Yeah but although the crazies in charge have been very negative toward our continent and my country (Frace), they've also steered very clear away from any seizing claim about any of our territory, despite going against anyone from Canada to Denmark to Spain to UK, to ...
Deep down, we're an annoyingly arrogant little country with delusions of grandeur salivating at the thought to prove to our EU neighbors how strong we meant it when we said we would accept to oppose the US in case of military attack and I think they knew we may actually mean it and not back down when it start (see also: Denmark leak about how France was essentially willing to provide whatever to help defend Greenland).
I'm not saying this in a "we're awesome" way, more like a hard case of the TACO, bullies avoid the ones who punch back. Nothing would be happening in Iran right now if they had not believed in advance Iran would lie down like Venezuela did after losing its leader, though most would say confusing the two situation makes no sense.
Ultimately this is so much lost time and resources for nothing of value, it's so utterly disappointing...
> Deep down, we're an annoyingly arrogant little country with delusions of grandeur salivating at the thought to prove to our EU neighbors how strong we meant it when we said we would accept to oppose the US in case of military attack and I think they knew we may actually mean it and not back down when it start (see also: Denmark leak about how France was essentially willing to provide whatever to help defend Greenland).
And the rest of Europe loves you for that! But we're also very worried if that'll all remain so if Le Pen or Mélenchon win next year.
Believe me, I'm even more worried than you. I think Melanchon would actually do more damage, as crazy as it seems, Le Pen is incompetent and a sellout, Melanchon actually believes the BS he vomits.
Macron finished the traditionnal left and right wing parties, which were too large and rotten to the core, but it's left us with a large center and two extremes, it's high time we have the normies left and right come back.
If Mélenchon wins it will evolve to an even stronger stance against imperialism. He is labeled "anti-american"
...Against US imperialism anyway. His credentials when it comes to other empires isn't spotless.
> salivating at the thought to prove to our EU neighbors how strong we meant it when we said we would accept to oppose the US in case of military attack and I think they knew we may actually mean it and not back down when it start
No offense to France, I don't really care one way or another, but didn't Macron also say he would deploy French troops in Ukraine? Where are those troops? Surely Ukraine is an "EU neighbor". They're currently suffering from an actual aggressor (Putin), not merely theoretical (Trump).
France says a lot of things.
> didn't Macron also say he would deploy French troops in Ukraine?
AFAIK, he said he didn’t rule out doing that while the war was ongoing (https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/27/europe/france-macron-troo...), and he signed a declaration of intent to do that if a peace deal with Russia is made (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17zee20qpzo)
Neither are what you imply he said.
> he signed a declaration of intent to do that if a peace deal with Russia is made
Interesting. Thanks for letting me know a Ukraine-Russia peace deal will never be signed.
That’s a pretty childish take on a serious subject.
> didn't Macron also say he would deploy French troops in Ukraine?
No he did not, he said he refused to rule it out: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/27/french-preside...
So I would recommend making sure to inform yourself properly rather than assuming what you read (or thought you read) is correct
> Surely Ukraine is an "EU neighbor". They're currently suffering from an actual aggressor (Putin), not merely theoretical (Trump).
But as you said, they're NOT EU, not in an official military alliance with France. If you cannot see the difference between the two situation, I can't make it any clearer for you.
If you're saying "we should do the same for those that are out that for those that are in", what you are saying is "being in has no purpose, why take the commitment". I believe your point of view is as wrong as can be.
> The situation in Ukraine, which has been under invasion by Russian troops for the past two years, was deteriorating. The war was getting bogged down. "In any case, in the coming year, I'm going to have to send guys to Odesa," said the president before a handful of guests. [1]
This was 2+ years ago and in the years since Russia has captured even more territory and is now bombarding Kyiv. And still no French troops.
Again, France says a lot of things.
[1] https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2024/03/14/war-in...
Read up on game theory. This was just tit for tat. At that time Russia openly contemplated invading EU countries.
Well, you'll notice how Russia just ignored what Macron said and proceeded with their attempted conquest of Ukraine anyway. Because it's just "game theory". It's just "tit for tat".
Everyone knows France says a lot of things.
Who is "(Frace)" and what are you talking about?
You all need to watch actions more than what people say.
> Deep down, we're an annoyingly arrogant little country with delusions of grandeur ...
The problem is France used to be the world's superpower, with an economy bigger than the one of the UK. Literally number one.
Then the monarchy fell and all it took was a mere 15 years for that little arrogant man that Napoleon was to get its arse (and France's arse) handed to him in Waterloo in 1815.
15 years to throw away centuries of greatness: what an amazing success the revolutionaries managed to pull. They fucked up so bad they realized it and tried to, peacefully, re-instate monarchy, but it was too late. Charles X was king of France after the Waterloo SNAFU (1824 to 1830) but it was too late to fix things.
It's nice and all, on paper, to want no king. But France is considered to have lost, forever, its place as the world's n 1 superpower when Napoleon lost in Waterloo.
I'm not saying monarchy is better: what I'm saying is that the french revolution coincides with France losing its status as the world's 1st super power.
And France has been arrogant ever since but it went from 2nd to 3rd to 4th to 5th to 6th to now 7th place.
It's a never ending fall.
With the biggest public deficit and the biggest public debt in the entire EU, and the level of primary education going down the drain (university is still doing OK), I fear it's only ever more pain ahead for France.
The country is literally crumbling left and right and communists, siding with islamists (the party of Melenchon are downright commies, who understood that if they were cozy with islamists, they'd get a chance a winning the elections), are planning to destroy the little that's left of France's past grandeur.
If you think those in charge now are negative towards their own country, you haven't seen anything should either the communists (Melenchon) or the national-socialists (Le Pen / Bardella: which are for a national preference with a deeply socialist program) win the next elections.
Besides an aching aircraft carrier France still has the atom bomb and that's it.
No more money. No more education.
France is toast.
P.S: the biggest success, from their leftist point of view, of french intellectuals is managing to present national-socialists as "far right" (as if they were fascists)
I have no idea what's your point but I have to say I find "The country is [...] siding with islamists" when we were literally the only country willing to defend the freedom to speech and caricature religion a couple years ago against islamism, with Quebec the outlier that sided with us (even though Canada did not).
Overall: I don't think any country should be on top. I'm glad France is not number one, and I hope it remains strong but never get in that position again. Part of why I love the EU is that no one, not even us or germany, is strong enough to fully impose its will without concession. Some would disagree with that, but they clearly don't know their history. So ... I'm not sure what your point is, but I think I disagree with it.
People who think everything is a zero sum game are mathematically destined to lose. Trump is finding that out in record time.