PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron on Monday warned that the policies of his far-right and hard-left opponents could lead to “civil war,” as France prepared for its most divisive election in decades.
French politics were plunged into turmoil by Macron calling snap legislative elections after his centrist party was trounced by the far-right National Rally (RN) in a European vote earlier this month.
Weekend polls suggested the RN would win 35-36 percent in the first round on Sunday, ahead of a left-wing alliance on 27-29.5 percent and Macron’s centrists in third on 19.5-22 percent.
A second round of voting will follow on July 7 in constituencies where no candidate takes more than 50 percent in the first round.
Speaking on the podcast “Generation Do It Yourself,” Macron, 46, denounced both the RN as well as the hard-left France Unbowed party.
He said the far-right “divides and pushes toward civil war,” while the hard-left France Unbowed party, which is part of the New Popular Front alliance, proposes “a form of communitarianism,” adding that “civil war follows on from that, too.”
Earlier Monday, French far-right leader Jordan Bardella said his RN party was ready to govern as he pledged to curb immigration and tackle cost-of-living issues.
“In three words: we are ready,” Bardella, the RN’s 28-year-old president told a news conference as he unveiled his party’s program.
Bardella, credited with helping the RN clean up its extremist image, has urged voters to give the euroskeptic party an outright majority to allow it to implement its anti-immigration, law-and-order program.
“Seven long years of Macronism has weakened the country,” he said, vowing to boost purchasing power, “restore order” and change the law to make it easier to deport foreigners convicted of crimes.
He reiterated plans to tighten borders and make it harder for children born in France to foreign parents to gain citizenship.
Bardella added that the RN would focus on “realistic” measures to curb inflation, primarily by cutting energy taxes.
He also promised a disciplinary “big bang” in schools, including a ban on mobile phones and trialling the introduction of school uniforms, a proposal previously put forward by Macron.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal of Macron’s Renaissance party poured scorn on the RN’s economic program, telling Europe 1 radio the country was “headed straight for disaster” in the event of an RN victory.
On Tuesday, Attal will go head-to-head with Bardella in a TV debate.
On foreign policy, Bardella said the RN opposed sending French troops and long-range missiles to Ukraine — as mooted by Macron — but would continue to provide logistical and material support.
He added that his party, which had close ties to Russia before its invasion of Ukraine, would be “extremely vigilant” in the face of Moscow’s attempts to interfere in French affairs.
Macron insisted that France would continue to support Ukraine over the long term as he met with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
“We will continue to mobilize to respond to Ukraine’s immediate needs,” he said alongside Stoltenberg at the Elysee Palace.
The election is shaping up as a showdown between the RN and the leftist New Popular Front, which is dominated by the hard-left France Unbowed.
Bardella claimed the RN, which mainstream parties have in the past united to block, was now the “patriotic and republican” choice faced with what he alleged was the anti-Semitism of Melenchon’s party.
France Unbowed, which opposes Israel’s war in Gaza and refused to label the October 7 Hamas attacks as “terrorism,” denies the charges of anti-Semitism.
In calling an election in just three weeks Macron hoped to trip up his opponents and catch them unprepared.
But analysts have warned the move could backfire if the deeply unpopular president is forced to share power with a prime minister from an opposing party.
RN powerhouse Marine Le Pen, who is bidding to succeed Macron as president, has called on him to step aside if he loses control of parliament.
Macron has insisted he will not resign before the end of his second term in 2027 but has vowed to heed voters’ concerns.
Speaking on Monday, Macron once again defended his choice to call snap elections.
“It’s very hard. I’m aware of it, and a lot of people are angry with me,” he said on the podcast.
“But I did it because there is nothing greater and fairer in a democracy than trust in the people.”
Macron warns far-right, hard-left policies could lead to ‘civil war’
https://arab.news/my75u
Macron warns far-right, hard-left policies could lead to ‘civil war’
- French politics were plunged into turmoil by Macron calling snap legislative elections after his centrist party was trounced by the far-right National Rally (RN)
Linking Macao to Hong Kong, world’s longest sea bridge grows into travel hotspot
- Spanning 55 km, the bridge cost $20bn and took 9 years to complete
- It recorded over 25m passenger trips so far in 2025
MACAO: Stepping onto a shuttle departing from Hong Kong, passengers are struck by the scale of the bridge, as it carries them toward Macao. Behind them, the land quickly fades, and for the next half hour, only open sea stretches on either side of the bus.
The 55 km-long passage is the world’s longest bridge-tunnel sea-crossing, spanning the waters of the Lingding Channel in the Pearl River Estuary, a key waterway in southern China that flows into the South China Sea.
It connects China’s two special administrative regions — Macao and Hong Kong — and the mainland city of Zhuhai.
When it opened in October 2018, the new link cut travel time by roughly 70 percent. Today, it is not only a convenient route but also a growing tourist attraction.
“It is really exciting, especially seeing the vast stretch of sea from inside the bus as it moved across the bridge. At first, I didn’t expect it to be that long, but the ride felt comfortable and smooth. Seeing the sea on both sides felt calm and stunning at the same time,” said Fitrinaz, a young public relations consultant from Indonesia, who was visiting Macao for the first time.
“What moved me the most was the scenery. The sea was incredibly wide and looked peaceful from above. I loved seeing the ships and boats passing beneath the bridge, which made the view feel more alive.”
Before the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, her journey would take up to four hours by land.
“I only found out later that this is actually the longest sea bridge in the world, and it felt incredible to cross it in person,” Fitrinaz told Arab News.
“This trip made me even more amazed at how Macao and Hong Kong are connected through such massive infrastructure. For me, it became one of the most memorable experiences during my visit to Macao.”
Built by a consortium of Chinese state-owned construction companies, the $20 billion bridge took nine years to complete and was designed to withstand earthquakes and typhoons. According to HZMB Authority data, over 420,000 tons of steel went into the project, which is enough to make nearly 60 Eiffel Towers.
Around 30 km of the bridge stretches across the waters of the Pearl River Delta. A 6.7 km section in the middle dips into an undersea tunnel, running between two artificial islands, to allow ships to pass.
The rest of the structure consists of link roads, viaducts, and land tunnels that connect Zhuhai, Hong Kong, and Macao to the main bridge.
Xinhua, China’s official state news agency, reported in late October that the HZMB had handled more than 93.34 million passenger trips in total, including 25 million so far in 2025. More and more of them are international tourists.
Budy Santoso, a celebrity photographer from Jakarta, was visiting the region for the first time. Unsure of what to expect in Macao, he initially worried about navigating the entry and the language barrier.
“Thankfully, it turned out not to be as difficult as I imagined … Macao seems to be developing itself into a tourist destination. From the bridge, you can already see colorful lights as evening approaches,” he said.
“I was greeted by a beautiful city as I crossed that long bridge. I entered a modern city with all its expensive facilities.”
