Behind the Façades in France: What expats and the mainstream media (French and American alike) fail to notice (or fail to tell you) about French attitudes, principles, values, and official positions…
Appearing on CNews (video at link) on the night of the elections to explain Trump's victory to French viewers, RIF's Philippe Karsenty used a comparison of America's Democratic candidate with two French politicians (considered radical leftists and hardly renowned for the level of their IQs) that he has been constantly using for months et il s'est prononcé
sur les résultats des élections américaines : «Kamala Harris, c'est le croisement d'Anne Hidalgo au niveau intellectuel et Sandrine Rousseau au niveau économique. Face à une personnalité comme Donald Trump, il n'y avait pas match», dans #180MinutesInfo
A couple of days later, it emerged that — in the "Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery" department — the Identité Libertés party's Marion Maréchal (the niece of le Rassemblement National's Marine Le Pen who has been a guest at CPAC) was using the exact same formula. As Le Figaro put it (with video at the hyperlink),
Marion Maréchal estime que Kamala Harris est un «croisement entre Anne Hidalgo et Sandrine Rousseau»
Mercredi
6 novembre matin, Donald Trump n’avait pas encore proclamé sa victoire
que Marion Maréchal s'exprimait déjà sur X pour le féliciter de son
triomphe. «Now, our turn to Make France and Europe great again !»,
écrivait la députée européenne nationaliste, revisitant le slogan de
campagne du candidat républicain. Invitée ce jeudi sur TF1, la nièce de
Marine Le Pen a de nouveau fait part de sa joie de voir le républicain
revenir aux affaires. Pour la députée européenne, l’échec cuisant de
Kamala Harris, qu'elle qualifie de «croisement entre Anne Hidalgo et
Sandrine Rousseau», se situe dans sa stratégie identitaire. «Elle a
tenté d'enfermer cette élection autour de trois questions : êtes-vous un
homme ou une femme ? Êtes-vous noir ou blanc ? Êtes-vous homosexuel ou
hétérosexuel ?». Or, on voit bien que Donald Trump arrive à rassembler
autour de lui», estime la présidente du parti Identité Libertés, qui
refuse toutefois de se qualifier comme «trumpiste».
This in turn lead Philippe Karsenty to say (privately to his inner circle) "I have been using that expression [the comparison of the Democratic politician with the French politicians Anne Hidalgo and Sandrine Rousseau] on all the networks for two months!" And to tell a friend of Marion Maréchal: "When she uses my expressions, wouldn't it be fair play to quote me?"
After 53 years of dictatorship from father to son, it is the end of the ASSAD dynasty. The "rebels" have entered Damascus, Bashar Al-Assad has fled his country, and the officers of the Syrian army have abandoned their posts, their equipment, and their uniforms.
It is also one of the consequences of the ceasefire obtained in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah on which Biden, Blinken, and Macron insisted vigorously without having the slightest idea of the consequences. Their ignorance in geopolitics is legendary.
The "rebels" seeing the Shiite axis weakening took advantage of it to give the final blow to Bashar Al-Assad knowing full well that no one would come to his aid. Hezbollah, which has protected him for over ten years, is extremely weakened after its war against Israel, the Iranians can no longer do anything for him because the mullahs' régime is also very diminished, and the Russians, caught in the Ukrainian quagmire, no longer have men or equipment to send to support Bashar. Moreover, they have evacuated their base in Tartus and have urged their nationals to leave Syria as quickly as possible.
This is probably also the end of the "Shiite arc", the defeat of the Iranian strategy which, under the pretext of its intention to destroy Israel, wanted to dominate the Middle East. It is very likely that the mullahs' regime will shortly disintegrate.
It will be much more complicated or even impossible for Iran to send weapons and missiles to Hezbollah if that were still its intention. You only have to take a look at a map of the region to see this.
The "rebels" have released all the prisoners in Sednaya prison near Damascus, one of the worst in the world, nicknamed by Amnesty International "a human slaughterhouse", after releasing those in Homs where the prisoners held in solitary confinement for years believed that it was Saddam Hussein's army that had come to free them and all of whom thought that Hafedh Al-Assad [1930-2000] was still president!
C'est la fin de la dynastie « ASSAD » après 53 ans de dictature de père
en fils. Les « rebelles » sont entrés dans Damas, Bashar Al-Assad a fui
son pays et les officiers de l'armée syrienne ont abandonné leurs
postes, leur matériel et leurs uniformes.
C’est aussi une des conséquences du cessez-le-feu obtenu au Liban entre
Israël et le Hezbollah sur lequel Biden, Blinken et Macron ont insisté
avec vigueur n’ayant pas la moindre idée des consequences. Leur
inculture en géopolitique est légendaire.
Les « rebelles » voyant l'axe chiite s'affaiblir en ont profité pour
donner le coup de grâce à Bashar Al-Assad sachant très bien que personne
ne viendrait à son secours. Le Hezbollah qui l'a protégé depuis plus
d'une dizaine d'années est extrêmement affaibli après sa guerre contre
Israël, les Iraniens ne peuvent plus rien pour lui car le régime des
mollahs est aussi très diminué et les Russes pris dans le bourbier
ukrainien n'ont plus ni hommes ni matériel à envoyer pour soutenir
Bashar. D'ailleurs ils ont évacué leur base de Tartous et poussé
instamment leurs ressortissants à quitter la Syrie au plus vite.
C'est probablement aussi la fin de « l'arc chiite », la défaite de la
stratégie iranienne qui, prétextant son intention de détruire Israël,
voulait dominer le Moyen-Orient. Il est très probable que le régime des
mollahs se désagrège dans quelques temps.
Ça sera beaucoup plus compliqué voire même impossible à l’Iran d’envoyer
des armes et des missiles au Hezbollah si telle était encore son
intention. Il suffit de jeter un coup d’œil à une carte de la région
pour le constater.
Les « rebelles » ont libéré tous les détenus de la prison Sednaya près
de Damas, une des pires au monde, surnommée par Amnesty international «
un abattoir humain », après avoir libéré ceux de Homs où les détenus
maintenus à l'isolement depuis des années croyaient que c'était l'armée
de Saddam Hussein qui venait leur rendre la liberté et pensaient tous
que Hafedh Al-Assad était encore président !
After returning to Paris a day before Thanksgiving from Washington (where he met with congressmen along with aides to the Shah's family), RIF's Philippe Karsenty appeared on France TV Info (video at hyperlink), where he proceeded to tell French viewers that "Things are being prepared in Washington, to ensure that internal movements are created in Iran … The objective is to ensure that the ayatollahs' régime collapses … There are revolutions that can take place without external military attack."
According to Philippe Karsenty, Donald Trump is in favor of a regime change in Iran, in support of the aspirations of the Iranian people. "The Iranian people have had enough, they want to become free. There is a sheriff on the planet called the United States and Donald Trump. There are only 54 days left to wait, and I can guarantee you that it can change the software of all the players on the international level"
Philippe Karsenty est revenu sur la position de Donald Trump concernant la guerre au Proche-Orient, lors d'une interview sur franceinfo, mercredi 27 novembre. Le porte-parole du "Parti Républicain US" en France s'attend à un changement de régime en Iran avec l'arrivée du nouveau président élu.
L'arrivée de Donald Trump à la Maison Blanche,en janvier prochain, ne sera pas sans conséquence, notamment surla situationau Proche-Orient. "Il se prépare des choses à Washington, pour faire en sorte qu’en interne il y ait des mouvements qui se créent", déclare Philippe Karsenty.Pour le porte-parole duParti Républicain USen France :"L’objectif est de faire en sorte que le régime des mollahs tombe… Il y a des révolutions qui se font sans attaque militaire extérieure."
Trump, le Chérif
Selon Philippe Karsenty, Donald Trump estfavorable à un changement derégime en Iran, en soutien aux aspirations du peuple iranien. "Le peuple iranien en a assez, il veut se libérer. Il y a un chérif sur la planète qui s'appelle les États-Unis et Donald Trump. Il n’y aplus que 54 jours à attendre, et je peux vous garantir que ça peut changer tous les logiciels des intervenants sur le plan international", ajoute-t-il.
Over at France's semiology website, Elodie Mielczareck gets into some detective work to examine Donald Trump's choice of words and, indeed, compare them with that of Kamala Harris. Notably three departments:
• the semantic aspects: frequency of words and their symbolic scope;
• the rhetorical style: which figures of speech are used, which tone, what effects;
• pragmatic linguistics: which specific speech actions are used
We learn about the art of repetition and amplification in Trump's speeches along with his warlike strategy, contrasted with Kamala's autobiographical speech and her rhetoric of hope
Using John Searle's philosophy of language, Elodie Mielczareck further contrasts Trump's vision of a conflicted world with Kamala's attempts at pragmatic engagement.
• les aspects sémantiques : fréquence des mots et leur portée symbolique; • le style rhétorique : quelles figures de styles, quelle tonalité, quels effets ;
• la linguistique pragmatique : quels actes de langage en particulier ;
This came before the Polish elections ousted the country's conservatives and brought the left back into power. But in honor of St. Nicholas’ Day (Mikołajki comes from Mikołaj (Polish for Nicholas, meaning little Nicholas)), we are bringing a lashing-out from The Economist at Poland's rightist government before the election, leading a Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament to come to the country's defense.
Poland’s government
Your leader on the Polish government read in places like an election pamphlet from the opposition Civic Platform party (“A Polish pickle”,
April 21st). The governing Law and Justice (PiS) party received an
overwhelming mandate from the Polish people in 2015, including a clear
instruction to rebalance a judiciary, which had been stacked with allies
by the former government without any complaint from the European Union.
To
counter its weakness at home, Civic Platform is seeking to Europeanise
what are essentially domestic issues and fight its battles in Brussels
rather than Warsaw. By imposing an agenda of ever increasing
centralisation and trying to force a mythical European identity on
member states (the same policies that contributed to Brexit), the EU is
behaving, in the eyes of many in Poland, like the former Soviet Union.
ASHLEY FOX, MEP Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament Brussels
as we move into 2025, many businesses are optimistic about the possibilities of doing business in the USA.
In my role withExact,
an international business software provider for small and mid-sized
companies, I have the great fortune of speaking with mid-sized
manufacturers, distributors, and financial services firms across the
nation. With regional responsibilities in North America, the United
Kingdom, and Ireland, I also hear from companies abroad.
Many of our customers I have spoken with in the last quarter share
a collective sense of optimism for the future. Most of these
conversations with customers boils down to some key themes. Here are
four key reasons why I believe this optimism exists:
Reason #1 – Market Size and Diversity
Depending on who you ask, the United States is credited with
nearly 25% of the world’s GDP, showcasing its economic muscle and high
confidence in consumer and business spending. The sheer size and
diversity of the US market are attractive to many international
companies with expansion ambitions. …
Reason #2 – Favorable Economic and Regulatory Policies
With the US Presidential Election concluded and a new
administration taking office in mid-January, there is hope that campaign
promises will lead to an economic boom in 2025 and beyond. …
Reason #3 – Innovation and Technology
With the explosion of artificial intelligence, supercomputers,
self-driving automobiles, and the emergence of mass-produced,
polyfunctional robots on the horizon, technological innovation will be
front and center …
Reason #4 – Economic Stability and Prospective Growth
In the last six weeks alone, the stock market has surged over 6%,
and many industry analysts suggest the US economy will remain resilient
in 2025.
The America that I love, I have seen it being destroyed from the inside for twenty years. Today, there is a chance for a rebound. We have to put an end to this cycle of decline, we have to put an end to this descent into hell. This election sends a very positive message about the future and about the ability of the United States and Americans to reverse this slope of decline.
Gérald Olivier est journaliste franco-américain et auteur. Il a notamment publié « Cover up : le clan Biden, l’Amérique et l’État profond » (éd. Konfident).
Dans cet entretien, il analyse la victoire de Donald Trump à la présidentielle américaine ainsi que les enjeux économiques et géopolitiques de son élection pour l’Union européenne, la guerre entre l’Ukraine et la Russie, le conflit à Gaza ou la rivalité avec la Chine.
D’après Gérald Olivier, les électeurs américains ont notamment été séduits par le programme porté par le candidat républicain et comptent sur lui pour remettre de l’ordre.
« Derrière Donald Trump, vous avez un vrai programme de gouvernement qui repose sur le principe de mettre les intérêts de l'Amérique d'abord, de rétablir la situation économique en combattant l'inflation, de relancer la production d'énergie, de protéger et de réindustrialiser le pays à travers une politique beaucoup plus protectionniste, et de mettre de l'ordre dans le monde en essayant de résoudre à la fois le conflit en Ukraine et le conflit au Proche-Orient », ajoute Gérald Olivier.
« Le dernier élément de la mission que Trump se propose d’accomplir consiste à nettoyer Washington, en finir avec la corruption douce qui règne dans ce pays, voire l'instrumentalisation du système politique et judiciaire aux dépens des opposants du régime, ce dont Trump a fait l'objet pendant de longues années. »
Alors que Donald Trump a promis de mettre un terme à la guerre entre l’Ukraine et la Russie, Gérald Olivier estime que sa politique sera très différente de celle de Joe Biden.
« Faire pression sur Volodymyr Zelensky, c'est très facile. Sans les États-Unis, Zelensky n'aurait pas tenu tête à la Russie comme il a réussi à le faire depuis trois ans », remarque-t-il.
« La vraie question est comment amener Vladimir Poutine à la table des négociations ? Poutine estime qu'il est en train de gagner cette guerre, il a conquis un certain nombre de territoires, la Russie contrôle aujourd'hui une partie de l'Ukraine et si on gelait les positions militaires, elle sortirait gagnante de ce conflit. »
D’après le journaliste franco-américain, Trump compte amener le président russe à la table des négociations « en maniant la carotte et le bâton », et en garantissant que l'Ukraine ne rentre jamais dans l'Otan.
Et Gérald Olivier de conclure : « Cette Amérique que j'ai aimée, je l'ai vue depuis vingt ans être détruite de l'intérieur. Aujourd'hui, il y a la chance d'un rebond. On a mis fin à ce cycle du déclin, on a mis fin à cette descente aux enfers. Cette élection envoie un message très positif sur l'avenir et sur la capacité des États-Unis et des Américains à inverser cette pente du déclin. »
RIF's Philippe Karsenty was a guest on Sud Radio, where the RIF spokesman discussed how Donald Trump is already in presidential mode, long before the January 2025 inauguration.
The section with the RIF spokesman starts at around 20:30 and ends around 38:45.
Avec Luc Gras, politologue, Philippe Karsenty, porte-parole de Republicans in France, Jean-Pierre Augé ancien colonel du secteur Afrique noire de la DGSE pour son livre "Afrique Adieu" aux éditions Mareuil
Retrouvez Alexis Poulin sans réserve tous les vendredis de 12h à 13h sur #SudRadio.
A diagnosis of anxiety fits his own government, too. Mr Trudeau and his
party have traversed an arc from heroic to hapless during nine years in
office, and today are despised by many in Canada. … A letter has been circulating among Liberal MPs calling upon Mr Trudeau to resign.
… The unaffordability of housing is central. The cost of owning a home in
Canada has increased by 66% since Mr Trudeau took office, with prices
rising faster in this century than in any other sizeable OECD country bar Australia. … The influx of immigrants during Mr Trudeau’s decade in power has intensified the demand for housing. … The pain of high housing costs has been compounded by a mediocre economy.
… Climate change offered Mr Trudeau perhaps his clearest opportunity to
blend moral leadership with pragmatism. But he ignored polling showing
that while Canadians were concerned about the climate crisis, they were
also loth to pay taxes equivalent to a Netflix subscription to fight it.
… Instead of adapting to or confronting challenges thrown up by his
policies, Mr Trudeau has preferred to attack his critics. He has seemed
inert as the erosion of his party’s support accelerated. Some Liberals
privately suggest the breakdown of his marriage last year distracted
him. In a shuffle aimed at energising his front bench in 2023 more than
half his cabinet changed portfolios, but the economic message remained
the same: we will continue to deliver “good things” to Canadians. Only
recently has Mr Trudeau begun to acknowledge that this fell short.
“Doing good things isn’t enough to deal with the kind of anxiety that is
out there,” he told the Montreal conference. He still describes his
voters’ problems in psychological rather than practical terms.
You described Justin Trudeau’s identity politics as “sanctimonious” (“The dying of the light”,
October 19th). A local journalist once remarked that the Canadian
system of government is a sanctimocracy: rule by the holier-than-thou.
ROBERT GENTLE Johannesburg
The
antipathy of Canadians towards their prime minister was quite apparent
when, in the middle of this summer’s Rolling Stones concert in
Vancouver, Mick Jagger commented on his long-standing friendship with
the Trudeau family and was roundly booed. Mick quickly pivoted to the
recent success of the Canadian soccer team.
If you can sit through a three-hour interview of Donald Trump or JD Vance, head over to FEE to listen to Lex Fridman's 2-hour interview of Javier Milei.
The journalists, who have vested interests and are corrupt, are professional torturers (1:18:00)
[Trump] is a true warrior! He's truly, he's a Viking! He's a Viking! He's literally a Viking! (1:19:45)
Javier Milei’s two-hour interview
with Lex Fridman … Argentina’s libertarian president reflected on
the first few months of his administration following his historic
electoral victory on November 19, 2023.
Milei has been called many
things, but his methods and philosophy thrive under scrutiny. In a free
society, being questioned is both a challenge and an opportunity. What
sets Milei apart is his ability to answer tough questions with logic,
evidence, and, most importantly, results.
His anarchist rhetoric
is—as he said—rooted in a libertarianism that has an “unrestricted
respect for the life project of others based on the principle of
non-aggression and in defense of the rights to life, liberty, and
property,” a definition championed by Alberto Benegas Lynch, Jr., and
that follows John Locke’s ideas.
A Model Exported
Milei’s
reforms haven’t gone unnoticed in the U.S., especially after the
announcement of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to be
led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
In the interview, Milei
highlighted how Argentina’s Ministry of Deregulation and State
Transformation, led by Federico Sturzenegger, is systematically
dismantling protectionism and privilege by eliminating 1 to 5 economic
restrictions daily.
This approach is catching attention worldwide, as Musk
and Ramaswamy have hinted at adapting this “chainsaw” strategy.
Ramaswamy recently posted on X: “A reasonable formula to fix the U.S.
government: Milei-style cuts, on steroids.”
A reasonable formula to fix the U.S. government: Milei-style cuts, on steroids.
If
there’s one image that defined Milei’s 2023 campaign, it’s the
chainsaw. He carried a real chainsaw to his rallies, chanting “¡Motosierra! ¡Motosierra!” (Spanish for “chainsaw”) as a symbol of his promise to slash Argentina’s bloated bureaucracy.
When
Milei took office, Argentina’s inflation was out of control, climbing
at almost 1% per day. Fixing the fiscal deficit became his top priority,
knowing nothing else would work without a solution on that front. In
just a few months, he made drastic changes: cutting over 50,000
government jobs, shutting down more than half of the ministries,
slashing regulations, and removing subsidies. …/…
Milei: A Former Academic
As a former
economics professor, Milei excels at breaking down complex economic
concepts. Early in the interview, he provided a roadmap for those
interested in understanding Austrian economics with big references: Human Action by Ludwig von Mises and Principles of Economics
by Carl Menger, two starting points for him. He also name-dropped other
thinkers, including Murray Rothbard, Friedrich Hayek, Hans-Hermann
Hoppe, Jesús Huerta de Soto, Juan Ramón Rallo, Philipp Bagus, and Walter
Block—a quick guide to both Anglo and Hispanic perspectives on
libertarian thought. …/…
Key Takeaways
There are two main
takeaways from Milei’s interview with Fridman. First, Milei knows what
he’s talking about. Too many politicians don’t really understand
economics, but Milei clearly does. He doesn’t just memorize numbers; he
explains the reasoning behind his decisions, and it makes sense. Second,
market-driven reforms can deliver results. Contrary to popular belief
or experts’ advice, these changes don’t require decades to show their
impact.
Will these reforms catch on all the way to the White
House? Only time will tell. …/…
If you cannot, or do not want to, listen to the entire thing, there is an outline of 18 subjects (such as 38:05 Poverty -44:37 Corruption -
53:14Donald Trump -
1:20:56 US and Argentina relations - or even1:28:05 Messi vs Maradona), where you can jump to the issue of your choice…
On peut aussi lire une partie de l'élocution en français…
… the GOP should make a national photo ID requirement for federal elections a top priority in the next Congress. And it should go further.
There are other tools, used in countries we’ve liberated but not in our own country, like dyeing people’s fingers purple so they can’t vote more than once. And of course, maintaining trustworthy voter rolls, so that when someone shows up claiming to be entitled to vote, there’s good reason to believe that they actually are. If a person shows up with a photo ID, and it matches a person who is entitled to vote, the odds are very good that they are who they say they are, and they are entitled to vote.
Rules in other countries are generally stricter than what prevails in the United States,as thissummary from RealClearPoliticsillustrates:
Seventy-four percent of European countries entirely ban absentee votingfor citizens who reside domestically. Another 6% limit it to those hospitalized or in the military, and they require third-party verification and a photo voter ID. Another 15% require a photo ID for absentee voting.
Similarly, government-issued photo IDs are required to vote by 33 nations in the 37-member Organistion for Economic Co-operation and Development (which has considerable European overlap). Only the UK, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia currently do not require IDs. Of those outliers:
… In some countries, even driver’s licenses aren’t considered authoritative enough forms of voter identity verification. The Czech Republic and Russia require passports or military-issued IDs and others use national identity cards. Others go even further: Colombia and Mexico each require a biometric ID to cast a ballot.
Many countries in Europe and beyond have learned the hard way that fraud can result from looser voting regimes -- and they have instituted stricter voting measures in direct response to it.
In the United States, of course, even basic safeguards are wildly controversial among Democrats. The photo ID requirement, for example, though consistentlyupheldby courts, is always denounced in the press as racist and claimed to be unconstitutional. But it’s also favored byhuge majoritiesof, you know, actual voters.
Of course, readers of No Pasarán know that we have been reporting on the same thing as RealClearPolitics for years, now:
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