Tag: Editor’s Choice

Left-wing candidates set to retain control in Paris and Marseille Mayoral races
Paris, France – France’s two largest cities are set to remain firmly under leftist control following Sunday’s municipal run-off elections, with pollsters projecting Socialist victories that underscore the persistent grip of open-border globalists on urban France. In Paris, outgoing Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s deputy, Emmanuel Grégoire, defeated right-wing challenger Rachida Dati, extending the Socialist Party’s quarter-century dominance over the capital.
In Marseille, incumbent leftist mayor Benoît Payan comfortably beat far-right candidate Franck Allisio, dashing hopes of a breakthrough for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) in the country’s second city.
These outcomes, while disappointing for conservatives who hoped for a shift toward sovereignty and law-and-order, highlight a troubling reality: France’s major cities continue to serve as magnets for mass immigration, particularly from Muslim-majority countries and sub-Saharan Africa, fueling crime, cultural erosion, and social strain that conservative voices have long warned about.
Low turnout—only 57%, the worst in recent memory outside the COVID-disrupted 2020 vote—suggests widespread disillusionment among French voters who feel their concerns about unchecked migration are ignored by both establishment leftists and a fragmented right.

Grégoire, 48, hailed the result as Paris “staying true to its history,” but for many conservatives this means continuing Hidalgo’s legacy of lax policies that have turned parts of the City of Light into no-go zones plagued by migrant tent encampments, street crime, and parallel societies. Dati, a former Sarkozy minister, had positioned herself as a tougher alternative, but Parisian voters—shaped by decades of socialist governance and demographic change—opted for continuity.
In Marseille, Payan’s re-election further entrenches leftist control in a city long overwhelmed by immigration-related challenges, including drug trafficking, gang violence, and integration failures. The far right’s inability to capitalize on widespread public frustration with these issues points to deeper problems within the conservative movement: fragmented messaging and failure to connect with working-class voters tired of seeing their neighborhoods transformed.
The elections, watched closely as a barometer ahead of next year’s presidential race to succeed Emmanuel Macron, delivered mixed signals. Centrist Édouard Philippe held Le Havre, positioning himself as a potential anti-RN contender. The RN secured a hold in Perpignan but fell short in Toulon and Nîmes, where a Communist candidate prevailed. Overall, the far right’s limited gains reflect voter hesitation despite legitimate grievances over mass migration’s impact on housing, welfare systems, and national identity.
From a pro-conservative, anti-immigration standpoint, these results are a wake-up call. Socialist victories in Paris and Marseille will likely accelerate policies that prioritize migrants over native French citizens—more asylum approvals, sanctuary-like practices, and reluctance to deport criminal elements.
Black and Muslim immigrant communities, often concentrated in these urban centers, have been linked to disproportionate rates of certain crimes and social tensions, a reality mainstream media and leftist politicians refuse to address honestly. Deportation of illegal entrants and failed asylum seekers remains the only sustainable path to restoring order and preserving France’s cultural heritage.

A village of canvases spreads out as far as the eye can see on the median of Avenue de Flandre, in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. (AFP)
Pro-sovereignty conservatives argue that without bold action—mass deportations, strict border controls, and an end to socialist-enabled demographic replacement—cities like Paris and Marseille will become unrecognizable, serving as warnings for the rest of Europe and America. The low turnout suggests many Frenchmen have given up on the ballot box, but the underlying discontent with open-border policies will not disappear.
As France heads toward presidential elections, these municipal results reinforce the urgent need for a genuine conservative alternative that prioritizes French citizens first, enforces immigration laws rigorously, and rejects the failed multicultural experiment pushed by both socialists and establishment centrists.
For full projections and analysis, see France 24 coverage here. Le Monde on Paris results. BBC News
March 22, 2026
US judge blocks DOJ subpoenas to federal reserve, citing ‘Thin’ evidence in Powell probe
A US judge has blocked subpoenas issued by Donald Trump’s Department of Justice to the Federal Reserve, in a major blow to prosecutors’ criminal investigation into chair Jay Powell and a victory for the central bank.
James Boasberg, a US federal judge in the District of Columbia, wrote in an opinion unsealed on Friday that prosecutors were using their probe into renovations of the Fed’s headquarters to force Powell to “knuckle under” and bend to Trump’s relentless calls to slash borrowing costs.
“There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the president or to resign and make way for a Fed chair who will,” Boasberg wrote.
The judge said the Trump administration had “produced essentially zero evidence” to suspect Powell of a crime, adding: “Its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the court can only conclude that they are pretextual.”
Boasberg’s ruling will stymie the criminal investigation into Powell related to cost overruns on the Fed’s $2.5bn headquarters renovation project.

Global central bankers and lawmakers, including some members of Trump’s Republican Party, have expressed grave concern over the investigation, which they view as an unprecedented attempt at eroding the independence of the world’s most important central bank.
Powell in January called the move an “unprecedented action” from the DoJ, saying it was an attempt to rein in the Fed’s independence.
Trump has relentlessly criticised Powell of being a “moron” and a “stubborn mule” for declining to sharply reduce rates. Trump has also sought to sack Fed governor Lisa Cook, in a move that was blocked by a lower court judge and later argued before the US Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in the coming months.

Jeanine Pirro takes aim at the ruling by James Boasberg on Friday. (Reuters)
The president has denied any involvement in the DoJ probe, and the White House did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. The Fed declined to comment.
In a fiery press conference shortly after the opinion was published, Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia, tore into Boasberg, who she described as an “activist judge”. Pirro vowed to appeal against the ruling, which she said had “neutered the grand jury’s ability to investigate crime.”
“Jerome Powell today is now bathed in immunity, preventing my office from investigating the Federal Reserve,” Pirro said. “That is wrong, and it is without legal authority.”
The DoJ investigation, which was launched in January, has already had far-reaching consequences for Trump, prompting Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina to hold up the process to confirm Powell’s successor. Tillis has said he will block any Trump appointee to the Fed until the DoJ probe into Powell is “resolved”.
Trump in late January nominated former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Powell as chair when his term ends in May. Warsh needs to be confirmed by the Senate in order to take up his post.
Tillis on Friday said Boasberg’s ruling confirmed “just how weak and frivolous” the criminal investigation into Powell was, adding: “It is nothing more than a failed attack on Fed independence.
“We all know how this is going to end,” Tillis said, adding Pirro’s office should “save itself further embarrassment and move on”.
March 13, 2026
Investors slash Fed rate-cut bets as Iran war drives surge in petrol prices
Investors are slashing bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year, as the widening crisis in the Middle East sends petrol prices surging and threatens a fresh burst of inflation.
Markets are not anticipating a Fed rate cut until summer next year, according to trading in federal funds futures. It marks a dramatic shift from just weeks ago when traders were pricing in two quarter-point cuts in 2026.
The stark shift in Wall Street expectations highlights how the surge in energy prices caused by the war in Iran is prompting investors to rapidly rethink their outlook for inflation in the world’s biggest economy.
“This has been a wild shift. The market went completely mad today and decided to price out lots and lots of cuts,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, head of US interest rate strategy at TD Securities.
He added: “This enormous move . . . is a function of the market betting that it will be difficult for the Fed to cut rates while oil prices remain high.”
Petrol prices, which are a major cost for consumers, hit $3.60 a gallon on Thursday, compared with $2.94 a month ago, according to motor club AAA.
The dwindling rate-cut bets undercut US President Donald Trump’s hopes for the Fed to drastically cut rates to accelerate growth and lower borrowing costs for consumers. The Fed, which is due to meet next week, reduced rates by a quarter point three times last year.
Still, the president on Thursday renewed his calls for Fed chair Jay Powell to slash borrowing costs: “Where is the Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell, today? He should be dropping Interest Rates, IMMEDIATELY, not waiting for the next meeting!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Investors have already moved to price out cuts, and price in rises, across a range of big economies, including the UK and the Eurozone, viewed as particularly vulnerable to energy-driven inflation.
Short-term US government debt, which is particularly sensitive to monetary policy expectations, fell sharply in price on Thursday, sending yields higher.
The two-year Treasury yield, which moves with interest rate expectations, rose as much as 0.1 percentage points to 3.76 per cent.
One popular trade in the market that has been put under pressure are so-called steepeners: bets that short-dated debt will outperform long-term bonds. Instead, the yield curve on Treasury debt has flattened, with the additional interest rate on 10-year debt over the two-year equivalent falling from 0.7 percentage points in early February to just above 0.5 percentage points.
John Stopford, head of multi-asset income at asset manager Ninety One, said the flattening represented the US bond market trying to price in “negative growth implications of higher oil prices and the likelihood of less accommodative monetary policy”.
Longer-term yields have also increased in recent days, something that has pushed mortgage rates higher after they hit the lowest level since 2022 late last month. The average 30-year fixed rate rose to 6.11 per cent this week, from less than 6 per cent in late February — denting one of the president’s flagship pledges to improve home affordability.
Despite market expectations that the Fed will refrain from rate cuts this year, some rate setters view the shock from higher energy prices as temporary.
Christopher Waller, a Fed governor who is one of the more dovish members of the Federal Open Market Committee, said last week: “You’re going to see a spike in gasoline prices, that’s what the American citizens are going to see at the pump, and they’re going to stare at it and be a little shocked . . . but, for us, thinking about policy going forward, it’s unlikely to cause sustained inflation.”
March 12, 2026