File photo: French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, France, May 30, 2018. Reuters
File photo: French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, France, May 30, 2018. Reuters
File photo: French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, France, May 30, 2018. Reuters
File photo: French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, France, May 30, 2018. Reuters

Emmanuel Macron's rivals turn up the volume two weeks from French presidential election


Soraya Ebrahimi
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Candidates in France's presidential election are pushing to make themselves heard over the war in Ukraine, as polls suggest incumbent Emmanuel Macron remains the clear favourite to win.

Buoyed by his diplomacy and toughness on Moscow since its troops invaded Ukraine, he is riding high with two weeks to go before polling, but has faced accusations of ducking real debate.

Questioned on Sunday about his minimum campaigning, a testy Mr Macron told broadcaster France 3 that "no one would understand at a moment when there's war" if he was out electioneering "when decisions have to be made for our countrymen".

Short of a major upset at the April 10 first round vote, Mr Macron's opponent in the run-off will be far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, in a repeat of five years ago.

But Ms Le Pen's far-right rival Eric Zemmour, conservative Valerie Pecresse and left-winger Jean-Luc Melenchon still hope they can reach the second round on April 24.

"Everything could be decided in the two weeks to come," with four in 10 likely voters still undecided, Adelaide Zulfikarpasic of the BVA Opinion polling group, told AFP.

Former columnist and TV commentator Mr Zemmour on Sunday rallied thousands of people waving French flags under a cloudless sky near the Eiffel Tower.

He urged more energy from his supporters after a speech hitting familiar notes of nostalgia for past French greatness and swipes at unassimilated immigrants.

"We've still got 14 days left; it's an eternity", Mr Zemmour said, claiming to be "the only candidate on the right".

Now trailing below 10 per cent in some polls, he is far short of Ms Le Pen's 20 per cent and Mr Macron at close to 30.

Ms Le Pen tried to project serenity as allies, including her niece Marion Marechal, deserted her for the tougher-talking Mr Zemmour.

Instead Ms Le Pen has pounded the pavements campaigning on French streets and market squares, and on Sunday again sought to cast herself as more mainstream and competent than her rival.

"Eric Zemmour's programme is brutal in form but very limited in substance, whereas I have a draft law ready to be passed" on Islam and immigration, she told weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche on Sunday.

With Mr Zemmour and Ms Le Pen slogging it out for the hard-right and Mr Macron sounding pro-business and law-and-order notes, conservative Valerie Pecresse has struggled to make herself heard.

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron meet in the Kremlin in Moscow. EPA
    Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron meet in the Kremlin in Moscow. EPA
  • Mr Macron at a joint news conference with Mr Putin after five hours of talks. AP
    Mr Macron at a joint news conference with Mr Putin after five hours of talks. AP
  • Mr Putin said proposals put forward by the French leader during their discussion could form a basis for moving forwards. The crisis was sparked by Russia's massing of troops on its border with Ukraine. EPA
    Mr Putin said proposals put forward by the French leader during their discussion could form a basis for moving forwards. The crisis was sparked by Russia's massing of troops on its border with Ukraine. EPA
  • Mr Putin denied that Russia was acting aggressively towards Ukraine or the West. Reuters
    Mr Putin denied that Russia was acting aggressively towards Ukraine or the West. Reuters
  • The Russian leader said Ukrainian authorities were to blame for the conflict in the east of the former Soviet state. Reuters
    The Russian leader said Ukrainian authorities were to blame for the conflict in the east of the former Soviet state. Reuters
  • Mr Macron said the discussion could "make a start in the direction in which we need to go, which is towards a de-escalation". AFP
    Mr Macron said the discussion could "make a start in the direction in which we need to go, which is towards a de-escalation". AFP
  • Mr Macron also travelled to Kiev to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left. AFP
    Mr Macron also travelled to Kiev to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left. AFP
  • Mr Macron at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart following their meeting. EPA
    Mr Macron at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart following their meeting. EPA

Most recently, a positive Covid test has kept her from planned campaign stops.

On Sunday, the leading left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon - polling at 12 to 15 per cent - was rallying supporters in the Mediterranean port city Marseille.

While left-wing resistance including the 2018-19 "yellow vest" protest has dogged the presidency of former banker Mr Macron, a slew of competing candidacies from the left have yet to make a real mark on this year's election.

Mr Melenchon told the crowd that "we've suddenly said to ourselves 'we're going to make it'" into the second round.

"We're going to talk about serious things, not money fantasies like the one or racist fantasies like the other," he added, targeting Mr Macron and Ms Le Pen.

Left-wing voters are split between Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo - polling around just two percent for the once-mighty Socialist Party - Communist candidate Fabien Roussel and Greens boss Yannick Jadot.

The woes of Ms Pecresse and Ms Hidalgo, candidates respectively of the traditional right and left bastions that dominated France for years, illustrate the longer-term factors beyond Ukraine that have scrambled French politics.

"The systematic voter who voted out of duty, the voter who was loyal and faithful to political parties or to candidates... no longer exists," said Anne Muxel, research director at Paris' Centre for Political Research.

"Voters have a much more independent, individualised relationship to politics and to their electoral choices, they're much more mobile, more volatile," she said.

Especially given that "the majority of French people don't feel represented by political office-holders."

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Teams

Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq

Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi

Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag

Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC

Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC

Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan

Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes

Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals

Volunteers offer workers a lifeline

Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.

When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.

Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.

Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.

“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.

Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.

“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.

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What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.

Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.

Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.

When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety

Huroob Ezterari

Director: Ahmed Moussa

Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed

Three stars

BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)

Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)

Saturday

Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)

Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)

Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)

Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)

Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)

Sunday

Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)

Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)

Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)

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

Updated: March 28, 2022, 4:15 AM