Elysée briefing on Ukraine following Emmanuel Macron's telephone conversation with President Zelensky.
"We (France) want Ukraine to be victorious. We want the territorial integrity of Ukraine reestablished, we want this conflict, this war of Russia's against Ukraine to end..1/n "...as soon as possible and that negotiations start that will allow not only the reestablishing of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, but also take into account a number of other very important elements, including transitional justice, the payment of...2/n

French president Emmanuel Macron spoke again to Russian president Vladimir Putin today. Was a 1hr45min call made by Macron. Putin reiterated his demands for:
1. The "de-Nazification" of Ukraine
2. The "neutralisation" of Ukraine (ie no joining Nato and no weapons). #Ukraine 1/n 3. Recognition that Crimea is Russian
4. Independence of the Donbas
According to Elysée Putin "expressed his determination to obtain all these objections by negotiation or by war."
Macron insisted Russia cease its military operation, respect international humanitarian...2/n
2/n

New thread: this morning I spoke to a British Ukrainian (UK passport holder) stuck in France waiting for
@ukhomeoffice to approve visas for his Ukrainian wife and daughter (who is diabetic).
He drove from his home near London to the Polish border to pick them up and then...1/n ...drove to Calais where he was turned away from crossing the Channel and told to go to the British consulate in Paris. They drove back to Paris. At the consulate they were asked to fill in a visa application form. This asked them to pay €2,200 each (ie €4,400 for his...2/n

In what will be a surprise to nobody, Emmanuel Macron has declared that he is a candidate in April's presidential election. Here is his letter announcing his candidature:
"Over the past five years, we have been through a lot together. Terrorism, pandemics, the return of ...1/n "...violence, war in Europe:rarely has France been confronted with such an accumulation of crises. We have faced up to them with dignity and fraternity. We have stood firm without ever giving up.Thanks to the reforms carried out, our industry has for the first time recreated..2/n

Russian President Putin called French President Emmanuel Macron this morning. The conversation lasted 90 minutes. The conclusion: "the worst is to come" an Elysée source said. Putin intends to take control of the whole of Ukraine. The language is "neutralisation"...1/n ..."demilitarisation", "de-Nazification" and Putin expressed his determination to continue the Russian military operation in Ukraine to the end. Putin reportedly denied there were civilian victims or targets. Macron is said to have told him he was lying to himself. 2/n

Here is a proper translation of what Emmanuel Macron said this evening:
"Dear compatriots, since the brutal attack launched by President Putin against Ukraine on 24 February, Russian forces are bombing Kyiv and besieged the country's most important city. 1/n "Hundreds of Ukrainian civilians have already been killed. Again, women and children were killed today. Clearly, the coming days will be increasingly hard. Hundreds of thousands of refugees are fleeing to Moldavia, Poland, Romania, Hungary ...2/n

French president Emmanuel Macron is giving a national address at 8pm French time. I'll try to follow, simultaneously translate and type, but forgive brain fails and clumsy language. Not to mention fat fingers....here we go.
He is standing in front of a EU and Ukranian flag.
Hundreds of Ukrainians have been killed, women and children have been killed today.

Dans cet article, j'essaie de tisser un chemin juste et factuel entre les 2 parties de cette polémique.
#SaccageParis dit que Paris est saccagé et accuse Anne Hidalgo et la Ville.
La Ville reconnaît des problèmes, mais dit que c'est une campagne...1/3
theguardian.com/world/2022/feb… ...de dénigrement politique de l'extreme droite.
Je n'ai qu'une chose à dire : si vous comptez utiliser l'article pour envoyer ou tweeter des messages haineux et xénophobes sous le hashtag #SaccageParis à Mme la Maire ou à ses conseillers comme Carlos Moreno...2/3

RIP Greta Ferušić. Will never forget interviewing her in besieged Sarajevo in August 1993.
When she was freed from Auschwitz (she was prisoner A9232) she weighed just over 5 stone. Her parents and grandmother were murdered by the Nazis in the camp.
theguardian.com/world/2022/jan… In 1993 she was trapped in the Bosnian capital, which was encircled and being bombed daily. Anyone who left their home was a target for snipers. I remember how strong and determined she was and the horror when she showed us the concentration camp tattoo on her arm.

French foreign minister says France didn't recall the British ambassador over the AUKUS row because France is familiar with the UK's "permanent opportunism" and said Boris Johnson was the "fifth wheel on the carriage". Talking to France 2, Jean-Yves Le Drian said: Le Drian said Australia told France that it was breaking the submarine contract and making a new deal with the US and UK, just one hour before Scott Morrison the Australian PM announced this at a press conference.

As the Taliban prepare to take over Kabul...
I was in the Afghan capital in 1996 at the time the Taliban arrived for the first time. They had no idea where they were going back then and stopped at the Red Cross HQ in the city to ask directions to the parliament building. It was catastrophic for women and girls in the city. Within days all women were ordered back into their homes and told not to come out without a male relative accompanying them. Working women, even those in high ranking positions including...

The EU's ETIAS (like the US's ESTA) due to be introduced end of next year means non-EU citizens - including Britons - travelling to the Schengen area who are exempt from the visa requirement will need to register and obtain an authorisation before travelling. #Brexit

https://twitter.com/EUHomeAffairs/status/1422503138347585544

The fee will be €7 but will cover multiple visits over 3 years. Importantly for UK visitors, it also means the system can keep track of the 90 days rule.

https://twitter.com/JenniferMerode/status/1422515683301134336

In April 1996, @lynnhiltonphoto and I went to Bosnia to try to find out the identity of a woman photographed hanging from a tree after Srebrenica. The picture went around the world, but at the time she was known only as "The Hanging Woman". I felt she we should know her name. With the help of Bosnian researchers, we were able to give her a name: Ferida Osmanovic. She was 31. Her husband, Selman, 37, had been taken away by Bosnian Serb forces led by General Ratko Mladic and massacred. More than 8,000 men and boys were killed.

Once again, I'm going to put my listen-translate-type skills to the test for tonight's important Covid press conference. This is a warning: it may not be elegant, it will not be verbatim, but I will be doing my best, so apologies for errors, clumsy translations et al... We have heard that the PM Jean Castex is going to get vaccinated with the AZ vaccine tomorrow.

French PM Jean Castex is giving his weekly Covid press conference.
"Circulation of virus has accelerated...linked to English variant that represents 60% of contaminations in the country". Evolution of situation:
Virus has continued to progress, but slower than feared. In last 7 days, 1.4% increase in last week, when it was 14%+ the previous week. "It's clear we're not faced with exponential increase of epidemic".

14 months from a presidential election and Emmanuel Macron's popularity is holding up at 41% according to a Paris Match/Ifop poll. This is higher than his predecessors François Hollande (22% at same period) and Nicolas Sarkozy (31%). 1/5 The poll results suggest Macron's popularity is higher among left-wing voters - 42% and rising - than those on the right - 34% and dropping. He is increasingly popular among ecologists, socialists and even younger hard left France Insoumise supporters. 2/5

So, tonight Emmanuel Macron will tell France what new restrictions are to be introduced. I will be trying, once again, to give you a blow-by-blow account as he speaks. Usual rules apply: please forgive clumsy on the hoof translation. Macron: "Efforts made were useful but not enough...situation of epidemic. The speed of spread of virus has not bee anticipated. 527 deaths yesterday, 3,000 people in i/c half the national capacity.

More depressing Covid-19 figures as we wait to hear what Emmanuel Macron plans to do at 8pm French time. Media reporting a possible 1-month lockdown from Thursday, but as we have discovered in the past, it is best to wait and hear not second guess. Source: santepubliquefrance.fr/dossiers/coron…

Tonight's Covid-19 figures from France. The government website has updated first this evening, indicating +26,771 new confirmed cases and +257 new deaths, +1,016 new hospitalisations and +166 new i/c admissions. Source: gouvernement.fr/info-coronavir…

I've been off and return to find the Covid-19 figures in France shocking. A grim record. Source: santepubliquefrance.fr/dossiers/coron…

Today we have a press conference by French PM Jean Castex and Health Minister Olivier Véran to explain curfew announced last evening by President Emmanuel Macron.

The 9pm-6am curfew is due to come into effect Saturday morning (from midnight) and last at least 4 weeks. It could be extended to 1 December. I will try to give an account of this press conference. As usual, please forgive errors and clumsy translation.