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France rejects Snowden’s asylum request

France officially rejected an application for asylum by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden on Thursday leaving the fugitive former CIA operative facing a narrowing number of options as he seeks to avoid being forced to return to the US.

France rejects Snowden's asylum request
Manuel Valls. Photo: AFP

France said on Thursday it was rejecting a request for asylum from fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.

"Like many countries, France received a request for asylum from Mr. Edward Snowden through its embassy in Moscow. Given the legal analysis and the situation of the interested party, France will not agree," the interior ministry said in a statement.

Earlier in the day French Interior Minister Manuel Valls made FRances position clear on the matter when he said that he was opposed to granting Snowden asylum.

At that time Valls told BMFTV that France had not received a request for asylum from Snowden. He said such a request would be studied but that he personally opposed it. It was the first time a French government official has explicitly rejected the idea of granting Snowden asylum.

"This request, if it is made, poses a number of legal problems. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not in favour," Valls said, noting: "The United States is a democratic country, with an independent judicial system."

Snowden has been holed up in a Moscow airport transit area since June 23rd, seeking to avoid US espionage charges for revealing a vast surveillance programme to collect phone and Internet data. He had initially requested asylum in 21 countries.

Valls's words come a day after German media reported that Berlin had officially turned down the asylum request from Snowden as the whistleblower's options appear to narrow by the day and the prospect of him remaining holed up in Moscow airport for quite some time increases.

Earlier this week, several political parties in France, including the far-right National Front and the far-left Parti de Gauche, called on President François Hollande to come to Snowden's aid.

"We must protect someone who has worked for the good of the public,” said Marine Le Pen. “If we don’t grant asylum to Snowden then who exactly are we going to grant it to.”

France’s Green party the EELV (Europe, Ecologie – Les Verts), which has two ministers in the Socialist-led government, urged President François Hollande to help Snowden, “a defender of freedom” for “raising the alert”.

In a statement the party said: “The EELV and all its French and European MPs solemnly request the President of the Republic and the government grant political asylum to a man who had the courage to reveal the existence of illegal surveillance but also allowed us to know the extent of it, which included the EU offices in the United Nations and Brussels."

Where does Snowden go from here? How do you think it will all end? Let us know in the comments section below.

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POLITICS

France vows to block EU-South America trade deal in current form

France has vowed to prevent a trade deal between the European Union and the South American Mercosur bloc from being signed with its current terms, as the country is rocked by farmer protests.

France vows to block EU-South America trade deal in current form

The trade deal, which would include agricultural powers Argentina and Brazil, is among a litany of complaints by farmers in France and elsewhere in Europe who have been blocking roads to demand better conditions for their sector.

They fear it would further depress their produce prices amid increased competition from exporting nations that are not bound by strict and costly EU environmental laws.

READ ALSO Should I cancel my trip to France because of farmers’ protests?

“This Mercosur deal, as it stands, is not good for our farmers. It cannot be signed as is, it won’t be signed as is,” Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told broadcasters CNews and Europe 1.

The European Commission acknowledged on Tuesday that the conditions to conclude the deal with Mercosur, which also includes Paraguay and Uruguay, “are not quite there yet”.

The talks, however, are continuing, the commission said.

READ ALSO 5 minutes to understand French farmer protests

President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France opposes the deal because it “doesn’t make Mercosur farmers and companies abide by the same rules as ours”.

The EU and the South American nations have been negotiating since 2000.

The contours of a deal were agreed in 2019, but a final version still needs to be ratified.

The accord aims to cut import tariffs on – mostly European – industrial and pharmaceutical goods, and on agricultural products.

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