Gavin Mortimer

British fighters in Ukraine are brave but misguided

9 March 2022 7:10 pm

The first British volunteers have arrived in Ukraine to ‘do their bit’ in thwarting the Russian invasion. According to reports…

Putin’s invasion has collapsed the French right

4 March 2022 1:15 am

At the time it probably felt like a good idea for Marine Le Pen’s campaign team. A photo of her…

What's behind the wave of French police suicides?

2 March 2022 6:00 pm

Since Russia invaded Ukraine last week the western media has focused on little else. In Britain this concentration is understandable:…

Is the New York Times right to say Muslims are fleeing France?

23 February 2022 9:16 pm

Has the New York Times found a new bête noire? It was for a number of years Britain, damned for…

Why the French right prefer Putin to progressives

16 February 2022 7:01 pm

Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Moscow last week was reminiscent of a trip made by Charles de Gaulle to the Russian…

Might Macron's future rest with the England rugby team?

14 February 2022 6:35 pm

After two rounds of the Six Nations, France is the only unbeaten team. Their victory against Ireland in a ferocious…

Shadows of Macron: could Valérie Pécresse become France’s first female president?

12 February 2022 9:00 am

Could Valérie Pécresse become France’s first female president?

Can Macron really lecture Putin about democracy?

9 February 2022 10:09 pm

A penny for the thoughts of Vladimir Putin on Monday as he stared at Emmanuel Macron from the end of…

Covid has shattered France’s commitment to liberty

1 February 2022 7:52 pm

It is a peculiarity of how France has responded to the Covid pandemic that the unvaccinated, or those who have…

Eric Zemmour isn’t to blame for France’s anti-Semitism crisis

29 January 2022 6:00 pm

Emmanuel Macron sees anti-Semitism everywhere except where it really lurks. Earlier this month his government accused protesters opposed to the…

Macron's vaccine culture war

26 January 2022 9:10 pm

When French prime minister Jean Castex and health minister Olivier Véran held a press conference last week, they outlined the timetable…

Cheer up Boris, the French still like you

25 January 2022 8:00 pm

If, as many are predicting, the wheels are about to come off Boris Johnson’s premiership, few world leaders will be…

The fate of the French Socialists is a warning for Boris Johnson

21 January 2022 7:11 pm

The defection of Christian Wakeford to Labour has put a spring in the step of the left-wing party. Apparently it…

My life as an outcast under Macron's vaccine passport scheme

18 January 2022 10:01 pm

When the vaccine pass comes into effect later this week, I will not be able to enter a bar or…

Macron's anti-vaxxer bashing will backfire in France's 'lost territories'

10 January 2022 11:22 pm

Who are the ten per cent of the French population that Emmanuel Macron wishes to ’emmerder’ or, as we say…

Macron has crossed a line in his war on the unvaccinated

5 January 2022 7:22 pm

The new year has not started well for Emmanuel Macron. It began badly when some bright spark in the Elysée…

The misery of Macron’s Covid clampdown

24 December 2021 10:16 pm

My daughter’s Christmas won’t quite be the same this year. She and I are in England but her French mother…

Boris Johnson’s betrayal of conservative values

21 December 2021 8:51 pm

Two years ago this week I wrote a piece for Coffee House entitled ‘Corbyn may be a goner but his…

Macron’s British travel ban is entirely political

17 December 2021 1:57 am

Emmanuel Macron subjected France to a two-hour primetime television interview on Wednesday evening which must have been a pre-Christmas treat…

Islamic extremists would welcome the election of Eric Zemmour

14 December 2021 7:16 pm

Eric Zemmour enjoyed a propitious weekend as he embarked on his first official overseas visit as a presidential candidate. It…

Meet the Brexit-hating Macron clone who could be the next French president

5 December 2021 9:08 pm

The best way to describe Valérie Pécresse is Emmanuel Macron in a blouse. The newly-elected candidate for Les Republicans (LR)…

Eric Zemmour's big weakness has been exposed

3 December 2021 7:02 pm

George W Bush will forever be in debt to The Donald. Before Trump became the 45th president of the United…

Zemmour's campaign launch painted a dark vision of France

1 December 2021 1:34 am

So it’s official: Eric Zemmour will stand as a candidate in next year’s French presidential election. It was hardly a…

Why a love child might help ‘Papa Zemmour’

28 November 2021 4:36 am

It’s not often you find Eric Zemmour plastered across the front of Closer magazine. Brigitte Macron, Beyonce and Lady Gaga…

The Channel deaths were a tragedy waiting to happen

25 November 2021 7:17 pm

Yesterday’s tragedy in the Channel has been ten years in the making. The British tabloids this morning are inevitably pointing…