Where debating everything under the sun is only the beginning

I'm not sure if this is news. I don't know the exact specifics, but for reasons I don't quite understand (spite?) the EU decided to mimic the US. That means non-citizens are required to pay $14 for a "visa waiver" that looks and smells an awful lot like a visa.

Edit: alright, I see I commented a bit too quickly. France is certainly going above and beyond there, aren't they. A registered invitation at the town hall?

However, The Connexion looked into this issue in its Brexit and beyond guide and found that in a survey of readers, those who were asked for this form only came from a country that requires a Schengen short-stay visa to visit France. This is not the case of the UK.

Countries that require such a Schengen short-stay visa include India, Russia, Turkey and South Africa. Countries that do not include the US, Australia, Israel and New Zealand.

Quote from: ersi on 2020-09-01, 17:50:15

Hey, Tour de France is on. Why didn't anybody tell me?

I'll try and remember next year.

Published shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine last February, the novel ["Le Mage du Kremlin"] has become a popular guide for understanding Mr. Putin’s motives. It has also turned its Swiss-Italian author, Giuliano da Empoli, into a coveted “Kremlinologist,” invited to lunch with the French prime minister and to France’s top morning news show to analyze the war’s developments.

[...]

At worst, critics say, it signals lenient views of Mr. Putin that are enduring in France and may shape the country’s stance on the war, as reflected in President Emmanuel Macron’s calls not to humiliate Russia.

“The book conveys the clichés of Russian propaganda with a few small nuances,” said Cécile Vaissié, a political scientist specializing in Russia at Rennes 2 University. “When I see its success, that worries me.”

[...]

Françoise Thom, a professor of Russian history at the Sorbonne, said these descriptions “completely conceal the sordid dimension of the Putin reality” and are “very close to the Russian propaganda image.”

Ms. Vaissié, the political scientist, put it more bluntly. “It’s a bit like Russia Today for Saint-Germain-des-Prés,” she said, referring to the Kremlin-funded television channel and the Paris redoubt of the French literary elite.

[...]

The arguments over the book are occurring just when divisions persist in Europe over how to deal with Mr. Putin. While Eastern European countries like Poland say he must be defeated outright, Western European nations like France have wavered between unequivocal financial and military support of Ukraine and reaching out to Mr. Putin.

“This book has become almost a textbook of history and politics for French leaders,” said Alexandre Melnik, a former Russian diplomat who opposes Mr. Putin. He pointed to Mr. Macron’s remarks that appeared sympathetic to Russia’s grievances.

Three presidential advisers declined to say, or said they did not know, whether Mr. Macron had read the novel.

Mr. Védrine, the former foreign minister, who has sometimes advised Mr. Macron on Russia, acknowledged that if the French president read the book, it would not lead him to adopt an aggressive stance toward Russia. He added that he saw a medium-term benefit to the book’s popularity: making the case for reaching out to Mr. Putin, “when it will be acceptable.”