French press review
In the spotlight: the blockade by bombs of cities in Ukraine
Audio 03:42
A view shows the area near the regional administration building, which city officials say was hit by a missile attack, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine March 1, 2022. © REUTERS/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy
By: Norbert Navarro
3 mins
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From south to north, passing through the east, the Russian army held several large cities in the grip of its artillery.
"
Hold on at all costs
", launches
Le Journal du Dimanche
.
In Mariupol, in the south of Ukraine, “
the situation is dramatic, the city of 450,000 inhabitants lives under blockade, without water, without heating, without electricity
”, alarms
Le JDD
.
"
Further north, Kiev and the country's second city, Kharkiv, are still holding out, despite the bombardments
."
In France and abroad, "
the anti-Putin front
" manifests, underlines "in One"
Le Parisien Dimanche
.
“
More than 40,000 demonstrators, according to the Ministry of the Interior, marched throughout France
,” reports this newspaper.
Why Ukraine matters (Fukuyama)
Protest beyond Ukraine because the stake is planetary, and Francis Fukuyama warns.
Why Ukraine Matters
is explained by this eminent American intellectual.
Author of an article on
The End of History?,
published during the fall of the Berlin Wall, Fukuyama analyzes the ongoing war in Ukraine in a column posted online by the Australian magazine
Quillette
, and published in France by l weekly
Le Point.
Francis Fukuyama warns that if the master of the Kremlin “
manages to overthrow democracy in Ukraine and replace it with a puppet regime at his heels, he will have set a terrible precedent for the use of pure force.
China will be able to draw inspiration from this when considering the reincorporation of Taiwan.
The United States and NATO will have been humiliated, and the whole world will have definitely understood how American promises of support are just empty words and how much cooperation between democracies is a mirage
,” reports
Le Point.
Fukuyama also explains that democracies “
come to crumble because they admire strength and strong men
(…)
If Putin makes his aggression against Ukraine a success, and if the Republican Party follows Trump in his admiration for his person and his action, then he will break decisively with all the most fundamental American democratic values.
This will consolidate the authoritarian turn taken by this party
(…)
And, given the importance of the United States for the maintenance of a liberal world order, it will be a very bad omen for the free world in as
a whole
”, warns Fukuyama in
Quillette
(and therefore in
Le Point
).
Monument to the Russian allies in Bangui
In Africa too, Vladimir Putin does not lack support.
Witness in the Central African Republic.
The weekly
L'Obs
reports that on February 23, the eve of the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, "
a monumental statue, representing Russian fighters protecting African civilians, was unveiled in the Central African Republic, in front of an enthusiastic crowd
".
When Pécresse becomes becalmed, Marion Maréchal joins Zemmour
Valérie Pécresse's electoral campaign is floundering, while Éric Zemmour, one of her rivals, today receives the support of Marion Maréchal.
"
Pécresse in turmoil
", launches
Le Parisien Dimanche
.
"
The campaign of the Republican presidential candidate is faltering, and the optimism that she is still trying to communicate does not infuse much
", notes this newspaper.
On the side of Éric Zemmour, it is this afternoon that Marion Maréchal, niece of the candidate of the National Rally Marine Le Pen, "
will formalize her support for Éric Zemmour
" during a meeting in Toulon, south of France, reports
Le Journal du Dimanche
.
“
A return to active politics for Marion Maréchal
”, underlines
Le JDD
.
... © FMM Graphic Studio
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Presidential France 2022