FRENCH IMPERIALIST COLLABORATION

RAMIN MAZAHERI—Denationalising the airport would have the same costly effect for the average Frenchman. It will have the same effect the UK experienced after denationalising their railways: a season ticket is now 5 times higher than on the Continent, with time-keeping, safety and comfort all worse, too. In the US you have headlines like this one last year from St. Louis: Lambert (airport) privatisation looks like Chicago’s parking meter disaster.

SAKER FRANCOPHONE—Not only does he sell the Nation’s family jewellery to the French oligarchs, he also allows them to benefit from “tax optimization” – a euphemism for “legal tax evasion, only for the rich”. Here is a video explaining, in figures, the extent of tax evasion in France and Europe. Fraud confirmed by this interview with a member of the opposition. These videos explain that the recovery of this fraud would be more than enough for France to continue to have a social policy. But Macron’s ultra-liberal government prefers to let the rich defraud so as not to share rather than using it for the sake of the people. It will therefore continue to close hospitals, crèches, schools and retirement homes in the name of budgetary discipline, but actually to allow the private ones to make more money. A l’américaine. But the GJ, and those who back them, do not want to live in such a system.

We speak to political commentator Jimmy Dore on the Mueller report’s summary showing no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, he says the media has no credibility and is bought by the people they’re supposed to be investigating, says the failure of the American neoliberal system led to Donald Trump and gives his take on US regime change attempts in Venezuela.

PETER KOENIG—Did Mr. Macron and his European counterparts just see the light? Did he realize that being the king of vassal Europe is really meaningless and that it’s high time to jump the sinking boat? Only the near future will tell.Another scenario is that China has long realized the self-liquidating nature of the EU, and instead of banking their trade agreements with a potentially dead body, they approach trade deals country by country: Greece, Italy, France, Germany – who is next? – Because, even with the collapse of the European Union, the 28 countries must and will survive. So, trade agreements with each one of them individually have an indefinitely higher value, than signing up with a block of unsolidary, uncoordinated, even in some cases hostile-to-each-other nations – with a fiat currency that is doomed, as it will never survive in such a non-union constellation – without even a Constitution pointing to a common vision.

RAMIN MAZAHERI—Paris-based, Ramin Mazaheri has been given a front-row seat—or say, standing room—to watch the rise and rise of the Gilets Jaunes, and the tactics being developed by the French police to quell the movement. This not only includes a battery of increasingly dirty pool tactics on the streets, where the Gilets are beginning to respond in kind, but also a judicial noose that is quickly disosing of many civil rights French people thought they had. Here’s a report from Ramin.