What in the world is happening to France?
@Mathieu_Droin
& I take a look at the ongoing political earthquake, including the scenario of RN arriving to power.
How would cohabitation work?
What about Ukraine, Israel, EU?
👇
@ForeignPolicy
Summer is over, kids are back in school, but the US travel ban on Europeans is still here. Families and loved ones are still separated. 18 months into the crisis. How is it this even possible?
#LiftTheTravelBan
#LoveIsNotTourism
#Test4Travel
1/
📣 Professional update 📣
Just completed my first day as the new Head of
@ECFRParis
, and Senior Policy Fellow.
Thrilled to join the great
@ecfr
team, in Paris and accross Europe!
Fait inhabituel: les diplomates français, qui, en temps normal, célèbrent la France et défendent ses intérêts, sont en colère et appellent à la grève le 2 juin. Je les comprends et je les soutiens. 🧵⬇️🇫🇷
Glad to share my story in the
@washingtonpost
on the travel ban that once made sense. Now it’s only causing hardship. To us, to so many.
My story is banal but many are in pain. Time to fix the non-immigrant visa situation,
@SecBlinken
Earlier today,
@POTUS
met with French Prez
@EmmanuelMacron
at the French Embassy to Vatican. A highly anticipated meeting, a month and a half after infamous AUKUS spat, producing long joint statement. What’s the status of the FR-US relationship? Here, a thread.
#FrenchFriday
1/
AND IT'S OFFICIAL: the US travel ban is lifted on travelers coming from the UK, European Union, China, India, Iran, Ireland, Brazil and South Africa, i.e. all countries that were subject to a 14-day ban due to COVID-related Presidential Proclamations.👇
Incredibly honored to serve as Interim Director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. After 5 years in this team, I can tell you: it rocks.
Thank you to
@MaloneySuzanne
and all at
@BrookingsFP
&
@BrookingsInst
for this great honor.
Huge congratulations to our brilliant scholar
@celiabelin
who has just been named the Interim Director of
@BrookingsFP
's Center on the United States and Europe. Célia is graciously stepping into the very big shoes left by previous Director
@thomaswright08
.
My new piece
@ForeignAffairs
looks at Macron’s foreign policy style: impatient pragmatism, in both method and substance. Impatient because of the pace of change in the world; pragmatist to maximize options. Results are mixed & Russia puts it to a new test.
July 4th has come and gone, and, with it, all remaining illusions that travel will reopen between Europe and the US. As I have shared in this
@washingtonpost
article, this policy is only causing hardship. 1/
Glad to share my story in the
@washingtonpost
on the travel ban that once made sense. Now it’s only causing hardship. To us, to so many.
My story is banal but many are in pain. Time to fix the non-immigrant visa situation,
@SecBlinken
Now is the time. Please, let's not wait for another variant. It will never be a perfect moment. Now is the time to lift the travel ban.
#LoveisNotTourism
.
@United
CEO Scott Kirby on lifting travel restrictions: “I'm hopeful that we'll get those borders, particularly to Europe, open soon. We hope, as cases come down, that that’s something that will happen soon.”
Regardez qui est arrivé! Toute émue de l’avoir entre les mains, mon bouquin de 2020: « Des démocrates en Amérique, l’heure des choix face à Trump ».
@EditionsFayard
@j_jaures
La sortie en librairie c’est le 26 février! (pré-vente en ligne pour les addicts à la politique)
In past 2 years, France profoundly recalibrated in favor of Ukraine. Macron's new posture comes from a renewed French understanding of European power and a sense of urgency to deter Russia.
I explain France's great recalibration 🇫🇷🇺🇦 in
@ForeignAffairs
👇
Les événements actuels sont sans précédents et dramatiques. Ayant épuisé les recours juridiques, Trump et ses avocats poussent des théories complotistes pour contester le résultat de l’élection et font pression sur les républicains locaux pour falsifier les résultats.
We should be clear that the defeated president’s efforts are in a new phase. He lost a free and fair election. He has almost entirely lost his court challenges, reinforcing the reality of his defeat. Now he’s asking fellow partisans to simply hand him the presidency.
Today, good summary on the travel ban by
@mradamtaylor
in
@washingtonpost
. A lot more press on the topic these days - looks like a 550-day blanket travel ban on half a billion people is finally getting noticed.
"U.S. travel and border policies have barely budged since the start of the pandemic [...] [Those of us monitoring the closures] have been left scratching our heads trying to make sense of the Biden team’s approach." Must-read by
@edwardalden
1/
Travel is not Tourism. Those in dire need to travel have been neglected by European leaders & treated as afterthought by American leaders. Yet, many who contribute to America's prosperity are still stuck in a bureaucratic limbo that could be fixed, but is NOT yet addressed. [end]
I am happy to share a very personal piece tonight, in which I make the case for the administration to help Europeans lost in the limbo of COVID-related visa processes. The purgatory lasted for too long. Please let us travel again. via
@BrookingsInst
This is not acceptable. As others have pointed out, the US ban on Europeans is impeding essential travel: families of 9/11 victims who will not be able to attend ceremonies, European climate experts who live in the US unable to attend COP26, etc.
11/
Among many barriers to equitable COP26 participation, Biden's travel bans mean many foreign climate experts living in the US can't go to Glasgow, since they would find themselves unable to return home after.
@celiabelin
explains this bureaucratic purgatory
It is time for Europe to face the reality that being open to Americans while Europeans are not able to travel to the US is a humiliating situation. Meanwhile, America cannot claim to be back, and Europe to be its best allies, if it continues to treat its citizens so poorly.
8/
La mise en équivalence des États-unis et de la Chine dans cet entretien est vraiment problématique, sur Taïwan, sur la "logique de bloc". C'est négliger un an de solidarité transatlantique sur l'Ukraine. Réactions négatives générales en Europe et aux US.
European officials are starting to show impatience and irritation. On Wednesday, European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas
@MargSchinas
announced he had decided to cancel a trip to the US to protest the ongoing travel ban on Europeans.
7/
Le débat de ce soir entre Kamala Harris et Mike Pence était l’inverse du clash Trump/Biden: respectueux, du fond, pas d’insulte, un rythme lent. Cette fois, les Américains ont pu entendre les positions des deux camps. Rafraîchissant 1/
Remember when Chancellor Merkel came to the US in July and asked
@POTUS
about the ban? In the press conference afterwards, Biden said he would provide an answer after being briefed by his COVID response team. Since then, silence. Have I missed anything? 2/
Chancellor Merkel asked about it during her visit to the US, German press asked about it during the Merkel/Biden press conference, and President Biden promised he will be able to provide some answer after being briefed by his COVID-19 response team. 2/
As often, the US takes French proposals for building European military capabilities as an attack on NATO. It leaves French stunned: they thought the US wanted Europe to take care of its own defense. Maybe Trump just wants Europeans to buy more US military equipment. 1/
President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!
So, let's face it: "Diplomats say that the Biden administration has given no indication when it might reverse the [travel ban] on Schengen zone [...], even as vaccination rates tick up and scientific evidence suggests little efficacy in the ban." 1/
But the decision is also Europe catching up to reality. When the EU decided to open fully to Americans last May, it was meant to boost their tourist industry but also as a gift to their best ally. The gift, however, has not been reciprocated, a humiliating reality for Europe.
6/
Second, the American administration should drop the act: if reciprocity is not around the corner, the US needs to explain precisely why instead of hiding behind a non-descript “follow the science” argument. Is it a fear of the Delta variant? What is the scientific rationale?
9/
Il y a 10 ans j'écrivais que les politiques américains versaient des "larmes de crocodiles" après la tuerie d'Aurora (12 tués dans un cinéma). Depuis, Sandy Hook, Tree of life...maintenant Buffalo et Uvalde...
Mon cynisme n'a fait que grandir.
News flash: il ne se passera rien.
More generally, the fundamental question is a philosophical one: What world do we want to live in? The excellent Tom Wright argued in an
@TheAtlantic
essay that scrapping the freedom to travel is “altering our world for the worse”.
@thomaswright08
12/
At a minimum, European leaders should demand that the U.S. let visa holders (ALL visa holders) travel, as their travel needs are fundamental to their livelihood and well-being. They should also demand that American consulates in Europe resume routine visa services.
7/
Still excited with the sudden lift of the travel ban. Was wonderful to share everyone's joy today.
But also mindful tonight of the paradoxical reality this new travel system has created: millions of travelers from unvaccinated parts of the world will now find America's doors shut
There are enough safety measures available for air travel that a blanket ban is no longer acceptable. As
@thomaswright08
writes, “leaders of the world’s democracies must affirm a shared commitment to restoring travel”. And they must take active measures to reopen ASAP. 13/
Dans
@lemondefr
je reviens sur les restrictions au voyage entre US et Europe en place depuis mars 2020, toujours en cours. Tous n’y sont pas soumis, mais beaucoup sont coincés dans une situation kafkaïenne. Il est temps d'y remédier
#loveisnottourism
1/
Très heureuse d'avoir rejoint l'
@ecfr
en tant que cheffe du Bureau de Paris et chercheure senior! Après 5 ans aux États-Unis, émue de retrouver les think tanks francais pour penser la politique française, européenne, transatlantique 🇫🇷🇪🇺🇺🇸
📣 Professional update 📣
Just completed my first day as the new Head of
@ECFRParis
, and Senior Policy Fellow.
Thrilled to join the great
@ecfr
team, in Paris and accross Europe!
First, European officials have not addressed the issue with the care and urgency it deserves. European leaders – chief among them Macron, Merkel, Draghi, Johnson – have failed to press forcefully the issue onto President Biden when he came to Europe.
5/
Fascinant à quel point l'Elysee et la diplomatie FR ressent le besoin de clarifier, préciser, amender les propos du président après l'interview post Chine. Ce qui montre qu'en l'état le message est problématique...
@NYTimesCohen
sur les retombées👇
On Tues, EU Ambassador
@SJLambrinidis
tweet was retweeted by several European ambassadors in DC (FR, AT, IT, NL), all pointing to the success of the vaccine roll-out in Europe (70% of adults fully vaxxed) as proof of the absurdity of the continued ban. 8/
70% of EU adults are now fully vaccinated. The U.S. can safely let vaccinated Europeans in (with existing pre-flight testing), as the EU lets in vaccinated Americans. The travel ban seriously harms vital economic & human ties, at a time when they're most needed.
Vaccinations rates in Europe are getting close and catching up to America’s. Infection rates in Europe are at their lowest in months. Delta variant is presenting a unique challenge, but it is also widespread in the U.S. Double-vaxx Europeans do not present a specific danger.
10/
Since publishing my piece on the US-Europe
#travelban
last Friday, I have received lots of emails from Americans and Europeans who have suffered greatly from the ban and who are desperate to see it lifted, or at least partially relaxed. 1/
The science does not tell us that discriminating against categories of people is efficient. But it curbs freedom. Our societies will have to struggle with COVID for many more months, maybe years. For free liberal democracies, blanket travel ban are not an acceptable option.
11/
“You’ll see, Joe Biden will announce it before his European tour in June.” He didn’t. “You know, Sec Blinken will address it when he visits Italy for G20.” He hasn’t. “Come on, Biden is just waiting for his own July 4th deadline, and then he will lift the ban”.
He. Did. Not.
3/
With its very visible demonstration of anger, forcing the US to stop and reevaluate what they want out of this relationship, France may have helped to reset the clock on transatlantic relations for the administration. A good basis to start over --to the benefit of both sides[end]
En 2004, fin de l'interdiction des armes d'assaut (semi-automatique de type AR-15) mise en place en 1994 par Clinton. Résultat ci-dessous: explosion des tueries de masse. Une boucherie organisée.
Je lis ce matin la nouvelle note de
@_Terra_Nova
par
@brunepoirson
, intitulée « Pourquoi le trumpisme va survivre à Donald Trump ». Jusqu’au titre, on est d’accord.
Mais pour le reste, je suis en desaccord profond avec l’analyse. Un thread 👇
European leaders have contented themselves with private diplomatic action and formal requests to State Department. This is not enough. Political leadership is needed. And for now, European leaders are failing their constituents.
6/
Some say to be patient. The ban will be lifted, eventually. The latest rumor? That the administration would rescind the ban after Labor Day.
Well, maybe. But if past is prologue, seeing no sign of progress means there is progress in sight. 3/
More reporters should have to courage to look at the human consequences of the ban, facing the moral and ethical dilemmas. Suspending the right to travel indefinitely tramples on basic human rights. It is cruel and should not be hostage to political hesitancy
#LoveIsNotTourism
9/
Together with my EU Member State colleagues, we have been working diligently to lift the
#travelban
on Europeans. Hope there’ll be a positive announcement soon.
Today is a day of great joy for so many separated families and friends: US finally lifts the blanket entry ban on 33 countries!
But let's not forget: international mobility remains far more restricted than in pre-COVID times. I explain here
@BrookingsFP
⬇️
Is the EU finally showing teeth?
Not exactly. It's more a recognition of poor COVID trends in the US.
What it is NOT is, however, a blanket ban like the US has on Europeans. Most Americans will still be allowed in, providing they test or quarantine, depending on the country. 5/
Let me finish with a few quotes. Since writing on the issue I have received many messages of desperation that deserve compassion. They remind us that love is not tourism, that family is essential, that travel is a fundamental right, that love is love even across the Atlantic.
15/
Since I started writing on the issue, European officials, as well as Europeans under travel ban, have repeatedly professed their faith that travel will reopen “soon,” that reciprocity is “around the corner,” that “Americans will realize the policy doesn’t make sense anymore.” 2/
However late this is, let's rejoice: this is great news for the economy, for transatlantic relations and first and foremost for long separated families and friends.
Because travel is not just tourism.
I can't personally verify the facts presented in this thread, but, because it corresponds to the personal experience of so many friends and contacts who have been jumping through insane hoops to just get back home, I have to retweet.
Remember
#VisaHoldersAreNotTourists
At a minimum, the American administration should work to address head-on some of the most discriminatory aspects of the policy in place. Namely, fix the situation of the hundreds of thousands of Europeans living in US who are still stuck 16 months into the pandemic.
12/
“So, maybe Merkel will convince Biden, when she comes to DC in July.” Well, maybe. Or not. Rumor has it that reopening is considered for September. Or not.
Maybe it is time to stop relying passively on faith alone and start planning actively about how to address the issue.
4/
My take on FR-US relations post-AUKUS in
@WarOnTheRocks
. The French version was published last week in
@LeRubicon_org
, the new French-speaking platform on international and security affairs, in partnership with WOTR. Below, a quick thread on the paper⬇️1/8
At the end of the day, it comes down to
@POTUS
: President Biden has to put his foot down, and take a decision, even if it contradicts the skeptics amongst his COVID team and
@CDCgov
Re-establish basic freedoms at a time when the pandemic is under control should be a priority.
Europeans may have finally started to muscle up.
On Monday, the EU decided to take the US off its “safe list”. Now American travelers may face restrictions such as testing and quarantine, based on EU member states’ choices.
@EUCouncil
4/
"The worst is yet to come" : President Macron's impression after talking for 1h30 this morning with Putin who appears "very determined" to invade whole of Ukraine.
Bleak.
[journalist friends – I am happy to put you in contact with them and others who have shared with me their difficulties. As they all say, these stories deserve to be heard. Because
#LoveisNotTourism
]
[or read below ⬇️]
Americans are free to go to Europe, but Tea still can’t. “I don't understand and it makes me really sad. And angry. Really angry. I am vaccinated, so is my husband and all we want to do is see our families. It shouldn't be like this, not anymore. We are being held hostage.” 17/
Yesterday French president Macron participated in an event in honor of the creation of the
@AtlanticCouncil
new Europe Center. A discussion with
@benjaminhaddad
packed with elements of Macron's doctrine - and some contrast to Biden's own foreign policy speech on the same day 1/
When asked,
@PressSec
Jen Psaki has provided the same answer repeatedly: that the administration is working to establish “consistent, safe international travel policies” in a spirit of “clarity and equity”.
But still, no decision has been made.
9/
So, France played its cards right after the AUKUS deal, and got a lot out of it. The main outcome is that the US administration had no choice but to listen to French views for a few weeks. Some messages have clearly gone through. 12/
Lecture de l’été : le portrait
@EmmanuelMacron
dans le New Yorker, le sommet du journalisme US.
#alire
ou
#aecouter
Et je suis ravie d’y avoir contribué d’une phrase ;-) Un rêve de jeunesse d’être appelée par les fact-checkers du New Yorker....
Highly unusual: 3 European leaders (Spain, Portugal, Germany) publish an op-ed today in
@lemondefr
to defend a "free, open, strong and generous" France. They openly reject a far-right candidate that supports "those who attack our freedom and our democracy"
To me, this interview is the Macron equivalent of a Trump tweet: reflective of the leader’s views, delivered without concerns for allies or even real world effects, and sure to be followed by a lot of diplomatic damage control. END.
Trump has no limit. Even with his “best friend”. What is said was shameful and insulting to the Paris attacks victim, their families and all of France.
Les propos honteux et les simagrées obscènes de Donald Trump en disent long sur ce qu’il pense de la France et de ses valeurs. L’amitié entre nos deux peuples ne sera pas entachée par l’irrespect et l’outrance. Toutes mes pensées vont aux victimes du 13 novembre.
My short take on
#debatmacronlepen
:
1/ both candidates succeeded: Macron in showing Le Pen's incompetence; Le Pen in being fully normalized. This was hardly a clash between democracy vs. fascism. Just substantial and respectful debate btw 2 candidates. In that way, Le Pen won.
As we all struggle to face the horrors just revealed, an important event takes place on Friday:
@ConStelz
will host Philippe Sands, lawyer and international law specialist, to discuss crimes against humanity and genocide. Painfully relevant.
@BrookingsInst
Et si l’élection avait été serrée?? Étant donné la fébrilité des Rep sous pression Trump, il y a fort à croire qu’il parviendrait à ses fins. C’est une prise de conscience terrible : le système américain permet un maintien au pouvoir constitutionnel et pas forcément démocratique
Meeting today in Washington, DC with US
@WHCOVIDResponse
Coordinator Jeff Zienst to continue fighting the pandemic.
I welcome 🇺🇸 lifting
#TravelBan
for fully-vaccinated 🇪🇺 citizens.
A logical decision given the success of our EU vaccination campaign.
Le reste du monde nous envie ce corps diplomatique si efficace, qui défend avec talent les intérêts français et européens. La France, pour rester un grand pays, doit le renforcer, pas le supprimer. [end]
Yesterday’s EP election results feel like a political earthquake this morning in
#France
. Not so much due to
#LePen
´s party spectacular win, which had been foretold by pollsters, but because of Pres
#Macron
´s subsequent call for snap elections.
Foreign policy implications 👇
La réaction extrêmement négative de l’intelligentsia américaine, républicaine comme démocrate, à la conférence de presse Trump-Putin, vue comme une humiliation, voire une trahison, est IMPRESSIONNANTE. Même sur Fox News, c’est dire.
Just recently, the State department issues new guidelines regarding National Interest Exceptions in an effort to unclog consular services. NIE are now valid for multiple entries, and for 12 months. Good. Yet, most visa holders still can’t get NIEs.
14/
Building a sustainable system that will ensure safe travel with the best regulations and technologies in place is a great aim. But in practice, the intricate nature of implementing such a system means that it could take months or years to put in place fully.
10/
EU ambassador
@EUAmbUS
denouncing a "very outdated travel ban" this morning that separates populations which have closer personal and economic ties between them than "with anyone else". (Also forceful on Afghanistan: defending human rights is smart hard power policy goal) 👇
Spoke this morning to
@EliseLabott
@MasonMornings
on U.S.
#travelban
, post-Covid economic recovery, climate, kick-off of groundbreaking EU-U.S. co-op on trade & technology, Afghanistan. Listen 👂🏼 here 👇
Airlines and other travel and tourism industry actors have been vocal on the issue. They point to the absurdity that flights are only one-way, carrying Americans to their vacation on Southern Europe, but unable to bring Europeans back to the US. 5/
The US knows by now that the
#travelban
has long outlived its purpose, and is now a major irritant between US and Europe. At a time when tensions are mounting with France, lifting the travel ban would be a first step towards jumpstarting transatlantic relations.
Today is the day.
Together with my EU Member State colleagues, we have been working diligently to lift the
#travelban
on Europeans. Hope there’ll be a positive announcement soon.
Tea’s husband is a university professor on a H1-B visa, she is under H4, and their visas are expiring. Tea hasn’t seen her mum in 18 months. She asks: “why can't I go home? Why am I worth less, or deemed more dangerous, or what is the logic behind it?”
16/
Are these essays a sign that we are finally waking up? It's long overdue: for many, this has been a long never-ending nightmare.
It is time for a policy change, time for safely reopening travel to countries under ban, with testing in place.
Long overdue.
Indeed, fully vaccinated, pre-flight-tested Europeans could today visit the US in full safety, but are still kept out by the outdated
#travelban
. Personal & business travel is hugely important for long-separated families & for the US and EU economies.
The US also recognizes “the importance of a stronger &more capable European defense”. Important part comes after: support for European investments in military capabilities AND support for strengthening NATO-EU strategic partnership. A rebuke to EU skeptics, often Turks/Brits.10/
Oui le trumpisme survivra. Mais en attendant le “Bidenisme” reste à inventer, un mouvement qu’il a dessiné pendant la campagne, un appel à la réconciliation et la responsabilité. Les Américains ont adhéré.
But it is a mistake. A "vaccine passport" is a long-term question, that cannot and must not refrain from addressing the short-term crisis: the need to reopen travel to those in dire need to reunite. If all it took is a PCR test, even fully-vax travelers would happily comply. 4/
3eme jour du procès de Donald Trump. Un moment extraordinaire. Ce n’est pas un simple impeachment, mais une instruction publique pour la violence qu’il a instrumentalisé pour se maintenir au pouvoir, posant une menace existentielle à la démocratie US. 1/
Maxime says he “fails to understand why temporary residents who are fully vaccinated with an FDA-authorized vaccine cannot travel and come back, while US citizens, permanent residents and certain visa holders can.”
16/
Les plus grands industriels américains demandent au vice-président Mike Pence de rassembler les membres du Cabinet pour invoquer le 25eme amendement, qui retirerait Trump du pouvoir. Difficile à imaginer pour ceux qui sont restés auprès de Trump depuis l’impeachment...
CNN: National Association of Manufacturers, the nation's largest manufacturing association, called on Vice President Mike Pence Wednesday to consider working to remove President Trump from office.
There is a start of embryonic action. The White House has created “expert working group” with the EU, Mexico, the UK, Canada, to “have an open line of transparent communication with these countries about what steps need to be taken”. 13/