In the newspaper presentation, we review a number of different opinion articles, the first of which discusses the contradiction between France’s announcement of its non-participation in the Gulf War and what its budget reveals in this regard, and the second of which asks about the future of the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and whether she will remain in her position after overcoming many challenges, or is her political career approaching its end, and we conclude our tour with a social article on the reasons for the collapse of some marriages after twenty years, and how a relationship can lose the elements of its continuity despite the shared life it has witnessed.
We begin our tour with the political magazine "Modern Diplomat", and an opinion article by Imran Khaled entitled "France says it did not participate in the Gulf War, but its budget says otherwise." The article deals with the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to the Gulf to secure fuel supplies, two days after the protests that swept his country.
The writer notes that Macron described the ongoing war in the Gulf as the reason for the rise in fuel prices and the wave of anger in France, stressing that his country did not participate in the war.
But the writer believes that this statement has not been subject to scrutiny, citing the presence of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the region since the spring, accompanied by Rafale fighters, while French soldiers are protecting a Saudi oil terminal in Yanbu. Paris and London have also prepared a joint mission to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and although France has not fired on Iran, it has been bearing the costs of the war since its first month, as the 2027 budget clearly reveals.
The writer notes that the French protests began in late September in secondary schools, protesting against the shortage of teachers, the deterioration of school buildings, and overcrowding in classrooms, before the “yellow vest” movement joined them on October 2, demanding that the rise in fuel prices and austerity policies be addressed.
The writer believes that the 2027 budget, prepared by Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu, reveals those who actually bear financial responsibility, as it will spend about 91 billion euros on public debt interest next year, compared to 79 billion this year. The budget for the armed forces will also increase by 6.4 billion euros, exceeding 63.4 billion, while the education sector will only receive an additional 1.1 billion euros.
The writer points out that Macron's Gulf tour takes on a different meaning when looking at the numbers. He accompanied executives from Total Energies and Engie on visits to Kuwait, the Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, with the aim of "securing our supplies", as he put it, while the Elysee Palace included defense partnerships on the tour's agenda. An energy expert at the French Institute for International and Strategic Relations ruled out that the visit would contribute to reducing fuel prices, explaining that Gulf producers cannot Providing certain guarantees of supplies before the situation in the region stabilizes.
Then comes Washington, according to the writer. The war in which France denies its participation is an American war against Iran, which has entered its eighth month almost. He notes that Donald Trump published the phrase on Sunday, “France is burning!” Online, blaming immigration, even though the French authorities attributed the violence to far-left groups and thieves, not to immigrants. Thus, Trump, who sparked the war, recasts its repercussions in Europe as a border and immigration issue.
While Macron attributes the crisis to the war, Trump holds migrants responsible for it, while both ignore the budget issue.
Imran Khaled concludes his article by noting that Macron is scheduled to return to France on Wednesday, pointing out that if the outcome of his recent Gulf visit was an arms contract, and not an agreement to secure fuel, then the French students would have a clear answer to the question related to the war that this budget finances.
We turn to The Guardian newspaper, and an opinion article by Riccardo Alcaro entitled “Giorgia Meloni: The most prominent Italian political figure withstood the odds. Can one man overthrow her?” The writer points out that Roberto Fanacci’s new far-right movement may decisively overtake the Prime Minister as the 2027 elections approach.
The writer says that last month, the Meloni government became the longest in power in the history of the Italian Republic, supported by several factors that strengthened its position as one of the most prominent leaders of the European right, including its exceptional political continuity, the moderation of its approach to foreign policy, and its personal appeal, in addition to its recent dispute with US President, Donald Trump.
He adds that Meloni's personal support rate is about 41 percent, which is one of the highest support rates among Western European leaders, while her right-wing "Brothers of Italy" party has maintained most of its popular base, a remarkable achievement amid declining support for existing governments, especially according to Italian political standards.
However, the writer believes that these factors may not be enough to ensure that its ruling coalition wins a new term in the Italian elections scheduled for 2027.
The writer believes that the biggest challenge facing Meloni comes from within the far-right camp itself, with the rise of a new movement led by former general, Roberto Fanacci, even before the riots that took place in Milan this week. It is likely that this inflammatory populist, similar to Marine Le Pen in France, will seek to exploit the unrest to present his party as a defender of law and order, which may come at the expense of Meloni’s ruling coalition.
The writer points out that the alliance between Meloni and Vanacci seems logical from the perspective of electoral calculations and ideological affinity, but Vanacci’s extremism makes achieving it extremely difficult. He has made what he calls the “repatriation” of foreigners to their countries a main focus of his program, while the Meloni government’s anti-immigration policies have not reached this level of extremism.
As for the deeper disagreement between the two parties, it is related to foreign policy, as Vanacci seeks to ease restrictions related to financial discipline in the eurozone, and opposes deepening European defense integration, and the gap between them is widening, especially regarding Russia and Ukraine, where Vanacci adopts a position similar to that of the Alternative for Germany party, considering that Russia does not represent an imminent threat to Europe, and calling for the resumption of trade and diplomatic relations with Moscow, including purchasing Russian gas again, in addition to his opposition to Providing support to Ukraine.
On the other hand, according to the writer, support for Ukraine represents one of the basic pillars of Meloni’s position on the international arena, and this trend was recently confirmed by her public criticism of Trump’s decision to suspend the application of sanctions on Russian diesel exports, at a time when Ukraine is preparing to face a harsh winter.
The writer says that Meloni chose to confront the challenge of the far right by continuing to tighten her immigration policies, and Vanacci’s rise may explain her decision to suspend the application of the rules of freedom of movement in the Schengen Area to travelers by air and sea coming from Spain, following the events of Ceuta, in addition to her recent decision to impose a ceiling not exceeding 30 percent for students of foreign origins in schools.
But the success of this strategy is not guaranteed, and pressure may increase on Meloni to ally with Fanacci, to avoid leaving the arena for him to present himself as the most hard-line politician in imposing law and order and confronting acts of vandalism and looting in Milan. In this context, its decision to deploy 500 soldiers in the city, ahead of new demonstrations in protest against the rising costs of living, came in a partial attempt to contain Fanacci’s momentum and prevent him from exploiting the situation politically.
Although the alliance may enhance Meloni's chances of winning a new term, Fanacci may turn into a rebellious partner that is difficult to rely on.
Riccardo Alcaro concludes his article by emphasizing that Meloni, despite her long political experience, faces a difficult challenge in balancing her political ambition with the rise of Fanacci, indicating that the stakes extend beyond Italy's future to include all of Europe.
We conclude our tour with the Telegraph newspaper and an opinion article written by Claire O'Reilly entitled "Why are marriages like mine collapsing after two decades?" The author begins by pointing out that after years of raising children and bearing the responsibilities of family life, she and her husband realized that they had stopped nurturing their own relationship.
The writer says that after a relationship that lasted 23 years and a marriage that lasted 19 years, she decided to separate from her husband, John, even though they did not face betrayal or severe disagreements, and their marriage did not turn into an arena for conflicts. They succeeded in raising their three children and building a stable family, but they discovered over time that they had changed, and that what they had in common as a couple was no longer enough to continue the relationship.
The writer remembers that their relationship began in 2002, they married in 2006, and separated in 2024, before announcing their divorce in 2025. During those years, they were busy raising children, work, and daily responsibilities, until they became a successful team in terms of parenting, but they gradually moved away from each other as partners in a romantic relationship.
She points out that there was not a single decisive moment that led to the separation, and there was no person who could be held responsible. It was more like a slow separation, with which they realized that they had become two different people, and that they no longer had enough common interests to heal the rift that had arisen between them. The writer believes that the absence of major differences does not necessarily mean that the marriage is still satisfactory, as the shared life may continue quietly, while the romantic side of the relationship declines until it almost disappears.
The author wonders whether making more effort early on might change the course of the marriage. Perhaps mutual attention, allocating time to go out together, and talking away from children’s affairs and the demands of daily life would have been enough to maintain the closeness between them, but she cannot know whether these steps would succeed in restoring the relationship to what it was.
The author describes that the sadness that accompanies the end of a marriage relationship does not turn into hostility, as one can still love the other party, respect him, and wish him happiness, and at the same time feel sorrow for the house they built, the family they established, and the future they believed would continue. She also faced a difficult question, which is, is good companionship and cooperation in raising children sufficient when romantic love ends?
The author believes that some couples are able to regain rapprochement when the circumstances of their family life change, while others choose to continue a relationship based on companionship more than romantic love. However, admitting that the two parties have become different, and that the life that brought them together is no longer the life they wanted, is not something to be ashamed of.
The writer, Claire O'Reilly, concludes her article by pointing out that comfortable companionship was not enough. She wanted to believe that love could be more than just managing family affairs and maintaining its stability, and that reaching the age of forty-three, as she says, is not an age in which a person loses his right to aspire to that love.
