French PM Attal warns of 'tipping point'
in Ukraine war
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Tuesday told parliament that Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion had hit a "tipping point", warning of "real, tangible dangers" for France should Russia defeat Kyiv's forces.
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Attal issued a stark view of the risks of failing to support Ukraine ahead of a symbolic vote in parliament on President Emmanuel Macron's Ukraine strategy, as domestic tensions rage in the run-up to June's European Parliament elections.
Macron's camp has been seeking to hammer home the importance of greater support for Ukraine, which is running out of ammunition, insisting that Europe's security is at stake.
Which is not the least bit true, but France24, like almost all of the world's major papers, leans far to the left and would certainly never challenge a statement like that.
Following a debate, the National Assembly lower house will hold a non-binding vote on the government's Ukraine strategy, including a bilateral security agreement signed by Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month.
"Ukraine is watching us, waiting for the confirmation and signal of our unity behind them," Attal told lawmakers as he opened the debate.
He added that "we are at a tipping point" in the conflict and that a Russian victory had "real, tangible dangers" for "everyday life for the French people".
And, what would those be? Again, France24 doesn't challenge this absurd statement. What real, tangible dangers could come from Russia to France? It's ridiculous. They are in far more danger from supporting Ukraine than if Ukraine loses.
The continuation of support for Ukraine means there will be little left of it when they are done and Russia will be able to take over the entire county if it so desires. Right now, that is not their desire, they only want control over the Russian-speaking people, in my humble opinion. Not trying to negotiate a settlement now is a criminal attitude that benefits only the war industry.
'Flee responsibility'
With the symbolic parliament vote, Macron is forcing political parties to take a public stance on the conflict as Russia's invasion of Ukraine stretches into its third year.
The far-right National Rally (RN), which leads Macron's alliance by a wide margin ahead of the European elections, said it would abstain, while the far-left France Unbowed party (LFI) said it would vote against.
With the support of the conservative Republicans party (LR), the outcome of the vote could still offer backing to Macron's strategy.
Targeting the RN, Attal said that "to abstain is to flee before your responsibility to history and to betray what is dearest to us".
He signed off his opening speech with the Ukrainian battle cry of "Slava Ukraini", leaving party chiefs to speak ahead of the vote expected around 8:00 pm.
The upper house, the Senate, was set to hold similar debates on Wednesday.
LFI said it would vote "against war" and the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO and the European Union in the future.
Speaking for the RN, party figurehead Marine Le Pen attacked Macron's "warlike announcements", in reference to his not ruling out the sending of Western troops to Ukraine.
She also condemned European sanctions on Russian exports, "some (of which) have considerably weakened our economies", and rejected the possibility of Ukraine becoming a member of NATO and the EU.
'No to war with Russia'
The vote was designed so that "either we're in favour of Macron, or we're accused of being pro- (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," Le Pen charged, accusing the government of "hijacking, exploiting and instrumentalising a major international crisis for a short-term electoral agenda".
Allies of Macron at the weekend lambasted the RN at the launch of their European election campaign, accusing the far-right party of flirting with the Kremlin and betraying the interests of France and Europe.
But public support for France's continued aid for Ukraine is waning, according to some pollsters.
An Elabe poll released on Sunday showed that 39 percent of French people support France's continued economic and financial aid for Ukraine, 11 percentage points down from June 2023.
Just 14 percent of French people believe France should ramp up military aid for Ukraine according to the study.
Macron emphasising that his ruling party is prepared for war with Russia is a "risky bet" ahead of the elections, the Eurointelligence think tank said.
It added that Macron's "narrow focus" on the RN made his party an "easy target" for others.
Macron's hardened stance represents a turnaround for a leader who had for years sought to position himself as a top mediator between Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking to French broadcaster BFM TV on Monday, Ukrainian leader Zelensky said there was no need for French ground troops in his war-torn country as long as "Ukraine holds".
"Your children are not going to die in Ukraine," he said.
(AFP)
Portugal's centre right claims victory in election
marked by populist surge
Portugal's main centre-right party narrowly defeated the incumbent Socialists but fell well short of a majority in a general election that saw far-right Chega surge to become a potential kingmaker.
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The result marks another advance for the populist far right in Europe, where they already govern -- often in coalition -- in countries such as Italy, Hungary and Slovakia, or are steadily gaining, as in France and Germany.
Near-complete official results showed early Monday that the centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) captured 29.49 percent of the vote in Sunday's poll, just ahead of the Socialists, with 28.66 percent.
That would give the AD 79 seats in the 230-seat parliament against 77 for the Socialists, who have been in power since 2015.
Chega, led by former priest trainee and television football commentator Andre Ventura, captured 18 percent of the vote, giving it 48 seats, up from just 12 in the last election in 2022.
Even with the backing of new business-friendly party Liberal Initiative, (IL) which won 8 seats, the AD would still need the support of Chega to reach a majority to pass legislation.
"Chega asked to become the centrepiece of the political system and it achieved this result," Ventura said late Sunday in an address to his supporters who chanted "Portugal, Portugal".
"We want to give Portugal a stable government," he added.
Tapping into immigration concerns
Chega has said it would demand to be part of a rightist coalition government in exchange for parliamentary support, but during the campaign AD leader Luis Montenegro repeatedly ruled out any post-election agreement with the anti-establishment party branded as xenophobic by its critics.
He will now likely come under considerable pressure from his own party to reach some sort of agreement with the far right.
"The Portuguese have spoken and they said they want a change in government, of policies," Montenegro told supporters early Monday after the results were known.
The AD had campaigned on promises to boost economic growth by cutting taxes, and to improve unreliable public health services and education, which have been hit by strikes by teachers and school workers over pay.
Like other populist far-right parties in Europe, Chega has tapped into concerns about crime and rising immigration.
With one of Europe's most open immigration regimes, Portugal has seen its foreign-born population double in five years and hit one million last year -- one-tenth of the country's population.
Chega, which means "Enough", calls for stricter controls over immigration, tougher measures to fight corruption and chemical castration for some sex offenders.
Just five years old, Chega picked up its first seat in Portugal's parliament in 2019. It was the first far-right party to win representation in the assembly since a military coup in 1974 toppled a decades-long right-wing dictatorship.
'Better future'
There are still four seats left to be assigned representing Portuguese who live abroad, but those results will not be known for days. They have traditionally gone mostly to the centre-right.
The election was called after Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa, 62, unexpectedly resigned in November following an influence-peddling probe that involved a search of his official residence and the arrest of his chief of staff.
Though Costa himself was not accused of any crime, he decided not to run again.
On his watch, unemployment has dropped, the economy expanded by 2.3 percent last year -- one of the fastest rates in the eurozone -- and public finances have improved.
But surveys indicate many voters feel Costa's government squandered the outright majority it won in 2022 by failing to improve public services or to address a housing crisis that has sparked large street protests in what remains one of Western Europe's poorest countries.
Adolfo Cesar Pereira, a 23-year-old financial services worker, said the AD's win "raised hopes for a better future".
Young people "really struggle to find well paid jobs with good conditions. There are lots of problems with housing," he told AFP at the AD's headquarters in Lisbon.
The Socialists' new leader, 46-year-old former infrastructure minister Pedro Nuno Santos, had warned that the right would have to slash pensions and other social spending to finance its promised tax cuts.
(AFP)
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