France plunged into political chaos on Monday as its National Assembly <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/08/europe/french-prime-minister-confidence-vote-latam-intl">voted to oust</a> Prime Minister François Bayrou, delivering a crushing 364–194 defeat that topples Macron’s third PM in under two years and leaves the country without a government amid mounting debt and economic unrest.
Bayrou’s fall comes after he attempted to push through a €44 billion austerity package — slashing public spending, freezing budgets, and scrapping national holidays. The backlash was swift and decisive: lawmakers pulled the plug, and now France faces yet another leadership vacuum.
President Emmanuel Macron is expected to appoint a new prime minister in the coming days — but insiders say he has no good options left. The opposition has already signaled that any centrist nominee will be dead on arrival.
And while the National Rally — currently the largest party in parliament — would likely dominate any fresh election, Macron knows that outcome would all but guarantee his own political irrelevance.
Marine Le Pen, the National Rally&#8217;s party’s longtime leader and a top contender for the presidency, was banned from running for public office back in April. A court convicted her of misusing European Union funds — a charge she has fiercely denied, calling the trial a politically motivated hit job.
The court handed down a four-year prison sentence (two suspended), and crucially, a five-year ban from holding office, a move that knocked Le Pen out of the 2027 race unless a rapid appeal overturns the decision.
Critics blasted the ruling as part of a broader pattern of “lawfare” — the weaponization of legal systems to eliminate populist challengers.
Former President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/using-lawfare-to-silence-free-speech-trump-slams-witch-hunt-against-marine-le-pen?utm_source=chatgpt.com">called the case</a> “a witch hunt,” comparing it to the legal barrage he’s faced in the U.S. “They got her on a bookkeeping error,” Trump said. “It’s the same corrupt playbook.”
Tech mogul Elon Musk echoed the sentiment: “Free Le Pen.”
With France’s political establishment collapsing from within and its most popular opposition leader barred from taking power, the country stands at a crossroads.
Leftist unions are already planning mass protests this week while investors are bailing. And talk of another snap election looms — one that could hand the Right even more seats, but leave Macron unable to govern.

European Leaders Join Ukrainian President Zelensky For White House Meeting With Trump

France In Freefall: Macron’s Government Collapses

Emmanuel Macron

France

Global Politics

Marine Le Pen

World

The U.S. military destroys a drug boat from Venezuela as a federal judge tries to block President Trump from using the National Guard for law enforcement in Los Angeles. A massive populist backlash against mass migration is fueling a historic political shift to the Right across Europe. The FDA restricts access to COVID vaccines for healthy Americans as President Trump demands Big Pharma release its data and questions his own Operation Warp Speed.
It’s Wednesday, September 3, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2>U.S. Military Sinks Drug Boat, Judge Blocks Trump in L.A.</h2>
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Topline: The U.S. military destroyed a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela on Tuesday, the most dramatic move yet in the Trump administration&#8217;s war on cartels, as a federal judge in California ruled against the president&#8217;s use of the National Guard for domestic law enforcement. 
As part of an &#8220;enhanced counter narcotics operation,&#8221; the U.S. military has deployed at least eight warships to the Caribbean. &#8220;We just, over the last few minutes, shot out a drug-carrying boat,&#8221; President Trump announced Tuesday. &#8220;These came out of Venezuela.&#8221; The action follows the president&#8217;s designation of several large drug cartels as terror organizations, allowing for a more aggressive military approach. 
Meanwhile, a district judge in San Francisco ruled Tuesday that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles to protect federal property and aid immigration enforcement was illegal. The judge, Charles Breyer, barred guardsmen from engaging in law enforcement activities. The Trump administration will appeal the ruling, which has been put on hold for ten days. A federal appeals court previously reversed a similar ruling from Breyer in June. 
In other administration news, the Pentagon will send up to 600 of its lawyers to the Justice Department to serve as temporary immigration judges, a move intended to clear a 3-million-person backlog and speed up deportations. President Trump also announced that the U.S. Space Command Headquarters will be relocated to Huntsville, Alabama, a move the White House says will save nearly half a billion dollars.
&nbsp;
<h2>Europe Sees Historic Shift to the Right Amid Migrant Backlash</h2>
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Topline: For the first time in modern history, right-wing populist parties are leading the polls in Europe&#8217;s three largest economies — France, Germany, and the United Kingdom — driven by a massive public backlash against mass migration. 
&#8220;Immigration is the number one factor driving all of these movements,&#8221; Alvino-Mario Fantini, editor-in-chief of the European Conservative, told Morning Wire. Since 2015, an estimated 25 to 30 million immigrants, primarily from Muslim countries, have entered Europe, leading to a culture clash and widespread anger over the high costs of housing and welfare for migrants. 
As a result, nationalist parties like Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, France’s National Rally, and Germany’s Alternative for Germany are now topping the polls in their respective countries. 
The establishment parties have responded with what many conservative analysts call &#8220;lawfare,&#8221; similar to tactics used against the MAGA movement in the U.S. In France, National Rally leader Marine Le Pen was convicted of misusing E.U. funds and banned from running for office for five years. In Germany, the country’s intelligence agency has classified the Alternative for Germany party as an “extremist” group, which could be used to ban its members from public office.
&nbsp;
<h2>FDA Restricts COVID Vax as Trump Questions Warp Speed</h2>
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Topline: The FDA has removed the emergency use authorization for COVID vaccines, restricting their availability for healthy Americans, as President Trump is now publicly questioning his own Operation Warp Speed and demanding that pharmaceutical companies release their data on the shots. 
The FDA has removed the &#8220;emergency use authorization&#8221; that allowed widespread access to COVID vaccines during the pandemic. While high-risk individuals can still get the vaccine, healthy people will now need a recommendation from a physician. FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said the agency doesn&#8217;t &#8220;have data [on] healthy Americans, so we’re not recommending it for healthy Americans,&#8221; adding that the change makes future vaccine mandates &#8220;legally impossible.&#8221; 
The move comes as President Trump has taken a more critical tone on the vaccines. In a post on Truth Social, he demanded that companies like Pfizer &#8220;justify&#8221; the success of the drugs and release their data to the public. In a notable shift, he also questioned his own signature program, writing, “I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as ‘BRILLIANT’ as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why???” 
The policy changes follow a major shakeup at the CDC, where HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently fired the director, prompting several other top officials to resign and nine former directors to write an op-ed condemning Kennedy. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya responded by noting that the former directors criticizing Kennedy were the same ones who &#8220;embraced politicized school closures and covid vaccine mandates.”

MRN 9.03.25 Thumbnail V1

Morning Brief: US Military Strikes Drug Boat, Rise Of European Populism & COVID Vax Pullback

COVID

COVID-19 Vaccine

Donald Trump

Drug Cartels

Europe

Germany

Operation Warp Speed

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

U.K.

Venezuela

Right-wing parties are simultaneously leading polls across Europe’s biggest economies in a first for the continent’s nationalist and populist movements.
In France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, known together as Europe’s “Big Three,” right-wing parties have surged in popularity on angst over lax immigration policies and high inflation, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/right-wing-europe-dd4f1156?mod=hp_lead_pos10">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
The National Rally has led polls in France consistently for the past year, and National Rally’s presidential candidate would likely win the first round of voting. National Rally is led by Jordan Bardella, who took over the party after Marine Le Pen.
National Rally is already the largest single party in France’s National Assembly.
Reform UK, the newly founded British party led by Nigel Farage, has overtaken the ruling Labour Party in polls within the last six months. Farage founded the party partly out of frustration with the Conservative Party, which has dueled the Labour Party for control of government over the past century. Farage launched Reform after accusing Conservatives of abandoning their voters.
In Germany, Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has edged ahead of the ruling centrist Christian Democratic Union.
France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, like the rest of Europe, have experienced a period of high inflation after pandemic-era spending binges led to aggressively rising prices, which have left many goods at significantly higher price points than they were five years ago. Europe has also lagged behind the United States in economic growth, which could offset the impact of those higher prices.
The governments of the Big Three have also faced increasing grassroots pressure over permissive immigration policies.
In France, citizens have reacted against the country’s growing Muslim population which many see as a threat to French values. The slogan “Let’s block everything” has <a href="https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/block-everything-france-braces-for-a-september-in-flames/">grown</a> popular on social media in France in reaction to unsustainable spending, in part on immigration that has little direct benefit for French citizens, that has led to austerity measures.
In Germany and the United Kingdom, both countries have experienced record waves of immigration in recent years. Germany’s foreign-born population has surged from 15% of its total population in 2017 to 22% last year.
The United Kingdom has seen raw immigration numbers comparable to the surge that swamped the United States immigration system under Biden within the same time frame. Unlike the United States, however, the United Kingdom’s population is about a fifth the size of the United States’.
Europe’s immigration policies have received attention and criticism from the United States, from high-profile figures such as Elon Musk to top officials in the White House.
“[G]overnment that puts foreigners above their own people is, by definition, TREASONOUS and ILLEGITIMATE!” Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1962212945233895500">posted</a> on X on Sunday. “The people of Britain deserve a government that represents their interests, not those of shadowy foreign organizations!”
Musk has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musk-backs-right-wing-german-party-after-christmas-terror-attack-the-only-hope-for-germany">voiced</a> support for AfD in Germany, while the Trump administration has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/european-nations-grapple-with-growing-free-speech-problem-under-trumps-gaze">criticized</a> European officials for restricting free speech across the continent, often to avoid upsetting foreign populations that have swelled within its borders, such as in Germany and the U.K.

Marine Le Pen, Nigel Farage

Right-Wing Parties Are Surging In Popularity Across Europe’s Biggest Players

Nigel Farage

United Kingdom

Britain, France, and Germany — the E3 — plan to hit Iran with reimposed United Nations sanctions as early as Thursday.
Following high-level talks with Iranian officials on Tuesday, multiple European and Western diplomats <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/europeans-likely-initiate-un-sanctions-process-iran-thursday-sources-say-2025-08-27/">told Reuters</a> the E3 will trigger a “snapback” of sanctions this week, signaling a significant setback for Tehran amid ongoing nuclear and security concerns.
“The U.N. process takes 30 days before sanctions that would cover Iran&#8217;s financial, banking, hydrocarbons and defence sectors were restored,” Reuters noted, adding, “The E3 have offered to delay the snapback for as much as six months to enable serious negotiations if Iran resumes full U.N. inspections.”
“In a letter dated August 8, the E3 warned Iran it would proceed with ‘snapback’ if Tehran didn&#8217;t reach a ‘satisfactory solution’ to the nuclear issues. A deadline was set for August 31,” <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20250822-iran-european-powers-to-resume-nuclear-talks-as-snapback-sanctions-loom">France 24</a> noted, adding, “Under ‘snapback,’ any party to the deal can find Iran in noncompliance, reimposing the sanctions. After it expires, any sanctions effort could face a veto from UN Security Council members China and Russia, two nations that have provided some support to Iran in the past but stayed out of the June war.”
In July, a <a href="https://isc.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Intelligence-and-Security-Committee-of-Parliament-Iran.pdf">report</a> from Great Britain’s Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament stated clearly that they saw Iran as a “significant threat to the UK.”
“The Iran threat should not be underestimated: it is persistent and  — crucially  — unpredictable,” the report — which was completed before the October 7 Hamas massacre of Israelis and subsequent events occurred — declared. “Iran has a high appetite for risk when conducting offensive activity, which means it poses a dynamic and erratic threat. &#8230; it can escalate action sharply with little warning. This was seen following the 2022 protests in Iran, when there was a significant increase in the threat of a physical attack to individuals in the UK and the Middle East whom Iran perceives to be a threat to the regime.”
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=summer&amp;utm_content=editorialsummersale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
In June, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, found that Iran had breached its non-proliferation obligations. It was the first time in almost two decades that the IAEA had taken that stance. The <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/west-plans-push-iaea-board-find-iran-breach-duties-diplomats-say-2025-05-30/">last time</a> the IAEA adopted that position was in September 2005, when clandestine nuclear activities in Iran were discovered.
“The Board of Governors&#8230; finds that Iran&#8217;s many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran &#8230; constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement with the Agency,” the resolution stated.

Israel Launches Strikes Against Iran

European Powers Poised To Reimpose U.N. Sanctions On Iran This Week

Britain

Iran

snapback sanctions

Elon Musk announced on Monday that he would not cooperate with French authorities in their “politically motivated criminal investigations&#8221; against his social media platform, X.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office opened a <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/france-opens-probe-into-musks-x-over-algorithm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">probe</a> against X in June in response to allegations by politician Eric Bothorel that the platform was performing “fraudulent data extraction” for “foreign interference purposes.”
A separate complaint said that X &#8220;now offers an enormous amount of hateful, racist, anti-LGBT+ and homophobic political content, which aims to skew the democratic debate in France.&#8221;
Musk has <a href="https://x.com/GlobalAffairs/status/1947213316331282504" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed</a> the allegations as “completely false” and says the probe “egregiously undermines X’s fundamental right to due process and threatens our users’ rights to privacy and free speech.”
“For these reasons, X has not acceded to the French authorities’ demands, as we have a legal right to do.”
“French authorities have requested access to X’s recommendation algorithm and real-time data about all user posts on the platform in order for several ‘experts’ to analyze the data and purportedly &#8216;uncover the truth&#8217; about the operation of the X platform,” Musk wrote.
He claimed that two of the proposed experts are openly hostile towards X. One, David Chalaverias, leads a campaign called <a href="https://www.escape-x.org/Why-quit-X-Launch-of-Escape-X-campaign.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EscapeX</a>, which calls for a mass exodus from the platform, citing a biased algorithm and “Elon Musk&#8217;s influence in European democracies.”
“The involvement of these individuals raises serious concerns about the impartiality, fairness, and political motivations of the investigation, to put it charitably,” Musk wrote.
He also noted that while X is “in the dark” about the exact nature of the allegations, French authorities have labeled the company as an “organized gang.” This designation, which is usually reserved for drug cartels or mafia groups, gives police greater investigative power, including the authorization to conduct searches, wiretaps, and surveillance against Musk and his employees. Noncompliance could result in an <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/paris-prosecutor-contacts-police-probe-into-social-media-platform-x-advances-2025-07-11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrest</a> warrant.
“Based on what we know so far, X believes that this investigation is distorting French law in order to serve a political agenda and, ultimately, restrict free speech,” he concluded.
This comes amidst a broader European <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-meta-apple-x-fines-digital-antitrust-rules-digital-services-act-elon-musk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">movement</a> to crack down on tech companies in the wake of the European Union’s 2022 Digital Services Act, and increasing <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/does-europe-have-free-speech-problem-2034349" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disagreement</a> between the United States and Europe on the limits of free speech.
The European Commission has already fined Apple and Meta millions of euros. It is in the middle of a drawn-out investigation into X, and has already found that X violated the Digital Services Act on three accounts, including “the transparency of its advertising; data access for researchers; and the use of blue check marks that connote trust but can be bought — which could constitute deceptive design.”
Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1811783320839008381?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the EU tried to pressure X into censoring its users: “The European Commission offered X an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us.”
“The other platforms accepted that deal. X did not.”

Elon Musk

Elon Won’t Cooperate With France’s ‘Politically Motivated’ Investigations Into X

Crime

Investigation

Twitter

NORTHWOOD (Reuters) — France and Britain on Thursday agreed to reinforce cooperation over their respective nuclear arsenals as the two European powerhouses seek to respond to growing threats to the continent and uncertainty over their U.S. ally.
The announcement came after French President Emmanuel Macron concluded a three-day state visit to Britain, where the two allies sought to turn the page on years of turbulence following Britain&#8217;s decision to withdraw from the European Union.
&#8220;This morning, we signed the Northward declaration, confirming for the first time that we are coordinating our independent nuclear deterrence,&#8221; British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told a news conference alongside Macron.
&#8220;From today, our adversaries will know that any extreme threat to this continent would prompt a response from our two nations. There is no greater demonstration of the importance of this relationship.&#8221;
U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s questioning of burden-sharing in NATO and his overtures to Russia have led to existential questions in Europe about the trans-Atlantic relationship and Washington&#8217;s commitment to helping defend its European allies.
Europe&#8217;s primary nuclear deterrence comes from the United States and is a decades-old symbol of trans-Atlantic solidarity.
Macron said the two countries had created an oversight committee to coordinate their cooperation, a task he said was vital.
&#8220;The decision is that we don&#8217;t exclude the coordination of our respective deterrents. It&#8217;s a message that our partners and adversaries must hear,&#8221; Macron said.
The closer cooperation had nothing to do with their efforts to create a coalition of the willing to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, he added.
While both sides will keep their own decision-making processes and strategic ambiguity, the move does suggest further protection for the continent at a time when the United States&#8217; commitment to Europe is under scrutiny.
Macron has previously said he will launch a strategic dialogue on extending the protection offered by France&#8217;s nuclear arsenal to its European partners.
The U.S. has nuclear arms in Europe and tens of thousands of troops deployed in bases across the continent with military capabilities that Europe cannot match.
France spends about 5.6 billion euros ($6.04 billion) annually on maintaining its stockpile of 290 submarine- and air-launched nuclear weapons, the world&#8217;s fourth largest.
Britain describes its nuclear programme as &#8220;operationally independent,&#8221; but sources missile technology from the U.S. and depends on the U.S. for acquisition and maintenance support.
&#8220;On the nuclear agreement that we&#8217;ve reached today &#8230; it is truly historic,&#8221; Starmer said.
(Additional reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Writing by John Irish; Editing by Aidan Lewis)

France’s President Macron State visit to the UK

France, Britain Unveil Nuclear Weapons Cooperation To Counter Threat To Europe

Keir Starmer

Nuclear Weapons

U.S.

The following excerpt is taken from the new book &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Proportionality-Israels-Just-Gaza/dp/B0F841ZJTX">Beyond Proportionality: Israel&#8217;s Just War In Gaza,</a>&#8221; by Thane Rosenbaum (Wicked Son/Post Hill Press, May 2025).
* * *
<h3>INTRODUCTION: “J’accuse!” — The Case Against Israel</h3>
At the turn of the nineteenth century, a political scandal in France galvanized public opinion all over the world. Known as the Dreyfus Affair, at its root was the inexorable display and mass hatred of Jews. This same antisemitic fervor, which a few decades later would materialize into the Holocaust, had been around for two millennia. Occasionally, it would manifest itself in pogroms and mass expulsions. Along the way, it went from latent to lethal, and emanated from a lie.
This time, however, the antisemitism was organized, sanctioned by the government, fueled by the press, and openly embraced by many people who regarded themselves as highly cultivated and civilized. Artists and intellectuals took a special interest in joining the mob. And it came pre-packaged with an easily disproved conspiracy theory involving a treasonous Jewish military officer.
Jews in France had long enjoyed the full panoply of civil rights. Indeed, during the French Revolution, France had become the first European nation to emancipate its Jewish population. For nearly a century, French Jews had participated in every facet of cosmopolitan life among the professional classes and cultural elite. But suddenly, they found themselves facing a backlash unlike anything they had experienced before.
The Dreyfus Affair made the unspoken hatred of Jews not just acceptable but fashionable. Seemingly overnight, Jews in France went from being socially accepted and having a sense of security to being on the receiving end of wild denunciations for their clannishness, duplicity, greed, and dual loyalty.
And much like Nazi Germany, the nerve center of these societal convulsions burned brightest on university campuses, in the pages of the mainstream press, and wherever artists and writers congregated. The fact that it all originated from an easily disprovable lie was of little concern. The case against Dreyfus was merely a pretext to something far worse.
<div id="attachment_942309" style="width: 417px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Proportionality-Israels-Just-Gaza/dp/B0F841ZJTX"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-942309" class="size-large wp-image-942309" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-12-29-PM-7049-407x576.jpg" alt="Credit: Post Hill Press/Wicked Son" width="407" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-12-29-PM-7049-407x576.jpg 407w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-12-29-PM-7049-212x300.jpg 212w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-12-29-PM-7049-768x1086.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-12-29-PM-7049-1086x1536.jpg 1086w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-12-29-PM-7049-1448x2048.jpg 1448w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-12-29-PM-7049-scaled.jpg 1810w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 407px) 100vw, 407px" /></a>Credit: Post Hill Press/Wicked Son</div>
Captain Alfred Dreyfus was an officer on the French military general staff accused of passing state secrets to Germany — the despised aggressor nation that during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 had humiliated France and annexed Alsace and Moselle. Someone had to be blamed, and Dreyfus, a high-ranking Jewish officer, fully assimilated yet perceived as a foreigner, was an easy fall guy even though there was no actual evidence of his wrongdoing. The French legal system relied upon forged documents — manufactured by military counterintelligence — to falsify his guilt. The letters were not even in Dreyfus’ handwriting.
That’s not to say there was no spy within the ranks of senior military officers. But it wasn’t Captain Dreyfus. Two years after he was court-martialed for treason and shipped off to Devil’s Island, a notorious tropical hellhole where many prisoners died of disease and malnutrition, the French Army uncovered evidence implicating the true culprit — Major Walsin Esterhazy, who had sold secret documents to the German Embassy. But by then the nation was awash in anti-Jewish bigotry. Dreyfus should have been exonerated instantly. Instead, he was returned to France to face a new trial, where he was once again convicted and given an enhanced sentence.
Newspapers around the world covered the trial and its aftermath. A slogan representative of the times referred to Dreyfus as “the Jew who is everywhere but belongs nowhere.” It should come as no surprise to learn that the Dreyfus Affair roughly coincided with the publication of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, another forged document, this one alleging a Jewish conspiracy to conquer the world.
Events shifted dramatically when one of France’s leading intellectuals, the novelist and playwright Émile Zola, wrote a lengthy front-page essay — famously titled “J’Accuse&#8230;!” — in which he charged the French government and legal system with a coverup. Zola wrote, “Here&#8230;are the facts which explain how a miscarriage of justice could be made; and the moral evidence, the financial circumstances of Dreyfus, the absence of reason, his continual cry of innocence&#8230;the hunting for the ‘dirty Jews,’ which dishonours our time.” Given the public embarrassment to the nation’s institutions, Zola himself was brought to trial and convicted of libel. He fled to London.
Eventually, the obsession with Dreyfus dissipated. The French government and its people finally came to recognize that they had been handed a convenient excuse to shift blame away from France’s military and rest it instead with a familiar villain. National regret ensued, and by 1906, Dreyfus was exonerated, and his rank restored.
But anyone familiar with these events can’t help but see the parallel with what is happening today. The global reaction to Israel’s eighteen-month-long war in Gaza has had many of the same elements: heightened emotions, irrational arguments, distorted histories, the rejection of obvious truths, forged documents, falsified facts, misapplied laws, antisemitic stereotypes, and worldwide anti-Jewish rage. But instead of a single Jewish officer serving as the focal point, this time it was the Jewish state, and its professional military, who stand falsely accused — and with much the same imagery. Thus, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is often depicted as drinking the blood of Palestinian children.
Such fabrications are all the more paradoxical given the events that preceded and fully justified Israel’s retaliatory war against Hamas. These sensationalized condemnations completely overlook and ignore what started the conflict in the first place. On the morning of October 7, 2023, southern Israel was invaded — by land, air, and sea — by six thousand Palestinians from Gaza. Most were terrorists with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but many were ordinary civilians. It was a planned and coordinated attack that lasted several hours and targeted the concert-goers at the Nova Music Festival, most of whom were young peace-loving Israelis.
* * *
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<div class="a-cardui-content a-cardui-uninitialized _about-the-author-card_carouselItemStyles_peekableContent__hWM3i" data-a-max-height="80">
Thane Rosenbaum is an essayist, law professor, and author of both fiction and nonfiction titles, including the novels, &#8220;How Sweet It Is!&#8221;,&#8221; The Stranger Within Sarah Stein,&#8221; &#8220;The Golems of Gotham,&#8221; &#8220;Second Hand Smoke,&#8221; and &#8220;Elijah Visible.&#8221; His articles, reviews and essays appear frequently in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Huffington Post and Daily Beast, among other national publications.
</div>
</div>
This excerpt from &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Proportionality-Israels-Just-Gaza/dp/B0F841ZJTX">Beyond Proportionality: Israel&#8217;s Just War In Gaza,</a>&#8221; by Thane Rosenbaum is published by permission from Post Hill Press/Wicked Son.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT

When Lies Turn Deadly: The Century-Old Script Behind Today’s Anti-Israel Fury

Anti-Semitism

Books

Gaza

Israel

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Jewish

Middle East

October 7

Today is June 6. It was on this day, eighty-one years ago, that 150-thousand men from the United States, Great Britain, and other allied nations, landed under withering gunfire on the beaches of France to begin the brutal process of breaking the Nazi stranglehold on the once-free nations of Europe. It is difficult now to imagine the almost superhuman courage it required for these men to slog through the bullet-riddled surf onto beaches carpeted with the bodies of those who went before them, in order to fight their way inch by bloody inch into the maw of gun emplacements, the destruction of which represented only the first small step toward eradicating the most murderous regime ever to stain the annals of human history. 
And that’s why, every June, we dedicate the entire month to celebrating homosexuality. Well, maybe that’s not why. But there must be some reason. Because that’s what we do.
That’s right, it’s Pride Month, and there is absolutely nothing Americans can be so proud of as homosexuality … apparently. Just think of the progress gay people have made. Homosexuality — once called the love that dare not speak its name — is now, at last, the love that simply will not shut the hell up. It just drones on and on and on. It’s so great. Really, you can’t get enough of it. On and on and on and on. A whole month of it. I mean, most sexual abnormalities, you just politely look away and try to mind your own business. But there’s no chance of that with this one, is there? Nosiree. On and on and on. That’s progress.
And there’s so much progress to be proud of in Pride Month. In the past, for instance, a gay man had to hide in shame. Now he can march down the street in a pride parade, dressed in leather chaps that open behind to expose his buttocks not only to anyone who’s interested but to the many, many, many people who really are not interested in seeing his buttocks even a little bit. Plus he can carry a whip to announce to all the world that he has a trauma-induced sexual fetish that prevents him from having any relationship that isn’t centered on debasement, domination and pain. Then he can proclaim how proud he is about that. Then he can go home and wash down a fistful of anti-depressants with half a bottle of gin and scream “I’m so effing proud,” before pitching face forward onto the kitchen table and sinking into blessed unconsciousness.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show</a></h3>
And that’s not even all the progress. Some of you younger people won’t believe this, but it used to be that if a man punched a woman in the face, he’d be arrested. Today, thanks to the LGBTQ movement, if a man wants to punch a woman in the face, he can go to the Olympics and win a gold medal. I was so excited to hear this, I told my wife: I could punch you in the face and win a gold medal! My ex-wife, I should say. Still, it was a great moment.
And there’s even more progress. It used to be, if a man gave homosexual porn to a child, he’d be put in prison. Then he’d be killed by the other prisoners, because no matter how bad their crimes were, they weren’t as bad as giving homosexual porn to a child. Now, thanks to our pride, if a man gives homosexual porn to a child, it’s because he’s a member of a teachers union and has a job in a public elementary school. And man, if that’s not progress, then progress is probably something else. Like progress might be inventing air conditioning or computers or more effective treatments for disease. But no. For us, progress is teachers giving homosexual porn to children.
So this June, think back on that D-Day when thousands gave their lives for freedom. Remember it’s because of them that we can spend the entire month being proud of homosexuality. Because of them, and because our elite culture has become a cesspit of decadent buffoons who have no shame. After all, who else could be this proud?
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
The views expressed in this satirical article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/andrewklavan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@andrewklavan</a>
Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fourth installment, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1613165536?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_thcv_3&amp;storeType=ebooks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Woman Underground.</a>” His most recent nonfiction release is “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Cain-Finding-Literature-Darkness/dp/0310368340/?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_w=nMYjR&amp;content-id=amzn1.sym.bc3ba8d1-5076-4ab7-9ba8-a5c6211e002d&amp;pf_rd_p=bc3ba8d1-5076-4ab7-9ba8-a5c6211e002d&amp;pf_rd_r=133-8344803-2786917&amp;pd_rd_wg=7a8J3&amp;pd_rd_r=5791ea0f-6d96-4732-9d6a-3a4e6b348bb5&amp;ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness.</a>” (May 2025, Zondervan/HarperCollins).

D-Day

America Now Honors D-Day By Celebrating Pride Month

Andrew Klavan

Humor

Normandy

Pride Month

Satire

World War II

At least two people were killed and hundreds more were injured in Paris following a European soccer championship, as protesters waved Palestinian flags and clashed with police.
Chaos erupted across the city after thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate Paris Saint-Germain winning the Champions League, the most prestigious title in European soccer. Videos and photos from the riots showed people clashing with police, crashing through barriers, destroying vehicles, climbing monuments, and causing mayhem.
Protesters waived Palestinian flags amid the chaos, following an anti-Israel protest during the championship match in Munich. Paris Saint-Germain fans unfurled a massive banner calling for an end to the “genocide” in Gaza, a display that could result in a 10,000 euro fine for the soccer club. Other Paris Saint-Germain fans were seen waving Palestinian flags and wearing Palestinian scarves, according to <a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/world/psg-fans-wave-stop-genocide-in-gaza-banner-during-champions-league-final-bfd29tzj">The Jewish Chronicle</a>.
Videos also show rioters waving Algerian, Tunisian, and Moroccan flags.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
While Paris burns, flags of Morocco and Palestine are waving. In other videos, flags of Algeria and Tunisia are waving. Is there anything else we need to know to understand who criminals are? <a href="https://t.co/iujQcSeHmv">https://t.co/iujQcSeHmv</a> <a href="https://t.co/uo1GcNIYXO">pic.twitter.com/uo1GcNIYXO</a>
&mdash; RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) <a href="https://twitter.com/RadioGenoa/status/1929100277065326610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The monument to Saint Joan of Arc in Paris last night. 🇫🇷💔 <a href="https://t.co/tUG3MTfqb8">pic.twitter.com/tUG3MTfqb8</a>
&mdash; Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) <a href="https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1929193852520276390?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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VIDÉO CLPRESS. Un pompier a été agressé par un individu lors d&#39;une intervention à proximité des <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChampsElys%C3%A9es?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChampsElysées</a> avant que des supporters du <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ParisSaintGermain?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ParisSaintGermain</a> interviennent pour le libérer. <a href="https://t.co/4q8aFuSTcW">pic.twitter.com/4q8aFuSTcW</a>
&mdash; CLPRESS / Agence de presse (@CLPRESSFR) <a href="https://twitter.com/CLPRESSFR/status/1928958424773001456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Paris Saint-Germain topped Inter Milan 5-0, becoming the first French team to win the Champions League trophy in over three decades.
As the celebration descended into chaos, French authorities cracked down and arrested hundreds of people. Two people died in the tumult: a 17-year-old boy who was stabbed in the chest in the nearby town of Dax and a 23-year-old man who was hit by a vehicle while riding a scooter, according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgqyg325gno">BBC</a>.
The French Interior Ministry said that 559 people were arrested. Officials reported that 192 people were injured.
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There is no credible evidence to suggest that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza. Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who served in the Biden administration, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/09/us-has-seen-no-evidence-that-israel-has-committed-genocide-austin-says-00151241">concluded</a> last year that the United States does not “have any evidence of genocide” in Gaza. An analysis of Gaza Health Ministry data conducted last year by the Associated Press found that over 60% of reported deaths among Palestinians were either adult males or had no reported gender.
Only 38% of casualties were women or children, according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas and is an unreliable source of data on the war in Gaza. The health ministry’s own data, however, has <a href="https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2024/06/07/new-report-determines-percentage-of-civilian-casualties-has-fallen-sharply-in-gaza/">belied</a> the health ministry’s claim that more than 70% of Palestinian casualties in the war have been either women or children.

Anti-riot officers in Paris

Protesters Wave Palestinian Flags In Fiery Paris Soccer Riots That Left At Least Two Dead

Hundreds Arrested In Riots Across Paris After Championship Soccer Match

General

Paris

Soccer

President Donald Trump weighed in on the viral video showing French first lady Brigitte Macron shoving her husband in the face, President Emmanuel Macron, offering some presidential wisdom to his French counterpart: “Make sure the door remains closed.”
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Trump at a Friday press conference with Elon Musk if he had any &#8220;world leader to world leader marital advice&#8221; for the Macrons following the incident.
Trump&#8217;s response was characteristically direct and light-hearted. “Make sure the door remains closed,” he said, before adding, “That was … not good.”
“I spoke to [Macron], he’s fine, they’re fine, they’re two really good people, I know them very well,” Trump added. “I don’t know what that was all about, but I know them very well, and they’re fine.”
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“This week there was a video on board a plane that showed the First Lady of France slapping her husband, Emmanuel Macron. Do you have any world leader to world leader marital advice?”
President Trump: “Make sure the door remains closed.”
😂😂😂 <a href="https://t.co/dSuFuvdU0I">pic.twitter.com/dSuFuvdU0I</a>
&mdash; TheBlaze (@theblaze) <a href="https://twitter.com/theblaze/status/1928523638539473087?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Later in the press conference, Elon Musk referenced the Macron incident after being asked by a reporter about a visible bruise above his eye, with Musk joking, &#8220;Well, I wasn&#8217;t anywhere near France,&#8221; and that the injury was from playful roughhousing with his son, X.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Elon Musk, asked in the Oval why he has a bruise near his eye, jokes, &quot;Well I wasn&#39;t anywhere near France.&quot; 
Then says it&#39;s from rough housing with his son, X.
&mdash; Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1928522011673841867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The joke, unfortunately, flew right over the reporter&#8217;s head, who attempted to make Musk explain the joke.
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/french-kiss-macron-gets-shoved-in-the-face-by-his-wife-on-camera">reported</a>, the embarrassing moment for French President Emmanuel Macron went viral on Monday, with a video showing just before Macron and his wife Brigitte — who is 25 years his senior — exited a plane in Vietnam, she appeared to shove him directly in the face.
Macron appeared to panic upon realizing the incident was visible for the media to see, turning to the cameras with a nonchalant smile and wave as if nothing had happened.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
French Pres. Emmanuel Macron appeared to be pushed in the face by his wife Brigitte Macron as they arrived in Vietnam, the first stop of a Southeast Asia tour. <a href="https://t.co/nqzICGPpeY">https://t.co/nqzICGPpeY</a> <a href="https://t.co/VQnNSpMm1K">pic.twitter.com/VQnNSpMm1K</a>
&mdash; ABC News (@ABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1926963047337246897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Macron dismissed the incident, telling reporters, “I was bickering, or rather joking, with my wife. It’s nothing.” An Elysee official echoed, “It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh.”

President Trump Holds Press Conference With Elon Musk in White House’s Oval Office

Trump Gives The Macrons Some Marital Advice After Viral Face Shove

Brigitte Macron

Executive

Politics

French President Emmanuel Macron denied Monday that he and his wife, Brigitte, were in a domestic dispute that was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/french-kiss-macron-gets-shoved-in-the-face-by-his-wife-on-camera?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=French+Kiss%3A+Macron+Gets+Shoved+In+The+Face+By+His+Wife+%E2%80%94+On+Camera" target="_blank" rel="noopener">caught on camera</a> and blamed &#8220;the Russians&#8221; for the rumors circulating over the video. 
The incident happened just after the Macrons touched down for a visit to Vietnam, which the French leader hoped would showcase France’s reach into the Indo-Pacific. The now-viral video, shot by the Associated Press, overshadowed their visit and appears to show the first lady shoving her fingernails into the president’s face. After collecting himself, Macron turns to wave through the open door of the plane before descending the stairs with his wife. 
President Macron claims he and the First Lady were “joking,” <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250526-just-joking-macron-denies-dispute-with-wife-blames-disinformation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">France 24</a> reported, and that he was “taken by surprise.” Macron then blamed “the Russians” for manipulating networks to prop up these rumors. He referred to the virality of the clip as a “planetary catastrophe,” but said that people are blowing the incident out of proportion. 
The incident comes after Macron <a href="https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/europe/macron-cocaine-starmer-putin-b2749218.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shot down</a> a rumor pushed by a Russian official that he was doing cocaine on a trip to Kyiv with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
&#8220;When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs,&#8221; the Elysee stated. &#8220;This fake news is being spread by France’s enemies, both abroad and at home. We must remain vigilant against manipulation.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs.
This fake news is being spread by France’s enemies, both abroad and at home. We must remain vigilant against manipulation. <a href="https://t.co/xyXhGm9Dsr">pic.twitter.com/xyXhGm9Dsr</a>
&mdash; Élysée (@Elysee) <a href="https://twitter.com/Elysee/status/1921676720995782761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Russia&#8217;s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who pushed the cocaine allegations, said that Macron&#8217;s advisors would attempt to claim that Russia was behind the &#8220;right hook from his wife.&#8221; 
“Maybe it was the ‘hand of the Kremlin?’” Zakharova said sarcastically, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250526-just-joking-macron-denies-dispute-with-wife-blames-disinformation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">French 24</a> reported. 
The age-gap marriage between Macron, 47, and his wife, 72, has long been under scrutiny, leading to many rumors of the couple’s alleged rocky relationship as well as claims that the first lady is actually a man. Brigitte Macron has taken legal action to counter these rumors and has been <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2024/09/12/brigitte-macron-awarded-damages-from-women-who-spread-false-claim-she-is-transgender_6725808_7.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">awarded</a> damages from people spreading the claims that she is transgender.

TOPSHOT-VIETNAM-FRANCE-DIPLOMACY

French President Blames ‘The Russians’ For Rumors Over Video Of First Lady’s Face-Shove

Russia

In an embarrassing moment for French President Emmanuel Macron, just before he and his wife Brigitte — who is 25 years his senior  — exited a plane in Vietnam, she shoved him directly in the face.
What made the moment hilarious was that Macron was facing his wife rather than the doorway off the plane and did not appear to know the doorway had opened. But when she shoved his face, it turned his head 90 degrees so he was facing out the door. He immediately realized he could be seen and waved and smiled before heading back toward his wife.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
French Pres. Emmanuel Macron appeared to be pushed in the face by his wife Brigitte Macron as they arrived in Vietnam, the first stop of a Southeast Asia tour. <a href="https://t.co/nqzICGPpeY">https://t.co/nqzICGPpeY</a> <a href="https://t.co/VQnNSpMm1K">pic.twitter.com/VQnNSpMm1K</a>
&mdash; ABC News (@ABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1926963047337246897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
On the one hand I feel bad for Macron. That’s humiliating to get attacked by your wife’s claws while the cameras are rolling.
But on the other hand, that terror-supporting brat deserves it…
As they say, couldn’t have happened to a better man, right?<a href="https://t.co/XRIF0OtSz3">pic.twitter.com/XRIF0OtSz3</a>
&mdash; Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarinaMedvin/status/1926966165298962815?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
Macron <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/elysee-plays-down-apparent-shove-macron-wife-vietnam-2025-05-26/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed the incident</a>, telling reporters, &#8220;I was bickering, or rather joking, with my wife. It&#8217;s nothing.&#8221; An Elysee official echoed, “It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh.”
Visiting the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, “Macron emphasized the need for ‘an order based on law’ at a time of ‘both great imbalance and a return to power-driven rhetoric and intimidation,’” ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/frances-macron-visit-vietnam-urges-greater-cooperation-defense-122191313?cid=social_twitter_abcn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. France and Vietnam signed deals worth more than $10 billion after President Donald Trump threatened to impose 50% tariffs on European Union goods starting July 9.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=memorial&amp;utm_content=editorialmemorialday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memorial Day Sale – Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
Macron joined the leaders of the United Kingdom and Canada on May 19 to demand that Israel stop the expansion of military operations in Gaza that are designed to eliminate the terrorist group Hamas. The <a href="https://www.elysee.fr/en/emmanuel-macron/2025/05/19/joint-statement-from-the-leaders-of-the-united-kingdom-france-and-canada-on-the-situation-in-gaza-and-the-west-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> demanded that a cease-fire be implemented and a two-state solution created, saying, “We are committed to recognizing a Palestinian state.”
In April, Macron iterated that he wanted EU businesses to stop investing in America after President Trump imposed tariffs on the European Union. “It is important that future investments, the investments announced over the last few weeks, should be put on hold for some time until we have clarified things with the United States of America,” Macron <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-eu-companies-should-freeze-investment-in-the-u-s-until-trump-calms-down/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “What message would we send by having major European players investing billions of euros in the American economy at a time when [the U.S.] are hitting us?”
French billionaire Bernard Arnault <a href="https://videos.senat.fr/video.5409997_682ddabf64695.aides-aux-grandes-entreprises--audition-de-bernard-arnault" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fired back</a>, “I think it&#8217;s very bad for the state to meddle in the management of private companies. It usually leads to disaster. I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s a good idea to take advice like that, wherever it comes from.”

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