{"id":36130,"date":"2025-04-20T17:23:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T17:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/36130\/"},"modified":"2025-04-20T17:23:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T17:23:17","slug":"macrons-france-dodges-accountability-again-as-tensions-in-foreign-policy-faces-its-peak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/36130\/","title":{"rendered":"Macron\u2019s France dodges accountability again as tensions in foreign policy faces its peak"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/whatsapp_image_2024-08-29_at_170350.jpg\" alt=\"Akbar Novruz\"\/><\/p>\n<p>France, once proud of its democratic ideals and civil liberties,<br \/>\nis now facing a deep internal crisis\u2014one not caused by \u201cforeign<br \/>\ninterference\u201d but by years of mismanagement, hypocrisy, and a<br \/>\ngovernment that is increasingly out of touch with its people.<\/p>\n<p>While President Emmanuel Macron and his administration have kept<br \/>\nbusy interfering in the affairs of other nations\u2014from pushing<br \/>\ndefense deals in Armenia to lecturing others on democracy\u2014France is<br \/>\nnow erupting from within. The streets are restless, prisons are on<br \/>\nfire, and the government\u2019s first response is not introspection, but<br \/>\naccusation.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past week, French prisons have become the epicenter of<br \/>\nprotests, violent unrest, and even armed attacks. At least 12<br \/>\nprison-related incidents have occurred since Sunday, with cars set<br \/>\nablaze and shots fired near correctional facilities. In the chaos,<br \/>\na new group calling itself \u201cDroits des Prisonniers Fran\u00e7ais\u201d<br \/>\n(Rights of French Prisoners) has emerged, accusing the French<br \/>\njustice system of degrading treatment and calling for basic human<br \/>\nrights. Whether this group is real or a smokescreen remains<br \/>\nunclear, but the government is already pointing fingers\u2014at Russia<br \/>\nand Algeria.<\/p>\n<p>French Interior Minister Bruno Retayo declared a \u201cwar\u201d against<br \/>\nwhat he calls \u201cnarco-racaille,\u201d gangs of drug traffickers who he<br \/>\nclaims are behind the unrest. But rather than deal with the root<br \/>\ncauses\u2014social inequality, poor prison conditions,<br \/>\nalienation\u2014authorities are again looking outside their borders.<br \/>\nRetayo\u2019s claims echo the kind of rhetoric that turns every domestic<br \/>\nissue into a foreign plot. Russia is being blamed for alleged<br \/>\npsychological operations and graffiti campaigns\u2014just as it was<br \/>\nafter antisemitic incidents linked to Hamas\u2019 attacks in 2023.<br \/>\nAlgeria, meanwhile, is accused of stoking unrest in retaliation for<br \/>\ndiplomatic slights.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image_2025-04-20_193432163.png\" style=\"height:312px; width:500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>But here\u2019s the irony: the diplomatic breakdown with Algeria was<br \/>\nprovoked by Paris itself. In the summer of 2024, France publicly<br \/>\nbacked Morocco on the Western Sahara issue, a red line for Algiers.<br \/>\nThe Algerian government responded by recalling its ambassador and,<br \/>\nmore recently, expelling 12 French diplomats. According to German<br \/>\noutlet &#8220;Deutsche Welle&#8221;, tensions have been mounting ever since,<br \/>\nwith Macron\u2019s administration unable\u2014or unwilling\u2014to repair the<br \/>\ndamage. Instead, France escalates, offering accusations rather than<br \/>\napologies.<\/p>\n<p>France\u2019s colonial history with Algeria remains an open wound.<br \/>\nThe Algerian state and people have demanded accountability for<br \/>\nFrance\u2019s brutal colonial rule, including accusations of genocide<br \/>\nand mass killings. But instead of confronting that past, Macron has<br \/>\npursued symbolic gestures and selective memory\u2014failing to offer a<br \/>\nfull apology or reconciliation. As a result, relations have turned<br \/>\ntoxic. Algeria has maintained a calculated and diplomatic posture;<br \/>\nFrance, on the other hand, seems to be reacting from a place of<br \/>\ninsecurity and confusion.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image_2025-04-20_193140184.png\" style=\"height:330px; width:500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>In the background of all this, Macron\u2019s France is facing a<br \/>\nlegitimacy crisis. Those who take to the streets to voice economic<br \/>\nand social grievances are met with police violence\u2014mounted charges,<br \/>\ntear gas, mass arrests. The state accuses others of repression<br \/>\nabroad while silencing its own people. The rhetoric of \u201cforeign<br \/>\ninterference\u201d serves a purpose: it hides the absence of a real<br \/>\nstrategy.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Paris&#8217; accusations sound increasingly hollow. If<br \/>\nthere\u2019s anyone interfering in France\u2019s stability, it may not be<br \/>\nAlgeria or Russia\u2014but the Macron government itself, which has<br \/>\nignored domestic grievances and undermined international<br \/>\nrelationships through arrogance and neglect.<\/p>\n<p>At the center of it all is a France that seems unable to admit<br \/>\nthat its crisis is self-made. In blaming others, it seeks an escape<br \/>\nfrom accountability\u2014but as the streets burn and alliances crumble,<br \/>\nthat illusion is becoming harder to maintain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"France, once proud of its democratic ideals and civil liberties, is now facing a deep internal crisis\u2014one not&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[12619,7503,12622,7502,1500,3085,12621,1700,2000,299,12620,36,5387,285,12618,461,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-36130","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-analytics","9":"tag-azerbaijan","10":"tag-azernews","11":"tag-baku","12":"tag-breaking-news","13":"tag-business-news","14":"tag-company-news","15":"tag-economy","16":"tag-eu","17":"tag-europe","18":"tag-financial-news","19":"tag-france","20":"tag-oil-and-gas-news","21":"tag-politics","22":"tag-socar","23":"tag-turkey","24":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114371456611493568","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}