Refractory Gauls, or the French politics thread

[viper37]

'Using the violent video game strawman, 5 or 6 hours a day killing people, leading to a predory logic conditions people', or so he claims.
Macron has a history of blaming video games; a previous attempt was the one using video games as a cause for suburban (banlieue) rioting.

If a youth spend 5 or 6 hours every day in front of a screen, no matter what he/she does, there might lie the problem.

Adults may need to work, 11-12 years old aren't supposed to be on their tablets for this long, or playing Roblox.

Edit: tablets

[Valmy]

Adults may need to work, 11-12 years old aren't supposed to be on their tables for this long, or playing Roblox.

My daughter spends hours a day making the most bizarre surreal videos on her tablet in Roblox every day. I swear to God if this was the 1960s these would be considered pychodelic modern art. I don't know man. I am just happy she is out there making weird shit and being creative. Also in my experience kids move on from tablets and Roblox well before age 11. That shit is for little kids.

I will leave the pearl clutching for others. OH MY GOD!!! MY CHILD IS DOING THINGS COMPLETLY TYPICAL FOR PEOPLE HER AGE!!!111

The pattern seems to always be: kids do a thing. A few kids turn out bad. So therefore the things that all the kids are doing must be responsible...yeah that makes sense. Was there some generation in the past where none of the kids turned out bad?

Having said that Roblox fucking sucks and the company running it is evil so I wont miss it when my daughter ourgrows it.

[Tamas]

I am with you, Valmy. Computer games, RPGs... Our generation had this same shit going on.

Before ours it was rock music and long hair.

[viper37]

Adults may need to work, 11-12 years old aren't supposed to be on their tables for this long, or playing Roblox.

My daughter spends hours a day making the most bizarre surreal videos on her tablet in Roblox every day. I swear to God if this was the 1960s these would be considered pychodelic modern art. I don't know man. I am just happy she is out there making weird shit and being creative. Also in my experience kids move on from tablets and Roblox well before age 11. That shit is for little kids.

I will leave the pearl clutching for others. OH MY GOD!!! MY CHILD IS DOING THINGS COMPLETLY TYPICAL FOR PEOPLE HER AGE!!!111

The pattern seems to always be: kids do a thing. A few kids turn out bad. So therefore the things that all the kids are doing must be responsible...yeah that makes sense. Was there some generation in the past where none of the kids turned out bad?

Having said that Roblox fucking sucks and the company running it is evil so I wont miss it when my daughter ourgrows it.

Nephews are 11-12, they're still asking for Roblox gift cards.

Anyway.

The point is not to spend too much time on screens.  There's a place for sports, outdoor activities, even a little chores.

[Jacob]

My daughter spends hours a day making the most bizarre surreal videos on her tablet in Roblox every day. I swear to God if this was the 1960s these would be considered pychodelic modern art. I don't know man. I am just happy she is out there making weird shit and being creative. Also in my experience kids move on from tablets and Roblox well before age 11. That shit is for little kids.

I will leave the pearl clutching for others. OH MY GOD!!! MY CHILD IS DOING THINGS COMPLETLY TYPICAL FOR PEOPLE HER AGE!!!111

The pattern seems to always be: kids do a thing. A few kids turn out bad. So therefore the things that all the kids are doing must be responsible...yeah that makes sense. Was there some generation in the past where none of the kids turned out bad?

Having said that Roblox fucking sucks and the company running it is evil so I wont miss it when my daughter ourgrows it.

The problem with Roblox is not "MY CHILD IS DOING THINGS COMPLETELY TYPICAL FOR THEIR AGE!", it's the deliberate nurturing of gambling addictions and the lousy curation of methods for internet strangers to communicate with children unsupervised.

As Tamas says, it's "nothing we didn't do" - but IMO the equivalent is not "listening to heavy metal" but "hanging out at the 7-11 parking lot every day with random groups of  older strangers, some of whom are very free with illicit substances." Sure, lots of kids in my generation did that, and many of them turned out more or less okay - but some bad things went down on occasion too.

If feel you have your daughter's interaction with Roblox controlled under acceptable parameters, that's great. Maybe she's just doing creative things, not being groomed to desire special currency, and only hanging out with non-problematic people (or even better, has developed enough of a filter for online strangers to handle problematic people well).

Personally, I've worked in free-to-play social and mobile games enough to see how Roblox is built from the ground up around the creation of addiction. I have friends who worked at Roblox for a period of time, and what they've shared has done nothing to allay my concerns - seeing child predators as an opportunity, as  Baszucki put it, is not a random weird comment but something fundamental to the entire operation from my perspective.

I stand by my assessment that Roblox is poison, and I'm keeping my kids far away from it.

[viper37]

I am with you, Valmy. Computer games, RPGs... Our generation had this same shit going on.

Before ours it was rock music and long hair.

I was driving a tractor, a truck, a forklift, picking rocks, gardening potatoes, lawnmowing, paying for my first computer in 4th grade by installing door knobs in an apartment building, getting in trouble with my ATV and the police, typical stuff we all used to do at that age around here, basically.

It's not about killing people, it's about having more than one activity.

[Duque de Bragança]

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2026/03/02/france-to-increase-nuclear-warheads_6751015_7.html

Macron says France to increase nuclear warheads
French President Macron spoke after the launch of US and Israeli attacks against Iran in a campaign that risks destabilizing the Middle East. 'An upgrade of our arsenal is essential,' he said.
Le Monde with AFP
Published today at 4:55 pm (Paris), updated at 5:26 pm
2 min read
 

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech next to the submarine Le Temeraire at the nuclear submarines navy base of Ile Longue, western France, March 2, 2026. YOAN VALAT / AP

President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday, March 2, that France would increase the number of its nuclear warheads and cooperate with eight European countries to help protect the continent as the clock ticks on his presidency. His speech at France's Ile Longue nuclear submarine base came after US and Israeli attacks against Iran in a campaign that risks destabilizing the Middle East.

Macron updated France's nuclear doctrine as Russia's war against Ukraine grinds into a fifth year and NATO allies worry about Washington's wavering commitment to Europe. "We must strengthen our nuclear deterrent in the face of multiple threats, and we must consider our deterrence strategy deep within the European continent, with full respect for our sovereignty," Macron said. He announced "the gradual implementation of what I would call advanced deterrence."
Macron announced a series of concrete measures in a bid to bolster Europe's security as France's allies are concerned that a possible win by the eurosceptic far-right Rassemblement National party of Marine Le Pen in next year's presidential election could undermine cooperation in Europe.
"An upgrade of our arsenal is essential," Macron said. "That's why I ordered an increase in the number of nuclear warheads in our arsenal." The president added however that France would no longer be disclosing details on its nuclear stockpile. France maintains the world's fourth-largest nuclear arsenal, estimated at around 290 warheads. Britain, which is no longer a member of the European Union, is the only other European nuclear power. By contrast, the United States and Russia, the world's two main atomic powers, have thousands of nuclear warheads each.

Since Macron's last speech on nuclear deterrence in 2020, Paris has been in talks with countries including Germany and Poland over how France could use its atomic arsenal to bolster security. On Monday, Macron said eight European countries had agreed to participate in the "advanced" nuclear deterrence scheme proposed by France, including Germany, Britain and Poland.
The countries, also including the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark, will be able to host French "strategic air forces," which will be able to "spread out across the European continent" to "complicate the calculations of our adversaries," he said.

France unveils new defense roadmap to address geopolitical challenges
The scheme could also involve "the conventional participation of allied forces in our nuclear activities," such as recent military exercises in which British forces have been involved, Macron added.
Macron also warned that a widening war between the United States, Israel and Iran risked spilling over to Europe's borders. The conflict, which began on Saturday, "brings and will continue to bring instability and a possible conflagration to our borders, with Iran's nuclear and ballistic capabilities still intact," he said.

Héloïse Fayet of the French Institute of International Relations and Claudia Major of the German Marshall Fund of the United States warned that a common European deterrent would require a level of political integration that seems unrealistic in the near future. Writing in Le Monde, they said Europe should develop "a viable, genuinely European, nuclear strategy, rather than merely replicating the American model." "The first step is to stop outsourcing nuclear strategic thinking to the United States," said Fayet and Major. "The era of strategic complacency is over."


The Ile Longue base is home to France's four ballistic missile submarines: Le Triomphant, Le Temeraire, Le Vigilant and Le Terrible. At least one is permanently at sea to ensure nuclear deterrence.
Le Monde with AFP

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2026/03/02/france-to-increase-nuclear-warheads_6751015_7.html

Voilà !

[Jacob]

Sounds good to me. I hope this line and European cohesion continues after the French election.

[HisMajestyBOB]

The Ile Longue base is home to France's four ballistic missile submarines: Le Triomphant, Le Temeraire, Le Vigilant and Le Terrible.

They couldn't come up with a fourth "T" name? 

[Duque de Bragança]

The Ile Longue base is home to France's four ballistic missile submarines: Le Triomphant, Le Temeraire, Le Vigilant and Le Terrible.

They couldn't come up with a fourth "T" name? 

The newly announced sub is called the Invincible. 

[Sheilbh]

Always very jealous of French (and frankly most European countries') comfort in their own skin as France - I feel like most of Europe does not have the sheer number of angst conversations about what or who we are that we do. So if France ever feels this is a bit cringe, we're all doomed (via BlueSky so all can watch):
https://bsky.app/profile/nhervieu.bsky.social/post/3mg45eduzos2v

Interesting summaries from Mujtaba Rahman (more on the practice) and Bruno Tertrais (more on the theory):

Mujtaba Rahman
@Mij_Europe
A bombshell? Not quite but President Macron went further than expected this afternoon in announcing progress towards a strengthened "European dimension" for France's nuclear deterrent. 1/
He said at least 8 European countries are considering exercises with FR on nuclear "support infrastructure" in the near future. He listed six  of them: German, Poland, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark. The French and British are already engaged in similar cooperation. 2/
In a much flagged speech at France's nuclear submarine base at Ile Longue near Brest, Macron also announced that France intended to increase its stock of nuclear warheads, now just under 300. He refused to give a figure for the increase. 3/
President Macron, standing in front of the "Temeraire", a French nuclear attack sub about to go out on extended  patrol, also announced that France and the UK were studying possible joint development of long-range ballistic missiles. 4/
Macron made it clear there was no question of "sharing" France's deterrent with other EU countries. Decisions on use of nukes would remain purely French. But he said it was time to clarify Fr's long-standing French assertion its "Force de frappe" had a "European dimension" 5/
This would involve, he said. participation by allies in the conventional "support infrastructure" for the French deterrent. It might also mean basing nuclear-capable Fr aircraft in other Eur countries to "complicate the calculations for our enemies". 6/
The speech had been much flagged in advance and is regarded in the Elysée Palace as one of Macron's final big contributions to European and world politics before he leaves office in 14 months' time. 7/
Despite his remarks on French "final control" of the deterrent & despite assertions of a "European dimension" in Fr nuclear doctrine going back to the 1970s, the PR speech will be controversial. He has already been accused by the Far Right of "giving away the deterrent to Bxl" 8/
It was known that Germany, Sweden and Poland were interested in talking to France about the French deterrent – as a second insurance policy rather than a replacement (at this stage) for the US nuclear guarantee. 9/
Macron surprised his audience yesterday by adding Belgium, DK, Greece and Sweden and "possibly others"to this list  and suggesting that some or all might be involved in conventional exercises related to the French deterrent by the end of this year. ENDS

And Tertrais:

Bruno Tertrais
@BrunoTertrais
A short thread on Macron's deterrence speech:
(1/9) The speech delivered today at Île Longue is *the most significant update to French nuclear deterrence policy in thirty years*. In my view, it represents a major step forward, with two important turning points and three omissions.
(2/9) A major step forward: "forward" deterrence with the possibility of deploying strategic forces (including, but perhaps not limited to, Rafale fighter jets) to the east of mainland France as part of a reassurance and/or deterrence maneuver, in partnership with willing countries. The interests of these countries will be taken into account.
(3/9) Two important turning points: (1) the announcement of an increase in the size of the arsenal and the abandonment of the notion of "sufficiency." Perhaps, in part, to anticipate the eventual deployment of French missiles—without sharing the decision to use them—by European aircraft. And to take into account the possibility of a Russian-Chinese alliance.
(4/9) (2) The abandonment, in public discourse, of the concepts of "unacceptable damage" and targeting "centers of power" in favor of a broader and vaguer criterion: the opposing state must not be able to "recover" or "recover" from a French strike.
(5/9) Three omissions: (1) the absence of any technical details regarding capabilities and options available to the head of state for planning, even though our European partners consider this to be an important criterion for our credibility as a protector.
(6/9) (2) The absence of any *explicit* reference to an "Asian" scenario (countering blackmail by a distant country), even though North Korea's military presence in Russia confirms that the security of our continents is linked, and that taking distant countries into account was partly a determining factor in shaping our current deterrent.
(7/9) (3) The absence of the concept of "holistic deterrence," despite it being mentioned by Emmanuel Macron a few weeks ago. A reference would have been welcome—in line with what is now known as "shouldering"—given that Paris is often accused of seeing deterrence as solely nuclear.
(8/9) Clarifications would be useful on the consistency of planning with accepted IHL standards, the format of forces by 2035, and the conditions under which our European partners who would so wish could participate in the nuclear mission.
(9/9) PS: in the meantime, there is no point in asking "who wrote the speech": not only was it prepared through a long collective effort and a complete overhaul of nuclear policy—as had been the case in 1998-2000—but there is no doubt that, like his predecessors, Emmanuel Macron, who has strong views on this subject which is at the heart of presidential power, will have taken full ownership of this text.