THE FRENCH CANARY IN THE COAL MINE
THE FRENCH CANARY IN THE COAL MINE
By Egon Von Greyerz.
On August 25th, 2025, the Prime Minister of France, François Bayrou, delivered one of the most important political speeches in recent times. Important because of its honesty about the perilous reality that France now faces. It’s worth reminding readers exactly what he said:
The great empires have now chosen to impose their laws by force. Military force with Russia’s never-ending assault on Ukraine. Commercial showdown with an unbalanced and unfair competition on hundreds of products from powerful China. The domination of the customs duty policies unilaterally imposed by Mr. Trump’s United States.
Europe is not doing well, either. She should speak with one voice, but is too often divided, with everyone trying to seek their own advantage first.
Mario Draghi, this weekend in Rimini, pronounced a phrase that I believe we can all make our own – he said this summer that the dream of a Europe that counts in the world has vanished. An immediate danger weighs upon us, which we must face not tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, but today without delay of any kind – otherwise the future will be forbidden to us…
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