SHARE
COPY LINK

LE PEN

France’s Le Pen hails ‘new world’ after Trump win

Donald Trump's US election victory heralds the "building of a new world", France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Sunday in a BBC television interview that sparked immediate criticism in Britain.

France's Le Pen hails 'new world' after Trump win
The BBC has been criticised for giving Marie Le Pen airtime. Photo: Screen Grab/BBC
Le Pen described the Republican's win as a “victory of the people against the elite” and said she hoped a similar outcome could be achieved in French presidential elections in May.
 
“Clearly, Donald Trump's victory is an additional stone in the building of a new world, destined to replace the old one,” she told the BBC's flagship Sunday politics programme, the Andrew Marr Show.
   
Trump “made possible what had previously been presented as impossible,” she said, predicting that the “global revolution” that resulted in his election, as well as in the vote for Brexit, will also see her elected as president.
   
Hailing the rise of “patriotic movements” in Europe, Le Pen drew parallels between the US vote, Britain's June 23 decision to leave the European Union, and France's rejection of the European constitution in 2005.
   
“All the elections are essentially referendums against the unfettered globalisation that has been imposed on us… and which today has clearly shown its limits,” she claimed.
   
She said the French election would throw up the choice between a “multi-cultural society… where fundamental Islam is progressing” and an “independent nation, with people able to control their own destiny”.
   
The interview sparked a backlash on social media as it fell on Remembrance Sunday, marking the contribution of British and Commonwealth forces during the two World Wars.
   
“Some people are offended and upset that I have been to interview Marine Le Pen and that we're showing this interview on Remembrance Sunday,” said Marr, defending the decision to run the piece.
   
“I understand that but… Le Pen could, under some circumstances, become the next French president… I don't think that the best way to honour the fallen is to fail to report on the next big challenge to western security.”

DEUTSCHE BANK

Deutsche Bank set ‘to cut ties with Trump’

Deutsche Bank will cease its longstanding relationship with outgoing US president Donald Trump, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Deutsche Bank set 'to cut ties with Trump'
Deutsche Bank's headquarters in Frankfurt. Photo: DPA

Deutsche Bank was Trump's primary lender for two decades, and he owes the institution more than $300 million, according to the newspaper, which cited an unnamed source as saying the German lender “has decided not to do business with Mr. Trump or his company in the future.”

Deutsche Bank declined to comment to AFP.

The move comes on the heels of last week's violent attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters at the president's incitement, and follows steps taken by other companies to cut ties with Trump and his businesses.

READ ALSO: Trump under investigation for Deutsche Bank ties

Christiana Riley, head of Deutsche Bank's US division, called the violent
siege on the Capital “a dark day for America and our democracy” in a post on LinkedIn last week.

“We are proud of our Constitution and stand by those who seek to uphold it to ensure that the will of the people is upheld and a peaceful transition of power takes place,” Riley said.

“It is my hope that these shocking events will result in a reinvigoration
of the principles our nation was built upon.”

Trump's relationship with Deutsche Bank has sparked numerous probes in the United States, including in New York, where the Manhattan District Attorney is investigating whether Trump committed financial crimes as he sought loans.

READ ALSO: 'Worlds between us': What Trump's German family's town thinks of him today

SHOW COMMENTS