Huge anti-Russian protests in Tbilisi echo Ukraine’s Maidan
A turn away from the EU plunges Georgia into crisis
THE ECHOES seem obvious. A Kremlin-backed oligarch grabs power and breaks off the country’s relationship with the European Union, eliciting huge protests. Masked police beat up peaceful demonstrators, bringing more people onto the street. Such were the scenes during Kyiv’s Maidan revolution in 2014, which overthrew that country’s president and ultimately led to a Russian invasion.
France’s government faces the imminent loss of a vote of confidence
Michel Barnier, the prime minister, has failed to get his budget through parliament
How Ukraine uses cheap AI-guided drones to deadly effect against Russia
Ukraine is making tens of thousands of them
Emmanuel Macron shows off the gloriously restored Notre Dame
Five years after it was gutted by fire, the cathedral is more beautiful than ever
Ursula von der Leyen has a new doctrine for handling the hard right
The boss of the European Commission embarks on a second term
Marine Le Pen spooks the bond markets
She threatens to bring down the French government, but also faces a possible ban from politics
The maths of Europe’s military black hole
It needs to spend to defend, but voters may balk