LV258: Complaint against X | The coveted Far North | Lorgnette: truce in Gaza

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Letter from La Vigie dated 22 January 2025

Complaint against X

Some people are now advocating leaving X, formerly Twitter, the social network run by E. Musk. Over and above all the arguments, this project raises the question of the forum in which public and democratic debate should take place. We don’t always choose it. In the belief that they are resisting, some people are simply deserting it.

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The coveted Far North

D. Trump has caused a stir with his jokes about the Panama Canal, Canada and Greenland. Even if the form is not very diplomatic, the substance is very interesting because it reaffirms the old Monroe doctrine and reminds Europeans that the Arctic zone needs their attention, at the risk of losing even more importance. It’s up to us to rise to the challenge!

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Lorgnette: truce in Gaza

A ceasefire has finally been signed in Gaza, after months of negotiations. The bases were known and Tel Aviv only signed to please the new American president, D. Trump. The agreement provides for the exchange of hostages held by Hamas for the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The Israeli government has already hinted that it will not respect the agreement for long. The government coalition is already on the rocks and it seems unlikely that the agreement will be respected to the end (33 hostages against 737 prisoners).

Above all, the agreement demonstrates Tel Aviv’s impasse, locked in a deadly conflict with no political prospects: no state in the region wants to take the Gaza Strip under its control, a reoccupation seems highly unlikely and Hamas remains in control. Tactical success has rarely led to strategic victory, especially when there is no political solution to offer. Unfortunately, the Gaza conflict is not over. The open-air prison will remain in place.

JOVPN

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Photo credit: Rita Willaert on VisualHunt.com

LV 147 : Media country, real country | To the south | Lorgnette: Ministry of the Sea

Posted on by A M

Letter from La Vigie dated 22 July 2020

Media country, real country

Contemporary media are disappointing, caught in the vise of immediacy, emotion and moral indignation. They therefore contribute greatly to the era of “post-truth” and now constitute a disconnected and subjugated class. Worse, they distance political leaders from their long-term mission and reinforce the drift towards polarization, at the risk of radicalization and therefore division. The strategist cannot remain indifferent to this deleterious development.

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To the south

A strategic vacuum has set in in the Mediterranean, which Turkey and Russia have taken advantage of by arbitrating the inextricable Libyan question in their own way. The time has come for the southern Europeans to take the lead and to conduct with their vis-a-vis a truly trans-Mediterranean strategy to preserve their interests and contribute to the development and security of a Southern flank that is carrying risks that are drawing closer together.

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Lorgnette: Ministry of the Sea

After two unsuccessful attempts (81/83 and 88/91), the recent creation of a Ministry of the Sea is raising hopes for a dynamic sector at the service of an overall maritime strategy. France’s maritime assets are well known (LV 145), as are the pitfalls on which the previous ministries ran aground.

The great complexity and cross-cutting nature of maritime issues requires a strong ministerial and political role, building on the achievements, while the stakes and opportunities offered by the oceans are considerable:

  • a common good to be protected, studied and exploited sustainably;
  • economic prosperity and development of our society drawn from our EEZs by an eco-responsible commitment;
  • integration of our maritime sectors, to lead the world in the wake of our blue growth, by building an innovative economic and ecological force (fishing, food, construction, transport, propulsion, marine energies, ports, river sector);
  • guarantee the safety and security of our activities and maritime spaces with regard to international law.

These objectives, taken from the PR’s speech (Montpellier, 3/12/19), are reflected in the remit of the new ministry (15/7/20). May it become, with everyone’s help, the sought-after strategic accelerator.

JOCV

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