Newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron explained his team’s decision to deny RT and Sputnik, both Moscow-based news outlets, accreditation during his campaign, by labeling the media outlets as “propaganda.”

“They didn’t act like the media, like journalists. They behaved like deceitful propaganda,” Macron told RT France head Xenia Fedorova during a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Versailles.

read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/390082-macron-rt-sputnik-propaganda/

Obviously Macron is turning into the fake centrist right-wing despot he always was...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French couterpart Emmanuel Macron met in Palace of Versailles to discuss bilateral relations. After the talks the two presidents gave a press conference.

"Today we celebrate the 300 anniversary of Peter the Great's visit to the Palace of Versaille," President Macron told journalists.

None of the pressing issues that the world faces today can be resolved without dialogue with Russia, French President Emmanuel Macon told journalists.

"What is important in our common history which celebrates 300 years today, is a dialogue between France and Russia that has never stopped… None of the most important challenges we face today can be resolved without the dialogue with Russia. That is what permits us to shape the common future," Macron said during a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"On this day, we expressed mutual respect," the president added.

France has reaffirmed its independence after the presidential election. We've discussed all issues which can help us to understand each other better, Emmanuel Macron said.

French President Emmanuel Macron characterized the exchange of views with Russian President Vladimir Putin as open and frank.

"It was a first exchange of opinions, I think it was very open, honest, we have told many things to each other. I shared my views concerning a number of situations… I think that we have told everything each other," Macron said at a press conference after the meeting with the Russian leader.

France and Russia will create a bilateral forum of civil society, French President Emmanuel Macron said after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We also wanted for our civil society representatives to have closer ties, a constructive dialogue and more exchanges. There already is such a mechanism between Germany and Russia. We would like to take the same path, for the youth, the economic structures, the scientific circles to get closer, to organize a French-Russian forum of civil society. We will do it and we will call it the 'Dialogue of Trianon,'" – Macron said at a press conference after the meeting.

France and Russia can have their differences but dialogue is essential for progress, including on the issue of Syria and Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

"There are things on which we disagree, but we expressed them. And above all, we discussed ways to conduct our joint actions. We want to act together, because if we don't create the conditions for that, if we have no open dialogue we will not be able to advance on the issues I mentioned. Sometimes disputes may arise in such a dialogue… but if we don't reach it, we will not be able to move forward either on the issue of Syria nor of Ukraine," Macron said at a press conference.

Macron on Cooperation With Russia on Syria

read more:

https://sputniknews.com/politics/201705291054088540-putin-macron-presser/

from Robert Bridge

When questioned about the incident by RT France head Xenia Fedorova, Macron, with President Vladimir Putin at his side in the sumptuous Palace of Versailles, uttered an explanation so dripping in irony that even the Mona Lisa was reported to have cracked a toothy smile.

READ MORE: Macron accuses RT and Sputnik of ‘behaving like deceitful propaganda’

“They didn’t act like the media, like journalists. They behaved like deceitful propaganda,” Macron told the conference. “I have always had an exemplary relationship with foreign journalists, but they have to be real journalists.”

The dark irony about Macron’s response is that he has never produced a shred of evidence to support his claim of “fake news” from RT and Sputnik – real news organizations that employ real reporters with real media credentials, yet still could not pass French face control during a presidential election. In other words, what we have here is the leader of France – a proud nation that once upon a time suffered a historic revolution in the name of “liberty, equality and fraternity” – passing off what amounts to fake news and disinformation.

In actual fact, it was the Macron campaign spreading unsubstantiated claims about RT’s coverage of the French presidential election, with the likes of secretary-general of Macron’s En Marche! party Richard Ferrand and Macron aide Mounir Mahjoubi accusing RT of broadcasting “false information” about the then-candidate in February and March. The early claims were accompanied by a Reuters report falsely accusing RT of publishing comments by French National Assembly member Nicolas Dhuicq, which were critical of Macron. Reuters eventually corrected the story, but not before it was picked up by plenty of western media outlets.

Despite failing to back up the accusations with any links or accurately attributed quotes, En Marche! squarely blocked RT journalists from Macron’s headquarters during the two rounds of the election, not responding to the accreditation requests from RT and RT France. With their requests “still being processed,” RT’s producers and crew were eventually denied access to the Macron campaign HQ on April 23.  Days before the May 7 run-off, En Marche! spokeswoman Laurence Haim walked away from a question about RT’s accreditation.

There is a temptation to explain away Macron’s media attack as simply the unavoidable recklessness that comes with, for lack of a better word, political immaturity. After all, it is no secret that before entering the highest office in the land, the French leader, much like impetuous US President Donald Trump, had very little political experience under his belt. In fact, one of his most significant professional qualifications – before creating the En Marche! party in April 2016 – was that of an investment banker.

Meanwhile, we can’t underestimate the media-induced mass hysteria that has gripped the imagination of the United States over wholly unsubstantiated charges of Russian hacking of the 2016 presidential election. This outrageous and unsubstantiated claim continues to grow louder while, at the same time, evidence for such interference dwindles. Nevertheless, we now find that this American-made condition has migrated across the Atlantic like some brain-eating virus.

Despite this daily bombardment of fake news aimed at everything Russia does – from hosting the Sochi Olympics to fighting against Islamic State – it would be encouraging to know that state leaders at least are immune to such blatant propaganda. Sadly, this does not seem to be the case with the French president, and this sets a disastrous precedent for other leaders across the continent – especially during an election season when playing the “Russian card” is so tempting.

Although Macron’s reasoning for banning RT and Sputnik is loaded with contradiction and irony, it is also packed to the rafters with genuine alarm – both on the media and political front. Irony provides comic relief only for so long before stark reality sets in to stifle the laughter. When we reach the point in bilateral relations between Russia and the West when fact-free accusations can be uttered at the presidential level then irony quickly takes a backseat to insanity and – unless logic and common sense come back into fashion again – tragedy.

This is terribly unfortunate because Macron gave the impression he was sincere about moving beyond the empty rhetoric being hurled against Russia on a daily basis. In fact, just one day before Macron leveled his unfounded accusation against RT and Sputnik, during the G7 in Italy, he admitted that “many international problems cannot be resolved without Russia.”

Yet if Macron refuses to tolerate a Russian media presence in the future, preferring his subjects to hear just one side of every story, then he has already put into motion a problem that will be very difficult to remedy.

Margarita Simonyan, RT Editor-in-Chief, touched upon this dilemma in a statement that read, in part: “It is disappointing that what started as a rather productive conversation between the leaders of the two countries turned into another opportunity for President Macron to levy baseless accusations against RT ... By labeling any news reporting he disagrees with as “fake news,” President Macron sets a dangerous precedent that threatens both freedom of speech and journalism at large.”

READ MORE: France's Macron latest victim of 'fake news' on Russia & RT's role in Western elections

At a time when fake news has the power to incite an atmosphere of fear and hysteria, which in turn prompts Russia’s neighbors to militarize at a frightful pace, we need to look further into the future and understand exactly where this dangerous rhetoric is leading us.

There is an old, blunt expression that says, “Put up or shut up,” when it comes to making accusations or claims against somebody. Before things get any more out of control than they already are, the Western world must either produce some physical evidence to support their wild claims against Russia, or admit that it is time to turn the page and get on with something more meaningful called reality.

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/390119-macron-propaganda-rt-zero-facts/

Please note that the "swimming pool" aka "la Piscine" (in French) is the headquarters of the French secret service...

Robert Bridge, an American writer and journalist based in Moscow, Russia, is the author of the book on corporate power, “Midnight in the American Empire”, released in 2013.

There is currently no viable alternative to Bashar Assad to prevent Syria from turning into a failed state, the new French president has said, departing from his predecessor’s position that the Syrian leader must be toppled to stabilize the war-torn country.

“The new perspective that I have had on this subject is that I have not stated that Bashar al-Assad’s departure is a pre-condition for everything because nobody has shown me a legitimate successor,” Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with eight European newspapers

The new approach is seen as a stark departure from the political discourse of former French President Francois Hollande, who openly advocated for regime change in Syria. Under Hollande’s leadership, France was ready to support the US to strike Damascus in the autumn of 2013, until Moscow stepped in to de-escalate tensions while also ensuring the liquidation of the Syrian chemical stockpile.

“Assad is the origin of this problem, and cannot be part of the solution,” Hollande told the UN General Assembly in 2015. 

Macron says French policy towards Syria is now more aligned with Russian objectives in the country. “My lines are clear: Firstly, a complete fight against all the terrorist groups. They are our enemies,” he said. “We need everybody’s cooperation, especially Russia, to eradicate them.”

Macron said he will not allow US “neo-conservatism” to seep into France, and that the focus of French policy will be aimed at achieving “stability” in Syria, rather than getting dragged into a Libya-style conflict.

“What was the outcome of these interventions? Failed states in which terrorist groups flourished. I do not want that in Syria,” the French leader emphasized.

While adopting a more flexible approach to the Syrian conflict, Macron warned of red lines beyond which Paris would be ready to seek direct military intervention against Damascus.

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/393518-france-macron-syria-policy/

We should be wary of the "chemical weapons" mantra. The armed "opposition" (terrorists) in Syria are excellent at producing fake alternative facts to suit their cause.