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Monday 12 November 2018

Macron is a tripehound

Only the other day I suddenly realised that I had never used the word tripehound in this blog, an omission I instantly resolved to rectify. My father often referred to prominent people as tripehounds and luckily French President Emmanuel Macron has offered up an opportunity to give the word a long-delayed airing.

This BBC piece about a recent Macron emission seems to fit the tripehound bill rather well.

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged world leaders marking the centenary of the World War One Armistice to reject nationalism.

Addressing leaders in Paris - including US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin - he described it as a "betrayal of patriotism".

"By saying 'our interests first and never mind the others' you stamp out the most precious thing a nation has - its moral values," he said.

Of course M Macron had prepared the tripehound ground a little earlier with his speculation about the EU having to defend itself against the US.

The Trump-Macron show of unity came despite earlier tensions, triggered when the French leader said the EU needed a joint army now that the US was pulling out of a key disarmament treaty with Russia.

"I want to build a real security dialogue with Russia, which is a country I respect, a European country - but we must have a Europe that can defend itself on its own without relying only on the United States."

In the interview with French radio station Europe 1 on Tuesday, Mr Macron mentioned "re-emerging authoritarian powers" that were well-armed on Europe's borders, "attempted attacks in cyberspace and interference in our democratic lives", concluding: "We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America."

9 comments:

Demetrius said...

Once a frog, always a frog.

Sam Vega said...

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged world leaders marking the centenary of the World War One Armistice to reject nationalism.

Addressing leaders in Paris - including US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin - he described it as a "betrayal of patriotism".

"By saying 'our interests first and never mind the others' you stamp out the most precious thing a nation has - its moral values," he said.


This level of rhetoric is so transparently nonsensical that I'm surprised his minders let him get away with it. He starts off by talking about nationalism; then attempts to conflate it with the totally different concept of a nation claiming that its interests trump all others. That's rubbish. The final link - between ignoring the interests of others, and stamping out of moral values - is clearly valid, and this is presumably an attempt to cast a spurious glow of validity over the whole sequence.

Amateurish. I wouldn't be surprised if he just jotted it down in the car on the way to the ceremony.

A K Haart said...

Demetrius - yes it's all ribbit ribbit.

Sam - you are probably right, he probably did just jot it down on the way to the ceremony. Curiously clumsy though.

wiggiatlarge said...

The photograph of him giving that speech showed him surrounded by flags, French flags only, I don't think he thought the nationalism part through.................

A K Haart said...

Wiggia - I agree, I don't think he thought it through.

Anonymous said...

European Army? Who is going to fight, kill and maybe die for the Six Presidents and the Republic/Federation/Union/or-whatever-they-want-to-call-it?
Especially when nationalism is frowned upon and patriotism implies a home country. Mr Putin must be splitting his sides.

A K Haart said...

Anon - yes and could give rise to problems of national imbalance where an EU army is seen as mainly representing certain countries but not others.

Anonymous said...

My father used to occasionally employ the word but Macron is a small man in a big suit and unworthy of the nomenclature. Dad woud have called him a 'typical little puffed up French cowson.'

A K Haart said...

Geebeetwo - I'm not sure what my dad would have called him - "a typical frog" probably.