Gecko123

A very regressive one at that.

Trump just gave the American consumer the Abner Louima treatment. (Haitian immigrant brutalized by NYC cops with a toilet plunger). Higher prices of imported goods into the US will mean buying anything online from the US just got more expensive. It's also probably not going to have a positive effect on the USD and all the currencies tied to the dollar. Enjoy, MAGA expats.

Global economy is gonna collapse like that Bangkok high rise. Extremely destabilizing geopolitically. Theoretical mumbo-jumbo untethered from the reality of how consumers respond to tariffs. Scary part is it will be very difficult for anyone to back down.

Her lack of contrition, refusal to take any responsibility for her actions, trafficking in conspiracy theories, and attacks on the judiciary may fit the "victim" narrative of the far-right but it won't resonate with France's left or middle of the road voters. In addition, Trump, with his stance on Ukraine, NATO, tariffs on European goods, attempts to annex Greenland and take over the Gaza strip, and allowing Elon Musk to meddle in European politics, is probably more despised on the European continent than any American president in recent memory.

homemade pork shiitake mushroom noodle soup with shrimp

It was her father Jean-Marie Le Pen who indoctrinated her in her xenophobic and racist beliefs, and it was her father who originally set up the scheme to siphon EU deputy and EU deputy assistant staff salaries and expenses to support the National Rassemblement (formerly National Front) party. She finally expelled her father in 2015 from the party because he kept exposing such extreme and politically unpalatable views. When he died in January of this year she said she would "never forgive herself" for having expelled him from the party. When you consider that he was the one who set up the scheme, and no doubt encouraged her to continue it, I can't help but wonder whether she is now not only able to forgive herself, but wishing she had done it a decade sooner.

You seem to be very determined to ignore the fact that a crime was committed, there was damming hard evidence in support of the allegations, and it was in fact right-wing politicians who successfully pushed for stiffening the penalties for misuse of public funds.

French far-right leader Le Pen sentenced to prison and banned from office in embezzlement trial. Le Pen may still appeal the four-year sentence, two years of it suspended, and five-year political ban, which came after she was found guilty of misusing $3 million to pay party staff. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/france-le-pen-marine-guilty-right-national-rally-paris-embezzlement-rcna198816 Edit: From Reuters: Le Pen's five-year public office ban cannot be suspended by appeal, although she will retain her parliamentary seat until her term ends. She also received a four-year prison sentence - two years of which are suspended and two years to be served under home detention, and a 100,000-euro ($108,200) fine, but they will not apply until her appeals are exhausted. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/frances-le-pen-faces-crunch-day-graft-trial-that-could-kill-her-presidential-2025-03-31/

She's probably going to serve 2 years behind bars as well.

I find it disturbing that you seem to be incredulous that this could be the case. From the bottom of my heart, I can assure you that I am being 100% honest.

No...I think he's Hitler.

First of all, you old git, I'm not an old git. I've been up since 3:30 this morning to take the dog on a 7 km run, and just came in the house after climbing up scaffolding to prune a large tree limb. As far as being "blinkered to anything other than MSM narratives" I pride myself on being an independent thinker, and quite often the MSM comes to similar conclusions long after they have occurred to me. As an example, I recognized immediately Trump's authoritarian and fascist tendencies early on in his first term in office, the parallels between the tactics he was using and the tactics used by the National Socialists being blatantly obvious to anyone who has studied the rise of National Socialism in Germany. The MSM was probably equally aware of this from the outset of his term, but chose to quelch this quite accurate analysis as "inflammatory" until practically the end of his first term.

No...she was not going to win in the next election. A sizable majority of the French electorate are adamantly opposed to her ever succeeding to the Presidency, as evidenced by the willingness of the left to set aside their differences and form the Nouveau Front Populaire in order to block her from doing so.

Flattered by your questions. No, I don't live in France. Yes, I do speak French. I follow French current events by reading French newspapers daily (Le Monde), watching sessions of the National Assembly, interviews with politicians, and listening to news reports and podcasts. In addition to politics, I have an interest in criminal activity in France. My interest in French current events originated from a consideration that I might move there one day. I also have a deep interest in 19th century French literature, and have read many classics in French.

The idea that holding politicians accountable turns a democracy into a banana republic needs to be thrown out the window. The French have it right. Former French president Sarkosy is currently on trial for having allegedly made a deal with Muammar Gaddafi to finance his 2007 presidential election campaign. No one is above the law, and we are witnessing right now in America what happens when someone is allowed to think that they are.