Check out this Orwellian statement by French President Emmanuel Macron. 
France to Deploy Forces to Saudi Arabia Red
The Wall Street Journal reports France to Deploy Forces to Protect Saudi Red Sea Oil Port
“We are going to send military assets, that is, soldiers, radar systems, and defense systems to protect this site,” Macron said in a TV interview on Thursday. However, he stressed that France was “not getting involved in any conflict,” adding that the decision had been finalized with Saudi authorities.
We need to pause her for a second and reflect on how and why sending soldiers to Saudi is “not getting involved in any conflict.”
In the absence of sending troops one might have a poor claim. But this is insane.
What happens if someone is killed while not getting involved?
Asked whether France could deploy Rafale jet fighters to help protect the site, Macron said it would depend on how the situation evolves, adding that some planes were already in the region.
Stretching 750 miles across Saudi Arabia from the kingdom’s oil-producing heartland on the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, the East-West pipeline has become a vital wartime artery, allowing Saudi crude to reach global markets without passing through the Strait of Hormuz. It was built in the early 1980s, when the Iran-Iraq War threatened shipping in the Persian Gulf.
The pipeline can carry up to 7 million barrels a day—about 2 million for domestic Saudi refiners and the rest for export—but had never operated at full capacity for an extended period before the war.
Saudi Arabia said the pipeline was hit in multiple attacks in the Riyadh and Medina regions on Sept. 10, which caused injuries. It said the drones were fired from Iraq, where authorities have struggled to control Iran-backed militias that have repeatedly targeted Saudi infrastructure.
Two Things This Tells Us
- Macron is desperate
- France is woefully short of diesel
Average EU Diesel Price Hits Record 2.23 Euros a Litre
France24 reports Average EU Diesel Price Hits Record 2.23 Euros a Litre
Diesel prices at pumps across the European Union have hit a new high of 2.23 euros per litre, up from 2.16 euros the previous week, an AFP analysis of European Commission data published Thursday showed.
The fresh peak — equivalent to $9.63 per US gallon — comes as the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine have choked off crude supplies and damaged refineries, causing energy prices to surge worldwide.
Nineteen EU countries including Germany, France and Italy have registered record average prices, according to weekly data going back to 2005.
Among the countries setting new records, Denmark and Finland have reported the highest prices, at 2.56 euros per litre of diesel, followed by Germany at 2.46 euros.
Prices in Belgium and France are both close to 2.40 euros and are nearly 2.30 euros in Italy.
The Domestic Fallout in France
The severe price shock—supercharged by the ongoing wars disrupting global refining capacity and Middle East supplies—is creating immediate political and economic problems for Macron’s government:
- Subsidies and Empty Coffers: To head off potential street protests, the French government just doubled its targeted fuel relief package to €450 million, offering €100 payouts to low-income, high-mileage commuters. This brings total emergency energy relief spending to €1.4 billion, severely blowing out France’s budget deficit.
- Supply Shortages & Protests: Roughly 16% of French petrol stations are currently reporting shortages of at least one fuel type. Angry fishermen have already resorted to blocking oil depots and Mediterranean ports to protest the devastating impact of fuel costs on their livelihoods.
This domestic crisis is precisely why Macron is using the “infrastructure security detail” narrative to justify deployment to the Yanbu port.
Macron is attempting to spin a military deployment as a direct kitchen-table defense against the energy shock hitting French drivers.
Three Things Macron Did Not Do
- Blame Biden
- Blame Obama
- Blame Trump
Only one of those makes any sense. And that’s door #3 of course.
But that’s OK because nothing can possibly go wrong. Trump says peace talks with Iran are back on.
Seems like there is just one obstacle. So, how desperate is Trump?
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The idea is sure to annoy everyone for being too much or not enough.
The fuel price in Europe is mostly taxes.
Drop the taxes and the price would be comparable to the US price.
The French military are going to Saudi Arabia to advise the locals how to conduct an orderly retreat and then properly surrender.
France has screwed up big time. I think they are hoping that Saudi Arabia will cut them some slack in supplying diesel to them in exchange for their military assistance. However, simply staying out of the picture puts more pressure on Trump to come to an agreement with Iran or to simply walk off the field of battle.
Iran is simply delaying again. They will want to see what happens with the mid terms before they settle. When the Democrats win I think Iran’s terms will be even harsher and the Democrats are most likely to force a departure of troops with no deal or a deal that only reopens the straight either of which would also suit the Iranians.
A Gallon US is 2.56 in Finland is $9.69 a gallon. In Cal, thanks to Newsome – – it is $9.99. Finland or USA. Finland wins barely.
That number is not representative. It might be true at a few very worst pumps in the gigantic state. I’m in coastal CA in high end neighborhoods, and paid $6.35 this morning. It helps to make a point if you bother to be vaguely truthful (without even getting to the Newsom claim).
Prices across Europe vary too.
But there’s important differences in various countries (taxes).
Malta & The Netherlands are most expensive, even though Rotterdam has a ton of refineries and is a major trans shipment hub.
€ to $ conversion are subject to the vagaries of the daily Fx gyrations.
I think it is liters so 9.73 a gallon . Probably why the molester and thief hates Canada so much the temperature is 70 in detroit and 20 in windsor
MATH (CONVERSION TO US GALLONS) IS 3.785 LITERS EQUAL A GALLON US.
Yes, it does sound better when you yell it.
Macron wishes to earn brownie points from Trump, in hopes that the United States can be dragged in to fight Russia for europe.
Plenty of brownie points to distribute from the Orangutan’s diaper.
Macron must be seen as doing something.
Oceania is organizing “trip wire” forces to later pitch Hermann Göring’s quote “All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.”
“What, you want Iran to have a nuclear weapon and blow up America? You dirty far-left liberal communist!”
ha ha. I heard this from average friends and family idiots during viet nam era and after 9.11, too.
the best quote of the 20th century, from a powerful leader. hat tip Goring and you.
Whenever wherever, colonial trait can’t be removed.
The Flying Deuces
The Houthis will smoke the French.
And I wouldn’t let sleepy Joe totally off on this one. He has a lot of responsibility for the mess in Ukraine that has had some impact on hydrocarbon prices, especially in Europe. Not to mention he did nothing to rein in Bibi contributing to the mess in the Middle East
Luckily for the French, they will be nowhere near where the action is! It’s more like these wimps are “advisers” and “consultants” for the actual cannon fodder – which would be mercenaries from the Global South countries, like Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and countries from Africa and South America.
Absolutely correct, Biden not only aggressively supported Ukraine in the war, he openly stated he “supported Israel 100%”, sending hundreds of 1000 and 2000 pound bombs dropped on defenseless Gazans daily.
Nothing to see here. Just a colonial power which happens to control the currency of N. Africa helping a former colony.
Not to quibble too much but France was never a Colonial power in Saudi. That single honour went to the British in the Arabian peninsula
And the Brits were the primary cause of Iranian hostility to the West.
IKE and the CIA certainly helped overthrow the election in Iran in 1953. the shah was our puppet and brutal dictator. my family profited greatly from that back on wall street as the shah was client of Dad. ww2 vet. Ike and America are twats. best to face reality old sport.
Ike and the CIA certainly helped, and it could not have happened without their assent, but the 1953 coup was originally an MI6 project.
We were stepping up in the ME. Ike pulled the rug on UK and Israel in ’56 Suez, marking our full ascendancy as putative biggest dog ME power broker, facing off with USSR. Ike was supposedly anti-imperialist, being nice to Nasser, ha ha. But we turned out to be more bungling and frustrated than I guess we expected. At that moment we were transitioning to primary “post-imperialist” bungler in France’s place in ‘Nam, as well.
I think you overstate Ike’s role in this. The CIA brought it to him for approval a few months after he took office and told him it was absolutely essential and that the entire Middle East would turn communist if he didn’t approve it, so he did. Later, he started to understand the MIC’s role and goals in all this and announced to the world who they were and the threat they posed.
I did not said that the KSA was French colony.
the french suck about as much as we do. like the british. i vote in italy. thank heavens. at least italy has some backbone from time to time. remember when obama firebombed libya for no reason. he allowed the french fighter jets to drop the first bombs as the french president back then was in a tough re election campaign.
Shining Paragon of Decency, that Italy. No corruption to speak of
Just a little more oil for that slippery slope. WW3 has been predicted to start in the Middle East. In actuality it may be Ukraine. But they’re all involved. Maybe even Taiwan gets in on the action. Could be quick and violent or slow and painful drawn out all over the world. But then Ai could end a large portion of civilization as we know it. I don’t trust a bunch of geeks with low EQs and some mental issues. And at the center of it there’s Taco. The biggest idiot in his position, ever, never been anything like it, with a mental issue that he doesn’t even know. Everyone else should’ve known it, but maybe we’ll remember on our next attempt at civilization. I give us about 3 years or less unless we unplug the Ai or we unplug from the network. But I don’t think we’re ready for that so…
One other thing Macron did not do–propose reducing the tax (currently 0.99 Euros) on a liter of diesel. That’s about 45% of the price. That would do more to help French citizens than will this military deployment.
Take away the tax and spend money on a military operation. I think we tried that once before… didn’t go well.
No country is going to cut their gas taxes to 0. Some have made minor reductions but budgets would be blown to smithereens if the taxes were reduced to 0 and that would cause a whole other host of issues.
A large percentage of European social welfare spending comes from gas taxes.
You forgot the 20% VAT on top
Macron – like France – has delusions of adequacy.
Who else is Saudi going to use? The Jared Kushner Brigade? What is he going to do — golf them to death?
throw stale bagels from brooklyn. but not on saturday.
He is paying brigades of South Sudanese fighters to defend his appointed regime in Yemen against the Houthis.
I hope his wife gives him another black eye.
When the Saudis run out of interceptors, Macron can send mimes to keep air defenses operational.
They can put the whole country in an invisible box, brilliant!
Operation Dessert Storm. They’ve got some mean waiters.
Well, Macron could be telling the truth about the “not getting involved in any conflict” part. The French really do not get involved in any conflict – as the Germans discovered during the 1940s 😆
France wasn’t that much of a net gain for Germany: no energy resources. When Moscow didn’t crumble in ’41, Hitler had no choice but to strike southeast for oil, and to try to keep it out of allies’ hands. Arrived at only one oil field, burning to cinders.
This is Europe’s perennial problem. Pax Americana temporarily alleviated it.
Buncha rifle droppers!
This was always baked into the cake once things started to drag on with Iran and infrastructure started to get destroyed.
If it continues to be destroyed France won’t be the last one to do it either. Eventually everyone will have to protect oil infrastructure from Irans attacks. At that point those other countries will start seriously considering why they didn’t get involved sooner as more unrest happens due to rising fuel prices.
If anything goes wrong, and perhaps even if nothing does, Le Pen rates to benefit
happened when france joined and led the bombing runs on libya with obama. le pen rising i mean
The other countries know very well why they did not get involved sooner: they were not informed nor invited to partake in the attack. And were told they were not needed, until trump and hegseth finally realised what a blunder they had made.
The other countries know full well that America is in a lost position here, so there’s nothing they can do but wait for trump to accept reality. Which will probably take a while.
Well they’ve clearly figured out that isn’t going to work now that the war has moved to targeting infrastructure.
They NEED that oil and there is no other place to get it. So they have hold their noses and protect infrastructure.
It’s like your neighbor telling you he doesn’t need any help with the huge brush fire he started to burn off some brush. Once that fire starts putting embers in your property you are going to have to get involved or watch your stuff burn too.