Category: 3. Europe

France has been in the throes of heightened political instability for the last two years, cycling through no fewer than five prime ministers. Lecornu’s predecessor, François Bayrou, was toppled in September over his plans to squeeze the 2026 budget by €43.8 billion, and Lecornu…

Reflecting a Europe-wide trend, the share of one-person households is rising. More seniors are being pushed to stay at home for as long as possible due to the cost of residential care, keeping high-quality houses occupied for longer. Finally, lax rules that allow investors to speculate on…

The sanctions threaten to take out “half” of those supplies, he said, given the measures prevent the two firms from selling their cargoes in dollars, the currency used almost exclusively for trading crude internationally.

For Lukoil in particular, the sanctions “will hurt…

One of the most direct threats involves remote management from China of products embedded in European critical infrastructure. Manufacturers have remote access to install updates and maintenance.

Europe has also grown heavily reliant on Chinese tech suppliers, particularly when it comes…

But Sarkozy hasn’t just been reading while inside. He has also been working on his prison diary, and has shared an extract with Declassified (in exchange for a packet of cigarettes, the ultimate French prison currency).

Prison de la Santé, Paris. October 2025

As if we needed any more…

Macron the builder

The Louvre renovation was supposed to be, much like the restoration of the Notre-Dame Cathedral following the devastating fire there five years ago, a crown jewel of Macron’s legacy. (But one that thieves wouldn’t be able to run off with.)

Earlier this year, he…

The EU’s traditional bad boy, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, helped the rest of the leaders make progress by staying away from the gathering for most of the day and then keeping out of the discussions on Ukraine. He doesn’t believe Europe should be fighting someone else’s war…

The EU wants to lend €140 billion in cash from frozen Russian funds to Ukraine; Belgium is afraid it will be the one on the hook for paying it back. That’s just one of the tough topics EU leaders discussed as they gathered in Brussels at a meeting devoted to fighting the…

26. And the Commission wants to roll up its sleeves

The EU executive “is ready to help,” von der Leyen said after the summit, announcing a European Affordable Housing Plan is in the pipeline and the first EU Housing Summit in 2026.

27. Leaders enjoyed a feast or two

For lunch,…