The Debate: should Britain abolish the monarchy? Opinion The disgrace of the former Prince Andrew has led some to question whether it’s time Britain abolished the monarchy altogether. Two experts make their cases in this week’s Debate. No: Constitutional monarchy is a shield against instability and tyranny The list of countries which retain a ceremonial constitutional monarchy contains many of the world’s most [...]
Who watches the Watches? Opinion As a newly minted Picture Editor and thus part of the management team of a then-popular left-wing national newspaper, I sat in on a discussion about why the poor ate so badly. Having only recently landed the job and as keen as mustard – and oh so naive – my feet were still planted firmly [...]
Sarkozy: Former French president on trial over alleged Gaddafi financing Politics Former president of France Nicolas Sarkozy goes on trial today over allegations he received funding from the late Libyan dictator
Sarkozy, Berlusconi, and Trump: The world leaders with a criminal record May 31, 2024 Donald Trump has made his official historic mark in the US, but he is not the first world leader to face — or be handed — a criminal conviction.
Merkel defends blocking Ukraine’s Nato bid as Zelensky criticises her ‘policy of concession’ to Moscow April 5, 2022 Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended her decision to block Ukraine’s Nato application, as President Zelensky criticised her “policy of concession” towards Moscow. The former leader was called out by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also took aim at France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy, after mass graves and hundreds of unarmed civilians were found in [...]
Former French President Sarkozy sentenced to three years in jail March 1, 2021 Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to three years in jail for corruption charges, after he was found guilty of trying to bribe a magistrate. Two years of the three-year sentence will be suspended, and it is unlikely the former President will spend a single day in jail. The remaining one-year prison term [...]
A letter from France: Coronabonds are inevitable April 22, 2020 The coronavirus outbreak has led, perhaps understandably, to countries becoming more inward looking in an effort to try to contain the impact on the virus on their economies and societies. But once the fog has lifted and the reconstruction efforts begins, solidarity, rather than nationalism will be the name of the game. While the idea may shock our British cousins, and give them another reason [...]
Brazen French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron tells London – I want your banks to move to Paris after Brexit February 21, 2017 French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron has said he wants to lure banks from London to Paris in the aftermath of Brexit, striking a bullish and undiplomatic tone during a visit to Downing Street. "I was very happy to see that some academics and researchers in the UK because of Brexit are considering coming to France [...]
Blame France’s incompetent and corrupt elite for the rise of Marine Le Pen February 13, 2017 “Apres moi, le deluge.” (After me comes the flood) – Louis XV Say what you will, Francois Fillon, the disgraced former frontrunner in the upcoming French presidential elections, is no Professor Moriarty. As the investigative journal Canard Enchaine reports, Fillon paid his wife Penelope over €800,000 for work as a political assistant it is unclear whether [...]
Scandal-hit Francois Fillon could gift Marine Le Pen the French presidency February 9, 2017 His campaign is in serious crisis, but Francois Fillon – candidate of the centre-right after a convincing victory in the primaries – said on Monday that he will continue to fight to become the next President of France despite a scandal engulfing him and his family. Trying to save his campaign, he apologised to the French [...]