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Democracy Dies in Plain Sight
SteynonLine ^ | April 1, 2025 | Mark Steyn

Posted on 04/01/2025 4:48:52 AM PDT by Twotone

The French have been here before. In 1804, First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte, the Emmanuel Macron of his day (a short guy married to an older woman), ordered the seizure of a perceived political threat to his regime, the Duc d'Enghien. When Joseph Fouché, Minister of Police, learned that M le Duc had been executed in a moat, he observed, "C'est pire qu'un crime, c'est un faute" - it's worse than a crime, it's a mistake. (The remark is often attributed to Talleyrand, but I incline to Fouché.)

Yet the cynical police chief was wrong: two months later the First Consul made himself Emperor (as Macron is planning to do in late May), and the dead duke was forgotten.

The judicial vaporisation of the Leader of the Opposition is certainly a crime, but will it also prove a mistake? So far, the French media coverage of the republic's latest "political" developments has been true to form. From France 24:

A French court handed far-right leader Marine Le Pen a five-year ban on running for office on embezzlement charges Monday...

From Le Monde:

Marine Le Pen's 2027 presidential bid in jeopardy after court bans far-right leader from running in elections

(Excerpt) Read more at steynonline.com ...


TOPICS: France; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: emmanuelmacron; france; macron; marinelepen; marksteyn

1 posted on 04/01/2025 4:48:52 AM PDT by Twotone
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To: Twotone

Brilliant , as usual, from M Steyn. If they take away the soapbox and then the ballot box, the only thing left is the ammo box.


2 posted on 04/01/2025 5:35:26 AM PDT by Rummyfan ( In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.)
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To: Rummyfan

Except they’ve already taken the guns, & some knives & now swords. I hope they’re good at fisticuffs.


3 posted on 04/01/2025 5:36:38 AM PDT by Twotone ( What's the difference between a politician & a flying pig? The letter "F.")
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To: Twotone

The Europe America helped free in WWII is gone.

The beginning of the end for Europe was the creation of the European Union where sovereign nations turned over their future to uncollected bureaucrats which all leaned to the far left.

The people of Europe traded their freedom for socialism and will soon discover why socialism never works. It is a Ponzi scheme where those in on at the beginning get theirs but only as long as there are more contributing to the pyramid.

However European birthrate has dropped to almost less then replacement level which means the EU is going to have more receiving benefits then are paying in, which is the reason their leaders have allowed the out of control third world migrants. (Sound familiar? Think Social Security and Medicare).

The United States needs to untangle itself from NATO and the UN.


4 posted on 04/01/2025 5:40:21 AM PDT by CIB-173RDABN (I’ll take a wait and see...)
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To: CIB-173RDABN

“However European birthrate has dropped to almost less then replacement level which means the EU is going to have more receiving benefits then are paying in, which is the reason their leaders have allowed the out of control third world migrants.”

If that were the reason, then they’d insist on their migrants working, no families allowed in, and DEPORT those who commit crimes or are otherwise assholes. And the only ones they’d let stay would be those who do not intend to overthrow their governments (such as Christians from Africa, South America, and non-Muslims from Asia).

But as long as enough people think like you, their population replacement program will continue, unabated.


5 posted on 04/01/2025 6:03:28 AM PDT by BobL
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To: Twotone

Wars tend to burn off the manliness in a people. France was unmanned by WW1 if not before. It will take a span of Dark Ages to restore the vigor.
Similar situations for Germany, England, Greece, Italy, America.


6 posted on 04/01/2025 6:21:14 AM PDT by Buttons12 ( )
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To: Twotone

The biggest difference between Europeans and Americans, is that Euros are USED to living on their knees before some lunatic monarch.


7 posted on 04/01/2025 7:08:12 AM PDT by 13Sisters76 ("It is amazing how many people mistake a certain hip snideness for sophistication. " Thos. Sowell)
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To: BobL

But as long as enough people think like you, their population replacement program will continue, unabated.

Oh wow! someone write a short comment on a thread and you complain it is not a PhD thesis on why they are allowing in millions of third world migrants.

I fully understand there are many reasons the leaders in Europe are allowing migrants in, but I only gave one, so sue me already Karen.


8 posted on 04/01/2025 7:15:30 AM PDT by CIB-173RDABN (I’ll take a wait and see...)
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To: CIB-173RDABN

“I fully understand there are many reasons the leaders in Europe are allowing migrants in, but I only gave one, so sue me already Karen.”

I’ll keep my lawyers off of you, but I don’t like the gaslighting here. The migrants presently being sent to Europe is for ONE REASON and it’s not to work in nursing homes, as you imply.


9 posted on 04/01/2025 7:40:45 AM PDT by BobL
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To: Twotone
Excerpt from the very end of the article (worth reading the whole thing).
... across the west, the consistent message is: you're not going to be able to vote your way out of this.

10 posted on 04/01/2025 7:54:23 AM PDT by Salman (Lasu Eŭropon bruli!)
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