The Duran Podcast - Macron and Starmer will SAVE EUROPE from Russia

Episode Date: July 12, 2025

Macron and Starmer will SAVE EUROPE from Russia

All right, Alexander, let's talk about Macron's recent trip to the United Kingdom. He met with Stomer. The red carpet was rolled out for the Macron's. And Macron, he talked about the special relationship that France has with the UK and how it is going to be France and the UK that are going to save Europe. Together, they're going to take on Russia as well. And the UK back in the European Union, Macron pretty much said it. He's very happy that the UK is now engaging once again with the EU.

And this is a welcome development. Anyway, your thoughts on Macron's visit to the UK? Yeah, first of all, I mean, this is an enormous amount of pomp and circumstances. As I said, the British rolled out the red carpet. He has to meet the king. He addressed the British Parliament in Westminster Hall, medieval hall, built after the Norman conquest, all of that, all of the ceremonies, the pomp, the circumstance and all of those things. But you're absolutely correct. I mean, the fundamental point about this, the objective

behind this visit, both from Macron's side, but also from the Starmer side, is to show to the world, the Britain is in effect back in Europe, that it's once again teeming up with France. Macro, as we know, is the ultimate Europeanist. I mean, he always talks about Europe is the solution to every problem. His answer to every problem is more Europe. That's what he always says. And here we have Stama and what is clearly a remaining government, closing up as much as it can to Macron. That is the ultimate underlying story about this visit. If you actually drill

down, however, and look at the substance of what they agreed, this really isn't very much. I mean, both France and Britain are economically in very bad shape. Both are very similar economic problems, by the way. Both are rapidly, well, both have already heavily deindustrialized. They are deindustrializing faster again. I did a study on the British economy a few about a week ago, and I was surprised to see how much a British industry was left of it is now steadily closing. Apparently, and I don't have the same details, but the same is true in France. There's deep political malaise in both countries. Both countries are experiencing a massive budgetary crisis.

Both countries have demographic problems, to say it simply. And, I mean, the birth rate in both countries has collapsed. There are now more people, apparently, in France, born in 1946, than were born last year. just to give a sense of what that means. And I gather it's not better, much better in Britain. Both countries have immigration issues. And by the way, this is a big and very difficult topic between the two because people come to France and then they take boats and they go to the UK

and the British are unhappy because the French don't stop them. And Macron basically wasn't very healthy. At least that was my impression on that issue. He said, this is your own problem. You're making your country too attractive for that kind of thing. Both countries, however, remain utterly committed to Project Ukraine. Both countries are strongly hostile to Russia in every form and manifestation that you can be. But as I said, in terms of actual real agreements, substantive agreements, to take to benefit their respective people, they didn't really agree to very much. It's all foreign policy. It's all to some extent defense policy that their nuclear arsenals, such as they are, will operate alongside each other. Both countries, militaries, are in very, very cool shape.

And by the way, that extends to their nuclear weapons capabilities as well. Just saying that in parentheses. But again, you got the sense, I got the sense, Macron and Stama, two political politicians at the end of their periods of leadership of their respective countries. I'm not saying it's the end of their careers, by the way. They will no doubt each find their way into stellar institutions where they will get, you know, telephone number salaries. But in terms of their leaderships, in both cases now, is visibly coming to an end.

end, they've got no new ideas, no new plans, nothing about economics, nothing about how to revive industries, nothing about trade or anything of that kind. But Europe, Britain is back in Europe. It's essentially an associate member of the EU or a partner member of the EU from this point on. Sooner or later, it will become a full member of the EU. Again, when it can, and if there is still the EU for it to join, but clearly that's the direction of travel at the moment. And as I said, foreign policy, but no real plan about how to run foreign policy. And by the way, who cares about what the British and the French thing, apart from themselves anyway?

I mean, outside the collective West and to some extent the European theatre, these two countries are becoming marginal anywhere. Yeah, so it's going to be Project Ukraine and for Macron and Stammer and for Stommer, it will be just to continue the UK's path back into the European Union for whatever time remains of his prime ministership, right? That's going to be what he's going to focus on

over the next six months to one year. Project Ukraine getting money to Zelensky and bringing the UK closer into the European Union. Indeed, so. And can I just... That's his policy. Indeed. Not only is it his policy, but the two parts of it actually merge into one.

Because Macron is talking about let's be less dependent on China, let's be less dependent on the US, let's find a European solution to our foreign policy and security issues. Stama agrees with him. So whilst the Ukraine war continues, Britain fully involved with the EU in supporting Ukraine. If Ukraine goes down, Britain fully involved with the EU in developing the supposed defence and security relationship to address this problem of supposedly Russia. So one way or the other, your solution to the problem, be it support for Ukraine or resist Russia, if it fails, is more Europe, more EU. What Macron is always preaching and what Stama himself, or rather the people who back Stama

and who control him or want and believe. Yeah, that's why it's so important for the UK to keep the conflict. Ukraine going. Absolutely. Even if Ukraine gets smashed, which it is getting smashed, it's important to keep it going because, like you said, if you can keep the project Ukraine going, then the UK integrates more with the European Union. And if Ukraine gets smashed, well, then Russia is the big enemy that the UK has to prepare

for. And the only way the UK can take on the big enemy is if they merge with the European Union, right? So that's why this whole thing is so important. That's the story there. That's the fantasy there. Peddling. I mean, it is a complete fantasy, but I mean, it is the one that they're peddling. Yes.

There's a lot of money involved in all of this as well. And it moves, military. It moves Britain ever closer back into the EU. Right. So the defense minister of France, Le Carnieu, he said that France has a red line when it comes to Project Ukraine. He said that red line is that Ukraine must not be demilitarized. So Russia cannot have Ukraine, not inter-NATO, and also not have military capabilities.

He said that France will not allow this. So he said the red line for France when it comes to Project Ukraine is that Ukraine will not be demilitarized. That's their red line. Of course, we know what the goals of Russia's special military operation are, which is demilitarization. That's like the number one goal of the Russian SMO. So we have a, obviously we have a problem there with France and Russia. And Mertz, he gave a speech the other day, and he said that all diplomacy with Russia has been exhausted.

And that Germany, however, will continue to send weapons to approach Ukraine. It will continue to support Ukraine. They will continue to push Ukraine to fight Russia. There is no more diplomacy with Russia. In other words, Germany is going all in to continue the conflict. with Russia, or at least to use Ukraine until there's nothing left to continue to fight Russia. That's what was basically, Murch's his statement. So my takeaway from this when I'm looking at France, when I'm looking at Mertz in Germany,

and when I look at the UK and just the EU in general, with the exception of Orban and at Fidzell, they're all in with continuing to fight Russia using Ukraine to fight Russia until there's nothing left. Absolutely. And until there's nothing left, and then they'll continue to fight Russia beyond that, and that will be there. That is their only plan now. I mean, it is an indefinite conflict with Russia. Even Pietro Pavl, Czech president, who is no friend of Russia's at all. In fact, he's often, you know, spoken in very near terms about Russia. Even he is now becoming dismayed about this. He said, you. you know, indefinite conflict with Russia.

How does that work? But that's, as you absolutely rightly say, that's the plan. That is the plan now. And if you are talking about, well, first of all, let's just quickly talk about France. I mean, the French can draw whatever red lines they want in Ukraine, but they can't enforce them. France cannot take on Russia.

Everybody knows this. So it's absolutely empty talk. They can't even send troops to Ukraine. unless they get a American backstop. The United States so far is not giving a backstop. And I don't believe that's going to change, by the way, in spite of the fact that some people, no doubt, would want it to in the United States itself. But I don't think the United States has any intention of getting into a military conflict with Russia in Ukraine.

So he can draw whatever lines on the map he chooses. He can talk about the fact that scalp production, that stormshadow production, in France is resuming after 15 years. None of this is going to impress the Russians. The Russians have their red lines, which the West has repeatedly crossed over Ukraine, and it's the Russians who can enforce them. The French and the British, and by the way, the Germans, cannot. Their red lines are in effect invisible. Now, about Germany, one thing is because absolutely clear to me is that Mertz has only one policy. Confront Russia. Everything else is simply falling away. Now, there was an extraordinary

debate between himself and Alice Vidal, who is now emerging as in effect the leader of the IFD. And she completely took him apart. She said that he's the paper chancellor in the sense that he makes all these, he made all of those promises before the election about what he would do in order to, you know, for the German people and what he won the election on and that he's gone back on all of those promises and he's going to go on going back on more and more of these promises. And she's absolutely right. And Mertz had no real answer to it, by the way. She said that what credibility does Mertz have? Mertz has no credibility according to her on any promises that he makes to the German people. And as to that,

basically, she's right. But for Mertz, this isn't important anymore because he is single-mindedly focused on one thing, to a degree that Olaf Schultz, for example, wasn't, which She's confronting Russia. If the German economy's buckles and breaks, if more and more of German industry starts to close down, provided he can keep this crusade against Russia going, which, as I said, has that quality of crusade about it, then that is really what matters for him. Now, there are some murmurs of doubt about this from some of the elements. of his coalition, some people in the SPD are becoming worried about it. Others in the

CDU are becoming worried about it. But Mertz at the moment is very much in control. He is the person who leads the ascendant faction within the CDU, and I don't expect that to change. So this is his policy and this is Germany's policy from now. Everything else, everything else now, is subordinate to that imperative, which is to confront Russia. The Ukraine conflict is becoming the third Russian-German war. So how does that work confronting Russia-Germany? Because there is some dissent, but I don't see a whole lot of dissent in Germany in the political class. I mean, I don't know how it is among the citizens of Germany if they're signed up to an eventual confrontation with Russia.

Russia, but Mertz is signaling by 2030, by 2035. Germany must be in some sort of a conflict with the Russian Federation. The UK is encouraging Germany to do this. France is encouraging the EU, the United States. Trump is encouraging Germany to do this. When Trump was asked about this, when Mertz was visiting him at the White House a couple of weeks ago, Trump kind of laughed it off. It seems everyone has forgotten World War II.

Everyone's forgotten all of that. They're encouraging Germany to keep going, to keep revving things up for an eventual confrontation with Russia. How does that work? But it doesn't. It doesn't. I mean, what does Russia do as well? Can you address that as well to close out the video? What is Russia thinking about all of this? I mean, they're hearing this, they're seeing this. What moves are they making?

They are going to build up their armed forces. They're going to keep a very big distance from Germany for the moment for the time being. I think forever. I mean, let us say that in far, and I, by the way, I agree, I don't think it's going to change in Germany any time soon. I mean, there are murmurs of dissent within the SPD and the CDU, but they are nowhere close to achieving critical mass, and I don't believe they will. And Alice Vidal is absolutely right. And the IFDA will probably grow in strength still further as the economic crisis in Germany deepens. And there are people in Delinkich who are saying the same, and of course the BSW is still there, even if it didn't get into the Bundestag. But the point is that given the fact that Germany is in a kind of war, it makes it much easier to start banning these parties. And that's what's going to happen. And the media in Germany is completely signed up for this agenda. So that also heavily isolates anybody who speaks out against it.

So I don't think it's going to change. So I think the Russians are going to look at that. And they're going to say to themselves, look, even if there's a political revolution in Germany and a completely new government, completely changes the policy, takes over it. Let's say it's Ali's Vidal herself, just to say that. Unlikely, but let's assume that happens. How can we be sure that things won't revert back to the way they are now with Mouts and with Harbeck and Beirbock and all of those?

We made all those huge efforts in the 60s and 70s and 80s to build up a strong relation with Germany. We consented to unification, East Germany's unification with West Germany. We did all of those things. We were given all kinds of assurances. They never really worked. The Germans have made it obvious that they absolutely dislike us. We are starting to see really alarming things coming out of Germany.

I'm not going to go into the details of it, but the German embassy in Moscow actually published a map of Eastern Europe after the Second World War. And it showed flags which were sort of adjusted Soviet forces. flags, but I mean, they gave the impression that the Soviet regime was the same as the German regime of that period, and if anything even worse, which is obviously unacceptable to the Russians. They complained about it to the embassy and the map was taken down. But the Russians are seeing all of this, and they're going to say, look, there's no conceivable way.

We're going back into a long-term relationship with Germany again. Clearly, now that the wartime generation is passing away, all of the ultimate deep-seated hostility to us in Germany is re-emerging. So we must be militarily ready for a potential challenge from Germany and from the West all over again. And in the meantime, we have to turn our backs on Europe because this is a hopeless case. We're going to forge our relations with the Bricks, with China, with India, with those kind of countries. We'll stop thinking of ourselves as part of Europe. Okay. Do the Bricks go up against Collective West?

Eventually, inevitably. Did the Bricks have Russia's back? Does China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Iran, all the countries of Bricks, do they have Russia's back as the West pushes towards this conflict? As Germany pushes towards this conflict? inevitably so, because if we look at the situation with Russia, ultimately, and this is something that all of these countries can see, Russia is the immediate adversary because it is close to Europe, but ultimately the Europeans feel the same way about all of the others as well. We go back to that conversation that Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, had with

Kaya Kallas, in which he said to Kallas, or at least the reports of that he said to Kallis, and they were certainly, you know, roughly true that absolutely China does not want Russia to lose in Ukraine. In fact, it's going to make sure that it doesn't lose in Ukraine because we know perfectly well that after Russia we are next. All right, we will end the video there. The durand.locals.com. We are on Rumble and X and Telegram.

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