Writer in Paris, co-host of @EuropeansPod, teacher @AUParis
Jun 9 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
A few thoughts on why Macron’s decision to call parliamentary elections because the far-right did so well, which seems on the surface of it to be quite insane, might not be *that* insane
French parliamentary elections do not use the same electoral system as European elections. To win a seat as a deputé you have to win 50% in the first round, or if not face a run-off. Upshot: it’s a lot harder for a far-right candidate to win a seat in the national parliament
Aug 13, 2022 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
Weird Things About The United States Of America, As Experienced By Visiting Europeans
Everything in the US is named after the individual rich person who paid for it, like ‘The Chuggy Munkins Traffic Cone’ or whatever
May 23, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Chilling testimony emerging from fellow passengers on the Athens-Vilnius flight, describing the moment when Roman Protasevich learned it was being diverted to #Belarus.
"He just turned to people and said he was facing the death penalty," passenger Monika Simkiene told @AFP.
Another passenger, Edvinas Dimsa, told AFP: "He was not screaming, but it was clear that he was very much afraid. It looked like if the window had been open, he would have jumped out of it."
Mar 16, 2020 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
BREAKING: Macron announces full lockdown in France for at least two weeks. No family or social gatherings allowed
The French lockdown starts at noon tomorrow. People breaking the rules will be punished.
“I’m appealing to your sense of responsibility and solidarity,” Macron says in a live televised address to the nation.
