International

The new French prime minister launches an ultimatum to the moderate parties and the left rejects his offer

The French Prime Minister, François Bayrou, tried on Thursday to accelerate the formation of his government by launching a 24-hour ultimatum to the moderate parties to decide if they want to integrate it, but it crashed with the refusal of the left-wing forces.

For three hours, the head of government met with the leaders of the ‘Macronist’ center, the moderate right, socialists, ecologists and communists, in order to advance in the constitution of his Executive, which he assured he wants to appoint before Christmas.

Bayrou had made the decision to leave out of the meeting the two most extreme parties, the far right of Marine Le Pen and the leftist La Francia Insumisa (LFI) of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

But at the end of the meeting, the left-wing parties reiterated their refusal to be part of the Cabinet, while threatening to vote on a new motion of censure in the face of what they considered a refusal by Bayrou to change political course.

“He has not given us arguments for us not to vote on a motion of censure,” said the socialist leader, Olivier Faure, whose 66 deputies are key to giving stability to the new Executive.

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A single proposal

Like the environmental leaders, who have 38 seats, the socialists accused Bayrou of having come with a single proposal that they considered insufficient, to open a negotiation on the pension reform, adopted last year in the midst of a great social upheaval.

The prime minister proposed to open a social conference on this reform, which delays the minimum retirement age by two years, but does not suspend its application, as the left-wing parties claim, so they rejected the offer.

“We are dismayed by the poverty of what has been proposed to us,” said Faure, who accused Bayrou and the ‘Macronist’ parties of “seeking the left to give them stability without any counterpart, only with appeals to responsibility.”

The socialist leader recalled that it was the left-wing alliance that won the legislative elections last July, which gives them legitimacy to demand a change of political course.

Bayrou, who has the support of the 166 ‘Macronist’ deputies, had a more lenient response from the moderate right, whose leader, Laurent Wauquiez, asked the attendees for a six-month truce to give stability to the new Executive, without clarifying whether his party will enter it.

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Finding parliamentary solidity

In that panorama, the prime minister, who in the coming hours will speak on public television France 2, seems to have complicated to find the parliamentary solidity that avoids a fate similar to that of his predecessor, the conservative Michel Barnier, knocked down by a motion of censure on the 4th, three months after his appointment.

Unlike the former Brexit negotiator, who expected to find stability in the extreme right, who ended up betraying him, Bayrou hopes to rely on the most moderate parties, but he has not managed to convince the left.

At the same time, they face the pressure of their parliamentary ally LFI, opposed to any dialogue with the prime minister and which demands the resignation of the president, Emmanuel Macron, whom he considers responsible for the blockade situation in France.

“Let our partners make steers. It’s time for them to return home: opposition without concessions and motion of censure without wasting time in dead-end debates,” said Jean-Luc Melénchon, leader of the LFI, in a message on the social network X aimed at socialists, ecologists and communists.

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International

Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.

The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.

The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).

“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.

Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”

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International

Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.

Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.

A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”

According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.

International

Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.

Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.

“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.

“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.