The unspeakable horrors of Vladimir Putin’s war have forced a form of bereavement on Emmanuel Macron. His charm offensive—and attempts to bring Russia into the fold—failed, brutally
If Russia’s war on Ukraine exposed Germany’s industrial reliance on Moscow, it has laid bare in France a different sort of dependence: a fatal fascination with Russia. On the far left, this is a relic of the Bolshevik revolution, anti-Americanism and communism. During the cold war, the French Communist Party looked to Moscow, and dropped the hammer and sickle from its membership card only in 2013. On the far right, it stems from admiration for patriotic nationalism and authoritarian leadership.
was neither dangerous nor grubby, but the fruit of a special cultural understanding. For nearly a decade from 2008 Alexandre Orlov, then Russia’s ambassador to Paris, entertained the Paris elite, and oversaw the construction of a glittering gold-tipped Russian Orthodox cathedral on the left bank of the Seine. When Mr Orlov published his memoirs in 2020, the preface was written by Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, the “perpetual secretary” of the Académie Française.
Even France’s post-war narrative of strategic equidistance between America and the Soviet Union has its share of mythology. As Benjamin Haddad, one of Emmanuel Macron’s parliamentarians, puts it, “geopolitical fascination for Russia is partly reconstructed with hindsight”: in a crisis, Charles de Gaulle stood with his transatlantic allies.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Paris Hilton Revisits Her Swarovski-Encrusted Twenties For A New (And Suitably Bedazzled) ProjectSome 20 years on, Paris is happily immersing herself in the wardrobe of her twenty-something self once more.
Read more »
Chelsea-linked Neymar spotted in McDonald's during £9K-per-entry Paris poker nightNeymar was spotted in a McDonald’s and playing in a poker tournament hours after Paris Saint-Germain’s defeat to Bayern Munich. Former PSG academy graduate Kingsley Coman inflicted the killer blow …
Read more »
Ronan and Storm Keating's romantic trip to Paris for Valentine's dayBoyzone star Ronan Keating and his wife Storm just enjoyed the most romantic trip away over the Valentine’s weekend, quite appropriately jetting off to the city of love
Read more »
Paris Hilton admits she questioned her sexuality before meeting husband CarterHotel heiress Paris Hilton has admitted she questioned her sexuality in her 20s after being 'terrified' by anything sexual before meeting her current husband Carter Reum
Read more »
The cold war on Nato’s frontline with Russia: Cyber warfare, frozen borders and growing armiesAlong a river marking the EU’s frontier, Estonia is reinforcing its defences and calling for other nations to do the same 🔎 Big Read by robhastings
Read more »