Russia’s invasion of Ukraine casts ‘a very long shadow’ over French presidential election
08 March 2022 |
6:19 am
The war in Ukraine may be keeping Emmanuel Macron off the campaign trail, but the benefit to the French president has been clear: for the first time, a poll over the weekend saw him getting more than 30 percent of votes in the first round. The conflict has given Macron an opportunity to demonstrate his leadership. Meanwhile, candidates from far-right Marine Le Pen to far-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon have been stuck defending their past sympathies for Vladimir Putin and their calls to withdraw France from NATO. Andrew Smith, a senior lecturer in contemporary history and politics at the University of Chichester, tells us "it’s going to be a strange campaign".
Related
Related
17 Sep
Estonia has joined Latvia and Lithuania in closing its borders to all vehicles registered in Russia. The ban, which came in response to updated EU guidlines on sanctions, could widen to include other countries.
17 Sep
Coming off what has been considered a successful G20 summit, India is building on its position as a neutral partner to countries with competing interests.
18 Sep
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un headed home with some explosive souvenirs from his weeklong tour of Russia. The visit has fanned Western concerns that Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin might strike an arms deal.
19 Sep
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un headed home with some explosive souvenirs from his weeklong tour of Russia. The visit has fanned Western concerns that Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin might strike an arms deal.
18 Sep
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is due to meet Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The visit is meant to lay the groundwork for a possible Putin visit to Beijing next month.
19 Sep
Kyiv said its plans were in response to unilateral bans announced by the three states after an EU ban expired. The trio argue they are protecting their local markets, while Ukraine says the ban is "legally wrong."
19 Sep
Kim Jong Un returned to North Korea from Russia, where he deepened "comradely fellowship and friendly relations" with Vladimir Putin. Western countries fear the visit involved plans to arm Russia's war in Ukraine.
21 Sep
Azerbaijan launched an "anti-terrorist" operation in the Armenia-backed breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku's government said a truce and talks were contingent on the enclave's unconditional surrender.
21 Sep
Zelenskyy's visit comes as many conservative Republicans are growing skeptical of US aid to Ukraine. Kyiv has been heavily reliant on weapons assistance from the West as it staves off Russia's invasion.
22 Sep
Warsaw says it is ending its supply of weapons to Ukraine, but that future deliveries could still be on the table. The move comes amid a growing dispute over a grain import ban with Kyiv.
22 Sep
In just a day, Azerbaijan was able to force ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh to disarm. Usually, Armenians would look to Russia for help, but Russian peacekeepers stayed well out of the recent conflict. Why?
24 Sep
German aid organizations allegedly demanded that money be spent on sick German children instead of tank deliveries to Ukraine. But the whole story is made up, and the video explaining it is a spoof.
Latest
3 hours ago
On Inside Stuff with Martins Oloja, the multi-award-winning journalist and Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian this week talks about the reasons why federalism matters in Nigeria.
3 hours ago
Did you know that in Anglophone Cameroon, schoolkids don't wear uniforms? It's to avoid being identified by attackers. Also, they don't attend school on Mondays. Our teen reporter, 16-year-old Lum Precious, speaks with her peers in the first episode of GirlZOffMute from Cameroon. They appeal to President Paul Biya to act immediately so that kids no longer fear being attacked on their way to school.
3 hours ago
Hanna Domanska survived the genocide in Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s. Ninety years on she recalls the agony of the "Great Ukrainian Famine." This is her story.
1 day ago
The largest corruption scandal in Southeast Asia's history has shaken Vietnam's anti-graft drive. Experts have warned that the country's economic stability may be at stake.
1 day ago
Talking Europe hosts Pascal Canfin, the chair of the environment committee at the European Parliament. He is a former French government minister and a former director of the French branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). We take a look at what is coming out of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, and at the state of the EU's green transition.
1 day ago
The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among industrialised countries. Our reporters head to Louisiana where Black women are four times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth complications than White women. Also #MeToo finally reaches Taiwan where a growing number of women have been speaking out about their experiences working with sexual predators.
×
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.