EU-DIGEST

After weeks of speculation that he might change prime minister, the 45-year-old head of state said on Monday that he was sticking with under-fire Elisabeth Borne.

Since his re-election last May, Macron has faced months of fierce street protests over a deeply unpopular pensions reform and was forced into crisis management again late last month when riots erupted nationwide.

Advisors and ministers had long argued over whether the centrist should carry out a major overhaul of the cabinet to signal a fresh start, but in the end the reshuffle was limited in scope.

Read more at: https://www.france24.com

French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the possibility of banning access to certain social media features, in a meeting with local mayors in the cities that have seen violent protests.

Macron told about 300 local leaders that "we need to reflect on social media use among the youngest [and] on the prohibitions we must put in place," in a video seen by some French and international media.

"When things get out of hand, perhaps you have to put yourself in a position to regulate or cut them," Macron added.

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com

French President Emmanuel Macron's statement on Saturday that the West should consider how to address Russia's need for security guarantees to end the war in Ukraine has drawn sharp criticism from some quarters, rejecting the option of making concessions to the Kremlin after nearly 10 months of the war.

In an interview with French TV station TF1 recorded during his state visit to the US last week, Macron said Europe needs to prepare its future security architecture.

Read more at: https://www.dw.com

Macron poses with young women in traditional costumes as they celebrate the Abomey Treasures, during his visit to the French College in Benin, 27 July 2022.

- The French president vilified Russia as a "colonial imperial power" during a visit to Benin, which France ruled for more than 150 years.

Read more at: Macron calls Russia a 'colonial power' during visit to ex-French colony | Euronews

Ukraine should be given candidate status for European Union membership, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi affirmed on Thursday during a visit to Kyiv.

Granting the status to Ukraine is "a strong, quick, expected gesture of hope and clarity that we want to send to Ukraine and its people," the French leader said during a joint press conference following a meeting with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the late afternoon.

In a visit to Irpin, one of the suburbs of Kyiv devastated at the start of the war by Russian troops on the capital, the French president defended himself against any "ambiguity" in his support for Kyiv, having been heavily criticised for saying that Russia should not be "humiliated". Br>
He said Ukraine must be able to resist and prevail against the Russian army. "France has been at Ukraine's side since day one (...) we stand by the Ukrainians without ambiguity," he said.

He stressed however that the status would be accompanied by a "roadmap" that would include "conditions".

Read more at: Ukraine war: Macron, Scholz and Draghi back EU candidate status for Ukraine | Euronews

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold "direct serious negotiations" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

During an 80-minute conversation with Putin, the two European leaders "insisted on an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops", the German chancellor's office said.

Macron and Scholz urged Putin to have "serious direct negotiations with the Ukrainian president and (find) a diplomatic solution to the conflict".

Readn More at: Live: Macron and Germany’s Scholz urge Putin to hold ‘direct negotiations’ with Zelensky

Enter Elisabeth Borne, the 61-year old labour minister promoted to prime minister. How big a deal is the nomination of France's first female prime minister in 30 years? Cast from the same technocratic mould as Macron, originally a Socialist, she served as environment minister in a previous life. Does that make

All this begs the broader question of what France wants. Under Macron, it has already been through a transport strike, the Yellow Vest movement, Covid-19 and now the war in Ukraine. What do citizens expect from their leadership and their government in times that are more uncertain than ever?

Read more at: https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/the-debate/20220518-can-macron-renew-himself-new-term-begins-with-change-of-prime-minister

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday that France would "intensify" its supply of military and humanitarian support following a conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

Read more at: Macron says France to 'intensify' military, humanitarian aid to Ukraine - The Local

French voters are casting their ballot in the presidential runoff to choose between centrist incumbent Emmanuel Macron and far-right politician Marine Le Pen.

Opinion polls suggest that Macron, 44, has a solid lead, but analysts have cautioned that low turnout could sway the outcome in either direction. About 48.7 million citizens are eligible to vote.

Read more at: French election 2022: Voting under way in presidential runoff | News | Al Jazeera

French voters are more likely to support incumbent President Emmanuel Macron than challenger Marine Le Pen in the second round of the presidential vote next weekend, according to a new poll published on Saturday.
An Ipsos-Sopra Steria survey found that Macron enjoys support of around 55.5% of the respondents. Marine Le Pen could count on 44.5% of the vote, with the voter turnout expected to be 72% in the runoff. The French researchers put the margin of error between 0.7 and 2.4 percentage points.

Read more at: French election: Macron leads Le Pen, but warns ′nothing is decided′ | News | DW | 16.04.2022

Emmanuel Macron says he is the candidate for a "strong Europe" ahead of a presidential election run-off against Marine Le Pen.

Macron qualified ahead of his far-right rival for the second round of voting, due to take place on April 24.

"I want a France that is part of a strong Europe, that continues to forge alliances with the major democracies to defend itself," he said at his election night headquarters.

Note EU-Digest: President Emmanuel Macron won the first round of the French Presidemtial elections today, against radical right wing and pro-Putin, Marine Le Pen, who like former US President Donald Trump and British PM Boris Johnson, whom based on on their history, can not be trusted.

Read more at: 'I want a France that is part of a strong Europe,' says Emmanuel Macron | Euronews

The two leading candidates in Sunday's French presidential election will appear on TV on Wednesday night in a key moment in the campaign, as Marine Le Pen continues to close the gap on Emmanuel Macron according to the latest polling. IFOP's survey updated on Tuesday evening on first-round voting intentions shows Macron on 27%, down by 0.5%, while his rival from the hard-right gains one percentage point to reach 23%, four points behind.

Another poll on Tuesday night, by Kantar-Epoka, puts Le Pen (23%) just two points behind Macron (25%), a fall of four percentage points for the current president in two weeks.

Read more at: France election: Macron targets Le Pen's 'indulgence' of Putin as hard right rival closes gap | Euronews

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called on EU countries to launch new security negotiations with Russia to defuse ever-increasing military tensions on the Continent.

“The next few weeks must lead us to finalize a European proposal building a new security and stability order, we must build it among Europeans, then share it with our allies in NATO and then submit it to negotiation with Russia,” Macron said in a speech marking the start of the French EU presidency, which began on January 1.

Read more at: Macron pitches direct talks between Europe and Russia – POLITICO

French President Emmanuel Macron, the first leader of a major Western power to meet Vladimir Putin since Russia massed troops near Ukraine, said on Tuesday he believed steps can be taken to de-escalate the crisis and called on all sides to stay calm. Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Stephen Coates; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Simon Cameron-Moore You have reached your article limit

Note EU-Digest: France presently holds the six month Presidency of the EU and President Macron obviously not only speaks in his capacity of President of France but also in his capacity of his country's presidence role of the EU.

Read more at: France's Macron calls for calm to resolve Ukraine crisis | Reuters

In a wide-ranging speech in Strasbourg, Macron said it was not sufficient for the US to negotiate with the Kremlin over its threats to peace but that Europe needed to have its voice heard.

Macron said he hoped to revitalise four-way talks between Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine, known as the Normandy format, to find a solution to the escalating crisis.

The French president, who was speaking to mark the start of his country’s six-month presidency of the EU, told MEPs: “I think our credibility vis-a-vis Russia lies primarily in entering into demanding dialogue.

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/19/macron-says-eu-must-start-own-dialogue-with-russia-over-ukraine | The Guardian

French President Emmanuel Macron Friday cancelled a trip to Mali to meet transitional leader Colonel Assimi Goita after France announced new measures to battle the pandemic. Advertising

Macron was to meet Goita on Monday, for the first time since the Malian colonel was sworn into office in June after leading the country's second coup in less than a year.

Macron was also supposed to pay a Christmas visit to French troops stationed there to fight a jihadist insurgency in the country.

Read more at: Macron cancels visit to Mali after new Covid-19 measures announced

France's upcoming presidency of the European Union will aim to "move towards a powerful Europe in the world, a fully sovereign Europe, free to make its own choices and able to master its destiny," said French president Emmanuel Macron.

The six-month tenure, due to start on January 1, overlaps with the country's presidential election.

Here are six takeaways from Macron's speech on Thursday as he unveiled Paris' priorities for the rotating presidency of the 27-nation bloc.

Read more: Six takeaways as Macron unveils priorities of French EU presidency | Euronews

Thursday night was probably the last time German Chancellor Angela Merkel walked across the gravel in the Elysée Palace's courtyard to talk business with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The latter came towards her and, with large smiles behind their face masks, both did a fist bump while patting each other on the arm.

Standing in front of a crowd of journalists, they then announced the night's topics: Afghanistan, climate, European cooperation.

Read more at: The end of the Merkel-Macron era — a mediocre legacy? | News | DW | 16.09.2021

rench President Emmanuel Macron ordered a third lockdown across the countryon Wednesday as a fresh wave of coronavirus infections looks set to overrun its hospitals.

Speaking in a televised address, Macron said the British variant was creating "a pandemic inside a pandemic" that was more "contagious" and "more deadly."

Read more at: Coronavirus: French President Emmanuel Macron extends lockdown nationwide | News | DW | 31.03.2021

It’s the end of naivety,” Macron told reporters after a virtual EU summit.

“I support export control mechanisms put in place by the European Commission. I support the fact that we must block all exports for as long as some drug companies don’t respect their commitments with Europeans,” he added.

Macron said the EU had been late in ramping up vaccine production and inoculations, but was catching up and would become the world’s biggest producer of vaccines this summer.

Read more at: ‘The end of naivety’: Macron backs EU vaccine export curbs