International
The grand coalition takes shape in the face of the foreseeable lack of a majority of the far right
The foreseeable lack of an absolute majority of the far right in the French elections next Sunday makes a “grand coalition” of very opposite parties increasingly take shape as the only way to govern the country.
Two polls released on Thursday afternoon coincide with another published yesterday in the sense that the far-right National Association (RN) would not achieve an absolute majority in the National Assembly.
A first Ifop poll attributes to the far right 210-240 seats, far from the absolute majority of 289.
In second place will be the New Left Popular Front (NFP), with 170-200 deputies, while the current majority of President Emmanuel Macron will fall to the third position, with 95-125 seats.
The conservative LR would have 25-45, but a hypothetical sum with the ultra-right (to date very unlikely) would still not result in a majority. Independent candidates or candidates from small regionalist formations will take between 15 and 27 seats.
The poll predicts a very high participation (68%) with very motivated voters, since 92% say they are already sure of their voting option.
Another OpinionWay poll points out that the RN would get 205-230 deputies, for 145-175 for the left and 130-162 for the macronist bloc. The conservatives would have 38 to 50.
Both studies coincide, in essence, with another published on Wednesday by Harris Interactive and which assigned the RN between 190 and 220 deputies, even further from the majority.
If those results are confirmed within three days on Sunday’s return, France’s only governance option would go through what is defined as “republican front” or “grand coalition” that brings together all parties except the far right.
However, the strong ideological and programmatic differences in a political arc that goes from the conservative right to the communists and the rebellious left of La Francia Insumisa have meant that for now the parties and leaders have not wanted to define how to put that idea into practice.
For now, socialists, macronists, ecologists, communists, ‘submissos’ and conservatives prefer to focus on their campaigns to, if necessary, have the best possible cards in the face of an eventual negotiation.
The far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who warned today that the only options now are “the mud or an absolute majority of the RN,” insists on rejecting that idea.
Le Pen denounced again that a front against his party “has the sole objective of preventing the National Association from having an absolute majority.”
Meanwhile, the French football star, Kylian Mbappé, captain of the national team, again asked from the German European Championship for a national mobilization against the far right to “not leave the country in the hands of those people.”
“More than ever we must go to vote. There is a real urgency. We can’t leave our country in the hands of those people. It’s really urgent. I think we have seen the results, it is catastrophic and we really hope that it goes well and that people mobilize,” said the star striker of Real Madrid and the French national team at a press conference.
It is not the first time that Mbappé, with a Cameroonian father and a French mother of Algerian origin, has entered the campaign since the concentration of ‘les Bleus’, just as other players of the national team have done.
Meanwhile, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced that a total of 30,000 police and gendarmes will be deployed on Sunday to avoid possible unrest or violent protests after the disclosure of the results.
The announcement comes after there have been a multiplication of cases of physical assaults on members of parties that were campaigning in recent days.
The most striking case has been that of the Government spokeswoman, Prisca Thevenot, whose group was attacked while sticking posters on Wednesday afternoon by some young people.
A Macronist militant suffered a fractured jaw and deputy Virginie Lanlo suffered a slight injury to one arm because of the aggression, which occurred in Meudon, on the southern outskirts of Paris.
The police arrived quickly and arrested three minors between the ages of 16 and 17 and a 20-year-old adult with a police record.
In recent days, the high tension of the campaign for the increase in calls to oppose the far right and the increase in racist or violent messages by some voices of the extreme right has resulted in a level of virulence much higher than that of other elections.
However, no episode has been really serious. Some blows or damage to cars have so far been the most serious thing that has happened, although several leaders and media have warned about the high level of tension in society.
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
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