MARSEILLE // Facing hostility at home and rising tension with Germany as Europe suffers the ravages of economic crisis, the French president Francois Hollande used a rare news conference yesterday to insist the worst was over.
One day after his anniversary of taking office, which bleakly coincided with France slipping back into recession, Mr Hollande also outlined a bold plan for full political union within the beleaguered euro zone.
The president warned that recession was beginning to "threaten the very identity of Europe".
In a further challenge to the policies of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, he put the blame for the crisis on the austerity measures she strongly favours.
This echoed controversial comments by Pierre Moscovici, Mr Hollande's finance minister, who also held austerity responsible for France's economic woes.
Little of this is likely to appeal to Berlin. The contrast for those recalling how closely Mr Hollande's conservative predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, worked with Mrs Merkel in seeking to grapple with crisis could not be more stark. Mr Sarkozy himself has accused Mr Hollande of undoing all the progress he claims to have made with the German chancellor.
Her position was illustrated yesterday in comments to the German media by an influential political supporter. Michael Meister, deputy parliamentary leader of the chancellor's Christian Democrats, said France and Italy had to do more to resolve structural problems within the EU.
But the French president and his ministers believe the answer to Europe's enduring problems of debt and unemployment lies in measures to stimulate growth and getting people back to work.
In his news conference, broadcast live on French television from the Elysee Palace, Mr Hollande went further, praising the EU Commission for "starting to understand the risks and threats" of relying so heavily on belt-tightening.
The southern EU nations, in particular, are showing little sign of easing themselves out of the collective financial predicament.
Mr Hollande said he saw it as his duty to lead Europe out of its lethargy.
"With Mrs Merkel, we do not have the same political sympathies but we do share the responsibility to find a compromise between France and Europe,' he said.
"We have always sought compromise and it has often taken time, but we've always managed. That had to continue because otherwise there is the risk that it will be the end of Europe. "
He also said that whereas the first year of his mandate had concentrated on tackling France's economic problems and correcting injustice, the second would be devoted to bringing down unemployment - and promoting his European initiative.
Mr Hollande this week won a two-year EU extension of France's deadline for bringing its deficit to within 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). It was originally required under the EU's collective response to the debt crisis to meet the target by the end of this year, a target now seen as unattainable.
Hopes of domestic recovery, however, were simultaneously hit by the announcement that GDP had shrunk by 0.2 per cent for the second quarter in succession. And the respite won in Brussels was accompanied by a demand from José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, that France should "present a credible reform programme" aimed at improving competitiveness.
Discontent in France is evident in everyday conversation as much as media comment.
While public opinion is notoriously capricious, polls consistently suggest record unpopularity for a president so early into his five-year mandate.
His image took another battering on the eve of his Elysee news conference, only his second since taking office, when a television documentary portrayed him as a weak leader derided by his own officials and henpecked by his partner, Valerie Trierweiler.
With his stock so low on the domestic front, it came as little surprise that he should dwell on international issues in his opening remarks yesterday.
He referred first to France's military intervention to help drive Islamist militants from power in northern Mali, an operation that has not proved the disaster some critics feared. Mr Hollande said this week that popular Malian support for French engagement meant there was no risk of creating another Afghanistan.
The Pew Research Centre, based in Washington DC, warned this week that support for the EU in eight member countries it surveyed, including France, had fallen from 60 to 45 per cent in the past year.
"The European Union is the new sick man of Europe," it said .
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting from Reuters
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
Copa del Rey
Barcelona v Real Madrid
Semi-final, first leg
Wednesday (midnight UAE)
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Director: Ron Howard
2/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
