Liberté, égalité and fraternité are being put to the test in France
When I left my apartment for my morning run today I saw that someone had scrawled on the courtyard in…
Is France being pushed to breaking point?
As France prepares to enter its third week of confinement the Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, has warned that ‘the fight…
Boris can learn from Churchill as he battles coronavirus
As Boris Johnson self-isolates for seven days after testing positive for coronavirus, he must follow the example of his hero,…
Marine Le Pen has the most to gain from France's coronavirus crisis
Any hope that the two week ‘confinement’ imposed by President Macron would heal France’s deep divisions has vanished as swiftly…
Can Macron halt the rise of Islamic extremism?
Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his plan to combat the rise of Islamic extremism in France. Stressing that his fight was…
British police must learn from France in dealing with Extinction Rebellion
I’ve always been a fan of the French police, in part because when I lived in the south of the…
We should be wary of our spooks’ complacency about Huawei
I might be feeling more confident about the government’s decision to give Huawei a limited role in building Britain’s 5G…
Whatever happened to ‘Je Suis Charlie’?
Five years on from the horrific Charlie Hebdo massacre in which a dozen people lost their lives, politicians have been busy…
Islamists have opened a terrifying new front in their war with France
France has endured an appalling series of Islamist terror attacks in recent years. One might feel a sense of relief…
Corbyn may be a goner but his ideology is as strong as ever
East Germans had a name for their version of ‘woke’ culture’; it was Zersetzung, or ‘decomposition’ in English. It was…
France, not Britain, is the real angry and divided nation
Remember when Boris Johnson met Emmanuel Macron for the first time as Prime Minister? It was in August and, as…
My fear about the next generation of jihadists
I’ve just finished reading William Manchester’s absorbing memoir about the Pacific War. ‘Goodbye Darkness’ is a reminder of just how…
Boris could learn from Macron’s approach to extremism
Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron have more in common than just a desire to ‘get Brexit done’. The pair also…
Poppy-wearing politicians must do more to help war heroes
It will be a sight for sore eyes on Sunday when leaders of the two main parties lay their wreaths…
Emmanuel Macron will regret his failure to crack down on Islamists
It beggars belief that Mickaël Harpon was employed as a computer expert in the intelligence department at police HQ in…
Labour is following in the doomed footsteps of the French left
The left no longer exists as a coherent political force in France. Embarrassed in the 2017 presidential election, the Socialist…
The French city zones where police rarely escape unscathed
In December 2015, Donald Trump claimed parts of the French capital were no-go zones for the police. ‘Paris is no…
The strange love-in between Michel Houellebecq and Emmanuel Macron
France’s literary event of the year took place this week with the publication of Michel Houellebecq’s new novel, Serotonin. Named…
The gilets jaunes have become a symbol of resistance worn with pride by the downtrodden
I met a friend for lunch in Paris last Sunday. He and his wife had come up from the countryside…
Is Emmanuel Macron having a meltdown?
Emmanuel Macron was elated when France won the World Cup in July. The photograph of him leaping out of his…
Why French kids don’t get fat – and British ones do
A decade ago a book called French Women Don’t Get Fat took the Anglophone world by storm. It was a…
How gentlemen supplanted hooligans in football
Most British sports fans are familiar with the maxim that ‘football is a game for gentlemen played by hooligans, and…
Macron’s Thatcher moment has arrived
The honeymoon is over for Emmanuel Macron. His first 11 months in office have been something of a breeze —…
Is Macron’s vanity presidency already falling apart?
The French president’s embarrassing attempts to reinvent himself as the new Tony Blair are not working
Who dares lies: why do so many men pretend to have been in the SAS?
Why do so many men (including Sir Christopher Lee) fib about serving with the SAS?
