# F03 LiveFromFrance S1E03
## «L'écologie à la française»
That's how President Macron talks about his ecological planning programme. It's called "French-style ecology". ... Macron, with his usual "French arrogance", pretends that we, the French, have found a magic formula. But when you read it, it's not radical at all, not innovative, but not completely climate skeptical. Don't forget that this is the same president who is going to authorize the shooting of wolves (after millions in subsidies for hunters), who has authorized the construction of a new pier for the import of shale gas, and who is now saying that he "loves the car", a kind of swear word, and that it is "not his thing" to stop flying (the budget for the presidential palace has increased by 20% for this purpose). OK, I love cars too, and I'm working to make better cars, but I'm convinced that we need to change our behavior, our way of life. Mr Macron is always thinking about growth, GDP growth.... but not, of course, the balance of trade and the distribution of wealth. 4-5 years ago we had a citizens' c
onvention with many proposals on climate. The promise was to adopt it all... But after reading it, Macron cancelled most of the proposals... "Realism", he said. Does he know the real consequences of climate inaction? Realism means that talking is not acting.
## Invasion of the Bed Bugs
It's not a new film, but the new fear in France. Many bed bugs live in Paris and in large cities in the east and south of France. If houses and apartments were the first victims, we can now find bedbugs in cinemas and trains. It's a psychosis, a disaster film for TV news channels... and even in the news media around the world. What is a bedbug, how do they live and ... where do they come from (especially on CNews, our Fox TV copycat for right-wing fans)? These are the questions we see every day on all media. Last year the hero was the rat. And before that, the budgie, the wolf, ... I hope we don't live in Australia with snakes and other dangerous animals. I don't see any bats or owls in my town like I used to in the country. I'm afraid they could be our next victims. OK, it's true that bed bugs are not the best neighbours or visitors to have in your home. And of course it's bad news for tourism, especially with the Olympics coming up in 2024. So much money spent and for what? Another topic. But what about be
d bugs elsewhere in Europe or the world? Was it not such a state affair? I think it's another unconscious fear: fear of invasion, fear of worse living conditions, fear of losing the first place in tourism... I say this because I can't imagine living with bed bugs, but I'm not far away from my own health problems. I think the next victim will be the Mediterranean flour moth. A monster in your kitchen!
## Migration in Europe
In the coming months, a draft law on migration will be debated in the French National Assembly. At the same time, Europe is trying to regulate migration flows through agreements between countries. But with the rise of nationalist and far-right regimes, immigration has become the main issue in political life. In the UK, it was in the Brexit debate, and now Prime Minister Sunak is chasing the far right to keep his power (agreement with Rwanda, 543 million paid to France to keep migrants out of the Channel, coordination with Belgium, Serbia and Bulgaria...). In France, it's a little game in the right-wing and far-right parties to know who will be the most "anti-migrant". Macron is using his interior minister, Darmanin, as a scarecrow for the left. In reality, France is talking a lot and doing less than expected .... as the Italian PM Meloni did during her first year, in the opposite way. Europe is the main zone of migration in the world (but the USA is the 1st country), just after North America and the Middle E
ast(1). The foreign population living in France is 5.3 million, or 7.8% of the total population (2), as Europe is 8.4%, Germany 12.7%. But we can see that the issue is very hot and sensitive all over Europe. In Germany, the far-right party AFD has grown strongly on this issue. There's a lot of fear, fantasy and manipulation around it. The other issue is the decline in the birth rate and the aging of the population. Germany and Italy have a problem with this and it's going to change in France. It will be an issue in the next European elections and in the years before the presidential elections. It's always an issue when there's a feeling of insecurity and when unemployment remains high, despite all the government statistics (precarious employment is now very high).
## And suddenly…
..Hamas attacked Israel. And the French Politicians became hysteric, forgetting the complexity of the Palestine-Israel conflict, the rise of the far-right in Israel's government in parallel of the rise of the (equivalent of far-right) Hamas vs Fatah in Palestine, etc...Its difficult to resume the situation in middle-east, to explain that terrorism and war have been part of the problem in each sides for many decades. Just remember that the extremists on both sides help each other to rule over the moderates. In France, it's very simple : If something happens in Israel or Palestine against Arabs, no news. If it's only a wound of an Israeli, no headline news. If it's a murder, an attack, it's OK for headlines. If you are for a free Palestine, a solution of 2 states, you are qualified of antisemitism. It's not possible to discuss calmly on this subject, even if you are a descendant of an Auschwitz deportee against the current government of Israel. There are very very few moderates, and they are working in diplom
acy, not politics. Protests for Palestine (not Hamas...) are banned in France, because of «disturbance of the peace»....Not protests for Israel. Words have a sense but not for someone who don't want to read them. So the French politicians from the centre-left to the right accused the far-left and a part of the left parties of being anti-Semitic, the union of the left parties fell to pieces. The far left was not very subtle and smart in his words, and the «real» left too. But some old leaders of the Socialist Party have found reasons to create conflict within the left. They don't seem to care about people in Israel or Palestine, just thinking to kill their opponent in french Politics. That makes many observers say : after the most stupid right wing, we have the most stupid left wing. I think it's the same in many European countries (the reaction of Ursula Van Der Leyen was nothing but undiplomatic). I have seen reactions about the Pope's words, and the same with Pr Stephen Walt (3) of the JFK School of Go
vernment in Harvard, for example. I'm beginning to understand what my grandfather said about the period before the second world war.
Links :
=>
https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/wmr-2022-interactive/ (1) : Interactive map
=>
https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/3633212 (2) : Statistics from French official institute
=>
https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/09/israel-hamas-gaza-war-battle/ (3) : Article of Stephen Walt on Foreign Policy
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