Anyone familiar with horse racing tracks will know the unpredictable impact of a stalking horse. The beast is entered not to win but to target the challenge from rival stables and offset the odds of victory.
The French presidential election is still far off in mid-2022, but a stalking-horse challenge is already setting up a shake-out for the frontrunners. Eric Zemmour, a polemist and television pundit, has nudged into double-digit figures in the polls for his still-undeclared candidacy.
Mr Zemmour would be few people’s idea of a suitable friend. He has been convicted of hate speech twice. His anti-immigrant diatribes include calls for 2 million people to be expelled from France because they are foreign born. Never mind that his own parents arrived in France from Algeria, the land of their birth.
His rise in the polls is largely cannibalising the vote of Marine Le Pen, the fascist candidate who is President Emmanuel Macron’s presumptive challenger. There doesn’t appear to be much downside for Mr Macron on the sudden rise of a candidate with slim credentials for the job. In the two-stage French system, a straight fight against an outsider with extreme views almost guarantees that Mr Macron will win in the second round.
Mr Zemmour’s views on the French social and constitutional cohesion allow Mr Macron to run his own policy priorities. The president’s critics on the left are undermined when it is palpable that Mr Macron should not yield that policy ground to the more extreme parties.
With the German parliamentary election unlikely to produce a post-Angela Merkel government until next year, Mr Macron can use the freedom of a divided and squabbling opposition to concentrate on his international priorities. The French leader would like to be able to tell voters that he is indisputably leading Europe. But a close-run presidential campaign that began earlier would detract from his efforts to position himself at the apex of European politics.
Mr Macron is already in campaign mode. He has, for example, dramatically expanded government spending on high-profile projects. A trip to Marseille allowed him to put his stamp on an offensive against gangland warfare and the rise of extremism in French cities. It is another key area in which Mr Macron is willing to court controversy to show that the state is active and on the side of those voters who fear social change.
The danger for Ms Le Pen is obvious. She has struggled to convince the electorate that she is the true heir to the hardline legacy built up by her father, Jean Marie Le Pen. If a 30 per cent slice of the electorate is up for grabs, then a battle for 15 per cent each with Mr Zemmour ends up as a net positive for centrist and establishment candidates, such as Mr Macron.
Except that the concentration on the issues these candidates raise promotes their agenda by default. Or there is a danger of that happening.
Other candidates are chewed up in melee. On the left, the Socialist candidate slips further away from the main electoral battleground. There is no sign of a Green movement breakthrough as appeared to be on the cards in Germany only to slip away when the campaign began in earnest.
The impact of the situation on the centre-right Republicans is yet to play out, but this battle could be the most consequential. Depending on how it goes, Mr Macron’s seemingly strong position could quick erode in the campaign proper next year.
Michel Barnier is making his move for the nomination. The patrician former cabinet minister is perhaps the best-known candidate barring Mr Macron outside of France. As the point man for the Brexit negotiations with the UK, his style is well known both at home and abroad.
Speaking in London while promoting his memoir last week, Mr Barnier delivered a firm "no way" when he spoke of the potential for right-wing voters shifting to Mr Zemmour in a head-to-head with Mr Macron. The reason for his intervention was that there is speculation that the Republicans could admit Mr Zemmour as a candidate for the bloc’s nomination in December. Other leading candidates including Xavier Bertrand, the favourite in the polls now, have not closed the door on that.
The party chairman said Mr Zemmour was neither a racist nor far right. Yet Mr Zemmour has called for a ban on the name Mohammed and his work is obsessed with Replacement Theory, which is based on the assumption that white people are being "replaced" by non-white immigrants.
Mr Barnier is on to something. If he can keep Mr Zemmour excluded even as the writer continues to run, then Mr Macron could be end up facing a centrist challenger in the second round when only two candidates can run. That would open up a vulnerability that would drag Mr Macron’s attention back to the home front.
At a time when international tensions are easily triggered, this adds more risk to the global system. Which is why the coming months give France its best shot at providing leadership in a rudderless Europe. Mr Macron should use his time well to rally the continent to defend its own interests.
Before you know it, French election year will shift into global focus in a way that is both unpredictable and probably even upending.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
RESULTS
6.30pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
7.05pm: Meydan Sprint – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (Turf) 1,000m
Winner: Equilateral, Andrea Atzeni, Charles Hills
7.40pm: Curlin Stakes – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (D) 2,200m
Winner: New Trails, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash
8.15pm: UAE Oaks – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Mnasek, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8.50pm: Zabeel Mile – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: D’bai, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Balanchine – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Summer Romance, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
10pm: Al Shindagha Sprint – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Al Tariq, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Japan 30-10 Russia
Tries: Matsushima (3), Labuschange | Golosnitsky
Conversions: Tamura, Matsuda | Kushnarev
Penalties: Tamura (2) | Kushnarev
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
A Dog's Journey
Directed by: Gail Mancuso
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Josh Gad, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott
3 out of 5 stars
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
