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Russian invasion: Ukraine still holds. To the chagrin of the Kremlin, Russia is struggling to progress as it would like on Ukrainian territory. After four days of war, no major city seems to be in Russian hands, even if the heavy clashes continue. However, on no front has Putin’s army been permanently repelled. Above all, Moscow still has an immense reserve of men and equipment. Russia has ample means to continue its invasion, even at the cost of many losses. Under these circumstances, the war could become fiercer. This Sunday, Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for talks near the Belarusian border. While Vladimir Putin was increasing the pressure by announcing to alert his “deterrent”a device that encompasses various types of weapons, including nuclear.
In the world, demonstrations and sanctions to support Ukraine. Paris, London, Berlin… During the weekend, rallies took place all around the globe to denounce the Russian invasion. At the same time, sanctions continued to rain down on the Kremlin. The European Union has struck particularly hard, deciding to ban Russian planes from its airspace, block the broadcasting of the state channels Sputnik and Russia Today (RT) and finance the purchase and delivery of weapons to the ‘Ukraine. Western countries, including France, Germany and the United States, have also announced that they are banning several Russian banks from Swift, this Belgian banking platform which plays an essential role in global finance.
The presidential campaign is still in slow motion. We had left it almost at a standstill, the presidential campaign slowly resumed this weekend, even if Ukraine continues to take up a lot of space in the mouths of candidates. Traveling to Reunion, Jean-Luc Mélenchon mainly spoke about the war, as did Anne Hidalgo in Bordeaux. Yannick Jadot participated in the rally for Ukraine in Paris, Fabien Roussel in that of Lille. The right and the extreme right have been more discreet on the subject, nevertheless calling for the designation Nicolas Sarkozy as mediator for peace. Outside Ukraine, we can nevertheless note the sponsorship provided by François Bayrou to Marine Le Pen, or the official rallying of Renaud Muselier to Emmanuel Macron.
The French rugby team a stone’s throw from the Grand Slam. Facing a somewhat depopulated Scottish team, the Blues did better than expected of them: they won a spirited victory, punctuated by six tries. A good omen for the continuation of the Six Nations Tournament and, further, the 2023 World Cup, which will take place in France.
Women “stung” without their knowledge in a nightclub in Nantes: an open investigation. Several women, a dozen in total, have recently testified after discomfort caused by a prick in the arm or leg, during evenings in a nightclub. An investigation has been opened by the public prosecutor of Nantes.
New lightening of the health protocol on Monday. With the continuous improvement of the epidemic situation in France, the government is continuing the gradual lifting of health restrictions, which began at the beginning of the month. The mask will fall in museums and cinemas, the rules are changing for contact cases and the protocol is less strict at school. All changes can be found here.
Read also on Liberation.fr
“Insufficient” sanctions, “weakness of the Western camp”: François Hollande analyzes the conflict in Ukraine. The former President of the Republic, confronted on several occasions during his mandate with crises triggered by Vladimir Putin, reacts in an interview granted to Release to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the lessons Westerners should learn from it. Read his interview.
In a hypermarket in the North, “slow” checkouts to take the time to chat. The Carrefour hypermarket group is experimenting with “blablabla crates”, to promote social interactions between customers and hostesses. A trend that runs counter to the massive deployment of new, more impersonal, autonomous and computerized payment methods. Read our report.
Climate change: “The scorching summer of 2003 will be a normal summer in fifteen years.” Geographer Magali Reghezza warns that much remains to be done to reduce the risks that climate change poses to our societies and the environment. A subject that will be at the heart of the new IPCC report made public on Monday. Read his interview.
Their death to say: Arnaud Dauxerre, green papermaker. Freed returns to meet the French people who made the news in our columns to discuss the presidential election. First issue this Sunday with Arnaud Dauxerre, who is tirelessly looking for a buyer for the Norman stationery which employed him in Grand-Couronne, near Rouen, and has not lost hope in politics. His portrait to read here.