Did you miss the news this early morning? We’ve put together a recap to help you see things more clearly.
The not yet candidate for his succession, Emmanuel Macron, will tackle an important theme of the presidential campaign this Thursday: nuclear power. The Head of State is going to Belfort for this to present his nuclear revival plan in France as well as a global energy strategy.
The trip is intended to be symbolic: the president will visit the manufacturing site of the Arabelle turbines equipping French nuclear power plants, sold in 2015 to the American General Electric when Emmanuel Macron was Minister of the Economy. The main question is whether the president will act on six new reactors EPR-type, as EDF wishes. We will have to wait until 3:15 p.m. and Emmanuel Macron’s speech to get the answer.
The crisis around Ukraine continues to be a roller coaster. One day war is imminent, another day diplomacy seems to win out. For now, it is the hope of avoiding an armed conflict that predominates. The head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba estimated on Wednesday that with the intense diplomatic activity of recent days, there are now “real chances for a diplomatic settlement”. However, the situation remains “tense but under control” In particular regarding the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which connects Russia and Germany and is still awaiting certification.
Florence Parly’s visit to Jakarta is paying off. Indonesia on Thursday signed a contract for 6 Rafales in an expected total order of 42 fighter jets, the Indonesian Defense Minister announced after a meeting with his French counterpart. The largest country in Southeast Asia had never previously acquired French fighter jets, but it is seeking to diversify its alliances in the face of rising tensions in Asia Pacific between China and the United States.
France, for its part, is seeking to strengthen ties with Indonesia after seeing its strategy for asserting itself in the Asia-Pacific shaken last year by the sudden termination by Australia of a mega-contract of purchase of submarines.