PARIS: The French army has prevented 14 Ukrainian members of the Foreign Legion from traveling east with the possible intention of joining the fighting in their homeland, their commander said Wednesday.
Nine in the group were on leave but not authorized to travel abroad when they were stopped Tuesday in Paris. The others were absent without leave or considered missing, Legion commander Alain Lardet told AFP.
They were arrested on a coach headed for Poland neighboring Ukraine, which has been battling a Russian invasion for the past week.
The Foreign Legion, an elite corps comprising around 9,500 soldiers, is the only French army unit in which foreign nationals can enlist.
They qualify for French nationality after several years of service, or sooner if they distinguish themselves in battle.
It was not immediately clear whether the 14 were planning to join the fighting in Ukraine, or simply help their families who had fled Ukraine, the military command said. No weapons or other unauthorized equipment was found on them.
But some of the civilian passengers on the bus were carrying gear that led the authorities to believe that they were planning to join the fighting.
The Foreign Legion has reported 25 desertions by Ukrainian-born soldiers, with around a dozen of them believed to be planning to help the fight against the Russian army.
The Legion has “cut them loose,” Lardet said. “They are fighting for a cause that it is not my role to judge.”
The Foreign Legion counts 710 soldiers of Ukrainian origin of whom 210 have been naturalized, and 450 Russian-born troops.
While there has been “no tension between the communities” since Russia invaded its neighbor, Ukrainians in the Foreign Legion have been “very worried for their families,” Lardet said.
They can apply for an exceptional two-week leave to travel to one of Ukraine’s neighboring countries to assist their families fleeing the war, but are not authorized to cross into Ukraine itself, he said.
On Tuesday, 25 such permits were granted, with several more expected Wednesday, but none of the Ukrainians arrested on Tuesday were in possession of such a document.
The nine who had regular leave for France only are unlikely to be punished because they had not been told properly that there was now a legal way to join their families, the commander said.
But the five others will be ordered into military detention for an unspecified number of days, having committed “a serious violation of the Legion members’ code of honor,” he said.
France stops foreign legionnaires heading toward Ukraine
https://arab.news/pamvh
France stops foreign legionnaires heading toward Ukraine
- Nine in the group, of 14, were on leave but not authorized to travel abroad when they were stopped in Paris — the others were absent without leave or considered missing
- The Foreign Legion has reported 25 desertions by Ukrainian-born soldiers, with around a dozen of them believed to be planning to help the fight against the Russian army
Filipinos celebrate Christmas on a budget amid soaring costs
- Filipinos are choosing modest Christmas gifts, scaling down year-end festivities
- Millions look to content creators for tips on how to spend less for Christmas dinner
MANILA: As the predominantly Catholic Philippines celebrates one of its most important annual holidays on Thursday, many Filipinos have been forced to rethink their traditional Christmas celebrations amid soaring prices.
This year, street food vendor Gemma Gracia is among those who will keep her business open during the holidays.
“As a vendor, I’ve felt the prices go up since I also still buy at the market for our needs and for our selling needs,” she told Arab News.
But as celebrating Christmas was important for her family, the 39-year-old has allocated 1,000 Philippine pesos ($17) for a family meal out at Jollibee, the Philippines’ biggest fast-food chain restaurant.
“When you don’t have food to share on the table on this holiday, it’s a sad day. That’s why we make sure that we always have something on the table each year,” she said.
For many Filipinos, the time-honored traditions of Noche Buena, or Christmas Eve, is the most awaited part of this holiday season, when dinner tables across the country are filled with a hearty selection of traditional dishes.
Noche Buena, which is Spanish for “the good night,” is the dinner that follows the last evening mass of the season, known as misa de gallo or simbang gabi.
In the Philippines, such festive staples include meaty Filipino-style spaghetti and hamonado, the local version of a Christmas ham that usually serves as the centerpiece of Christmas dinner tables.
But the pinch from rising prices has affected Filipino shoppers in recent years, forcing them to adjust according to their budget.
Although the country’s central bank said inflation had eased to 1.5 percent in November, many say the statistics do not reflect on-the-ground realities, where people reel from rising retail prices, shrinking portions and diminishing purchasing power of the peso.
Allan Manansala, a 48-year-old construction worker in Manila, told Arab News that he is expecting to spend 5,000 pesos for his family of five in 2025, nearly a third of his monthly wage and about a fifth higher than what he spent in previous years.
“I might have to skip giving my children gifts this year because of the costs,” he said.
To get around the high costs, Manansala is skipping the Noche Buena festivities altogether and has instead decided to splurge on New Year’s Eve dinner, which is also a significant occasion in the Philippines.
Others, like Allan Melenio, look for different ways to save up.
“Our relative owns a meat shop, so we’re able to save on that since the prices are quite low,” he told Arab News. “But everywhere else, a piece of meat can cost so much.”
While the economy has forced Filipinos to make smarter choices and get creative, content creators are among those offering ideas to address consumers’ woes, teaching people how to stretch their meager budgets for the holidays.
One such tip came from Ninong Ry, a food content creator who challenged himself to prepare an eight-dish Noche Buena dinner with a budget of 1,500 pesos. Posted about two weeks before Christmas, his one-hour YouTube video has since garnered more than 1.4 million views.
The video was also a response to comments from Philippine Trade Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque, who suggested last month that 500 pesos was enough for a family of four to host a modest Christmas Eve dinner, sparking anger among Filipinos who said she was out of touch with reality.
Jelmark Toqueb, who works as a plumber in Manila, said that the 500-peso budget was unrealistic.
“It is clearly not enough. (Five hundred pesos) is not even enough for you to cook spaghetti with meat. Maybe just the noodles and the sauce,” he told Arab News.
For 32-year-old Toqueb and his wife, who works as a public school teacher, the holiday season remains a cherished occasion to spend quality time with the family. As their Christmas tradition involves gift-giving, he chose more modest presents this year to circumvent the high costs.
“The prices now are different even from last year, (when they were) already high,” Toqueb said. “Even if the gift is simple, it’s fine. It’s the thought that counts.”
