French press review
In the spotlight: Europe in solidarity with Ukraine
Audio 04:04
European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen.
Europe will supply arms to the Ukrainians.
(Illustrative image).
REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
By: Sébastien Duhamel Follow
4 mins
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A visual shock again, this Monday morning in newsstands.
With images that we have been seeing for a few days now, but which are still difficult to get used to.
The scars of the ongoing Russian offensive in Ukraine: disfigured streets in Kiev, Kharkiv and other cities, burned vehicles, badly damaged buildings... And there are, to catch the eye in the Also on newsstands this morning, this One entirely blue and yellow, colors of the Ukrainian flag.
It is
Liberation
which delivers it, one can read: "
Faced with Poutine, the commotion of combat
".
Because, “
for the first time
”, the European Union is going to supply arms to the Ukrainians.
“A historic decision
” according to
Libé
for whom Europe "
enters the world after
", to
"counter a Putin without limits who brandished the nuclear threat
".
A nuclear threat to be taken seriously
“
Putin brandishes the nuclear threat
”, these are also the words to read on the front page of the
Parisian Today in France
.
It shows us a cold and determined Poutine,
Le Parisien
speaks to us of a “
nuclear blackmail to be taken very seriously
”.
"
This is at least the third time that [the head of the Kremlin] raises the specter of the supreme weapon
", underlines the newspaper.
The first time,
"it was in Moscow, in the presence of Emmanuel Macron, expressly targeting France
", he reminds us.
So “
bluff or real risk?
asks
Le Parisien
.
In any case, it is certain: "
the nature of war has just changed
“, replies a few lines later General Vincent Desportes, former director of the School of War.
“
The threat of a war with a nuclear component should not be taken lightly
,” he analyses.
A war that can go on
Especially in the face of an increasingly isolated Vladimir Putin, and whose army seems to be somewhat bogged down.
So much so that the editorial of
Le Figaro
wonders:
“Did the Tsar underestimate his adversaries
?
".
"
It was to be a lightning war, to the point of not even deserving this name, a 'special military operation' of which it would be superfluous to inform the public in Russia
", quips
Le Figaro
.
“But now, on the fourth day of the scenario
, “the perspective is changing: The Ukrainian army and the population itself refuses to lie down before the invader.
And young President Zelensky, who went from “Dancing with the Stars” glitter to combat fatigues, embodies the reality of this conflict.
” further believes
Le Figaro
.
No, “
the invasion of Ukraine is not the regrettable hostile takeover of a brother country, it is a matter of life and death for a nation that refuses to be enslaved by a foreign dictator
.
»
Preparing Western opinions
It is therefore a long war that seems to be taking shape, and we must be prepared for it.
This is “
the price of democracy
”, warns
La Croix
.
“
We took too long to understand that we were with Russia facing a “rogue state” or, as the English say more colorfully a “rogue state”, rogue designating the solitary mammal, often an old male, who has left the herd and is becoming aggressive
".
We took too long to understand, therefore believes
La Croix
, but “
we must – finally” be collectively lucid: there will be no possible compromise on Ukraine
”.
And that is why, according to the Catholic daily, "
we must rejoice at the high level of the sanctions adopted this weekend by the Europeans and the Americans
”.
Even if these measures "
will not be without consequences for Europeans
" in terms of employment and purchasing power.
Western leaders must prepare their opinions for a harsh conflict, the repercussions of which will be felt in daily life.
It's true, confirms
Le Monde
, we will have to "
assume the cost of the sanctions
", but "
the time has come for European political leaders to clearly face the price of solidarity and to prepare public opinion for it
", can we read.
Because "
to recoil before the cost of sanctions today would be to expose oneself to having to pay an infinitely heavier price if Vladimir Putin achieves his objective in Ukraine”
.
FIFA under pressure
However, Westerners seem ready to assume, sanctions are raining down everywhere.
So much so that, for once, we talk about geopolitics in
L'Équipe
.
Fifa, the International Football Federation "
announced yesterday that Russia would play its home matches on neutral ground
", but the international body is "
summoned to go further
".
Several federations “
are pushing for stronger measures
”, reports the sports daily.
We already know that Uefa has chosen to relocate the Champions League final, scheduled for May in Saint Petersburg, at the Stade de France.
When it affects football, the situation becomes really serious...
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