Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
WHILE LAST NIGHT’S National Rally victory in the first round of parliamentary elections has sent shockwaves through France, it has also drawn the attention of political leaders abroad, some of whom have expressed concern for the direction of one of the EU’s major players.
Last night, the far-right National Rally (RN) led by Marine Le Pen came out on top in the first round of voting in the National Assembly elections, earning 34% of the vote, according to projections.
The left alliance New Popular Front came in second place with 28.1%, while President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble group took 20.3%.
The second round is set to take place on Sunday 7 July and the far right has a chance of forming a governing for the first since the Vichy regime of 1940s, which collaborated with occupying Nazi Germany.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned today of “great danger” for Europe.
“This is all really starting to smell of great danger,” said former EU chief Tusk, who also made allegations about ”Russian influence” in “many parties of the radical right in Europe”.
“Even the complete victory of the radical right of Mrs. (Marine) Le Pen’s camp does not signal the loss of power by the centre represented by President Macron,” Tusk told reporters.
“But it is a very clear sign of what is happening not only in France, but also in some other countries, also in Western Europe,” he added, without specifying any additional European countries.
The former European Council president also spoke of a “dangerous trend”, and pointed to fears that “France can soon become the sick person of Europe, because it will be forced to confront these radical forces”.
“Foreign forces and enemies of Europe are engaged in this process, hiding behind these movements,” he added, without giving further details.
The RN has had warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the party even proposing an “alliance” with Russia in the past. But the RN has made efforts to revamp its image when it comes to foreign affairs lately, scrapping its pledge to withdraw from NATO and commiting to supporting Ukraine.
The Kremlin is following the election results in France “very closely”, a spokesman said today.
“The preferences of French voters are more or less clear to us,” said spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Russian officials said the results of the French elections would be judged alongside political developments elsewhere, including upcoming votes in the US and UK.
“Last week, we saw Biden lose the debate. And now Macron’s party has lost, coming in third place in the legislative elections. The heads of state in power are suffering resounding defeats,” said Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Russian Duma.
Other Russian officials and political analysts were sceptical that the developments signalled an imminent shift in relations between the Kremlin and countries in the West.
“We should not expect an improvement in relations between Paris and Moscow after the legislative elections,” said Vladimir Dzhabarov, vice president of the Foreign Affairs Commission, according to local media.
“We must not exaggerate the importance of the National Rally and its influence on French politics,” also warned analyst Georgy Bovt on Russian radio BFM.bovt
“The leaders of the RN have already made it known that French support for Ukraine would not be called into question,” he recalled.
In the UK, Labour leader and likely next prime minister Keir Starmer said the result was a sign that politicians need to focus on addressing people’s needs.
“The lesson I take from (the National Rally victory) is that we need to address the everyday concerns of so many people,” he said as the UK election campaign entered its final few days.
“We have to take that head on and we have to show both Thursday in the United Kingdom and across Europe and the world that only progressives have the answers to the challenges that are facing us in this country and across Europe,” he added.
“We have to make that progressive cause but we have to, in making that, understand why it is… that people do feel disaffected with politics.”
Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said today the RN’s electoral success in was a cause for concern.
“Nobody can be indifferent when… in our closest partner and friend, a party that sees Europe as the problem and not the solution is far ahead (in the polls),” Baerbock told journalists in Berlin.
With reporting from AFP
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
How about people not leave beaches strewn with half eaten sandwiches and other rubbish for seagulls to feast on. No wonder they think they can get handy grub from people.
This is it. They’re as smart as a dog an as easily domesticated by free food.
it wouldn’t take a genius to feed them properly for filling a bin.
Maybe if idiots put there food in a bin ..The poor birds wouldn’t bother them.
I’ve tackled a few aggressive birds in my time.
Horrible little shits are really coming alive the last week or two. The young grey ones with their whistly screech are awful, we are often woken by the tap tap of one pecking on our skylight. Very tempting to get some kind of air rifle at them
What they need to do is introduce Anti-Seagull Behaviour Orders, or ASBOs for short.
Shoot the feckers, there’s way too many of them anyway.
No there is not too many. Populations declining & actually threatened in Ireland
get yourself to howth on a sunny day my man!
Ah but are the thousands of littering Irish not the problem? Instead of the evolved scavenger doing what it evolved to do?
Birds of prey are declining rapidly, but seagulls? Come on, seriously, wake up. They’re everywhere.
This is from UK but relevant here. Simple fact is gulls populations are in serious decline with herring & great black baxked gulls both red listed. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/9533420/Seagulls-invade-cities-because-of-collapse-of-fishing-and-rise-in-recycling-food.html
all the natural predators of seagulls are gone now thanks to us. look at what happened to the passenger pigeon in the states or myxomatosis with rabbits. when you mess with mother nature it has repercussions.
The COMMON GULL no such thing as a Seagull (although the term is commonly used so it may as well be accepted and only needs to be officially acknowledged, which would save so much grief but I digress) anyway, the gull do have a natural predator and it’s US, but in the UK they are a protected species (I don’t know about here), I think it was because people were eating them to extinction and their eggs make great custard (em allegedly). So it is a problem of their own making……. no pity whatsoever.
America is the natural predator of the COMMON GULL??
I saw a documentary on this in the 60s, think it was called the birds, it didn’t end well, we must round up the trouble makers at once and send them to Greece, as an additional punitive clause in the bailout package.
ALL the sand eels and mackerel sprat are no more due to the pollution of our seas , I noticed that all the seaweed on the east coast is black from pollution. The gulls are starving and taking it out on us dirty humans.
Cull the flying rats!
Prefer a seagull shitting on me from above and robbing the food from my kids hands than this Cameron chap
Too many Seagulls, and not enough recipes
They’ll probably fight them on the beaches…
250000 to research seagulls! What will it possibly tell you that common sense doesn’t.
Some are cheeky, shoot them.
Not all seagulls are cheeky. Some are intelligent and friendly.
http://jrnl.ie/2221490
Rule Brittania
It’d be a real quandary for the posters here if this site had a poll: Who would you like to see die more, seagulls or people floating in rafts in the Mediterranean?
David Cameron best friend is Senator Ted O Sullivan as seagulls have lost the run of themselves
Gay marriage and now this !!
We should all just pitch fork it up. Grab your torches people were going gill hunting.
Really. seagulls are getting out of hand! Really!
There were seagulls in Yorkshire??? Has Yorkshire a coastline??
yes.
Sorry!!! I was thinking of West Yorkshire wedged between Cumbria and North Yorkshire!! Yorkshire is like Tipperary with the different Ridings!! Stunning coastline I might add!!
No part of West Yorkshire is anywhere near Cumbria.
I think you might find the South eastern section of Cumbria is within the Yorkshire Dales National park and borders Yorkshire!! :)
pigeons are the real problem, horrible birds
You wank them seagulls
angry birds
have your say