Morning opening: Welcome to the brand new regular
Jakub Krupa
Someplace between ecstatic posts about the impact of tariffs – leaving markets in turmoil with losses in trillions of {dollars} …
and about $5m Trump golden card for rich immigrants seeking to transfer to the US…
the US president, Donald Trump, took a second final night time to make use of his social media channels to supply his full backing for the French far-right chief Marine Le Pen.
In a submit on Fact Social, he stated:
The Witch Hunt towards Marine Le Pen is one other instance of European Leftists utilizing Lawfare to silence Free Speech, and censor their Political Opponent, this time going as far as to place that Opponent in jail.
…
I don’t know Marine Le Pen, however do admire how exhausting she labored for therefore a few years. She suffered losses, however stored on going, and now, simply earlier than what can be a Huge Victory, they get her on a minor cost that she most likely knew nothing about – Appears like a “bookkeeping” error to me. It’s all so dangerous for France, and the Nice French Individuals, it doesn’t matter what facet they’re on. FREE MARINE LE PEN!
To keep away from any doubt:
Marine Le Pen was this week discovered responsible of the embezzlement of European parliamentary funds by a pretend jobs rip-off of an unprecedented scale and length.
No, she is just not in jail; if something, she may proceed a protracted custom amongst French politicians and get an digital tag. And the court docket was very clear that it wasn’t only a “book-keeping” error.
Not that any of this mattered to Trump.
His feedback focusing on the French judiciary and fuelling Le Pen’s narrative come at a time of rising tensions with the US, after indicators that even president Emmanuel Macron, who beforehand tried to place himself as a European Trump whisperer, is dropping persistence with the US president over the succession of crises in overseas, defence and financial coverage.
Visibly pissed off, he went as far yesterday as to recommend that French corporations ought to evaluate and droop their investments within the US till there’s extra readability about US tariffs.
Trump’s feedback additionally come on the opportune second for the far-right, forward of a “completely peaceful” rally in Paris on Sunday aimed toward exhibiting the assist for the politician convicted of embezzling EU funds.
Le Pen will converse on the occasion alongside her ally – and potential stand-in for the 2027 presidential race – Jordan Bardella in addition to mayor of “the laboratory for the far right” Perpignan Louis Aliot and Éric Ciotti.
Part of the French left is getting ready a counter demonstration, too. Appears like a beautiful vigorous spring weekend in Paris.
In the meantime, the presiding decide in her case, Bénédicte de Perthuis, an professional in monetary crime, is receiving safety, together with elevated patrols and common rounds round her residence, after receiving threats, a supply near the case advised AFP.
With the attraction court docket seeking to fast-track Le Pen’s attraction so {that a} verdict may are available mid-2026, early sufficient to permit her to participate within the 2027 vote if she is profitable, this story is about to characteristic prominently within the French politics for the foreseeable future.
Welcome to the brand new regular.
However no less than it’s Friday, 4 April 2025.
It’s Jakub Krupa right here, and that is Europe Reside.
Good morning.
Key occasions
Eire’s EU commissioner performs down prospects of US massive tech retaliation after Trump tariffs
Lisa O’Carroll
The EU justice commissioner Michael McGrath has performed down the chance that companies similar to US massive tech could possibly be sucked right into a looming commerce struggle after France stated it wished to assault on-line companies as a part of the retaliation to Trump’s tariffs.
France is pushing for Brussels to make use of new anti-coercion devices to permit it transcend commerce which might successfully enable it tax on software program, social media and streaming companies.
In an indication of a possible cut up within the EU over the difficulty, McGrath, Eire’s commissioner in Brussels, advised RTÉ there can be “lots of different ideas of how best to respond” however warned that the EU wanted to unite round commerce, not companies, situation.
“This is fundamentally a trade dispute at the moment, even though many other issues have been thrown into the mix over recent days and weeks, and the member states need to work with the European Commission,” he advised RTÉ on Friday.
McGrath stated that “facts were the victims” in Trump’s new financial coverage and it hoped to steer the US that the commerce imbalance when companies have been taken into consideration was minuscule, amounting to a €50bn surplus in favour of the EU out of an general €1.6trn a yr in transatlantic enterprise.
Earlier the taoiseach Micheál Martin stated “new investment are going to slow very significantly” on account of the uncertainty with the Industrial Improvement Company saying capital funding dropped 30-50% in first quarter of the yr.
Martin warned retaliatory weapons ought to solely be used as final resort. “Once you deploy them you are in a fully fledged trade war and people lose out.”
Miranda Bryant
After Mette Frederiksen’s joint press convention with Greenland’s incoming and outgoing leaders, Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Múte B Egede, aboard an inspection ship in Nuuk on Thursday (10:29), JD Vance stated the US would defend its pursuits within the Arctic island “come hell or high water”.
The US vice-president, who visited the US navy base in Greenland, Pituffik, final Friday, advised Newsmax:
“This matters to our security; this matters to our missile defence, and we’re going to protect America’s interests come hell or high water.”
Vance claimed Greenlanders have “made it very clear that they want to be independent of Denmark” and stated the US would exceed the annual block grant paid by Denmark, which used to rule Greenland as a colony and now continues to regulate its safety and defence insurance policies.
“What the president has said is we could give the people of Greenland way more money than that. Again, because the security matters to the United States of America,” he stated.
Based on Vance, the grant paid by Denmark involves $60,000 per particular person in Greenland per yr. However how the White Home got here to that determine is unclear.
Danish broadcaster DR says that Copenhagen transferred 4.3bn DKK to Greenland final yr. For those who divide that determine by Greenland’s inhabitants, 57,000, it says: “It corresponds to roughly 75,000 Danish kroner for each Greenlander.” Or about $11,000.
Earlier this week, the Washington Put up reported that the White Home finances workplace is within the technique of assessing the price of operating Greenland and understanding an estimate of how a lot income could possibly be earned from its pure sources.
Frederiksen is because of depart Greenland immediately after arriving on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, I’m maintaining a tally of Brussels this morning the place they’re wrapping up their Nato ministerial summit.
We’ll hear from Nato secretary normal Mark Rutte in simply over an hour, after which from US state secretary Marco Rubio.
I’ll convey you the important thing traces from each briefings right here.
‘You can not annex one other nation’, Danish PM tells US
In one other telling signal of the brand new regular, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen needed to remind the US final night time – in English – that “you cannot annex another country, not even with an argument about international security.”
Denmark and Greenland “want to cooperate with the United States”, she stated. “If you want to be more present in Greenland, Greenland and Denmark are ready. If you want to strengthen security in the Arctic, as we would like, let’s do it together.”
She stated:
“If we let ourselves be divided as allies, then we do our foes a favor. And I will do everything that I can to prevent that from happening.
When you ask our businesses to invest in the U.S., they do. When you ask us to spend more on our defense, we do; and when you ask of us to strengthen security in the Arctic, we are on the same page
But when you demand to take over a part of the Kingdom of Denmark’s territory, when we are met by pressure and by threats from our closest ally, what are we to believe in about the country that we have admired for so many years?”
Learn this report from our Nordic correspondent Miranda Bryant:
Morning opening: Welcome to the brand new regular
Jakub Krupa
Someplace between ecstatic posts about the impact of tariffs – leaving markets in turmoil with losses in trillions of {dollars} …
and about $5m Trump golden card for rich immigrants seeking to transfer to the US…
the US president, Donald Trump, took a second final night time to make use of his social media channels to supply his full backing for the French far-right chief Marine Le Pen.
In a submit on Fact Social, he stated:
The Witch Hunt towards Marine Le Pen is one other instance of European Leftists utilizing Lawfare to silence Free Speech, and censor their Political Opponent, this time going as far as to place that Opponent in jail.
…
I don’t know Marine Le Pen, however do admire how exhausting she labored for therefore a few years. She suffered losses, however stored on going, and now, simply earlier than what can be a Huge Victory, they get her on a minor cost that she most likely knew nothing about – Appears like a “bookkeeping” error to me. It’s all so dangerous for France, and the Nice French Individuals, it doesn’t matter what facet they’re on. FREE MARINE LE PEN!
To keep away from any doubt:
Marine Le Pen was this week discovered responsible of the embezzlement of European parliamentary funds by a pretend jobs rip-off of an unprecedented scale and length.
No, she is just not in jail; if something, she may proceed a protracted custom amongst French politicians and get an digital tag. And the court docket was very clear that it wasn’t only a “book-keeping” error.
Not that any of this mattered to Trump.
His feedback focusing on the French judiciary and fuelling Le Pen’s narrative come at a time of rising tensions with the US, after indicators that even president Emmanuel Macron, who beforehand tried to place himself as a European Trump whisperer, is dropping persistence with the US president over the succession of crises in overseas, defence and financial coverage.
Visibly pissed off, he went as far yesterday as to recommend that French corporations ought to evaluate and droop their investments within the US till there’s extra readability about US tariffs.
Trump’s feedback additionally come on the opportune second for the far-right, forward of a “completely peaceful” rally in Paris on Sunday aimed toward exhibiting the assist for the politician convicted of embezzling EU funds.
Le Pen will converse on the occasion alongside her ally – and potential stand-in for the 2027 presidential race – Jordan Bardella in addition to mayor of “the laboratory for the far right” Perpignan Louis Aliot and Éric Ciotti.
Part of the French left is getting ready a counter demonstration, too. Appears like a beautiful vigorous spring weekend in Paris.
In the meantime, the presiding decide in her case, Bénédicte de Perthuis, an professional in monetary crime, is receiving safety, together with elevated patrols and common rounds round her residence, after receiving threats, a supply near the case advised AFP.
With the attraction court docket seeking to fast-track Le Pen’s attraction so {that a} verdict may are available mid-2026, early sufficient to permit her to participate within the 2027 vote if she is profitable, this story is about to characteristic prominently within the French politics for the foreseeable future.
Welcome to the brand new regular.
However no less than it’s Friday, 4 April 2025.
It’s Jakub Krupa right here, and that is Europe Reside.
Good morning.
