Have you been off the news a bit lately? We summarize the main titles to remember from the weekend of February 18 and 19.
Emmanuel Macron says he wants “the defeat” of Russia, without “crushing” it
The French president affirmed, Saturday, February 18, in an interview with the JDDau Figaro and at France Inter, to want ” the defeat “ of Moscow vis-a-vis Ukraine, warning however those which want “First of all crush Russia”which will not be ” Never ” the “France’s stance”. Words that echo his words spoken last June, where he said that he « it does[llait] not humiliate Russia. These declarations had provoked strong reactions, in particular from the Ukrainian leaders.
The President of the Republic reaffirmed his desire to favor a negotiated outcome. “I am convinced that in the end, it will not end militarily”, he said. According to him, “neither side can fully prevail”, “neither Ukraine nor Russia, because the effects of mobilization are not as great as expected and it itself has capacity limits”.
In this interview, Emmanuel Macron also judged that “all options other than Vladimir Putin within the system [russe] current “ his “seem worse” than the head of the Kremlin. An allusion to tough characters like the head of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, or the boss of the paramilitary group Wagner, Evgueni Prigojine. “Macron’s word has little value”reacted the spokeswoman of the Kremlin, Maria Zakharova, adding that these remarks demonstrated that the West had engaged in discussions on a change of regime in Russia.
The Republicans: Aurélien Pradié removed from his position as number two
The leader of the Les Républicains (LR) party, Eric Ciotti, announced on Saturday to dismiss his number two, Aurélien Pradié, openly opposed to a part of the pension reform supported by LR. “His repeated positions [n’étaient] more in line with the values of coherence, unity and unity which must guide the Republican right”justified the boss of LR in a press release, denouncing a “personal adventure” Who “cannot replace collective action and the spirit of responsibility”.
On Sunday, Mr. Pradié reacted, denouncing a decision “Contrary to the requirement of the gathering and the respect of all our members” et assuring prefer his “freedom of belief in any position”.
Throughout the pension negotiations, Aurélien Pradié camped on an intransigent line, threatening not to vote for the reform even though the management of LR seemed to have reached an agreement with the government. The debate has crystallized in recent days on long careers, the deputy of Lot claiming that no one has to contribute more than forty-three years to leave at full rate.
Those close to Senator Bruno Retailleau did not hide their satisfaction after the ousting of Mr. Pradié. “We can’t be in and out”said Othman Nasrou, the party’s first deputy secretary general, while Senator Stéphane Le Rudulier welcomed a “Ideological clarification that refutes a social-Occitan pseudo-labourism”. However, the deputy “is not excluded from LR”assures the general secretary, Annie Genevard, for whom Aurélien Pradié “share values” of the party but not the “sense of the collective”.
North Korea fires intercontinental ballistic missile as warning to US and South Korea
North Korea confirmed on Sunday that it had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) the day before as a joint warning to the United States and South Korea. A Hwasong-15 missile was fired from Pyongyang airport in the afternoon, according to the state agency KCNA. The South Korean army had claimed to have detected the launch of an ICBM on Saturday at 5:22 p.m. local time (9:22 a.m. Paris time).
The world
– 50% on all our offers
Access all our content unlimited from 5.49 euros per month instead of 10.99 euros
Subscribe
According to Tokyo, it flew for sixty-six minutes over a distance of about 900 kilometers, before falling into its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). According to the observations of the Japanese authorities, it would be able to reach the American continent. In response, the South Korean military said on Sunday it had organized joint aerial maneuvers with the United States, mobilizing stealth aircraft and at least one American B-1B long-range bomber.
This launch is part of an upcoming simulation exercise conducted jointly by South Korea and the United States, which is to be held next week in Washington and whose objective is to discuss the measures to be taken in use of nuclear weapons by Pyongyang. Kim Jong-un’s regime threatened Friday to react with “countermeasures (…) strong and unprecedented” US-South Korean maneuvers to come, seeing in them the preparations for an armed conflict and the cause of the deterioration of the security situation on the Korean peninsula.
Rescue operations continue in Turkey’s two most affected provinces
Every day, the hope of finding survivors dwindles. Ankara has thus decided to stop the search on Sunday, except in the two most affected provinces, Kahramanmaras and Hatay. Saturday, two people were found alive under the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay (South), thirteen days after the earthquake which struck Turkey and Syria on February 6, causing the death of more than 44,000 people.
It is a man and a woman, according to images of the rescue released by the Anatolia state news agency. A child was also pulled alive from the rubble on Saturday, but died minutes after efforts were made to save him, according to the news agency. On Friday, a 45-year-old man was also extracted from the rubble, several hours after three other survivors, including a 14-year-old boy, still alive under the rubble.
But the number of these survivors has been reduced to a handful in recent days. Also on Saturday, Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu of Turkish club Hatayspor was found dead under the rubble of his building in Hatay. According to Turkish media, the 31-year-old former Chelsea and Newcastle, England player was under the rubble of the Rönesans Residence, a twelve-story tower that collapsed in the quake.
The French biathlon team is world champion in the relay
French biathletes Antonin Guigonnat, Fabien Claude, Emilien Jacquelin and Quentin Fillon Maillet won the 4 × 7.5 kilometer relay at the Worlds in Oberhof, Germany on Saturday. The tricolors were ahead of Norway, ultra-favorite of the event, by 38 seconds and Sweden by 1’39”. With this success, the French deprive the Norwegian Johannes Boe of an unprecedented grand slam at the Worlds.
Set back since the start of the season, the French are offering themselves a nice revenge with this gold medal. “It’s really the victory of a team of friendscommented Emilien Jacquelin after the race on La Chaîne L’Equipe. This medal has a special flavor. We showed character. We were bruised [par les mauvais résultats jusque-là], but not slaughtered. »
On Sunday, Julia Simon won bronze in the mass start (12.5 kilometers), won by Sweden’s Hanna Oeberg. This is the second international individual podium of the Frenchwoman’s career.