French press review
In the spotlight: nuclear fear from Ukraine
Audio 04:23
Surveillance camera footage shows the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine, March 4, 2022. Zaporizhzhya NPP via REUTERS - Zaporizhzhya NPP
By: Norbert Navarro
3 mins
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"
Vladimir Putin allows himself to play with nuclear fire
", alarmed
Le Figaro
after the bombing of the nuclear power plant in Zaporijjia, Ukraine.
"
No doubt he wants to control the electrical switch of the country, to plunge it into the dark at will
", supposes this daily, reduced to conjectures on the motive(s) of this attack.
According to
Le Figaro
, the Russian president "
also has an objective, evident since the capture of the Chernobyl disaster zone: to terrorize the Ukrainian and European populations by means of the atomic scarecrow
".
Especially since “the
mention of these
(nuclear) weapons,
which we thought were reserved for deterrence, comes up frequently in the words of the head of the Kremlin.
Symptom of its headlong rush and warning to Western countries that support Kiev against Moscow: this aid could be expensive
, ”adds this daily.
Which further remarks that “
Russian military doctrine does not exclude the use of tactical nuclear weapons
(with a smaller range)
on the battlefield
”.
This is why Europe and NATO must “
take the danger seriously.
If the Kremlin Bear feels cornered or threatened in its survival, who knows what it might be capable of?
“, wonders, evasively, Le Figaro.
Ukraine alone against the Russian bear
Uncertainty that puts the nerves, even if this bombing has in no way altered the security of this Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
“
More fear than harm…
”, admits
Le Parisien
, because the shots were aimed at an administrative building of the power plant, and not its reactor buildings, but “
wasn't that the purpose of the maneuver?
“, he asks.
The process ?
Like its colleagues,
Le Parisien
is reduced to questions about this bombardment, because "
the Kremlin denies being behind the attack and denounces for its part
" a lie "", still reports this daily.
Le Parisien
also notes that “
the Élysée took its time to react to the attack on Zaporijjia
”.
If the situation required it, Emmanuel Macron does not rule out making a return trip to Moscow, reports this newspaper.
"
On the other hand, no trip planned alongside the French soldiers deployed as part of the NATO force in Romania, just to avoid provoking Putin unnecessarily…
”.
Exactly.
If, in an interview granted to a press consortium, which counts
Le Figaro
among its members, the British Prime Minister declares that Vladimir Putin "
must fail
", he is careful not to specify how.
Not by sending troops to Ukraine, in any case, underlines Boris Johnson, who assures him: “
I do not know of any Western country which plans to send fighters to this theater of conflict.
This is the reality
”.
And when the press asks him what he thinks of the idea of a protected air zone (a “no-fly zone”, as English speakers say), the British chief executive replies: “
That's exactly the catch: it logically involves shooting down Russian planes.
And here you are, prisoner of a logic of confrontation
, ”reports Le Figaro.
Aphone Francophonie
Finally, this platform from the Secretary General of La Francophonie, to explain the silence of the OIF on the war in Ukraine.
Published by
Jeune Afrique
, it is signed Louise Mushikiwabo.
The former Rwandan minister stresses both that "
the position
" of the International Organization of La Francophonie has been expressed "
differently
" since the beginning of the conflict and that the functioning of the OIF is based on "
the principle consensus
”.
Referring to the vote, last Wednesday, of the non-binding United Nations resolution calling for the withdrawal of the Russian army from Ukraine and condemning the placing of the Russian nuclear force in combat position, Louise Mushikiwabo points to the abstention "
of a ten member countries of La Francophonie
" during this vote.
With a view, therefore, to a consensus on Ukraine at the OIF, its boss, in this forum published by
Jeune Afrique
, announces that the subject will be "
put on the table
" for discussions "
in the very next few days
".
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