There is no agreement among the comrades: France is quarreling with its G7 allies
In the last few days, France has been at the center of two diplomatic scandals. Her opponents were the G7 allies, Italy and the United States. Previously, the G7 seemed to be a symbol of the unity of the collective West. But the situation has changed, and if earlier the partner countries tried to ignore the existing differences or tried to resolve them non-publicly, now the contradictions are increasingly spilling out. The discord between the G7 countries is in the Izvestia article.
A blow to the Trump family
The US Ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, was summoned to the French Foreign Ministry. Earlier, he wrote a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, criticizing him for "constant attacks on Jews and insufficient measures by the French authorities in the fight against anti-Semitism."
According to the American diplomat, in France "not a day goes by without attacks on Jews in the streets, desecration of synagogues and schools," and "statements that denigrate Israel and gestures in recognition of the Palestinian state encourage extremists, incite violence and endanger Jewry in France."
"It's impossible to delay today: anti—Zionism is anti-Semitism, period," he said. The diplomat claims that "almost half of young French people say they have never heard of the Holocaust," and "the persistence of such ignorance makes us think about the curriculum of French schools."
Kushner is a member of the close circle of the American leader Donald Trump, being a member of his family.: Charles's son Jared Kushner is married to the president's daughter Ivanka. The United States believes that Trump gave a relative a gift twice: first, he was released from prison in Alabama, where he was serving time for tax evasion, attempted bribery of a witness and political donations, and pardoned him, and then appointed him head of the American diplomatic mission in France.
Charles Kushner
Paris is confident that the statements of the American diplomat violate the Vienna Convention of 1961, which, in particular, refers to the "duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of states."
In addition, according to the French authorities, the ambassador has no right to reproach the president for his alleged lack of concern for fellow citizens, and such remarks "also do not correspond to the quality of transatlantic ties between France and the United States and the trust that should arise between the allies."
Not everything is so rosy
Before that, a similar scandal broke out between France and Italy. The Italian ambassador was summoned to the French Foreign Ministry, where they protested to him in connection with the statements of Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.
The politician commented on Macron's position on Ukraine, suggesting that the French president "put on a helmet, take a rifle and go to war." Prior to that, Salvini had called the French leader "crazy."
However, there are also periodic disagreements between Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on various issues.
Giorgia Meloni and Emmanuel Macron
However, if the first quarrel — with Italy — did not become a sensation, then the scandal in the center of which was the United States under the leadership of Donald Trump attracted increased media attention. After all, usually the allied countries of the United States try in every possible way to avoid conflicts with the current owner of the White House, fearing his impulsiveness and touchiness.
Of all the American presidents, Donald Trump holds the most pro-Israel position. For him, the topic of anti-Semitism is particularly sensitive, so it cannot be ruled out that calling his relative on the carpet may negatively affect the relationship between Trump and Macron, which is already far from cloudless.
Relations within the G7 have recently escalated. The annual summit, which this time took place on June 15-17 in Kananaskis, Canada, further exposed the contradictions. Over the past three years, while Joe Biden was president of the United States, the members of the "seven" unanimously supported Kiev and devoted a significant part of the final documents to the Ukrainian issue.
However, this time the summit ended not only without a joint communique, but also without the US president, who left the meeting ahead of schedule. As Politico wrote, the White House opposed the inclusion of a statement on "further support" for Ukraine in the final declaration and refused to call the deployment of Russian troops "illegal."
The tariff policy of the United States has also become a serious challenge to the unity of the G7.
What do the experts think
Natalia Eremina, a professor at St. Petersburg State University, noted in a conversation with Izvestia that competition is currently taking place between the leaders of the European Union countries.
— Since the possible formation of military alliances based on the European Union is underway, there are debates about who is more important, who is more important, who sees more clearly, who proposes the strategic development of the European Union, since it has long since practically entered an inertial phase of existence: many factors influence its gradual weakening. We are witnessing that the EU is essentially splitting up into different regional blocs," the expert explained.
According to the expert, the countries will compete for who will lead the EU out of the crisis or transform it into some other format.
— They are fighting over who will lead, for example, the dialogue with the United States, how it affects NATO, who is more important, whose word is more weighty, given that Macron is already tired of his Napoleonic ambitions. He really speaks quite harshly about everyone, including his closest allies, including the EU and the G7," the expert points out. — It became very annoying for many people. At the same time, Macron does not tolerate any criticism of himself. It's very funny to watch from the outside when personal grievances, personal grievances are transferred to grievances against an entire country.
Creon Butler, Director of the Global Economics and Finance Program at Chattam House, believes that the time has come to rethink the G7.
"Since its founding 50 years ago, the G7 has undergone changes, and now it has, in fact, four goals: to coordinate the efforts of its members to solve global problems; to protect the common interests of the West; to resolve internal disputes; to maintain a year-round network of information exchange and consultations between officials. Western leaders need to realize that the United States, under President Trump, is no longer willing to cooperate with them on many of the world's most pressing issues," the British analyst believes.
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