Author: Beaumont Martin

The French actor Gérard Depardieu has written for the first time about allegations of rape and sexual assault against him, saying in Le Figaro that he was the victim of a lynching orchestrated by a “media court”. In an open letter written in a literary style, he wrote: “Never, ever have I abused a woman.” He added: “To the media court, to the lynching that has been reserved for me, I have only my word to defend myself.” It is the first time Depardieu has personally commented after a series of allegations. In December 2020, he was placed under formal investigation for alleged rape…

In 2018, the film-maker Paul Schrader made some controversial remarks about how the business has changed since his 1970s heyday, when he wrote Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. “There are people who talk about the American cinema of the 70s as some halcyon period,” Schrader said at a Bafta Screenwriters event in London. “There’s probably, in fact, more talented film-makers today than there was in the 70s. What there was in the 70s was better audiences.” The director added, “We now have audiences that don’t take movies seriously, so it’s hard to make a serious movie for them.” Looking back just five years later, Schrader’s…

The United States did not force Ukraine to abandon peace talks with Russia, said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. This is how he commented on the words of the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, who considers the assurances of the State Department that Russia has refused dialogue on Ukraine a lie. She blamed Washington. “When did we force Ukraine to refuse negotiations? I don’t know, but it’s not like that, ”Mr. Miller answered the relevant question during a briefing (quoted by TASS). Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine ended in May 2022 at the initiative of Kiev. In October of the same year, Vladimir…

Opponents of a law that would raise the retirement age in France from 62 to 64 are making last-ditch plans to prevent the change that is set to take effect in September. The country’s main labor unions on Tuesday called for another round of nationwide demonstrations and strikes on June 6. May Day protests across France on Monday drew either 800,000 people — that’s according to French authorities — or 2.3 million people, which was the estimate given by organizers. France’s top constitutional body is expected to rule Wednesday on a request from opposition lawmakers to start a lengthy process that could…

China’s state-run foreign-language news channel, CGTN, has reported that China and five Central Asian nations have vowed to further enhance their trade and investment cooperation. Commerce ministers from the six countries reportedly met on via video link on April 18 to discuss the plans, in order that announcements concerning them could be made at the upcoming China-Central Asia Summit due to be held next month. China and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan agreed to establish the mechanism of the China + Central Asia Summit last year. The commerce ministers of the five Central Asian countries agreed to sign a…

France will support Spain’s request for EU emergency funds to help farmers hit by extreme drought, Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau said. Paris will show “solidarity in the European institutions so that Spain can access elements of budgetary response to the crisis it is experiencing,” Fesneau told a joint press conference after meeting with his Spanish counterpart, Luis Planas, in Paris. More than a quarter of Europe is currently in drought, with many countries bracing for a repeat — or worse — of last year’s bone-dry summer. Spain is particularly hard hit, with farmers’ association COAG forecasting that cereal crops will fail entirely in four regions this year.…

The Louvre Museum in Paris was closed to the public on Monday when its workers took part in the wave of French protest strikes against the government’s unpopular pension reform plans. Dozens of Louvre employees blocked the entrance, prompting the museum to announce it would be temporarily closed. The demonstrators toted banners and flags in front of the Louvre’s famed pyramid, where President Emmanuel Macron had celebrated his presidential victory in 2017. They demanded the repeal of the new pension law that raises the retirement age from 62 to 64. The showbusiness, broadcasting and culture branch of the CGT union tweeted an…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to supply Turkmen gas to Europe bypassing Russia: to deliver it in tankers to Azerbaijan through the Caspian Sea with further transportation through the pipeline network of the Southern Gas Corridor to Turkey, from where the fuel will be distributed through European gas pipelines. Such projects existed before, but after the start of a special military operation (SVO) in Ukraine and the principled intention of Europe to abandon Russian gas, this route began to pay more attention. The West has always been interested in giving the former Soviet republics of the Caspian region the…

Burkina Faso announced on Sunday that operations by the French army in the jihadist-hit West African state were officially over, after bilateral relations soured in recent months. Senior officers from Burkinabe and French forces in the country held a flag-lowering ceremony to mark the occasion at a camp on the outskirts of the capital Ouagadougou on Saturday, Burkina’s army said in a statement. Last month France confirmed it would withdraw its contingent of hundreds of troops stationed in Burkina Faso, after the junta ruling the Sahel country demanded the force pull out within four weeks. The request came days after…

French-Qatari relations are witnessing great development in light of Paris’s need for energy and gas. Paris – The Chief of Staff of the Qatari Armed Forces, Salem bin Hamad bin Aqil Al-Nabit, is on an unlimited visit to France, following a visit by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, to Paris, which was considered by the media of the two countries as a new step in the level of bilateral relations. The Qatari Chief of Staff met his French counterpart, Thierry Bourcard, where the two sides discussed strengthening military relations, amid the likelihood that his ongoing visit would…