French President Emmanuel Macron accused Elon Musk on Monday of “supporting a new reactionary international” and interfering in the elections of other countries, such as Germany.
“Ten years ago, if we had been told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new reactionary international and intervene directly in elections, including Germany, who would have imagined it?” he asked during a speech before the annual conference of French ambassadors.
Macron warned of the “uncertainty” that lives a world increasingly in “disorder”, marked by the return of imperial impulses, the questioning of information and knowledge and the “very violent” questioning of humanism.
He warned that there is “an international of reactionaries” that represents “great private financial interests”, which takes advantage of the fact that “our liberal democracies have not been sufficiently effective” in protecting the middle class.
“We must achieve an agenda for the defense of democracy”
“We must achieve an agenda for the defense of democracy,” with counter-powers, and he also warned that large technology companies, while offering new possibilities, are also making States feel threatened by their growing power.
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Faced with this situation, he reached out to the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, assuring that the future tenant of the White House “kinds that he has a solid ally” in France.
He added that Trump, who will take office in two weeks, has “a lucid ambition about the transatlantic relationship” between the US and Europe, and recalled that France “knew how to work” with Trump during his first term in 2016-2020.
Macron also acknowledged that “if you are weak and defeatist, there is little chance of being respected by President Trump’s United States.”
The French head of state extended his criticism of Russia and Iran. Regarding Russia, he said that it “has changed” in the way it exerts its “aggressiveness towards Europeans,” and recalled its political and electoral interference last year in Romania, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia.
Macron on Ukraine: “There is no quick and easy solution”
He also accused Moscow of “de facto globalizing” the war in Ukraine, which in his opinion is one of the great strategic challenges for Europe.
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Macron acknowledged that “there is no quick and easy solution to that conflict,” but also recalled that there will be no solution without the Ukrainians, something that Europe would not accept either.
And about Iran, he said that his ballistic program “threatens European territory” and that he has been involved in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as in the conflicts in the Middle East.
“The Iranian issue is one of the main ones that we will deal with with the new US Administration,” he summarized.
Macron also warned about the “very important” risk of “regression” in the international fight against climate change, for which he said he is responsible for the recent disasters in Spain and in the French department of Mayotte.
“There is no justification for the continuation of Israel’s military operations”
On Gaza, he said that “there is no justification for the continuation of Israel’s military operations” in that territory and said that this year must mark the progress for the materialization of Palestinian aspirations.
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The French president also focused on international trade, which in his opinion must be “rethought”, because Europeans “have been too naive”, and gave as an example the dispute with China over electric cars.
“If there is no loyalty in trade, it is not possible to produce competitively in Europe,” he said, so he asked to “defend European production capacity at every step of the value chain.”
Klaus Iohannis resigns as romanian president following growing opposition pressure
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced his resignation on Monday, following growing pressure from populist opposition groups, two months after a higher court annulled a presidential election in the European Union country.
“To free Romania from this crisis, I resign as President of Romania,” he said, adding that he would step down on February 12.
Iohannis, 65, had held the presidential office since 2014, having completed the maximum of two five-year terms. However, his presidency was extended in December after the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential race just two days before the second-round vote on December 8.
This decision followed an unexpected victory by the far-right populist Calin Georgescu in the first round, which was followed by allegations of Russian interference and electoral violations.
Saudi PhD student’s sentence reduced to 4 years after Twitter activity
A Saudi PhD student from the University of Leeds in Britain has been released after her 34-year sentence for her activities on Twitter in Saudi Arabia was drastically reduced, a human rights group reported on Monday.
Salma al-Shehab, who has two children, was sentenced to 34 years in prison in 2022 for her tweets.
A London-based Saudi rights group, ALQST, announced her release. In January, ALQST and other organizations said that her sentence was reduced to four years in prison, with an additional four years suspended.
“She should now be granted full freedom, including the right to travel to complete her studies,” said the group.
Victims of Álvaro Uribe case request international observers for trial
Victims in the legal case against former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe have requested that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), the United Nations, and other international organizations send observers to monitor the trial against the former leader.
“The victims’ group announces that it will appeal to the CIDH, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, and internationally recognized NGOs to designate international observers to attend the trial, in order to ensure the right to justice is upheld and that judges and magistrates imparting justice are respected,” said the victims, led by left-wing senator Iván Cepeda.
Last Thursday, the trial began against the former Colombian president on charges of bribery, process fraud, and bribery in criminal proceedings.
In this trial, in which for the first time a former Colombian president faces criminal charges, Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia will have to decide whether the Prosecution’s accusations against Uribe are valid or if, as the defense claims, Uribe is innocent of the charges.
