The Observers

Elon Musk's tweets: Investigating the billionaire's anti-European rhetoric

Issued on: 19/05/2025 - FRANCE24

05:34

The FRANCE 24 Observers collaborated with France Info and Belgium's RTBF to analyse Elon Musk's rhetoric on X. © France Médias Monde graphic studio

By:Alijani ErshadFollow|Nathan Gallo|Quang Pham

The FRANCE 24 Observers collaborated with France Info and Belgium's RTBF to analyse the rhetoric of Elon Musk, one of Trump's closest advisers. This two-part investigation, conducted by the Médias Francophones Publics, examines the X owner's social media posts, documenting how the billionaire is propagating anti-Ukraine sentiment and posting tweets in support of the European far right.

"I use my tweets to express myself,” Musk said in 2018. Seven years later, and three years after he bought Twitter, Musk uses his own platform, now known as X, to express himself more freely than ever.

With his criticism of Europe and its institutions, attacks on Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky in recent months, Musk has become a vocal supporter of the US presidential camp's line.

Journalists from Belgium’s RTBF, the FRANCE 24 Observers, and France Info, collaborating under the umbrella of the French-speaking public media association MFP (Médias Francophones Publics), looked at the 15,485 posts published or shared by Musk between November 4, 2024, the day before Trump’s election, and April 4, 2025.

Click on the player  to watch the full report.

Read our two-part investigation on FRANCE 24's website.

Mining and defence industries benefit from Macron's visit to Indonesia

BUSINESS © FRANCE 24

Issued on: 28/05/2025 

As French President Emmanuel Macron met with his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto this Wednesday in Jakarta, French companies like mining giant Eramet and defence provider Dassault Aviation were hoping to capitalise on these diplomatic ties. Talking to the press, Macron said there would be new orders for Dassault's Rafales fighter jets. Also, we look at the German defence tech startups benefitting from the country's rearmament drive.

By: Charles PELLEGRIN
Nick HOLDSWORTH
Anne MAILLIET

Play (06:59 min)From the show

UK latest country to back Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara

IMPERIALISTS CARVE UP SAHARA

British Foreign Minister David Lammy said Sunday that Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara is the "most credible" solution, reversing UK policy. The mineral-rich territory, largely controlled by Morocco, is claimed by Algeria-backed Polisario Front. The decades-long dispute remains unresolved.

Issued on: 02/06/2025 - 
By:  FRANCE 24

David Lammy announced the reversal of Britain's decades-long policy on the Western Sahara dispute © AFP

British foreign minister David Lammy said on Sunday that Morocco's autonomy plan for the territory of Western Sahara was the "most credible" solution to the decades-long dispute, reversing London's long-standing position.

Western Sahara, a mineral-rich former Spanish colony, is largely controlled by Morocco but has been claimed in its entirety for decades by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which is backed by Algeria.

Morocco has been campaigning for broad support for its autonomy plan after obtaining US recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed territory in 2020, in exchange for the normalisation of diplomatic relations with Israel.

"The United Kingdom considers Morocco's autonomy proposal submitted in 2007 as the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for a lasting resolution of the dispute," Lammy told reporters in Rabat.

Britain previously backed self-determination for the disputed territory, which Morocco claims as an integral part of its kingdom.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita welcomed the shift, saying the new British position contributed "greatly to advancing this momentum and promoting the UN path towards a definitive and mutually acceptable solution based on the autonomy initiative".

Read moreFrench minister in 'historic' Western Sahara visit to back Moroccan sovereignty
Growing European support

Rabat's push for support for its autonomy plan has seen success.

Spain and Germany now officially back the Moroccan autonomy plan, while France last summer recognised Morocco's sovereignty over the territory.

Algeria, which backs the Polisario Front and cut diplomatic relations with Rabat in 2021, said it "regrets" Britain's decision on Sunday to support Morocco's autonomy plan.

"In 18 years of existence, this plan has never been submitted to the Sahrawis as a basis for negotiation, nor has it ever been taken seriously by the successive UN envoys," the Algerian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The United Nations considers Western Sahara a "non-self-governing territory" and has had a peacekeeping mission there since 1991, whose stated aim is to organise a referendum on the territory's future.

But Rabat has repeatedly ruled out any vote where independence is an option, instead proposing an autonomy plan.

"This year is a vital window of opportunity to secure a resolution before we reach 50 years of the dispute in November," Lammy said.

Read moreMacron pledges French investment in disputed Western Sahara in speech to Morocco's parliament

The foreign minister also said it encouraged "relevant parties to engage urgently and positively with the United Nations-led political process".

The ceasefire collapsed in mid-November 2020 after Moroccan troops were deployed to the far south of the territory to remove separatists blocking the only route to Mauritania - a route they claimed was illegal, as it did not exist in 1991.

The UN Security Council is calling for negotiations without preconditions, while Morocco insists they focus solely on its autonomy plan.

"The only viable and durable solution will be one that is mutually acceptable to the relevant parties and is arrived at through compromise," added Lammy.

In a joint statement, the United Kingdom noted that its export credit agency, UK Export Finance, may consider supporting projects in the Sahara as part of its commitment to mobilise 5 billion British pounds (approximately 5.9 billion euros) for new economic initiatives in Morocco.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

 

Video: Italy's Mount Etna erupts in dramatic plume of smoke and ash

 A huge plume of ash, gas and rock spewed Monday from Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, but authorities said there was no current danger to the population. Cloud emission had ended by the afternoon, according to an official update. 

Issued on: 02/06/2025 

By:

FRANCE 24

Smoke rises from the crater of the Etna volcano as it erupts, Mount Etna, near Catania, June 2, 2025. © Giuseppe Distefano

Sicily’s Mount Etna erupted on Monday, sending a cloud of smoke and ash several kilometres into the air, but officials said the activity posed no danger to the population.

The level of alert due to the volcanic activity was raised at the Catania airport, but no immediate interruptions were reported.

An official update declared the ash cloud emission had ended by the afternoon. 

The event was captured in video and photos that went viral on social media. Tremors from the eruption were widely felt in the towns and villages on Mount Etna's flanks, Italian media reported. 

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

France's upper house debates fast-fashion bill

Issued on: 02/06/2025

France's Senate on Monday debated a bill to regulate the influx of environmentally unfriendly, low-quality clothes into the country, many from China. The lower house of parliament adopted a version of the so-called "fast fashion" bill in March last year, but a commission in the right-leaning Senate has sought some changes that backers say will better target Chinese-founded brands such as Shein. FRANCE 24's Jennie Shin reports.

Chlordecone victims in French West Indies demand justice as state denies liability

The French state continues to deny responsibility in the chlordecone scandal, after authorising the use of the pesticide for years in banana plantations in Martinique and Guadeloupe. RFI met with several victims who are calling those responsible to account and seeking compensation.


Issued on: 01/06/2025 - RFI

A man sorts bananas at a packing site in Basse-Pointe, Martinique.

 © AFP - Charly Triballeau

The French state has recently filed an appeal against the decision of a Paris court of 11 March, which ruled that the state should compensate people who have been exposed to chlordecone.

The move has angered victims in the French overseas departments of Martinique and Guadeloupe.

"I used to make boxes to pack bananas and stick the labels on," said one woman, who has always lived among the banana plantations in Martinique, a few steps from the warehouse where she worked.

5 questions about chlordecone pesticide use in French Antilles

Every day she handled bananas treated with chlordecone by the hundreds, she told RFI.

"My fingers swelled up, my fingers and thumbs became deformed. It was after the occupational doctor came and I showed him my hands. He told me I couldn’t continue working."

She continued: "And then one day, when I was going shopping with my children, I said to my daughter 'I can’t see anything at all'. And the doctor said I needed immediate surgery."

An emergency operation prevented the damage from spreading to her brain, but she lost her sight. Today, she is demanding accountability from those responsible and asking for further treatment.

"I want to get my eyes back and for justice to know that it was the chlordecone that did this to me," she said.

Thousands protest in Martinique against 'insecticide impunity' in chlordecone case

Workers say no one spoke to them about the dangers of chlordecone.

Another woman remembers her years working in the banana plantations. She says that workers were given a bucket to spread fertiliser and pesticides by hand, without any protection or explanation.

"One day, I arrived in the middle of the fields, and I felt something was really wrong. Dizziness, weakness, trembling. And I collapsed with the bucket," she recalled.

"They need to admit that they poisoned us. When I call all my friends, all my aunts, all my cousins, everyone is dying because of that poison they used. I'm asking for justice."

Paris court dismisses probe into mass poisoning of French West Indies

"I carry all the rage of the people from Martinique, and this rage is directed at the state and at the poisoners... because they did this intentionally, they already knew," said Yvan Sérénus, president of the group of agricultural workers poisoned by pesticides.

Chlordecone has been classified as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization since 1979 and was banned in the United States in 1977.

In the French Caribbean, it continued to be used until 1993, despite being officially banned in 1990 in mainland France.

Today, more than 90 percent of the adult population in Guadeloupe and Martinique has been contaminated by chlordecone, according to France's public health body.

This report was adapted from RFI's podcast Reportage France, produced by Jeanne Richard.

French mining group digs in as Gabon tightens grip on manganese exports

French mining group Eramet has pledged to safeguard over 10,000 jobs in Gabon as Libreville pushes forward with a plan to ban raw manganese exports from 2029.


Issued on: 02/06/2025  RFI

A worker at the COMILOG manganese mine in Gabon in April 2024. 

© Yves-Laurent Goma / RFI


The move, led by President Brice Oligui Nguema, was announced at the weekend as part of a broader national strategy to industrialise Gabon’s economy and add more value to its abundant natural resources.

Eramet, the main shareholder in Comilog – Gabon’s leading manganese mining firm – said it has acknowledged the government’s decision and will continue to engage with officials “in a spirit of constructive partnership and mutual respect”.

The French firm also committed to preserving the 10,460 local jobs sustained by Comilog and its transport arm, Setrag.

The manganese mine of Comilog, a company of the Eramet group in Moanda, Gabon. eramet.fr

Gabon military leader Oligui Nguema elected president by huge margin

'Upskilling' Gabon's workforce

President Oligui, who took power following a 2023 coup and was elected in April 2025 with nearly 95 percent of the vote, is seeking to reshape Gabon’s economic model.

Manganese – a key ingredient in steelmaking and increasingly in electric vehicle batteries – is one of Gabon’s top export earners alongside oil and timber.

The export ban on unprocessed manganese, which will take effect from 1 January 2029, is designed to encourage local processing, upskill the workforce, and boost tax revenues.

“Gabon is giving the mining sector three years to prepare,” the government said in a statement on Saturday, outlining plans to support the transition with a new public-private investment fund.

Push for domestic refining

The policy shift echoes a growing trend across Africa, with countries such as Guinea, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania also moving to retain more value from their mineral wealth by restricting raw material exports and encouraging domestic refining and processing.

Eramet – which operates the world’s largest manganese mine at Moanda – processes some ore locally in Gabon but still relies heavily on exports to international markets including China, Europe, and the United States.

The company had temporarily suspended operations in Gabon during the 2023 coup and scaled back production targets in 2024 amid market headwinds.

What's at stake for French businesses after the coup in Gabon?
Stock market turbulence

Shares in Eramet fell by over five percent in Paris on Monday following news of the ban, before recovering slightly to trade 4 percent lower by mid-morning.

Analysts say the impact of the export restrictions will depend on how quickly Gabon and its partners can develop local processing capacity.

Despite its natural wealth, around one-third of Gabon’s 2.3 million people live in poverty.

The government hopes that keeping more of the value chain within the country will change that.

While the path ahead presents challenges, there are signs of optimism, as Eramet has already shown its willingness to adapt in Indonesia, where it recently signed a memorandum of understanding to invest in local nickel processing – a similar transition, after Jakarta banned raw nickel exports.

Greenpeace steals Macron wax figure from Paris museum for anti-Russia protest

Greenpeace activists on Monday afternoon stole a wax figure of French President Emmanuel Macron from the Grévin wax museum in Paris museum and placed it in front of the Russian embassy as part of a pro-Ukraine protest.


Issued on: 02/06/2025 - RFI

Greenpeace activists install a wax statue of French President Emmanuel Macron borrowed from the Grevin Museum without permission, to denounce what they call France's continued commercials ties with Russia despite the war in Ukraine, in front of the Russian Embassy in Paris, France, 2 June, 2025. REUTERS - Benoit Tessier

According to a police source, two women and a man entered the Grévin Museum posing as tourists and, once inside, changed their clothes to pass for workers.

The activists slipped out through an emergency exit with the 40,000-euro-statue, which they had covered with a blanket.

The Greenpeace activists then placed the figure in front of the Russian embassy in a stunt meant to urge France to stop gas and fertiliser imports from Russia.

"For us, France is playing a double game," said Jean-Francois Julliard, head of Greenpeace France.

"Emmanuel Macron embodies this double discourse: he supports Ukraine but encourages French companies to continue trading with Russia."

Greenpeace report reveals France’s double standards in dealing with Russia

Julliard said Greenpeace targeted Macron because he had a particular responsibility, adding that the French president "should be the first" among European leaders to end trade contracts with Russia.

France has been one of the most vocal supporters of Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Macron has taken the lead in seeking to forge a coordinated European response to defending Ukraine, after US President Donald Trump shocked the world by directly negotiating with Russia.
Ceasefire talks

In the latest developments in the conflict, Russia proposed a partial ceasefire of "two to three days" at talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Monday, Moscow's top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said.

"We have proposed a specific ceasefire for two to three days in certain areas of the front line," Medinsky said, "so that commanders can collect the bodies of their soldiers." Ukraine is pushing for a full and unconditional ceasefire.

Ukraine on Monday proposed to hold a next round of talks with Russia before the end of June.

Russia and Ukraine hold first peace talks since 2022

"We propose to the Russian side to hold a meeting by the end of this month, from 20th to 30th of June," Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said after talks, adding that the delegations should try to agree a meeting between presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday also reiterated his willingness to host a meeting between the American, Russian and Ukrainian leaders in an effort to end the war in Ukraine.

"My greatest wish for both sides is to bring both (Russia's) Vladimir Putin and (Ukraine's Volodymyr) Zelensky together in Istanbul or Ankara, and even to bring (US President) Mr (Donald) Trump to their side, if they accept," he said, adding that Turkey would "take steps" to facilitate such a meeting.

(with AFP)

Nearly 270,000 pilgrims without permits stopped from entering Mecca

Copyright Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP

By Rory Elliott Armstrong with AP
Published on 01/06/2025 - 

Authorities in Saudi Arabia are cracking down on illegal journeys to Mecca for the annual Hajj pilgrimage after a larger number of deaths last year due to extreme summer heat. They have thus far denied entry to 269,678 Muslims without Hajj permits.

Saudi Arabia has stopped nearly 269,678 pilgrims without authorisation from entering Mecca during the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

The government blames overcrowding at the Hajj on participants without permits. It also says they made up large numbers of the 1,300 people who died in last year’s searing summer heat.

The number of expulsions highlights the scale of unauthorised pilgrimages, as well as the demand to perform the Hajj. There are currently an estimated 1.4 million Muslims in Mecca, with more expected to arrive in the coming days.

There are fines of up to $5,000 (€4,400) and other punitive measures, like deportation, for anyone performing the Hajj without a permit. The policy includes citizens and those with Saudi residency.

Muslim pilgrims use umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun as they arrive to cast stones at pillars in the symbolic stoning of the devil.Rafiq Maqbool/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved

At a press conference in Mecca, officials said they had stopped 269,678 people without permits from entering. Only permit holders are allowed to perform the pilgrimage, even if they live in the city year-round.

Officials have also imposed penalties on more than 23,000 Saudi residents for violating Hajj regulations and revoked the licenses of 400 Hajj companies.

Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Omari told the media: “The pilgrim is in our sight, and anyone who disobeys is in our hands.”

The Hajj is the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and involves a series of religious rituals. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to do it.

Related 

Pilgrims progress: What to know about Hajj as millions of Muslims arrive in Mecca

Hundreds of Hajj pilgrims reported dead amid lethal heatwave

But it has been marred in recent years by concerns about extreme temperatures, with pilgrims performing their rituals outdoors in peak daylight hours.

Historically, deaths are not uncommon at the Hajj, which has seen at times over 2 million people travel to Saudi Arabia for a five-day pilgrimage. It has also seen fatal stampedes and other accidents.

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence said Sunday that drones were being used for the first time at the Hajj. These can be used for surveillance and monitoring, as well as extinguishing fires.

How the Liverpool car-ramming sparked a wave of online misinformation


Copyright AP Photo

By Mared Gwyn Jones
Published on 02/06/2025 - 9

False claims about the identity of the driver swirled online despite Merseyside Police swiftly disclosing the suspect's ethnicity and nationality in a bid to stamp out speculation.

A week after a car ploughed into crowds during a Liverpool FC victory parade, turning scenes of joy into horror, UK police have named the suspect as Paul Doyle.

Doyle, who comes from the Liverpool area, has been charged with intentionally causing grievous bodily harm and six other serious counts.

Almost 80 people – aged between nine and 78 – were injured in the incident last Monday, with at least 50 of them treated in hospitals.

The city had been celebrating Liverpool’s 20th Premier League title when the driver ploughed into fans. Police believe he had tailed an ambulance in order to pass road blocks onto Water Street, which was closed for the victory parade.

Merseyside Police swiftly disclosed the suspect's nationality and ethnicity hours after the attack, describing him as a 53-year-old white, British man from the Liverpool area. Shortly afterwards, they ruled out terrorism as the motive of the attack and said they believed the man acted alone.

Liverpool players celebrate with the trophy on an open-top bus during the Liverpool FC Premier League victory parade in Liverpool, 26 May, 2025AP Photo

Experts praised the police's intervention to quickly fill the "information void."

An attack in the English town of Southport last July – in which a 17-year-old murdered three young girls – triggered the wild spread of disinformation about the suspect's identity, culminating in violent street riots.

Experts say police acted swiftly last week amid the Liverpool car ramming incident in a bid to stamp out speculation and avoid any unrest.

Yet, despite the police's swift action, speculation and false claims about the suspect still spread rapidly on social media in the hours after the crash.
No, this is not the suspect

Social media posts shared later on Monday evening, after police revealed a 53-year-old had been detained, claim to show a screenshot of the "real" driver of the Ford Galaxy car that had rammed into the crowd.

A post shared at 21:46 local time on Monday reads: "The initial reports said he was 53 years old and white. Those reports appear to be wrong. This is the driver from the van. Young, and definitely not white. Coverup already running."

The same claim was replicated in posts across X, Facebook and Instagram, falsely claiming the police were hiding the real identity of the driver.

The claim is false and Merseyside police have confirmed to Euroverify that the man in the photo isn't the suspect.
False claims about the Liverpool crash spread onlineEuronews 2025

Several posts relaying the false claim remain on X, the Elon Musk-owned social media platform, without any Community Notes to alert users that the information is untrue.

We traced the screenshot of the man to a TikTok video shared from the Liverpool parade earlier that same evening.

The man can be seen joking around, entering the police car and wearing a policeman's hat. TikTok users point out in the comments on the video that he's being falsely signalled as the driver in other social media posts.

According to Euroverify's analysis, this TikTok video was taken on a location on James Street in Liverpool city centre, which was closed for the Liverpool FC parade, according to information provided by the club, suggesting it was taken during the celebrations on 26 May.
Man struggling with police is not the suspect


Another video shared widely online shows a man struggling with police on the ground at the scene of the incident.

This man is falsely described as the "53-year-old white, British man" detained by police, with social media users claiming he was not the driver of the vehicle.

"Apparently the guy on the floor is the 53-year-old white man who was also arrested, NOT the driver!" one Facebook post claims.
False claims about the Liverpool crash spread onlineEuronews 2025

We identified the location of the scene as Water Street in Liverpool's city centre, where the crash happened. The images are consistent with corroborated images of the scene of the crash.

But the claim is false: Merseyside Police confirmed to Reuters that the man pictured in this video is not the suspect detained.

Euroverify detected further uncorroborated claims about the suspect, including several posts alleging he is a member of the UK police force and that a cover up is underway to conceal his identity.

The suspect has since been identified as a former Royal Marine, who is a father of three and a local businessman.