The EU

I feel very sad about it. I voted Remain and would vote rejoin if there were to be another referendum. 'No man is an island' etc.

Orly - it was after the 1917 revolution that the Tsarist family were killed. The 1905 revolution was merely a dress rehearsal according to Lenin.

Starmer wasn't even at the Berlin Global Dialogue, was he? I would imagine he was pretty far from Macron's mind in this instance.

janete1956

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Perhaps his new £4,200 glasses are rose tinted! I know I'm now in the wrong age group but none of my friends and family can understand Starmer and Reeves' attacks on us while fighting with each other to get their snouts in the trough. It's like the 1905 Bloody Sunday when the Bolsheviks killed the Russian royal family and looted the palace to drink champagne instead of vodka. And look where Russia is now!

Starmer and the Labour Party have made it absolutely clear that we do not wish to rejoin but we need better trading and security sharing.
It's important to be accurate on this, but if posters think it is not, produce actual evidence.

Unless you are a native speaker, I don’t think you will ever understand the exact nuance of any political speech. To me it seemed that Macron was sounding a note of warning, that member states should realise that problems exist and need to be addressed. In a way, that meshes with what many of us thought 10 years ago.

It is a golden rule of organisations that you cannot change them from the outside. We gave up our chance to change the EU when we left. I thought it was foolish then and I still think so now.

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trade

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Grantanow

Macron may be right that the EU needs to invest more and regulate less. By leaving the EU we have cut ourselves off from the kind of progressive, prosperous trade organisation that Macron wants to see. I hope Starmer has the backbone to negotiate a much better deal than the Buffoon' achieved.

Me too!

I did smile at the word “buffoon” it just seems to sum up BJ

He is having to give us pensions! We are also, on the whole, unlikely to vote for him too. I do hope he does not take us back into the EU, but maybe closer co operation without rejoining would keep us safer in an increasingly dangerous world.

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Wyllow3, I agree with you.

Grantanow

Macron may be right that the EU needs to invest more and regulate less. By leaving the EU we have cut ourselves off from the kind of progressive, prosperous trade organisation that Macron wants to see. I hope Starmer has the backbone to negotiate a much better deal than the Buffoon' achieved.

By and large, a reform back to trading, markets, and security focus is a good aim. With the big economic and security blocks of the USA and China, Russia on the doorstep, it's much needed. I don't see us trying to re-enter, but I think staying outside of the markets and security aspects is not good for us long term. By security I mean working closer with for example people smuggling and other policing issues not the military work of NATO.

Macron may be right that the EU needs to invest more and regulate less. By leaving the EU we have cut ourselves off from the kind of progressive, prosperous trade organisation that Macron wants to see. I hope Starmer has the backbone to negotiate a much better deal than the Buffoon' achieved.

escaped

I don't think Macron is looking too bad for 46, physically at least, though I admit my son would have to age very quickly to look that grey in 6 years' time! I do agree that Macron is showing signs of exhaustion, almost like burn-out. He seems to have lost his drive.
I travel back and forth to France, and in the past year or two I noticed his eyes look tired. His speeches now seem more full of questions than answers, whereas in the past he was always coming up with new ideas, and sounded energised.
The EU in its current form has probably run out of steam and needs to re invent itself. There are some big shoes to fill to make it as successful as before in so many areas.

🤔

I think he looks tired and older than the average 46 year old, at least the ones I know and even those a bit older. They also have stressful jobs but perhaps not so stressful and not on the world stage.

Escaped,
I agree with you about Macron, hasnt he lost control of his version of our parliament fairly recently? Its maybe harder for him as president now.

Oops, I don't mean that I bump into Macron to check on his ageing process when I'm in France, just that I watch a lot of French TV then, especially debates!!

Hyperbolic nonsense.

Here's to China and Russia taking over the world, and wasn't Brexit the gift that keeps on giving to these two?

I don't think Macron is looking too bad for 46, physically at least, though I admit my son would have to age very quickly to look that grey in 6 years' time! I do agree that Macron is showing signs of exhaustion, almost like burn-out. He seems to have lost his drive.
I travel back and forth to France, and in the past year or two I noticed his eyes look tired. His speeches now seem more full of questions than answers, whereas in the past he was always coming up with new ideas, and sounded energised.
The EU in its current form has probably run out of steam and needs to re invent itself. There are some big shoes to fill to make it as successful as before in so many areas.

Macron is only 46.

Perhaps it's not a good idea to take on a top political rôle at too young an age as the stress of it is ageing.

Cossy

BevSec

Escaped, I thought it sounded dispirited too. Maybe Macron has had enough of political life, it must be aging. I think our prime ministers look like they have aged 20 years after a few months into the job.

Indeed, they seem to age overnight, along with some of the former US presidents.

I was thinking exactly the same the last time I saw him on TV
imagine the stress..

BevSec

Escaped, I thought it sounded dispirited too. Maybe Macron has had enough of political life, it must be aging. I think our prime ministers look like they have aged 20 years after a few months into the job.

Indeed, they seem to age overnight, along with some of the former US presidents.

Do not forget all French 16-18 yearolds must study philossophy. It is compulsory when they do the baccalareat.

This si why he can echo Paul Valery, In my many years of visiting France I have noticed again and again the way that this study of philosophy permeats life in france. In Guide books, introductory videos and film shows, sooner or later there will be a bit of navel gaizing. marcon is obviously homing his plan to be seen as an elder stateman by strating to make these gnomic utterances