LE MONDE (FRANCE): Emmanuel Macron tente de mobiliser son propre camp. A l’issue d’un discours-fleuve, alertant sur les dangers qui menacent l’Europe, notamment la montée des nationalistes, le chef de l’Etat a battu le rappel d’un électorat peu enclin à se déplacer lors des élections du 9 juin. Une campagne ? Quelle campagne? Jeudi 25 avril, il aura fallu patienter près de deux heures pour qu’Emmanuel Macron évoque, depuis le grand amphithéâtre de la Sorbonne, à Paris, la date cruciale du 9 juin. Le discours-fleuve du chef de l’Etat, mettant en garde sur le “danger de mort” d’une Europe sommée de s’armer militairement, économiquement et culturellement pour ne pas disparaître, est sur le point de s’achever quand le président de la République appelle – enfin – son auditoire à se mobiliser le jour du scrutin des élections européennes. “Nous vivons un moment décisif ”, alerte-t-il, depuis son pupitre bardé d’un liseré bleu, blanc, rouge. “ Le 9 juin, les Européens vont choisir leur avenir”, dit-il, appelant à renouer avec “l’audace” plutôt qu’à rester “timides” face à la montée des “nationalistes”.
LES ECHOS (FRANCE): C’est un discours de haute volée et lucide qui a été prononcé par Emmanuel Macron ce jeudi sur l’Europe. On peut en retenir une tonalité plutôt pessimiste (“ l'Europe peut mourir”), un bilan de son action ainsi qu’un certain nombre de propositions précises pour rester dans la course. En réalité, deux lignes de forces ont nettement dominé cette intervention de presque deux heures (“j'ai été trop long”, a-t-il conclu, et c’était vrai!). Un, l’Europe doit muscler, et plutôt vite, sa défense. Deux, le modèle libéral historique de l’Union, marché ouvert à l’extérieur et concurrentiel à l’intérieur, ne tient plus la rampe. Parce que les Etats-Unis et la Chine ont changé les règles du jeu vers davantage de frontières et de subventions. Dans les deux cas, le constat est fondé et personne ne peut dire que le président français s’est trompé de diagnostic. Il a ainsi été le premier à tirer la sonnette d’alarme sur les sujets de souveraineté et de puissance continentale. Il arrive ici avec des suggestions: muscler le budget et les investissements européens, avec en sus un nouvel emprunt en commun. Gros hic: la France dont la note va être dégradée demain est-elle crédible? Cet exercice se caractérise cependant par une surprise et une limite. La surprise: alors que l’actualité européenne immédiate est dominée par les risques de victoire russe en Ukraine, il en a à peine été question. “La condition sine qua non de notre sécurité, c'est que la Russie ne gagne pas la guerre d'agresser qu'elle mène contre l'Ukraine. C'est indispensable”, a souligné Emmanuel Macron. Mais encore? On aurait aimé en savoir plus.
KOMMERSANT (RUSSIA): Президент Франции Эмманюэль Макрон в четверг выступил в Сорбонском университете с программной речью о европейском будущем. Главные тезисы сводились к необходимости создания такой Европы, которая была бы в состоянии показать, что не является «вассалом США». Поставленная задача — усиление европейского сотрудничества в оборонной сфере во всех ее проявлениях. Между тем фон выступлению создали утечки о том, что ратующий за «сильную Европу» президент Макрон за спиной руководства ЕС договаривается с европейскими лидерами о замене председателя Еврокомиссии Урсулы фон дер Ляйен.
GLOBAL TIMES (CHINA): Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday in Beijing. Wang pointed out that although positive interactions in the bilateral relations have been increasing, negative factors in China-US relations continue to build up as China’s core interests are challenged. Wang also urged the US side to not interfere in China’s internal affairs, suppress China’s development, or infringe upon China's sovereignty, security and development interests. Dialogue, cooperation, and positive interactions in various fields have increased, which has been welcomed by both peoples and the international community. However, on the other hand, negative factors in China-US relations continue to rise and accumulate, facing various disruptions and sabotage, with China's legitimate rights to development being unreasonably suppressed and China’s core interests continually challenged, the top Chinese diplomat said. It remains to be seen whether both sides will lead in international cooperation to address global issues for mutual and multilateral gains, or oppose and confront each other, even to the point of conflict, leading to losses for all, he noted.
THE GUARDIAN (GB): China foreign minister tells Blinken relations with the US could slip into “downward spiral”. Wang Yi says recent improvements in ties face “disruptions” amid threats of sanctions over support for Russia’s defence industry. But the US is now threatening sanctions against Chinese companies for supplying the Russian defense industry, and is considering tariffs in the face of what Washington says is Chinese manufacturing over-capacity. The Biden administration has also tightened export controls on advanced computer chips. “Should our two sides lead international cooperation on global issues and achieve win-win for all, or engage in rivalry and confrontation or even slide into conflict, which would be a lose-lose for all?” Wang asked. “The international community is waiting for our answer.” In response, Blinken said he welcomed the opportunity to have face-to-face talks “to avoid misunderstandings, to avoid miscalculations”.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (HONG KONG, CHINA): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised concerns about China’s “non-market practices” on the second day of his visit to the country. In a meeting with Shanghai party chief Chen Jining on Thursday morning, Blinken opened by saying: “It’s important to underscore the value – in fact, the necessity – of direct engagement, of sustained engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences which are real, seeking to work through them, and also looking for ways to build cooperation where we can.” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said after the meeting: “In a constructive and candid exchange, [Blinken] raised concerns about PRC trade policies and non-market economic practices and stressed that the United States seeks a healthy economic competition with the PRC and a level playing field for US workers and firms operating in China.” The Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday that accusations about overcapacity are “unreasonable”, and warned they may damage business confidence and global green development.
THE TIMES (GB): MI5 checks for academics to tackle Chinese spies. Secret review finds national security is at risk. Academics and researchers involved in cutting-edge science at British universities are to be vetted by the security services, under government plans to tackle Chinese espionage. The director-general of MI5 has warned vice-chancellors that hostile states are actively targeting universities.
POLITICO (USA): The EU is accelerating its crackdown on what it sees as Beijing’s unfair support for companies that undermine European rivals. Europe’s phoney war with China is at an end. After years of building up an improved arsenal for a trade war, Europe is now showing it is willing to get tough on Beijing. On Tuesday, EU investigators swooped on the Dutch and Polish offices of Nuctech, a maker of security scanners, in a case that hinges on one of Europe's longest running grievances with China — lavish state subsidies that help Chinese firms undercut European rivals. Nuctech was once run by Hu Haifeng, son of President Xi Jinping’s predecessor, Hu Jintao, and China’s reaction was predictably seething. The raid “highlights the further deterioration of the EU’s business environment and sends an extremely negative signal to all foreign companies,” China’s mission to the EU fumed.
NIKKEI (JAPAN): The three new forces emerging from China’s latest military reorganization will have to report everything to Xi Jinping. Failure to do so will not be tolerated. It only took nine years for China’s Strategic Support Force -- hailed as “a futuristic unit” when President Xi Jinping last reshaped the country’s military -- to disappear.
ARAB NEWS (SAUDI ARABIA): “Let’s help Yemen regain ability to chart its own future,” US envoy Tim Lenderking tells Arab News. Lenderking says it would be a “terrible tragedy” to squander progress in Yemen peace process amid “competing crises.” US envoy calls on Iran to stop fueling the conflict in Yemen and halt smuggling weapons to the Houthi militia. Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in response to Israel’s military offensive against Hamas in Gaza must not derail the peace process in Yemen, Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, has said.
ASIA TIMES (HONG KONG, CHINA): India aims new Crystal Maze missile at Pakistan’s nukes. Air-launched, Israel-made missile marks a shift from Russian arms and move toward a counterforce nuclear strategy vis-a-vis Pakistan. India has just tested an Israeli air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM), reflecting a move away from Russia as its primary supplier for high-end weapons and the possible adoption of a counterforce strategy against Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
THE WASHINGTON POST (USA): The latest round of diplomacy comes at a moment when it seemed the long-mooted strike on Rafah was becoming inevitable. The tempo of Israeli airstrikes on the city increased this week. Netanyahu’s top spokesperson said Israel would be “moving ahead” with a Rafah operation. On the prime minister’s right flank, extremist ministers in his coalition had already threatened to pull support for his governing mandate if he doesn’t proverbially finish the job. Netanyahu faced other domestic pressures, too. Mass anti-government protests returned to the streets of Tel Aviv in recent weeks, with demonstrators calling on Netanyahu to prioritize the release of Hamas’s hostages — over his sweeping, stated military objectives — and also demanding fresh elections. The prime minister has abysmal approval ratings in the aftermath of Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 terrorist strike on Israel; a new election would likely force him out of power.
VEDOMOSTI (RUSSIA): Американские студенты бунтуют против политики США на Ближнем Востоке. Жертвой протестов может стать президентство Байдена. Недовольство конкретно университетской молодежи в нынешних условиях опасно для Байдена, так как эта часть молодого населения наиболее активно участвует в выборах, отметил доцент кафедры американских исследований СПбГУ Григорий Ярыгин. В долгосрочной перспективе нынешние настроения молодежи будут одним из факторов еще большего ослабления произраильского консенсуса внутри демократической партии и одновременно усиления ее левого крыла, резюмировал Ярыгин. По данным апрельского исследования Pew Research Center, среди избирателей моложе 30, которые обычно голосуют за демократов, 47% сочувствуют палестинцам и только 7% – израильтянам.
L’ORIENT – LE JOUR (LEBANON): La guerre ou un accord: le Liban à un tournant. “Nous nous préparons à passer à une nouvelle phase dans les combats”, affirme une source proche du Hezbollah. Qu’est ce qui se passe (réellement) au Liban-Sud? Nul ne peut prétendre détenir la vérité. Bien au contraire. La situation est tellement complexe et ouverte à toutes les possibilités que deux lectures opposées émergent des développements militaires.
HAARETZ (ISRAEL): Between Gaza and Iran: how the vision of Israel-Pakistan normalization died. The Gaza war has doomed developments, both public and behind the scenes, pushing Pakistan towards diplomatic relations with Israel. And now, despite warnings from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, Islamabad has hosted Iran’s president – just months after their armies fired missiles at each other.
LE FIGARO (FRANCE): États-Unis: divisée sur la question de l’immunité présidentielle, la Cour Suprême offre un répit à Trump. Même si les neuf juges devaient décider que l’ancien président peut faire l’objet de poursuites pénales, le calendrier de leur décision risque de retarder l’ouverture de procès qui menacent Trump avant la présidentielle.
THE NEWS YORK TIMES (USA): U.S. to withdraw troops from Chad, dealing another blow to Africa policy. The departure of U.S. military personnel in Chad and Niger comes as both countries are turning away from years of cooperation with the United States and forming partnerships with Russia. The Pentagon will withdraw dozens of Special Operations forces from Chad in the next few days, the second major blow in a week to American security and counterterrorism policy in a volatile swath of West and Central Africa, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The decision to pull out about 75 Army Special Forces personnel working in Ndjamena, Chad’s capital, comes days after the Biden administration said it would withdraw more than 1,000 U.S. military personnel from Niger in the coming months. The departure of U.S. military advisers in both countries comes as Niger, as well as Mali and Burkina Faso, is turning away from years of cooperation with the United States and forming partnerships with Russia — or at least exploring closer security ties with Moscow.
EL PAIS (SPAIN): El PSOE y sus socios arropan a Sánchez y se movilizan para salvar el Gobierno. Los aliados parlamentarios salen en defensa de la actual mayoría y se muestran dispuestos a respaldar una cuestión de confianza. El objetivo los une a todos: salvar la legislatura y plantar cara al “acoso de la derecha”.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (USA): The dream of Fed interest-rate cuts Is slipping away. Investors are backing away from expectations that the central bank can reduce rates in coming months, hitting markets, with the yield on 10-year Treasurys jumping above 4.7%.
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN (JAPAN): Japan warned that it could fall to having only 5th-largest GDP. The economy ministry is turning to scare tactics to legitimize moves to bolster government investment. The ministry released projections that said that if nothing is done to turn around the economy, Japan will be overtaken by emerging economies by 2040. The ministry said that unless drastic investments are made in the development of semiconductors and bio-pharmaceutical products, the nation would eventually be unable to compete on a global scale and would become poorer as technological development lagged behind. With companies moving production bases overseas in search of lower costs and the slowing of domestic investment, the Japanese economy has stagnated for decades, according to the ministry.
THE ECONOMIC TIMES (INDIA): Indian economy stands out with strong show. India’s finance ministry highlighted the country’s “promising economic performance,” citing resilient growth, stable prices, and a strong external sector in its monthly economic report for March. Despite global uncertainties, India’s economy remains robust, driven by factors like domestic demand, investment, and manufacturing momentum. The report also noted favorable monsoon forecasts, which are expected to boost agricultural output and ease inflation concerns. Additionally, India’s trade deficit is projected to improve, supported by initiatives like the production-linked incentive schemes and recent trade agreements. India’s “promising economic performance”" continues to be backed by resilient growth, robust economic activity indicators, price stability and steady external sector performance. However, geopolitical tensions such as those roiling West Asia, remain a concern although risk perceptions over them have softened, offering a potential upside for growth.
ASHARQ AL-AWSAT (GB): World Bank: Middle East tensions threaten to increase global inflation. Global commodity prices are leveling off after a steep descent that played a decisive role in whittling down overall inflation last year, which could make it harder for central banks to cut interest rates quickly, the World Bank (WB) said in a report on Thursday. The report also found that a major outbreak of conflict in the Middle East could halt the inflationary decline that has occurred over the past two years.