Municipal elections 2026: “A political landscape scattered like a puzzle” – In the press | EUROtoday

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On the entrance web page of the French press, reactions to the primary spherical of municipal elections, marked by low participation – solely 56%.

The sharp decline in participation in what’s nonetheless “one of the French’s favorite elections” “further illustrates (their) disaffection and (their) disillusionment with regard to their elected representatives”, in line with Les Echoswho additionally see in “the new progression of the extremes”, RN and LFI, proof “that the French are ready to overturn the table”. A sign thought-about worrying earlier than the 2027 presidential election.

Strong abstention and let’s divide on the finish of this primary spherical: The Cross doesn’t see a “clear trend” rising on the nationwide degree, whereas “the bipolarization of yesteryear continues to die out”. A political panorama “scattered like a puzzle”, in line with Le Figaro – who speaks of “decomposition”, “fragmentation”, “polarization” and “triumph of macronism”: “The president dreamed of dynamiting the partisan landscape; he atomized it. He has so completely blurred the political cards that no player can anymore claim to win the game alone”. Same prognosis for Releasefor whom “the promises made by Emmanuel Macron in 2016 to remedy (the) “confiscated democracy” and (the) “between ourselves of political life” “appear very distant”, to the point that “after two five-year phrases, the democratic disaster (would have) worsened below his reign”.

Suspense and negotiations

In Paris, Lyon and Marseille, the second round promises to be very uncertain. In the capital, the socialist Emmanuel Grégoire is well ahead of the right-wing candidate, the former Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati. In Marseille, the left and the RN are neck and neck, just like the outgoing environmentalist mayor Grégory Doucet facing the right-wing candidate Jean-Michel Aulas in Lyon. Results which suggest a period between two rounds full of suspense and intense negotiations, with most of the withdrawals and alliances having to be decided by Tuesday.

“Will the union of the rights be stronger than the instructions of the apparatus? Will the voters of the left stand in the way together, despite the calls from the socialists to ban LFI?”, questions Le Parisien/Today in France. Opinion announces a “battle of alliances” which began last night, with a right and a left transformed into Adam and Eve in Kak’s drawing, which shows them tempted by the apples of LFI and the RN.

Pressure on Cuba

Now direction Cuba, with which Donald Trump assures that an agreement will be concluded “very quickly”. While Havana confirmed it was in talks with the United States and released 14 political prisoners on Saturday as part of an agreement with the Vatican, El País reports that demonstrators burned down the headquarters of the Communist Party in Moron, in the center of the island, the evening before. The Spanish daily observes that the protesters “weren’t even deterred by the concern of being arrested or sentenced to lengthy jail phrases, as was the case for 1000’s of individuals throughout earlier rallies.”

Authorities announced the arrest of five protesters and the independent website 14ymedio. reports a “vital police deployment all through the nation”, including around its editorial office in Havana, as evidenced by a photo of Yoani Sánchez, the director of 14ymedioalongside a State Security agent. Quoted by the Spanish newspaper Cuba Diarypro-Kremlin Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin is saddened to see Russia possibly losing a historic partner in which it has invested “tens of billions of {dollars} for many years, since Soviet instances” – an investment which risks turning out to be “in useless”.

In the meantime, the United States is continuing its policy of maximum pressure on Havana, in particular by forcing the hand of several Latin American countries to end their medical cooperation agreements with Cuba, on the grounds that the famous “Cuban medical brigades” are victims of “pressured labor”. Among the countries concerned cited by The World: Jamaica, Guyana, Honduras and Guatemala.

Soviet score in Congo

From one continent to another. In Congo-Brazzaville, the victory of Denis Sassou Nguesso in the presidential election, the first round of which took place yesterday, seems certain. Re-elected in the first round during the previous presidential election, in 2021 with a Soviet score, more than 88% of the votes, the head of state should return once again, after 40 cumulative years in power – “an anticipated victory”, according to the Burkinabe daily The Countrytired of this “theater the place the identical play is performed endlessly”.

“An assured victory, barring the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano in neighboring DRC”: for Wakat Sera“the one unknown of this election” is the participation rate, which promises to be low, and what Denis Sassou Nguesso will do with his 5^th mandate, faced with Congolese people faced with the high cost of living and who are “thirsty” for “actual social justice”.

A phrase, to conclude, in regards to the unbelievable blunder of the boss of a Russian spy unit, accountable specifically for focused assassinations. An investigation revealed just a few days in the past by the impartial Russian media primarily based in Latvia The Insidertells how the Russian spy Denis Alimov was arrested when he received off the airplane in Colombia. This spy, focused by an Interpol pink discover, had since 2023 been one of many heads of Center 795, the Kremlin’s most up-to-date and most secret intelligence department, specializing in focused assassinations – it’s on this capability that he would have sought to recruit international brokers, together with a person residing within the United States and talking Serbian. A language unknown to Alimov, who would have used Google translate to make himself understood. A really dangerous concept, as a result of the corporate’s Californian servers are accessible to the FBI, which might have had a subject day following the exchanges between the 2 males, earlier than resulting in the arrest of Alimov.

Not actually the sharpest knife within the drawer, as they are saying in good French. Speaking of knives, this one may be very sharp: many congratulations to the French desk tennis participant Felix Lebrun, alias Phoenix Lebrun for The Teamwho received his second WTT Champions of his profession – it was yesterday in China, in Chongqing, which makes him the primary non-Chinese to win in a match within the nation at solely 19 years previous.

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