France and Canada have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of military materiel for Ukraine and in the field of training within the framework of the Defense Contact Group (Ramstein), in particular, they will continue to deepen strategic cooperation in the field of cyber defense in support of Ukraine, according to a declaration agreed upon during a meeting in Ottawa on September 26 by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron.
“We are committed to working with Ukraine and our partners to enable Ukraine to defend its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression, both in traditional domains and in cyberspace, including by supporting the strengthening of Ukraine’s civilian cybersecurity capacity through the Tallinn Mechanism. More broadly, we will continue to discuss topics of mutual interest that were discussed during the Paris Conference on February 26, 2024,” the document, published on the Canadian government’s website, reads.
The declaration states that Canada and France have already trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers as part of Operation UNIFIER for Canada and the EU Military Assistance Mission in Support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) for France. The armed forces of the two countries also continued to cooperate in training Ukrainian fighter pilots.
France will provide Ukraine with at least EUR60 million by the end of this year, according to Pierre Elbrun, the French President’s Special Envoy for Ukraine’s Relief and Recovery.
“As winter approaches, the situation is becoming critical – we must act now to quickly offer concrete energy solutions,” he wrote on social media X following a meeting of the G7+ Ministerial Group on Energy Support to Ukraine at the level of foreign ministers on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on Monday evening.
At the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken noted that the G7+ countries have mobilized more than $4 billion to support Ukraine’s energy sector since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
In a statement following the G7+ ministerial meeting, the countries welcome further commitments of funding and in-kind support to cover the most urgent needs of the Ukrainian energy sector, including repairing damaged power plants and district heating systems, deploying new, distributed energy sources, emergency backup power for critical services, and passive protection of energy infrastructure.
France will use EUR300 million in 2024 to purchase weapons for Ukraine, part of the EUR1.4 billion in proceeds from frozen Russian assets allocated by the European Union, the French Defense Ministry said.
“The European Commission has agreed with the Directorate General for Armaments that it will use these funds to quickly acquire priority equipment for Ukraine from the French industry, ammunition, artillery and air defense equipment from the French industry for a total of 300 million for 2024,” the ministry said in a communique published on Friday.
Earlier, EU Diplomacy Chief Josep Borrell said that the EU has already begun to transfer the proceeds of Russia’s frozen assets to the Ukrainian side and the bloc countries that will supply Kyiv with weapons.
The Crisis and Support Center (CDCS) of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has handed over 28 generators to a school in Chernihiv, Ambassador of the French Republic to Ukraine Gael Weissier said after a visit to Chernihiv.
“A new trip to Chernihiv, a priority region, where, together with the head of the regional state administration and Expertise France, we signed agreements with three hospitals, inspected the repair of the roof of the theater that was hit on 19/08/23, and handed over assistance from the Centre de Crise et de Soutien in the form of 28 generators to be used in a local school,” the ambassador wrote on social network X.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has chosen the French Alps to host the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
“IOC President Thomas Bach said that the delegation that presented the French Alps’ bid reaffirmed its full commitment to the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. France is always raising the bar for excellence in organizing sporting events. Therefore, it is necessary to support their model of the future: innovative, ambitious, environmentally friendly and accessible to all,” the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOC) said in a statement.
It is noted that the IOC is confident that France will organize the Winter Olympics with the same creativity and sophistication that is already being seen in Paris.
According to the report, this is the fourth Winter Olympics hosted by France. In 1924, the Olympics were held in Chamonix, in 1968 in Grenoble, and in 1992 in Albertville.
Representatives of the leadership of left-wing parties from the New National Front, which won the French parliamentary elections, have agreed to nominate Lucie Castets for the post of prime minister, La Voix Du Nord reported on Tuesday.
“We propose Lucie Castetz as prime minister to lead a government capable of responding to the social and environmental urgencies that our fellow citizens have expressed during the last election,” wrote Fabien Roussel, leader of the French Communist Party, which is part of the New Popular Front.
French media note that Castetz currently holds the position of head of the financial department of the Paris City Hall. It is noted that she actively opposed the recent pension reform in the country, which raised the retirement age.
On June 9, President Emmanuel Macron announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and called early legislative elections due to the defeat of the President’s social-liberal party, the Renaissance, in the European Parliament elections, which lost to the National Rally. In the early parliamentary elections on July 7, the pro-presidential coalition “Razom” lost to the left-wing bloc of parties “New People’s Front”. No political force gained an absolute parliamentary majority.
Earlier, the Experts Club think tank and Maksym Urakin presented a video analysis of the most important elections in the world in 2024, more details are available here – https://youtu.be/73DB0GbJy4M?si=eGb95W02MgF6KzXU
