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France’s President Emmanuel Macron is facing renewed criticism for his lack of support for President Donald Trump’s war against Iran and demands to include Lebanon in the current ceasefire as historic talks between Israel and Lebanon are set to begin Tuesday.
The historic meeting brokered by President Trump between Lebanon, a former French mandate, and Israel will take place at the ambassador level as hopes for an agreement evolve — most noticeably without French involvement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to host both nations' ambassadors.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel’s government requested that France be excluded from the talks. An Israeli official told the paper that "France’s conduct over the past year – including initiatives aimed at limiting Israel’s ability to fight in Iran, and a complete lack of willingness to take concrete steps to help Lebanon disarm Hezbollah – has led Israel to view France as an unfair mediator."
IRAN'S TERROR PROXIES FROM IRAQ-TO-LEBANON SAY READY TO RESPOND TO US-ISRAEL ATTACKS
On Monday, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Monday called on the Lebanese government to cancel the Tuesday meeting in Washington, while describing the talks as pointless. In a televised speech, Qassem said the armed group will continue to confront Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Hezbollah violated a ceasefire to enter the war on its patron, Iran’s side, in March when it launched rockets into Israel after the U.S.-Israel joint attack on the Islamic Republic began, still Macron has demanded Israel stop attacking Hezbollah's terror infrastructure in Lebanon.
Israeli Brig. General (Res.) Yosef Kuperwasser told Fox News Digital that Macron was "working against the best interests of the Lebanese state and government. This is a very problematic direction." He accused Macron of "taking the side of Hezbollah and normalizing Hezbollah because he is focused on "narrow interests."
IRAN THREATENS TO END CEASEFIRE OVER HEZBOLLAH'S EXCLUSION FROM TRUCE DEAL
The former head of research for the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence Directorate, Kuperwasser, added that the "Americans want us to engage with the Lebanese along with the military [in Lebanon]. Our expectations are very similar. We want to see Lebanon do something about Hezbollah, something real, not just issue statements and pledges. We believe we have helped them by weakening Hezbollah militarily since they decided to launch missiles on March 2. If there is a breakthrough, Lebanon has a lot to gain," but said it has to "disarm Hezbollah."
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Macron has faced accusations over the years that he has normalized Hezbollah. His government, in contrast to Germany, the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Austria and many other Western and non-Westen countries, refuses to designate Hezbollah’s entire organization a terrorist entity. France has classified Hezbollah’s "military wing" a terrorist organization but declined to ban its "political wing." Hezbollah considers itself a unified movement without branches.
The French politician François-Xavier Bellamy, who is a member of the European Parliament for the Republicans Party, said last week on French television that "France must stop normalizing Hezbollah." Macron sparked outrage in 2020 when he reportedly held a private conversation with a top elected Hezbollah official, according to the Paris-based daily Le Figaro.
Edy Cohen, an Israeli security expert on Hezbollah, who was born in Lebanon, told Fox News Digital, "France is forced not to come out against Hezbollah in order to legitimize its involvement in Lebanon."
A French diplomat told the Times of Israel that "what we are hoping for is not a ticket to the meeting, but that Israel stops its offensive on Lebanon."
When asked if France would pressure Lebanon to recognize Israel as a state, Pascal Confavreux, a spokesman for France’s Foreign Ministry, told "Fox News Sunday" that, "Iran has to stop terrorizing Israel through Hezbollah because Hezbollah chose to bring Lebanon into a war which is not Lebanon’s war… Lebanon has to be included in the ceasefire, something that we are pushing diplomatically," He continued that we are in favor of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.
It is not known if France asked for a seat at the talks. Fox News Digital sent multiple press queries to France’s embassies in Washington D.C. and Tel Aviv.
IDF UNCOVERS HEZBOLLAH WEAPONS STASH INSIDE HOSPITAL IN LEBANON
On Saturday, Macron again pushed his desire for a ceasefire and wrote on X that he had discussions with Iran’s President Massoud Pezeshkian on Saturday: "I stressed the importance of full respect for the ceasefire, including in Lebanon. France extends its full support to the actions of the Lebanese authorities, who alone are legitimate to exercise the sovereignty of the State and decide the destiny of Lebanon."
Walid Phares, an expert on Lebanon and the region, told Fox News Digital that while the talks are important, problems exist. "It is at ambassadors’ level, which means it is not destined to reach a top level of decision-making."
He added, "Strangely, the Lebanese president and prime minister declined to invite the Lebanese foreign minister to the Washington talks, provoking a representation by Israel, also at ambassadorial level, showing that Hezbollah still has a strong influence on the Lebanese government. The militia is being rejected by the population on the ground and fears a meeting in D.C. would ostracize Hezbollah further."
Sethrida Geagea, a member of parliament from the Lebanese Forces party, posted on X ahead of the Israel-Lebanon talks an open letter to Nabih Berri, the powerful speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and leader of the Shiite Amal Movement. She issued indirect criticism of Hezbollah and its terrorist army within the state. Geagea appealed to Berri to unify the Lebanese to be "protected by a single army."
Without naming Hezbollah, her letter stated that young Shiites have been plunged into war that has nothing to do with them and the conflict is really about an Iranian decision to retaliate for the joint U.S.-Israel war that assassinated the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, on February 28.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital press query.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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The post Net Zero: Premeditated Industrial Destruction (Part 4) first appeared on The Expose.
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"Squad" member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) said Haitian TPS holders are vital to local communities and businesses and called for extending TPS for Haiti.
The post Rep. Pressley Urges Haitian TPS Extension to ‘Protect Workers Who Make Communities Feel Like Home’ appeared first on Breitbart.
Monday on CNN's "The Source," former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said it was time to "really question" President Donald Trump's "mental stability" based on his social media posts.
The post Marjorie Taylor Greene: Trump’s ‘Mental Stability’ Questionable Based on His Posts appeared first on Breitbart.
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) confirmed that he would be filing to retire from Congress after he admitted to having an affair with a former aide who committed suicide last year.
The post Rep. Tony Gonzales to Retire from Congress After Admitting to Affair Scandal appeared first on Breitbart.
Scott Jennings of CNN recently spoke at the Texas Public Policy Foundation Summit and gave a speech that deserves attention.
He begins by saying that he wants to tell you ‘something that you must understand about the left’ and then launches into some basic truths that must be repeated.
He talks about the left’s basic world view, the way they look at America, and then transitions seamlessly into the subject of Charlie Kirk.
Transcript via Townhall:
“Here’s something that you must understand about the left,” Jennings said. “They hate success. They hate it when people make it on their own. They hate it when you don’t need them.”
“Think about what they teach our kids. That America was founded on racism. That our country is rotten at its core. That capitalism is evil. That hard work is for suckers. That merit is a dirty word. That the nuclear family is oppressive, especially to women. That faith is for idiots and rubes for people who are from Kentucky and Texas,” he continued. “They run people for the United States Senate who think there are six genders. And that we can solve the climate crisis by taking away all of your bacon. Is it any wonder that Charlie spent his life on college campuses trying to reach young people? He saw what was happening.”
“I think when that shooter pulled the trigger and killed my friend in Utah, he thought he was ending a movement,” Jennings said. “He thought if he killed Charlie Kirk, he could kill what Charlie stood for. That the rest of us would get the message. That we would heed the warning. Silence yourselves, or we will do it for you. I think that’s what he thought. Certainly, what the people who cheered on the assassination thought. And make no mistake, there were thousands who cheered it on.”
“But in trying to silence one voice, I think they created thousands,” he said. “In trying to end a conversation that day, I think they started millions. And that is the thing we learned about faith and freedom. You can’t kill them. You can try to suppress it, and you can try to silence it. But it always finds a way. Like water finding cracks in a dam.”
Here’s the video:
Here is something that you *MUST* understand about the left
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) April 13, 2026
It’s amazing that CNN has not given this man his own show on the network. It would be something actually worth watching.
The post Scott Jennings Gives Amazing Must-See Speech: ‘Here’s Something You Must Understand About the Left’ (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Today on CSPAN, former house speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked if she or other Democrats had any advanced knowledge of Eric Swalwell’s behavior or the things he has been accused of.
The host framed it as an accusation that Republicans are making, rather than pointing out that people all over the country are now admitting that Swalwell’s issues were an open secret for years.
Pelosi denied the whole thing, saying it is “absolutely not true.”
Here’s the clip:
A flustered Nancy Pelosi denies that Democrats knew what Swalwell was doing and turned a blind eye:
Pelosi: “Absolutely not true."
Interviewer: "You had no idea?"
Pelosi: “None whatsoever."
Sure thing, Nance. pic.twitter.com/MmVHf3Wt3x
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) April 14, 2026
Pelosi’s comments are in direct conflict with a new report from ABC 7 in California (emphasis is ours):
U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell has suspended his campaign for California governor following sexual assault allegations, announcing the decision Sunday as scrutiny intensified around the Democratic primary race.
In a statement, Swalwell said he would step aside to address the claims.
“To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made – but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”
The suspension immediately reshaped a closely watched contest in which Swalwell had held a narrow lead among Democrats.
Criticism of Swalwell has circulated in Washington for years, according to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who spoke on ABC’s “This Week.”
“Every member in Congress knows not to let any young staffer around Swalwell or Matt Gaetz, it’s not a secret there,” McCarthy said.
Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said the allegations were not unexpected, citing longstanding talk among Democratic leaders.
“No, I’m not surprised frankly because there have been rumors after rumors after rumors, his colleague in Washington pretty much said that. That’s what Adam Schiff said, that’s what Nancy Pelosi said,” Brown said.
Of course, Nancy Pelosi would never lie, would she?
The post Nancy Pelosi Denies That Democrats Had Any Advanced Knowledge of Eric Swalwell’s Behavior (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
