The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Francois Hollande

  • Macron takes over as French President

    Macron takes over as French President

    Emmanuel Macron, 39, has been inaugurated as France’s president and pledged to overcome division in societies.

    Macron, a centrist, took over on Sunday from President Francois Hollande, the socialist whose five years in power were plagued by stubborn unemployment and attacks.

    Macron – France’s youngest ever president – beat his far-right rival Marine Le Pen to the presidency, winning more than 65 per cent of the May 7 vote.

    “The whole world has watched our presidential election,” Macron said in his inaugural speech as president, which took place at the Elysee Presidential Palace.

    He added that “the world and Europe have today, more than ever, a need for France. They want a France that is sure of its destiny.

    “The world needs what French men and woman have always taught it — freedom, equality and fraternity.”

    He said France was not in decline, but at the start of an “extraordinary renaissance”, adding that he would boost employment, protect companies and engage with French people who feel ignored.

    “Republican secularism will be defended. We must find the deep meaning of what unites us today … France is only strong if it is prosperous.”

    Francois Hollande is delighted at the election of the former investment banker.

    Hollande launched Macron’s political career, and brought him from the world of investment banking to be an advisor and then his economic minister.

    “I am not handing over power to a political opponent, it’s far simpler,” Hollande said.

    Meanwhile, Macron is expected to reveal the closely-guarded name of his prime minister on Monday before flying to Berlin to meet German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

    It is virtually a rite of passage for French leaders to make their first European trip to meet the leader of the other half of the so-called “motor” of the EU.

    Pro-EU Macron wants to push for closer cooperation to help the bloc overcome the imminent departure of Britain, another of its most powerful members. (Reuters/NAN

  • New French leader Macron woos conservatives

    New French leader Macron woos conservatives

    Centrist French President-elect Emmanuel Macron on Friday sought to woo conservative members of parliament to his cause and head off a row with an ally as he bids for victory in June parliament elections.

    Macron, until 2016 was the economy minister in the outgoing Socialist administration, blew apart the traditional political boundaries of French politics on May 7.

    He won the presidency under the banner of his own one-year-oldc party.

    His main task now is to try to secure enough seats for REM in the June parliamentary election to give him a majority to push through a set of business-friendly economic reforms.

    On Thursday, he named 428 people around half of whom had never held elected office before to stand for REM in France’s 577 constituencies.

    Among the names were also 24 defecting MPs from the outgoing Socialists and on Friday the party reached out to moderate conservatives to join the cause.

    “There is a group among the Republicans (France’s conservatives) saying ‘we want to be useful to the country, but we do not want to ‘Macronise’ ourselves’.

    “We, being responsible people, are open to discussions.

    “I am not closing any doors,”Macron’s head of candidate selection Arnaud Leroy said, naming a number of leading figures among The Republicans” he said.

    Macron has already made room in the parliament he wants to see for former Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

    His team promised on Thursday not to put up a candidate against a man who represents a wing of the party whose political views are close to Macron’s.

    REM has made clear the way is open for more deals of this kind with other leading Socialists from the party’s right wing and with left-leaning lawmakers among the Republicans.

    In seats held by people who are potential allies it is holding back from putting forward an REM candidate, for the time being.

    Macron, an ex-banker who was elected on May 7 with 65 per cent of a run-off vote to beat the far right’s Marine Le Pen, will take power this Sunday from Socialist President Francois Hollande at a ceremony at the Elysee Palace.

    However, Thursday’s publication of Macron’s partial candidate list produced the first sign of tension within his camp since he was elected.

    Francois Bayrou, a centrist who gave up his presidential bid to join Macron, said that the list contained only 35 names from his Modem party, whereas he and Macron had agreed it should have 120.

    “We got him elected, this (candidate list) is a Socialist recycling operation,” Bayrou said.

    Richard Ferrand, Secretary General of Macron’s REM party, responded to Bayrou’s complaint.

    “There was no set agreement, but there was still room for maneuver given there are more constituencies to be assigned,” Ferrand said.

     

     

  • Africa-France summit opens in Mali amidst strong security

    Africa-France summit opens in Mali amidst strong security

    French and African foreign ministers opened a summit in Mali on Friday to strengthen their cooperation on economic and security issues, the Mali Foreign Ministry said.

    “It takes a collective and coordinated response to tackle these challenges,” Mali Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said.

    Foreign ministers from almost 40 countries participated in the talks in the capital, Bamako, amidst heavy security measures.

    The conference centre, high-end hotels and the capital’s main roads were secured with the help of more than 10,000 Malian and French security forces.

    Bamako was last targeted by Islamist terrorists in November 2015, when militants took 170 hostages inside the luxurious Radisson Blu Hotel and killed 20 of them.

    The meeting of the foreign ministers is expected to lay the groundwork for a summit of heads of state on Saturday.

    It will include French President Francois Hollande as well as roughly 35 African leaders.

    The summit is of great importance to Hollande, as France has been deploying soldiers in Mali since 2013 to help the conflict-ridden nation push back an Islamist insurgency.

  • French troops will leave CAR in October – Hollande

    France will end a three-year military peacekeeping operation in Central African Republic in October, President François Hollande has said, although security remains volatile.

    The operation was launched in December 2013 to try to end a cycle of tit -for -tat killing that began when mainly Muslim Seleka fighters toppled the then-president, prompting reprisals by Christian anti-Balaka militias, Reuters reported.

    The defence ministry said Operation Sangaris currently commands around 350 troops in CAR, down from a peak of 2,000, and supports a 12,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force.

    Hollande announced the operation’s end date late on Wednesday.

    French Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, had announced in January the operation would end this year.

    Clashes have continued since President Faustin-Archange Touadéra took power in March in an election intended to draw a line under intercommunal and interreligious violence.

    “Next October Jean-Yves Le Drian will go to Central African Republic to officially announce the end of operation Sangaris,” said Hollande in a speech in Paris.

    “I want to state clearly that deciding to intervene is a great responsibility, but knowing when to end an operation is also a major concern,” the president added.

    “You can’t do it too fast, too early, or too late,” he said.

  • EU rejects informal talks with UK

    The European Union will not hold informal talks with the United Kingdom until it triggers Article 50 to leave, Germany, France and Italy have insisted.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted talks with French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, in Berlin, the BBC reports.

    The leaders called for a “new impulse” to strengthen the EU.

    Last Thursday, British citizens voted 52-48 in favour of leaving the EU in a historic referendum.

    UK financial markets remain volatile in the wake of the vote, with sterling plunging to a 31-year low against the dollar, and some share trading temporarily halted.

    Together with the UK, Germany, France and Italy have the largest economies in the EU.

    All three leaders voiced regret at the UK’s vote to leave, with Mrs. Merkel calling it a “very painful and regrettable decision.”

    “We are in agreement that Article 50 of the European treaties is very clear – a member state that wishes to leave the European Union has to notify the European Council,” Mrs. Merkel told the joint news conference at the German chancellery.

    “There can’t be any further steps until that has happened. Only then will the European Council issue guidelines under which an exit will be negotiated.

    “That means that, and we agree on this point, there will be neither informal nor formal talks on a British exit until the European Council has received the [UK’s] request for an exit from the European Union.”

  • Buhari, Hollande, Biya listed for Abuja security summit

    Buhari, Hollande, Biya listed for Abuja security summit

    President Muhammadu will host the second Regional Security Summit slated for May 14 in Abuja.

    The summit is geared towards enhancing security of lives, properties and investments in Nigeria and neighboring countries.

    A statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, said that participants in the summit will include President Francois Hollande of France who hosted the first Regional Security Summit in Paris on May 17, 2014.

    President Buhari and the French President who is scheduled to arrive Abuja on Friday on an official visit to Nigeria will be joined at the summit by the Presidents of Cameroon, Niger Republic, Chad  and Benin Republic.

    The United States, Britain, Equatorial Guinea, the European Union, ECOWAS, the Economic Community of Central African States and the Gulf of Guinea Commission will also be represented at the summit which will have the successful conclusion of ongoing military operations against Boko Haram at the top of its agenda.

    The speedy resolution of the humanitarian crises caused by activities of the terrorist group, the statement said, will also feature prominently on the summit’s agenda.

    Before proceeding to the summit, President Buhari will receive President Hollande  and the French delegation at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Saturday morning.

    “It is expected that new agreements on further defence and cultural cooperation between Nigeria and France will be concluded and signed after talks between the two leaders and their officials,” the statement added.

     

  • IS: France launches air strikes in Syria

    France has carried out its first air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria.

    French planes destroyed a training camp in the eastern town of Deir al-Zour, President Francois Hollande said.

    A United States-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq for more than a year, the BBC reports.

    Speaking in New York, Mr. Hollande said a political solution was needed to end the Syrian war, but President Bashar al-Assad could not be part of it.

    France, like the United Kingdom, has previously confined its air strikes against the Islamic State group to Iraqi airspace.

    The UK announced earlier this month it had carried out a drone strike against two British citizens in Syria but has yet to fly manned operations in Syrian airspace.

    Mr. Assad has a staunch ally in Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    In order to secure Russia’s support in the fight against IS, Mr. Cameron is expected to tell the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York that Mr. Assad could remain temporarily in power at the head of a transitional government.

    European leaders gathering at the UN are intensifying calls for a diplomatic push in Syria in the wake of a massive influx of refugees heading for Europe.

     

  • U.N to deploy Ebola mission as death toll hits 2,630

    U.N to deploy Ebola mission as death toll hits 2,630

    The United Nations Security Council on Thursday declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a “threat to international peace and security” as the death toll hit 2,630 and France became the latest Western nation to step up its support.

    French President Francois Hollande announced the deployment of a military hospital to the remote forest region of southeastern Guinea, where the outbreak was first detected in March.

    Since then the virus has infected at least 5,357 people, according to World Health Organization (WHO), mostly in Guinea, neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia. It has also spread to Senegal and Nigeria, Reuters reports.

    With fragile West African healthcare systems overrun by the outbreak, Hollande said France’s response would not be limited to contributing to 150 million euros ($194 million) in aid promised by European Union nations.

    “We must save lives,” Hollande told a news conference. “I have asked the defence minister to coordinate this action and to include military doctors and the civil protection agency plus air support.”

    The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, said on Thursday he will create a special mission to combat the disease and deployed staff in the worst-affected states.

     

     

  • Hollande visits future French force site in West Africa

    Hollande visits future French force site in West Africa

    PRESIDENT Francois Hollande wrapped up a three-day West African tour yesterday with a visit to the future headquarters of a new French force designed to combat religious violence.

    The operation, which will be based in the Chadian capital N’Djamena, will involve some 3,000 French troops and operate in the restive Sahel region on the southern edge of the Sahara where terrorists have staged multiple uprisings and incursions.

    Operation Barkhane takes over from the French military mission in Mali, which had wrested control from Islamists who had overrun the north of the former French colony.

    That mission is being wound up, but 1,000 troops will remain in Mali’s north. The rest will cover the states of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

    Hollande has said the Barkhane force will allow for a “rapid and efficient intervention in the event of a crisis” in the region.

    France also has some 2,000 peacekeepers deployed in the Central African Republic, another former French colony riven by religious and ethnic conflict.

    Hollande visited Niger and Ivory Coast earlier in the week, inspecting French military installations and meeting with fellow heads of state on security and development issues.

  • Hollande warns of Islamist threat in West Africa

    Hollande warns of Islamist threat in West Africa

    French President Francois Hollande on Friday promoted a new military operation being rolled out in West Africa to take on a multi-faceted menace from Islamist groups that he warned threatened France’s interests and citizens.

    France led a military intervention in its former colony Mali last year, halting the advance of al Qaeda-linked fighters who had seized control of the northern two-thirds of the country in 2012.

    The military operation succeeded in scattering the Islamist groups in Mali, and Paris is in the process of reorganising its deployment in the region, with its 1,700 soldiers in Mali being folded into a broader counter-terrorism force, Reuters says.

    Under the new plan, some 3,000 French troops will now operate out of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad – countries straddling the vast arid Sahel band – with the aim of stamping out an Islamist threat across the region.

    “There are threats, notably from Libya. Military hardware has accumulated there, and without a doubt, terrorists are seeking refuge there,” Hollande said in Niger during a three-day trip that will also take him to Ivory Coast and Chad.

    “We have, therefore, decided to put in place structures and measures that will allow us to confront this threat of terrorism in the Sahel,” he said.

    Islamist fighters launched suicide attacks last year on Niger’s Somair uranium mine in the town of Arlit, which is operated by Areva, a supplier of uranium to France’s nuclear power programme.