessee Williams play.   
Just like the heat, death by cold is a trade-off. If you think this is just a French or blue state problem, think again.
Texas, the oil capital of the world, has an enormously powerful green lobby that has pushed for state-subsidized, unreliable, expensive wind power. When a 2021 ice and snowstorm crippled the entire industry, plunging several million people into weeks without power, more than <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210718121413/https:/www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/texas-winter-storm-power-outage-death-toll">700 people</a> froze to death. No one rioted or looted. No one built them a statue. Just as in France, they are an acceptable casualty for the green cause.
Even red Texas can be as blind as France when it comes to going green.
There are very few solutions; there are only trade-offs, and the more one digs into opportunity costs, feasibility, and scalability of energy, the more Sowell’s genius quote dissects the conundrum.
To be sure, fossil fuels are not perfect, but neither is the world. Yet the benefits of fossil fuels are documented and real. As U.S. Energy Secretary <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/secretary-energy-chris-wright-delivers-keynote-remarks-ceraweek-2025">Chris Wright</a> put it, they have contributed to “doubling human life expectancy, lifting almost all of the world&#8217;s citizens out of grinding poverty, launching modern medicine, telecommunications, planes, trains, and automobiles too.&#8221;
The trade-off is “going green,” and when placed side-by-side in comparison, very few are willing to take the trade-off. Ask any climate-change-concerned parent about “going green” with cloth diapers, beating them clean against a rock in the river, and using that same water source to bathe and make soup. Without fossil fuels, there are no disposable diapers, washing machines, or laundry detergents. Our American quality of life is the trade-off we never eschew.
Even if we pretend we can power our current lifestyle with solar or wind, the fact is, we are still using fossil fuels, just differently. There is more oil, gas, and coal in the sourcing, manufacturing, transportation, installation, and maintenance of wind and solar than wind and solar will ever offset in their lifespans.
Going green is no solution to our climate “problem.” It is a trade-off, and a losing one.
It is tragic to see France accept death as a trade-off for a faux crisis. Our country should not follow their lead, or Texas’ terrible lead, to go green and live miserable, unhygienic, unhealthy, and uncomfortable existences. If we do, the next time our country hosts a World Cup, all those foreign travelers experiencing the amazement of everyday life in the United States today may as well stay home.
***
Daniel Turner is the founder and executive director of Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs. He also runs a sheep and cattle farm in rural Virginia. Contact him at daniel@powerthefuture.com and follow him on X @DanielTurnerPTF

FRANCE-POITIERS-HEATWAVE-HOMELESS-RED-CROSS-COOLING

No A/C, No Problem. France Shrugs At Thousands Dead For ‘Climate Change.’

Green energy

Monday&#8217;s World Cup matches featured the biggest names in the sport scoring multiple goals each for their second consecutive group stage games.
Argentina, France, and Norway all took the field Monday in hopes of clinching their spot in the round of 32. Their superstars did all the work in pushing their countries to victory, creating an exciting race for the Golden Boot, the award given to the leading goal scorer in the tournament.
Argentina started the action off with a 2-0 win over Austria, and Argentine star Lionel Messi <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-messi-sets-all-time-record-for-world-cup-goals">made history</a> by scoring his 17th career World Cup goal, tying the all-time record. The goal came in the 38th minute after he missed a penalty kick earlier in the first half.
Messi added to the all-time total when Argentina made the best of a chance late in the second half, resulting in Messi putting the ball into the back of the net following chaos in front of the goal. His second goal also pushed him past Brazilian female star Marta Vieira da Silva, who held the record for World Cup goals for the women at 17.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
MESSI WITH THE BRACE TO PASS MARTA FOR THE MOST-EVER GOALS, MAN OR WOMAN, IN A FIFA WORLD CUP 🇦🇷 <a href="https://t.co/Ww5Wz9FnHk">pic.twitter.com/Ww5Wz9FnHk</a>
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) <a href="https://x.com/FOXSports/status/2069133596292427842?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
France took on Iraq in the second game of Monday’s action, as it looked to build off its dominant opening-game victory over Senegal. Just 14 minutes into the game, France’s Kylian Mbappé picked up where he left off, scoring from 26 yards out. 
This game also featured the first weather delay, as lightning and wind in the area delayed the second half by an hour after France took a 1-0 lead into the break when the rain started to pour in.
When play finally resumed, France and Mbappé did not seem fazed by the long wait. After a miscommunication and a massive mistake by Iraq, Mbappé scored his 16th career World Cup goal and fourth this tournament. Another goal from fellow star Ousmane Dembélé secured the win for France.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
A MASSIVE mistake at the back for Iraq and Mbappé capitalizes 🇫🇷
France lead 2-0! <a href="https://t.co/8sf1hwd6mD">pic.twitter.com/8sf1hwd6mD</a>
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) <a href="https://x.com/FOXSports/status/2069211684862890253?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
The goal ties former all-time leader Germany’s Miroslav Klose, whom Messi passed just a few hours prior. Mbappé and Messi are battling for that top goal scorer spot in tournament history, but Norway’s Erling Haaland is right with them in the race for this year&#8217;s Golden Boot.
The Norwegians took down Senegal’s national team 3-2. Marcus Holmgren Pedersen started things off for Norway, scoring just two minutes before the first half ended to take the 1-0 lead.
Haaland came to play in the second half, scoring both of his goals within 10 minutes of each other at the 48th and 58th minutes.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
ERLING HAALAND BAGS A BRACE TO MAKE IT 3-1 NORWAY! 🇳🇴
Truly unreal goalscoring prowess from the Norwegian striker <a href="https://t.co/WEWtTWdmtr">pic.twitter.com/WEWtTWdmtr</a>
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) <a href="https://x.com/FOXSports/status/2069228658246463587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
Despite two goals on the other side from Ismaïla Sarr, Senegal lost its second straight group stage match, putting its hopes of advancing on life support.
After the domination from the stars, Algeria and Jordan took the pitch in the final game of the day in a back-and-forth affair. Jordan took a surprising lead after Nizar Al-Rashdan scored in the 36th minute. Algeria finally responded late in the second half, thanks to Nadhir Benbouali netting one in during the 69th minute, and Amine Gouiri scoring the game-winning goal for Algeria in the 82nd minute.
This loss eliminates Jordan from advancing to the knockout stage, but keeps Algeria alive as it is now tied with Austria in second place in Group J.
Groups L and K take the field later today with Colombia and England looking to continue their winning ways against the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana. Portugal will look to rebound against Uzbekistan, and Croatia seeks its first win of this year’s tournament against Panama.

France v Iraq: Group I – FIFA World Cup 2026

Soccer’s Biggest Stars Steal The Show In Latest World Cup Action

Argentina

Lionel Messi

Norway

Soccer

World Cup

President Donald Trump arrived in France on Monday for the Group of Seven (G7) summit, where he is expected to hold a series of high-profile meetings against the backdrop of a newly announced agreement with Iran, an Ebola outbreak, ongoing fighting in Ukraine, and renewed disputes with several European allies.
Shortly before his first meeting, Trump signaled tensions with some members, posting a sharp critique of some European countries’ immigration policies. 
&#8220;Sadly, if you import people from Third World Countries, you quickly become a Third World Country — And there&#8217;s not a thing you can do about it. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116754288530173924">wrote</a>.
Trump has frequently criticized several European governments over mass migration and border security, including G7 members France and the United Kingdom. 
Trump&#8217;s first major bilateral meeting will be with French President Emmanuel Macron Monday before joining fellow G7 leaders for the summit&#8217;s opening events in Evian-les-Bains, a resort spa town on the shores of Lake Geneva near the Swiss border.
Over the next three days, Trump is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with Macron, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 
Trump will also join fellow G7 leaders and invited guests, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, for a series of working sessions focused on Ukraine, the Middle East, economic development, and global trade before concluding the trip on Wednesday.
The summit comes at a pivotal moment for the international community, with Trump announcing that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran has been reached and Vice President JD Vance announcing he will attend a signing ceremony in Switzerland on Friday. In a phone interview with Fox News, Vance said President Trump may also make an appearance, pending logistical planning.
&#8220;I certainly plan to be there. It&#8217;s possible the president himself could be there,&#8221; Vance said. &#8220;We got a lot of work to do, but a very big win for the American people tonight.&#8221;
On Sunday evening, Trump announced that negotiators had finalized a long-sought agreement with Iran that would allow for the immediate reopening of the critical shipping lane.
&#8220;The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all!&#8221; Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The precise terms of the agreement remain unclear, particularly regarding Iran&#8217;s nuclear program. According to The New York Times, Trump suggested in an interview on Sunday that he could accept a deal under which Iran suspends uranium enrichment for 15 years.
Such a provision would mark a significant shift from the administration&#8217;s previously stated position. As recently as April 8, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116368825638596650">declared</a> on Truth Social that there would be &#8220;no enrichment of Uranium.”
The fallout from the Iran conflict and the newly announced agreement with Tehran is likely to loom large over discussions at the G7, particularly after tensions flared between Trump and several member states that declined his calls to participate in efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz and instead criticized the U.S. military operation.
Trump publicly expressed frustration with the United Kingdom for its reluctance to become involved, blasted France after officials criticized the strikes, said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni lacked courage, and lashed out at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after the German leader suggested Iran had “humiliated” the United States.
“The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” Trump wrote on Truth <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/116483733181582907">Social</a>.
Following the dispute, Trump announced the withdrawal of thousands of U.S. troops from Germany, though part of that move was later offset by deployments to Poland.
France, which holds the current G7 presidency, is seeking areas of cooperation to cool tensions. According to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/14/trump-g7-iran-ukraine-ebola-00960717?utm_content=politico/magazine/Politics&amp;utm_source=flipboard">Politico</a>, Macron plans to pursue consensus on critical mineral supply chains, cancer research, child online safety, international development, social impact investing, and efforts to reduce investment risks in developing nations.
The war in Ukraine will also be a central focus of the summit. Zelensky is expected to attend as Kyiv is making notable territorial gains against Russia, but is seeking more U.S. missiles.
Here&#8217;s a look at Trump&#8217;s public schedule for the three-day summit:
(Times listed in Eastern Time)
Monday, June 15
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">11:30 a.m. — Bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">1:00 p.m. — Official greeting with G7 leaders</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">1:30 p.m. — G7 leaders&#8217; working dinner</li>
</ul>
Tuesday, June 16
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">3:00 a.m. — Working session with G7 leaders and Ukraine</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">4:30 a.m. — Bilateral meeting with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">5:15 a.m. — Bilateral meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">6:00 a.m. — Working lunch with G7 leaders and the Middle East</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">9:00 a.m. — Working session with G7 leaders and developing countries</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">1:15 p.m. — Cultural performance and concert</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">2:15 p.m. — G7 leaders&#8217; social dinner</li>
</ul>
Wednesday, June 17
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">3:30 a.m. — Working session with G7 leaders and developing countries</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">5:30 a.m. — Bilateral meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">6:30 a.m. — Working lunch with G7 leaders, developing countries, and global technology CEOs</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">8:45 a.m. — Bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">9:30 a.m. — Press conference</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">1:00 p.m. — Bilateral dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">TBD — Departure from France for Washington, D.C.</li>
</ul>
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<div>Trump arrived in Europe accompanied by a large delegation of senior administration officials and advisers. According to the White House, those traveling aboard Air Force One included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Counselor to the President Alina Habba, and several other top aides involved in foreign policy, trade, and economic negotiations.</div>
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TOPSHOT-FRANCE-G7-SUMMIT

Trump To Confront Divided West In G7 Showdown

Trump's G7 Agenda: Iran, Ukraine, And A Divided West

Donald Trump

Iran

Italy

United Kingdom

France and Germany’s $116 billion attempt to build their own fighter jet to replace their current models has officially been scrapped.
The fighter plane segment of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project created in 2017 dedicated $116 billion to build sixth-generation jets to use in battle by 2040. 
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared that the project was no longer feasible after months of stalemate between Dassault Aviation and Airbus, France&#8217;s and Germany’s industry partners respectively.
“The German authorities considered that it was not possible to put further pressure on the companies concerned,” Macron’s office, the Élysée Palace, explained in a statement.
The proposed fighter planes were supposed to combine advanced sensors, artificial intelligence, enhanced stealth technology, and other upgrades to use them for future air combat.
Signs of the potential flaming out were seen earlier this year. European Union Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius admitted that the plan was a “failure” and that Europe has struggled in &#8220;multinational defense projects.&#8221;
The FCAS project failure raises multiple questions about the integrity of Europe’s national defense. Leaders in Europe believed the plan was a test if they could develop advanced technology as they promised without the help of the United States. France and Germany have recently struggled with a next-generation tank project with the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) as well.
It also underlined potential disagreements between the two governments, which have both already expressed their alternative options after the project fell through.
Merz has publicly inquired if the sixth-generation planes will even be necessary, and that their requirements for the planes were not similar to those of France’s. France, on the other hand, is actively pursuing similar blueprints.
“The French authorities will continue to encourage our companies and armed forces to explore ways and means of pursuing ambitious European projects that are consistent with our national security interests,” the Élysée Palace added in its official statement.
While Berlin is looking into possible substitutes following the collapse, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius explained that if FCAS were to be thought of today, it simply wouldn’t happen.
“With what we know today, we would no longer launch this project in the way it was originally set up,” Pistorius told officials.
European countries are continuing to struggle to enhance their arms without the help of America in a time when everyone else is quickly advancing.

Fa-52 Fighter Jets

Europe’s $116 Billion Fighter Jet Project Crashes And Burns

fighter jets

Military

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