The night has given firefighters in southwestern France a brief respite, who view the evolution of the most serious fire ever recorded in the country with "optimism". After a "very quiet night", meteorological conditions with 80% humidity suggest a "much more acceptable situation", assured Commander Matthieu Jomain, communications officer for the Departmental Fire Service. The prefecture of Gironde announced this morning that it has authorized the immediate return of residents to nine municipalities in the department, allowing 84,000 evacuated people —out of a total of 220,000— to return home.

Kavinsky, one of the most international figures in French electronic music, known primarily for the massive success of his track Nightcall –included in the soundtrack of the film Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011)–, has been found dead by the French police at his home in Paris, as reported by the French newspaper Le Parisien. Police are investigating the possibility that the death is a consequence of a stroke, as in preceding days the musician had suffered very intense headaches. Vincent Belorgey, his real name, was one of the stars of the closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games, where he performed a version of Nightcall with the French band Phoenix and the Belgian singer Angèle.

The most serious fire ravaging France, southwest of Bordeaux, has remained stable overnight, according to French authorities. However, the situation remains at extreme alert because the fire is burning in "very unfavorable" conditions, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. This Sunday the flames had devoured 42,000 hectares —practically 10,000 more than in yesterday's report—, which places this fire as the most serious in the last fifty years in the country and one of the worst since World War II. Evacuation figures also continue to grow. Counting the nearly 20,000 people who evacuated during the night, the number of displaced people already exceeds 220,000.

France continues to be immersed in a fight to extinguish various active fires across the country. 98,000 hectares have been scorched since the beginning of the year, figures that the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, has described as a "historic record".

The French government has not wanted to make the names public nor give concrete figures, but "several" senior officials and close collaborators of ministers have been suspended from their duties after testing positive for drugs. The Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, had ordered random tests to be carried out on officials holding high positions or in places where they have access to sensitive information, on diplomats and on members of ministerial cabinets. Hundreds of people have undergone them, including ambassadors, heads of cabinet and also all ministers.

When Gayatri Spivak published her seminal text Can the subordinates speak? (recently translated into Catalan by Mariona Lladonosa, for Manifest Llibres, and into Spanish by Manuel Asensi, for Macba editions), her intention was to denounce that the word of the people that this decolonial theorist called subalterns was not escorted. Therefore, the question was ironic: of course the subordinates can speak (the French translation feminizes them), but their word is inaudible to the privileged.

Sixteen years later, Spain will play the final of a World Cup again. The 2-0 victory against France unleashed euphoria among Spanish fans and also among some of the country's best-known faces. From the royal family to political leaders, including the 2010 world champions, who watched the semi-final in Dallas, celebrations were not long in coming.

The invitation from the French embassy to the national celebration of July 14 in Madrid already included watching the World Cup semi-final in the program. What they didn't know a month ago when they sent it was that the match would be between France and Spain. And even less so that it would be the same week that a former Spanish government president – Mariano Rajoy i Brey – would make a racist comment about the French players. This has undoubtedly been one of the most discussed topics this Tuesday at the small palace on Calle Serrano 124 in Madrid, where the ambassador, Kareen Rispal, resides, and where the commemoration of the storming of the Bastille has been celebrated with hundreds of guests in the Spanish capital.

This Tuesday, July 14, was the last Bastille Day for President Emmanuel Macron, and the one that best synthesizes his military program. The Élysée wanted to prepare a "massive" army parade with a dual objective: to show that French troops are "ready for combat" and that Europe is preparing for a "strategic awakening". The traditional deployment of the armed forces along the Champs-Élysées took place after this Monday a new summit of the Coalition of Volunteers for Ukraine was held, formed by the 37 countries willing to send soldiers there once a ceasefire with Russia is signed.

July 14th, the French national holiday, to commemorate the end of the Bourbon monarchy and the establishment of a republic driven by easily embraceable universal values, such as liberty, fraternity, and equality. It was only fitting that in "Casablanca," the "Marseillaise" competed against a Nazi anthem to become the anthem of freedom sung with pride and courage by a group of Free Frenchmen, in one of the most moving scenes in cinema history. It would all be very beautiful if it weren't for the fact that in the name of this fraternal republic, France has pursued languages like Catalan to the point of self-loathing and extinction.It is similar to what the Spanish state has done in Catalonia. What it has done, and what it continues to do:The Supreme Court has ruled that Spanish cannot be excluded from the signage of public educational centers in Catalonia. He says that “Castilian is the official language throughout Spain, which means it is a language that cannot be excluded from communications between public authorities and citizens".As Sebastià Alzamora titles his article today, “if you are Spanish, speak Spanish”, which is what my parents had to hear in their youth during the dictatorship. It's the same old song, when it suits us we are Spanish (especially when it comes to paying taxes that go away and don't serve the well-being of Catalans) and when it suits us (always) our language is not Spanish enough. We know all this by heart and, even so, meanwhile, President Illa went to Madrid yesterday and signed Catalonia's loyalty to the State. A loyalty that, as we see, is not reciprocal and that, by dint of repetition, led to the logical conclusion of half the country wanting independence in 2017. Loyalty is only possible from equality. And what exists between Spain and Catalonia or between Spanish and Catalan is a Catalan subordination to the supremacy of the State over the province. The rest are rhetorical sleight of hand that no one can believe anymore. Or kind, almost pleading, ways of telling the Spanish that the current government of the Generalitat will not organize any October 1st for them. 

A goal from Oyarzabal, a penalty, and another from Pedro Porro, allowed the Spanish team to defeat France and reach the World Cup final. For the second time in its history, La Roja will play the title match, and will do so after demonstrating, like in 2010, that a great generation of footballers is not enough, but that the key to success is for all the stars to play for the team. A very young generation of fearless players who are not afraid of anything, not even what, on paper, was the deadliest attack of all. It turns out that France was unable to score and it is Spain who reaches the title match with immaculate defensive statistics: they have only conceded one goal in the entire competition.

Tomorrow at 9 the Spain-France game will be played, and banal Spanish nationalism is infiltrating everywhere, including the mobile screens of Movistar customers, which, instead of saying “Movistar” says “with the selection”, regardless of whether the client completely ignores it of the World Cup or the selection bothers them. The performance that states and companies derive from their sports selections explains to what extent sport is also politics and identity is also business. A cruel paradox for so many Catalans who have at some point shouted "neither Spain, nor France, Catalan Countries", and it turns out that tomorrow, it will be one or the other. About M. Rajoy and his comment that France plays without French saying that: first, following their reasoning, Spain plays without Spaniards, and second, that Republican France has felt very offended, but it would be good for them to consider whether the indignation they feel about the racist comment is consistent with the absence of racism in everyday life. Contrary to what this article says, it is not that people like Rajoy bring the World Cup into the realm of identity, but rather that the entire World Cup is a competition of identities (one only needs to look at the anthems, the flags, and the heads of state in the stands). Another matter is what is understood by national identity in each country. But this week there is another important appointment, which is on Thursday, the day on which the Court of Justice of the European Union must rule on the amnesty, specifically on whether the crime of embezzlement is amnestible or not. It is another episode in this judicial quarrel that the Spanish judiciary's refusal to apply the amnesty law as approved by the legislative power more than two years ago, in May 2024, has become. Remember that, to prevent its application, the Supreme Court ruled that, since the referendum was paid for with public money, the leaders of the Process personally enriched themselves because they saved themselves from putting money from their own pockets, like someone who pays for their daughter's wedding with public money (the example is from the Supreme Court). Well, on Thursday the CJEU will rule, but even if the ruling says that the amnesty is in accordance with European law, it will not be automatically applied, but rather then, the Constitutional Court must decide whether the Supreme Court's interpretation is correct or not, presumably it will say no, but this ruling will not arrive until the autumn, practically when Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Lluís Puig will have been in exile for 9 years.  

The racist comment by Mariano Rajoy about the French team football is still ongoing, but the PP has opted to ignore the criticism and play it down. After France protested the words of the former Spanish president, who said the French team is a team with a lot of "level" but "without Frenchmen", Pedro Sánchez's government has come out in force this Monday to use the controversy against the Popular Party. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has directly demanded that Alberto Núñez Feijóo disavow Rajoy and has asked the media outlet that published his football chronicle, The Debate, who withdraws the article, the sixth by the popular in this World Cup.

Today, dear readers, we will review the figure of the syllogism, proposed by Aristotle. Let's take as an example the statement by the no less well-known M. Rajoy, which acts as the major premise when he writes that the French team is playing in the World Cup without French players. If having players of immigrant origin or diverse ethnicities means that a team is not made up of citizens of that country, and (minor premise) the Spanish team has players of immigrant origin, such as Lamine Yamal or Nico Williams, the conclusion can only be that Spain is also playing in the World Cup without Spaniards.

Tuesday evening, Marine Le Pen was interviewed on the evening news of TF1, the most-watched generalist channel in France. She wanted to launch the big headline: "Tonight I am the candidate for the presidential elections." Despite the forcefulness of her announcement, the presenter Gilles Bouleau did not make it easy for her. Fifteen minutes of conversation in which the journalist's pressure became evident. Much persistence without aggressiveness. Bouleau was unusually demanding in his request for explanations from the new candidate. It is worth highlighting an important aspect of that broadcast. Around half past one in the afternoon, the Paris Court of Appeal made public the resolution of the sentence, confirming Le Pen's guilt in a diversion of funds from the European Parliament. However, it reduced her disqualification penalty and allowed her to run in the 2027 presidential election. Only six hours had passed when Marine Le Pen sat at the news desk in front of millions of viewers. Bouleau began by asking Le Pen about her first reaction upon hearing the verdict. “J’étais heureuse”, she replied. “I was happy,” she answered curtly. The response caused perplexity given the confirmation of her guilt. The presenter pointed out the contradiction. Le Pen used a far from innocent discursive nuance: “I am happy that the court has reinstated my eligibility.” She modified the mental framework as if justice were restoring a kind of legitimate right that had been unduly taken from her. She transformed it so that the verdict seemed favorable. While the journalist struggled to separate the conviction from eligibility, Le Pen strove to reduce the discourse to the latter aspect. Bouleau reminded her of the two different judicial bodies that agreed on the guilty verdict. He always questioned Le Pen's assumptions: when she spoke of the appeal to have to wear an electronic bracelet as if it were going to succeed favorably, he pointed out to her that this was only a hypothesis. The journalist always emphasized the confirmed facts to differentiate them from her aspirations. He also forced her to specify her arguments with the aim of implicating her in front of the audience. He did not ask for her opinions and always balanced her optimism with the most pragmatic reality. It was an irrefutable way to highlight the candidate's contradictions. Bouleau made an effort not to fall into the guest's narrative framework. He acted as a counterbalance without arguing. He forced Le Pen to confront the political and judicial cost, repeating twice that she should weigh the pros and cons of her candidacy in the face of evasiveness. He demanded a political reflection exercise that went beyond the simple announcement of the candidacy. What the presenter was doing between the lines was to bring out the personal interests of the guest, and, above all, to point out to the audience the implications of Le Pen's decision so that viewers could interpret the medium and long-term political consequences. A great duel out of simple professional responsibility.

This year's is the World Cup of blurred borders and that of the diasporas. Almost 25% of the 1,248 players who compete in it defend the jersey of a national team different from their country of birth. The most paradigmatic case is Curaçao, which only has one player originally from the Caribbean island. The rest are from the Netherlands, the territory of which Curaçao depends on, which is not an independent state. In the World Cup there are up to 67 Dutch footballers, a figure that only France, which has 98, surpasses.

The new round of the World Cup round of 32 has once again confirmed that France is one of the main candidates to lift the title. Didier Deschamps' team authoritatively defeated Sweden (3-0) and signed another demonstration of offensive potential, with Mbappé as the absolute reference of the squad, well supported by Olise and Barcola. The French imposed their rhythm from start to finish and did not suffer at any moment.

Eleven people have died after a small plane heading for a parachute jump crashed this Sunday in the town of Tomblaine, on the outskirts of the city of Nancy, in eastern France. Local spokesmen have confirmed that there were no survivors and that all 11 passengers on board died instantly in the accident: one was the pilot, five were instructors hired by the company, and the other five were clients who were going to parachute. The impact, which occurred in a fairly populated area, did not cause any collateral casualties. It is the most serious accident ever in France involving this type of small plane.

The image of long queues in front of large appliance stores every day first thing in the morning, before they open, to buy an air conditioner or a fan, best explains the desperation of the French after nine days of a historic, intense and long heatwave, with daytime and nighttime temperatures that have broken all records. Managing to buy an air conditioning unit has become an impossible mission. Stocks have run out.

The French state has confirmed a first case of Ebola on its territory. The positive corresponds to a humanitarian doctor who had returned from a mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, epicenter of the current outbreak which already totals 277 deaths and 1,094 confirmed cases. According to the French executive, the man has been immediately admitted to a specialized center and is stable.