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British Museum Privilege? Behold The Treasures Others Are Returning To Rightful Owners

The simmering UK-Greece dispute over the Elgin Marbles shines a light on the worldwide efforts to push Western powers, often with colonial pasts, to give back looted artistic and historical artifacts.

"If I told you [to] cut the Mona Lisa in half... do you think your viewers would appreciate the beauty of the painting?"

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the BBC earlier this week when asked about why the legendary Parthenon sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, should be returned to Greece in their entirety.

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The treasures, which are part of the frieze of the Parthenon temple in Athens, have been at the heart of a dispute between Greece and the United Kingdom since a British diplomat snatched them in the 19th century. They are on display at the British Museum in London.

Following the BBC interview, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak canceled a planned meeting with his Greek counterpart, which was to take place on Tuesday during Mitsotakis’s trip to London.

While the United Kingdom, and the British Museum in particular, continues to balk at the return of looted cultural artifacts, other Western powers — often with a colonial past — have been busy in recent years giving artifacts back to the country of origin.

Here's a look at some of the most notable cases around the world:

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The Gaza Ceasefire Is Over, With Western Diplomacy Weaker Than Ever

Diplomacy has failed to stave off a resumption of the war in Gaza. Yes, Israel made clear its goal of destroying Hamas is not complete. But the end of the truce is also one more sign that both the U.S. and Europe hold less sway in the region than they once did.

-Analysis-

PARIS — Unfortunately, the end of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was predictable. In a previous column this week, I wrote that the question was not whether the war would resume, but rather when (and how) it would resume. Israel has made it clear in recent days that it has not yet achieved its goal of destroying Hamas in Gaza, and that it still intends to do just that.

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Still, international diplomacy has not been idle. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Israel on Thursday: the United States was putting pressure on Israel so that, once the conflict resumed, it would inflict fewer civilian casualties — a more “surgical” war.

It is obviously too early to know if Blinken’s words have been heard. The only question is whether Israel will apply the same massive strategy in the south of the territory as in the north, or if the country will carry out more targeted operations, in a region with a very high population density.

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Henry Kissinger: The World's Love-And-Hate Adieu To The Machiavelli Of Washington

China shares praise, Cambodia throws shade, Germans show pride … and from Moscow?

PARIS — The death of Henry Kissinger at the age of 100 marks not only the end of a U.S. foreign policy legend, but the end of an era in geopolitical history. The controversial German-born architect of late 20th-century American power influenced statecraft around the world before, during and well after his years as U.S. secretary of state and national security advisor under two presidents.

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Whether considered the consummate “Machiavellian” operator, bloodstained Cold War puppet master or the embodiment of the American Dream, the entire world is marking the passing of this highly divisive and influential diplomat and power broker:

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Gùsto! How · What · Where Locals Eat (And Drink) In Lyon

Lyon is off the beaten track, but France's "capital of gastronomy" is well worth a visit. Here's what to eat and where when visiting this hidden gem of a city.

While Paris or Strasbourg may be the best-known destinations for a good food trip in France, Lyon should definitely also be on your wish-list. The “capital of gastronomy” offers a rich traditional cuisine through its bouchons, typical restaurants with a “lunch at grandma’s” atmosphere, and offers as many food options as there are stunning views throughout the city.

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Anchored in tradition and proud of its gastronomy, Lyon has seen a boom in food and drink festivals in recent years, particularly the street food scene. Lyon shows how tradition and novelty can be perfectly mixed.

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Geopolitics
Pierre Haski

With Each Passing Day, Israel Is Losing Support In The West

Taking the U.S. and France as leading indicators, with different histories and relationships inside the Middle East, Israel should be very worried about maintaining the support of its Western allies. The criticism of Israel and calls for immediate ceasefires are coming not only from the streets, but also inside the halls of power.

-Analysis-

PARIS — In the U.S., public support for Israel is falling, even though it remains one of the staunchest allies of the Jewish state. At the same time, there is also a serious revolt underway inside the Biden administration against the policy it has pursued since October 7.

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More than 500 senior career civil servants and political appointees from past and current administrations have written to President Joe Biden calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. A similar initiative has been launched within the State Department itself, invoking an internal procedure introduced at the time of the Vietnam War, which allows dissent to be expressed within the diplomatic corps without incurring sanctions. A third initiative received more than 1,000 signatures from the international aid agency USAID.

All such cases, which have been leaked to the press, denounce the Hamas attack of October 7, but consider the humanitarian consequences of the Israeli response indefensible. They called for action to protect Palestinian civilians.

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FOCUS: Israel-Palestine War
Dominique Moïsi

Three Scenarios Where The U.S., China Or Russia Winds Up Stronger After The Gaza War

Washington, Moscow and Beijing can all, in different ways, emerge stronger from the war in Gaza war, says French geopolitical expert Dominique Moïsi. The U.S. has been more present in the Middle East since Oct. 7 — but so has Russia, while China is keeping relatively quiet.

-Analysis-

PARISThe Great Power Triangle: Washington, Moscow, Peking — this was the title of an excellent book published in 1972 by Michel Tatu, a specialist of the USSR and a journalist for French daily Le Monde.

Looking back at this title today, we can wonder what effect the war in Gaza will have on this particular triangle. The conflict between Hamas and Israel is a zero-sum game: Israel can only come out a victor if it puts Hamas out of contention for good. But this is not the case for Washington, Moscow and Beijing, which can — in different ways — all emerge stronger from the conflict.

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Since Oct. 7, the U.S. has returned to the Middle East. Its military commitment, symbolized by the presence of two aircraft carriers, is simply spectacular.

Barack Obama's hesitations in September 2013, when he decided not to enforce the red line that he himself had drawn in Syria, are all but forgotten. Of course, Israel is the United States’ last major ally left in the region. Washington can’t afford to “lose” Jerusalem, as neither Cairo nor Riyadh are fully reliable partners.

Israel, the leading regional military power — much more vulnerable than it thought — needs the United States as much as the U.S. needs it. Joe Biden is drawing double lessons from the guilt of the country’s failure to act in Syria in 2013 and the strategically and symbolically catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

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FOCUS: Israel-Palestine War
Pierre Haski

Israel v. Emmanuel Macron — And Who's Next?

Israel has reacted sharply to the French president's criticism of the IDF continued bombing of civilians in Gaza. France is the first country to break with Western unanimity on Israel since October 7, which explains the virulence of the reaction.

-Analysis-

PARIS — In the midst of the war in Gaza, Israeli leaders, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, took the time to denounce recent remarks made by French President Emmanuel Macron. It’s an unexpected controversy — less than three weeks ago, Macron was at Netanyahu's side in Jerusalem, to express France's solidarity against terrorism.

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The French president had given an exclusive interview on Friday to the BBC, in which he shared his view that there is "no justification" for bombing and attacking civilians. "These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed," he declared. He added that there was “no reason for that and no legitimacy”, and urged Israel to stop, calling for it to comply with international humanitarian law. Thee only solution, he concluded, is a ceasefire.

It was these words that provoked the anger of Netanyahu, and even greater anger from his Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, who wondered how France could give Israel "lessons in morality" in the midst of a war.

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This Happened

This Happened—November 13: Bataclan Attacks

In the deadliest attack on France since World War II, 131 people were killed in a series of shootings and suicide bombings across Paris by Islamist terrorists.

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FOCUS: Israel-Palestine War
Pierre Haski

Negotiate, Talk, Negotiate — And A First Small Sign That Israel Is Listening

In Qatar, Egypt, Paris or on the phone, negotiators are busy trying to secure the release of hostages, push for "humanitarian pauses", and prepare for the political aftermath of the war. Meanwhile, the war rages on in Gaza.

-Analysis-

PARIS — War is not just the actions of soldiers, but also the movements of negotiators that are sometimes even harder to see.

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This Happened

This Happened—November 7: Happy Birthday To France's DJ Extraordinaire

Updated Nov. 7, 2023 at 2 p.m.

He may be the most well-known DJ of our time: David Guetta’s songs have garnered over 10 billion online streams.

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Economy
Gabriel Grésillon

La Défense Or Bust? Inside The Battle To Save Europe's Largest Business District

Deep structural problems were already pushing it to breaking point. And with teleworking becoming the new normal after COVID, Paris's La Défense business district stands as a melancholic shadow of its old, buzzing self. Can it find a way to reinvent itself?

PARIS — The days when Khadija served copious ribs of beef and bottles of fine wine to executives in suits feel like ancient history. The restaurant, located in “Les Quatre Temps” shopping center in the La Défense district near Paris, has had to adapt to a radically new world. “We have removed all the meats that are too expensive from the menu, no one orders them anymore”, Khadija says mournfully, adding that the restaurant's clientele has shrunk a lot from its glory days.

The advent of remote work has pushed businesses in this neighborhood into a mortal crisis. “Fridays, which used to be good days for us, have become catastrophic,” Khadija says. She then goes on to list all the restaurants in the area which have permanently shuttered.

A few meters down the road, Julianna, manager at a ready-to-wear store, remembers the days when it took five people to tend to customers. “Today, two employees are enough," she says. "Our turnover has fallen by almost 60% in two years." She also lists the neighboring businesses which have closed down, from clothing and lingerie outlets to ice cream parlours. Clearly, the carnage hasn't spared anyone.

Maxime Lévy can only agree. Ten years ago, Lévy's Forestland store had to sometimes close its gates in the middle of the day to control massive crowds. “It’s becoming more and more complicated to do business here,” he admits. In front of her storefront, this hairdresser reckons her clientele has been halved since COVID. She says she is crossing her “fingers, hands, feet, everything, for business to resume soon.”

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FOCUS: Israel-Palestine War
Pierre Haski

Why Israel Will Agree To A "Humanitarian Pause" — But Nothing More

Calls for a "humanitarian pause" are multiplying as the war rages on for almost a month, but the West is careful not to talk about a ceasefire, which Israel totally rejects. Where does that leave us in a search for a way out?

-Analysis-

PARIS — What do we mean when we talk about 'humanitarianism'? The word is being used more and more — a humanitarian "pause" has been requested of Israel, humanitarian aid is being sent to Gaza by numerous countries, and a humanitarian conference is to be held in Paris on Thursday.

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The needs are obviously immense, almost a month after the start of Israeli strikes on Gaza, following the October 7 massacre committed by Hamas in southern Israel.

Civilians are the first victims of the merciless war waged by the Jewish state against the Palestinian Islamist movement, and the aid reaching them is totally inadequate.

But during war, politics and diplomacy still matter. If Westerners are putting the emphasis on humanitarian action, it's not only to try to meet immediate needs, but also because they are either unwilling or unable to bring the fighting itself to a halt.

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