Headline: sounds of boots in the east…

Audio 03:48

Russian soldiers train at the Kadamovskiy firing range in Rostov region, southern Russia, January 13, 2022. AP

By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

4 mins

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"

Military pressure is increasing in eastern Europe,

" notes

Le Monde

.

Belarus yesterday announced the arrival of an unknown number of Russian troops for

"combat readiness"  exercises

in February

. (…)

 "Impromptu"

maneuvers ,

the details of which do not need to be notified, specified the Belarusian Ministry of Defense, in particular to the neighbors of Belarus which are Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and the 'Ukraine. Ukraine on the borders of which Russia has already massed tens of thousands of soldiers, arousing among Westerners the fear of an invasion.

»

Indeed, ""we are at a stage where Russia can launch an attack in Ukraine at any time",

estimated the White House, speaking of an

 "extremely dangerous situation".

»

Putin wants to restore a security cordon on its western border

In fact, analyzes

Le Télégramme

, “

Vladimir Putin is patiently pushing his pawns into the gray zone of the former Soviet Republics, which he intends to keep under his control.

(…)

These military exercises in Belarus are in addition to the 100,000 Russian soldiers placed since November on the border with Ukraine.

(…)

This is Moscow's response to meetings last week where Americans and Europeans agreed to present a united front. The chin blows of the master of the Kremlin reflect his obsession with restoring a security cordon on his western border and above all his extreme weakness.

»

Indeed,

Le Télégramme

estimates , “

the Russian economy is on the decline, with the exception of the hydrocarbons sector and the military-industrial complex.

Moreover, its political model, based on the pre-eminence of the security forces and a muzzled opposition, frightens its former satellites who place themselves, one after the other, under American protection.

»

Blanket in the hot seat

On the front page also in France: the longest day yesterday for Jean-Michel Blanquer…

Calls for resignation, mea culpa, 20 Hours of TF1

…”: the Minister of National Education was on the grill throughout the day.

His vacation in Ibiza for New Year's Day does not pass.

So, asks

Le Parisien

, “

is the minister, who broke the record for longevity at the National Education, risking his place?

"We are in a period where one news is chasing another, reassures a Walker. If the subject Blanquer serializes, with photos, there, on the other hand, it will have to be replaced".

»

But "

three months from the end of the mandate, finding a replacement for him would not be easy... In two days, it's over, people will move on, wants to believe someone close to the president.

He would have gone to Guernsey, Corsica or Aurillac, nothing would have happened.

»

Bad work, bad communication...

In fact, considers

Liberation

, “

more than the place, it is the moment when Jean-Michel Blanquer saw fit to grant himself a few days of vacation which questions. The real question is: has Jean-Michel Blanquer worked well to prepare for this January start that everyone knew was perilous with the rise in power of the Omicron variant? The minister claims yes, and that he worked remotely normally. It's almost worse. Because Jean-Michel Blanquer obviously worked poorly,

says

Release.

He misjudged the state of nerves in which the epidemic has put the educational community, teachers and parents alike.

He miscommunicated protocols.

In short, he mishandled the situation.

Heavyweight of the government, darling of the president, he showed a manifest lack of political discernment.

»

Major malfunction

An analysis shared by Jean-Rémi Girard, president of the National Union of High Schools and Colleges, interviewed by

Le Figaro

: “

Beyond the image conveyed by Ibiza, it is on the management of the crisis that the minister is judged. It is on the merits that there was a major dysfunction: the minister accepted that we apply measures overnight, measures which we did not even try to warn colleagues correctly.

»

Still, "

symbolism plays like a weapon of political destruction

", points

out Le Figaro.

The posh Balearic resort is thus to Jean-Michel Blanquer what the lobster served for dinner at the Hôtel de Lassay had been to François de Rugy.

There is also a law often verified in politics, concludes the newspaper: a controversy vanishes when it targets a solid or popular personality;

it thrives when it hits someone who is already weak;

which is the case of the Minister of Education.

»

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