Sylvain Besson

Britain is 6% Muslim. Germany 5%. France 10%. Sweden 9%. Belgium 7%. Those are not the numbers of a country becoming Islamic. Those are the numbers of a minority. A fairly small one. For comparison, the United States is 5% Muslim and has spent the last 25 years bombing Muslim-majority countries, which is, coincidentally, where most of the refugees are coming from. “Intentional elimination of indigenous people and culture.” That phrase deserves a moment. The United States eliminated its indigenous people. Actually eliminated them. Deliberately. With policy and rifles and smallpox blankets. Europe took in Syrian doctors and Afghan interpreters. These are not the same thing, and using the language of genuine genocide to describe a German city having a kebab shop is an insult to history. The culture argument also collapses on inspection. France still makes the wine. Germany still makes the cars. Sweden still makes everyone feel guilty about their work-life balance. Britain still makes the queue an art form and the food a punishment. Nothing has been eliminated. The Eiffel Tower is still there. So is Beethoven. So is Rembrandt. What has actually changed is that European cities are more diverse, more interesting, and still significantly safer and more liveable than the cities of the country currently most agitated about all of this. Nobody is being replaced. You’re just angry that the continent you’ve decided to hate on is still, stubbornly, doing rather well.

L’influenceur antisémite Alain Soral s’était installé à Lausanne pour éviter la prison. Il vient de faire ses bagages pour Moscou, dénonçant auprès d’un de ses lieutenants la coopération de la justice suisse avec la « France juive ».👇 mediapart.fr/journal/france…

We are ready for real compromises. But not compromises at the cost of our independence and sovereignty. We are ready to speak about compromises with the United States. But not to get ultimatums from the Russians again and again. They are the aggressor. Everybody has recognized it. It hasn’t changed. Many countries that have been mediators or tried to be mediators from the very beginning of this war, especially in the Middle East and Asia, as well as other countries, they all recognize that Russia is the aggressor.   That's why it is already our compromise that we are speaking with the aggressor about compromises. “Stay where we stay” – this is a big compromise. They took almost 20% of our territory. And we are ready to speak about peace at this moment, on the basis of “Stay where we stay”. This is a big compromise.   What does Russia offer us as a compromise? What are they ready to do? They said, “We are ready not to occupy your other regions”. But it is terrorism. Even that language, it is terrorism. “I’m ready not to kill you – give us everything”. What does it mean? It's not a compromise. This is an ultimatum. That's why I said: We are ready for compromises that respect Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, our army, our people, and our children. But we are not ready for ultimatums.   From my conversation with Kyodo News (3/3)

Switzerland is home to the richest French metropolis (Geneva), the richest German major city (Zurich), and the richest Italian speaking region (Ticino)

⚡️🇺🇦 Ukraine achieved its biggest battlefield gains in 2.5 years last week, — AFP AFP analyzed data from ISW and concluded that from Wednesday to Sunday last week, the Ukrainian military managed to recapture 201 km² of territory - this area is practically equivalent to the territory that Russia captured in all of December. The ISW report dated February 15 noted that Ukraine managed to regain control of small settlements along the Yanchur and Haichur rivers in the Oleksandrivka and Hulyaipole directions in Zaporizhzhia region. ISW analysts believe that these successful Ukrainian counterattacks are likely related to blocking Starlink satellite communications for the occupiers.

Quand une source meurt, que devient le secret des sources ? Ce cas de conscience se pose à @SylvainBesson dans ce nouvel épisode de notre série "Ma source et moi", qui nous conduit à Genève. larevuedesmedias.ina.fr/enquete-source…

Merci à Mathieu Deslandes et à @INA_RevueMedias pour leur important travail d’exploration des rapports - normalement confidentiels - entre sources et journalistes.

Avalanche with huge aerosol this morning on Rochefort Glacier below Dent du Géant (4013 m) seen here from Courmayeur area! ❄️🌊 📽️Cinzia Geraci (Meteo Valle d'Aosta)

Purée, on se doutait qu'il n'y aurait pas grand monde à la "nmanifestation pour la liberté d'expression" organisée par @ConquerNicolas et le @TrumpFrance suite à la perquisition des locaux de "X". Pourtant il y avait du "beau monde" parmi les orateurs... Mais... 1/2

2/2: Mais un flop pareil, ça tient quand même de l'anthologie! Même les comités antivax font mieux. 30 personnes peut-être. probablement moins... On applaudit la performance.

@JohnDel785 @DraconianRang @G_deVarenne @MarioNawfal Je ne pense pas qu’il y ait eu une relation charnelle entre les deux, si c’est ce que vous impliquez…

🇫🇷 EPSTEIN FILES: ARIANE DE ROTHSCHILD EMAILED EPSTEIN ABOUT DINNER WITH FRENCH INSURANCE EXECS, UPCOMING MEETING WITH MACRON A January 2016 email to Epstein from Ariane de Rothschild: "Sorry just finished a dinner with the heads of major insurance cos in France to prepare (hopefully) future investments in state real estate., i should see Macron in coming weeks" She also mentioned lunch plans with Tidjane Thiam, then CEO of Credit Suisse. Macron became President of France the following year. A Rothschild casually updating Epstein on her schedule with France's future president. Nothing weird about that right?

Je suis de gauche. Mais ce numéro de Chapoutot, historien, universitaire, proche de LFI, me fait doucement vomir. Il vaut qu'on s'y arrête. Car il illustre parfaitement ce qu'est la "gauche de droite". Pour 3 raisons, au moins. 1. C'est aussi très facile d'être "de gauche", en suivant des réflexes aussi primaires que ceux de la droite, sans penser aux conséquences des bêtises qu'on défend. La "gauche", aujourd'hui, en fait chaque jour la démonstration, sur la plupart des sujets. LFI, notamment. 2. Dénoncer "la fange sordide de la recherche de l'intérêt matériel", c'est vraiment le réflexe d'une "gauche" de droite, qui a depuis longtemps abandonné l'idée d'améliorer "l'intérêt matériel" des plus pauvres (à entendre Chapoutot, le syndicalisme, notamment, serait "une fange sordide"... ?) 3. Dire que tous les gens de droite sont en fait des déséquilibrés d'extrême droite, comme le fait Chapoutot... c'est le discours de LFI; et c'est aussi intelligent que les LePenistes, qui traitent de "gauchiasse" quiconque n'est pas d'extrême droite. C'est refuser de penser le réel, et refuser tout débat démocratique. C'est à la fois idiot, méprisant, sectaire et vaguement fascisant. Finalement, Johann Chapoutot nous le confirme : même quand on est universitaire... "c'est très facile d'être un con".🙂

In today’s Vatnik Soup, we introduce a Ukrainian “scholar” and social media activist, Marta Havryshko (@HavryshkoMarta). She’s best known for spreading anti-Ukraine and pro-Kremlin narratives online, along with a habit of spotting neo-Nazis everywhere in Ukraine. 1/20

That's not where Switzerland is. MAGAs are dumb as shit.

Peace in Ukraine will not come tomorrow, but we are moving forward, and I am cautiously optimistic. That was my answer in Davos to the moderator’s opening question during the panel discussion “Path to Peace in Ukraine: By Might or by Accord?”. First of all, we must take a sober look at reality: today we are going through the bloodiest war since 1945. I hope that we are indeed on the path toward a fundamental resolution. We are moving forward, and although it would be untrue to promise that peace will come tomorrow, enormous efforts are being made to achieve it. If I had to clearly define the situation we are in right now, I would use the term “cautious optimism.” Many say that Ukraine should have a seat at the negotiating table. In fact, we are already in the process, and that process is not happening without us. In particular, we have carried out substantial work with representatives of Donald Trump’s team. We understand that it is impossible to speak with Russia from a position of weakness. That is why continued unity and assistance from our partners is crucial for us: from weapons to the political influence of communities. Disputes among partners only play into the enemy’s hands. As for Russia itself, its 12-year rhetoric about a “NATO threat” remains the main justification for aggression. However, during this time the Russians have driven themselves into another trap. The stronger the sanctions pressure became, the more Russia fell into China’s hands. We are now witnessing the de facto absorption of the Russian Federation by China. Yes, Beijing has not supplied Russia with a single unit of ready-to-use weaponry – that is a fact. However, they are skillfully exploiting Russia’s weakness by absorbing it economically and strengthening their political influence. The Russians understand this, and it is painful for them. Our task is to gather all our strength, mobilize, and see this through. We need not merely an end to the war, but peace, security guarantees, and a clear plan for Ukraine’s reconstruction. We are moving forward. Glory to Ukraine! 🇺🇦

En bon français, ça permet de nuancer légèrement « l’Europe bashing » ! 🇪🇺

The symbolism of today’s date is very important. The cult of victory in WWII is the state religion in Putin’s Russia, and the entire war on Ukraine (with the stated goal of “de-Nazification”) has been a cosplay of WWII, with Russian units putting replicas of the Soviet flag that had been installed atop the Reichstag on the ruins of Donbas hamlets captured at a horrendous cost. Needless to say, Russian troops today are further from Kyiv than they were on day one of this war.

Roger Köppel, the editor-in-chief of the Swiss Russian propaganda machine Weltwoche, is facing the possibility of being placed on the European Union’s sanctions list.  Honestly, it’s about time. Köppel stopped being a 'journalist' a long time ago and turned Weltwoche into a straight-up Kremlin PR agency. He’s basically a luxury version of a Russian state TV host, flying to Moscow to nod along while Putin’s inner circle spins lies. If you spend your career acting as a mouthpiece for a regime committing war crimes, don't act shocked when the EU finally treats you like the propagandist you are. Neutrality isn't a 'get out of jail free' card for helping a dictator. ( video: Roger Köppel during the plenary session of the 21st Annual Meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi on November 7, 2024.)

The Russian fake news story about Ukraine’s alleged attack on Putin’s residence near Lake Valdai appears to have been a spontaneous response to reports of a positive outcome from the Trump–Zelensky meeting at Mar-a-Lago last Sunday. 1/6