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Russian Foreign Ministry: IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi must ensure that an objective report is presented at the special session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Russian Foreign Ministry: The UN Security Council must respond to the US attacks on Iran
Russian Foreign Ministry: We strongly condemn the US strikes on Iran, calling the decision irresponsible
Iranian Red Crescent: Three personnel martyred, 29 injured in Israeli aggression
IRGC: We have identified and monitored the departure points of the US aircraft that carried out the aggression
IRGC: America has neither the initiative nor the ability to escape the consequences of a powerful response
IRGC: We strongly affirm that Iran's peaceful nuclear technology cannot be destroyed by any attack
Iran's IRGC: Washington has placed itself directly on the frontline of aggression by attacking peaceful facilities
Iran's IRGC: The number, scope, and size of US military bases in the region are not a point of strength, but rather a point of weakness
Tasnim News Agency: Iran's Fordow nuclear facility was only partially damaged by US strikes

Le Pen slams government for backing 'thoughtless' sanctions on Russia

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 18 Sep 2022 22:40
  • 2 Shares
4 Min Read

Marine Le Pen says the French government was swept along by the European Union into adopting inappropriate and thoughtless sanctions against Russia.

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  • Marine Le Pen (EPA)
    Marine Le Pen (EPA)

French right-wing leader Marine Le Pen considered on Sunday that the centrist government made a "geopolitical mistake" when it backed the European Union’s ill-conceived sanctions against Russia.

Le Pen, who finished second in this spring’s presidential race, indicated that the government was "swept along by the European Union crazed by the war in Ukraine into adopting inappropriate and thoughtless sanctions."

She said Germany, the main beneficiary of Gazprom’s Nord Stream gas pipelines and a vocal advocate of the green transition, was the one responsible for the EU’s dependence on Russian energy imports.

"If anyone is responsible for our dependence on Russia, it is the idiots and the naive who bet on wind and solar power," Le Pen told a party meeting in Agde in southern France.

40% of French population in favor of anti-Russian sanctions

With only 40% of the French population in favor of the anti-Russian sanctions, the most recent Elabe poll revealed that support for anti-Russian sanctions is on the decline across France.

The poll showed that 32% of French people believed that anti-Russia sanctions must be restricted to diminish their effect on the livelihoods of the French people.

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However, a staggering 27%, more than half of those who support sanctions against Russia, have stated that they are against economic sanctions altogether.

Since 2021, energy costs, across the EU, have been rising as part of a global trend. Fuel costs have skyrocketed since the start of the war in Ukraine and the adoption of various multiple sanction packages against Moscow by the West, prompting several European countries to take emergency measures.

Increasing electricity, gas bills becoming unaffordable for low-paid Europeans

It is noteworthy that a study conducted by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has found that increasing electricity and gas bills are becoming unaffordable for low-paid Europeans, costing them more than a month's wages for low-paid workers in the majority of EU member states, with more energy prices hikes to be witnessed likely in coming months unless government action is taken.

According to the study, an estimated 9.5 million employed people had difficulties paying their energy bills before the energy crisis began. The cost of gas and electricity had risen by 38% across Europe in comparison with last year, and it continues to soar.

The number of days a person earning the minimum wage has to work to pay their energy bill has risen dramatically in some countries, such as Estonia (+26), Netherlands (+20), Czechia (+17), and Latvia (+16).

That means Estonian workers earning the minimum wage have to work an additional 26 days to pay for their annual energy bill.

"When your bill costs over a month's wages, there's no clever money-saving trick that will make a difference," ETUC Deputy General Secretary Esther Lynch said in a statement, adding that "These prices are now simply unaffordable for millions of people."

ETUC urged European leaders "to take decisive action to end Europe's unsustainable energy price rises," calling on EU leaders to install price caps on energy bills for consumers and make targeted payments to low-wage workers struggling with energy bills.

The group also called for other anti-crisis measures to protect incomes and jobs, as well as increases to minimum wages, and urged EU countries to support collective bargaining so other workers may obtain wage hikes. It also called on European nations to tax windfall profits made by energy companies.

Read more: France to turn off Eiffel Tower projectors earlier to save energy

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Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

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