This edition of our weekly talkshow focuses on Kamala Harris upending the US presidential campaign, the situation in Ukraine and the start of the Paris Olympics.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Brussels, my love, our weekly talk show from the heart of Europe.
00:18I'm Stefan Grobe.
00:19Thanks for tuning in.
00:20Coming up today, the presidential race in the United States that just one month ago
00:25appeared destined to be a grinding matchup between two aging and unpopular men has suddenly
00:31been transformed.
00:33By dropping out of the race, albeit reluctantly, Joe Biden did what Donald Trump would likely
00:38never do, putting country over his own aspirations.
00:42Will now Kamala Harris provide the Democratic Party a boost of energy that lasts until November?
00:48And Ukraine's third summer in the trenches as the exhausted country is stuck in a war
00:54of attrition, Western military support does not seem to be forthcoming in a way that would
00:59change the situation on the battlefield.
01:02In addition, Hungary's self-declared peace mission is annoying the rest of the EU and
01:07acts as a spoiler.
01:09How reliable are Ukraine's European allies for the war effort?
01:14Let's discuss these questions with our guest today, Matthew Robinson, director of the EuroGulf
01:20Information Center in Rome, Cate Bolongaro, managing editor at MLEX Europe, and Jakob
01:26Kierkegaard, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Brussels and the Peterson Institute
01:31for International Economics in Washington.
01:34Welcome to all of you.
01:36Before we hear your first impressions, let's take a look at what was easily the stunner
01:42of the week.
01:53In the end, Joe Biden realized that his path to re-election was gone.
01:59For the first time since Lyndon Johnson took himself out of the running 56 years ago, a
02:07first-term U.S. president decided to call it quits.
02:13Although it was somehow expected, Biden's announcement sent shockwaves through America
02:18and it dramatically changed the dynamics of the race.
02:26It is now looking like a fight between Donald Trump against Kamala Harris,
02:30the ex-president versus the vice president, the convicted felon versus the prosecutor.
02:36Now it's Trump who is facing the age issue.
02:38And Harris?
02:39Can she spark enough excitement among women and minorities to turn this campaign around?
02:48Can she turn the campaign around?
02:50Can she turn the polling trend around?
02:52Well, I think that's the big question on everybody's mind and what we've seen on a
02:55lot of polls is that, you know, she does seem to be able to at least be pulling ahead.
02:59She came from this kind of unknown quantity background.
03:01You know, there was a lot of, especially here in Europe, a lot of questions of who is she
03:04actually, because she hasn't been engaging very much with European officials.
03:08And I think that now the question is, you know, can she tap into the strength she has?
03:12Because obviously this age narrative that Trump was harping on for a long time with
03:17Joe Biden is now going to flip in her favor because she is quite a bit younger than Donald
03:22Trump.
03:22So I hope that she's, you know, yeah, it's going to be really interesting to see what
03:26kind of, what kind of narrative will surround her going forward.
03:30It was amazing to see how quickly she got the party and the party's top brass behind
03:36her.
03:37She was on the phone for 10 hours on Sunday, apparently.
03:42Where have all the doubts gone about her?
03:45Or have we all underestimated her?
03:48No necessity.
03:49I mean, it's very clear that Biden pulled, he did what the party establishment wanted,
03:55but then he pulled the fast one on them by basically anointing her his successor right
04:01away.
04:01I mean, clearly people like President Obama is seemingly not on board with that.
04:07So, you know, but the party realistically doesn't have much choice in my opinion.
04:12They need to reunite.
04:13They need to push her as a candidate and hope.
04:18I mean, I think that ultimately this election is going to be sort of decided by this category.
04:24We call them the double haters.
04:26They don't like Trump and they didn't like Biden.
04:28So the challenge for Harris is to, you know, be the least, the last man standing and just
04:34be likable enough, as they used to say about Hillary.
04:38Yeah, yeah.
04:39Matthew, the timing, Biden's timing was absolutely perfect, right?
04:44He waited until the end of the Republican convention on a Sunday afternoon with a tweet,
04:51basically.
04:52No pictures of him.
04:53No pundits could get in.
04:56He might be old, but he's still sharp.
05:01It was a quiet announcement from his luxurious beachside estate in Delaware.
05:09But I think what you see from the Democratic Party is a party in serious trouble.
05:14I don't think we should sugarcoat this for the Harris campaign.
05:17You saw a Republican convention that had never been so united.
05:21I think arguably the last time you saw a Republican convention that united was George W.
05:25Bush in 2004, shortly after 9-11.
05:29You see the Democratic Party, the Dems in complete disarray.
05:34And you see a vice president who arguably, if Kamala Harris had to go through a primary
05:40campaign per usual, she would have had seen serious challenges.
05:45This has been a coronation.
05:47You've had leadership of the Democratic Party, whether it's Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi,
05:52former President Clinton, all start to rally behind you.
05:56It looks arguably she is the presumptive nominee, short of any surprises, in a few weeks at
06:03their convention in Chicago.
06:04But if you look at the polling, yes, there's been a slight uptick.
06:08But the vice president still trails in every single swing state apart from Virginia.
06:14This is going to be an upward climb for the Democratic Party.
06:17They've got themselves into this awful mess.
06:21And I think it's definitely an advantage, Trump.
06:24And I think that if Kamala Harris can try and surprise some people with an interesting
06:28running mate pick, which could come in a matter of days or a week, maybe she can see a bounce
06:34from that.
06:35Talk about unity of the Republican Party.
06:37That's what happens if you're in a cult, right?
06:41John Trump's campaign has been caught cold by Biden's withdrawal.
06:45Instead of an aging incumbent, he's now facing Kamala Harris, who's 20 years younger.
06:50As we just said, this includes defining her in public as he had defined Biden before.
06:57Now, let's look at one of his first attempts.
07:01From the moment we take back the White House from crooked Joe Biden and Kamala, I call
07:06her laughing Kamala.
07:08You ever watch her laugh?
07:09She's crazy.
07:11You know, you can tell a lot by a laugh.
07:13No, she's crazy.
07:14She's nuts.
07:16She's not as crazy as Nancy Pelosi.
07:18Crazy Nancy.
07:21Did you see Nancy Pelosi is selling out Biden now?
07:24Did you see?
07:25She turned on him like a dog.
07:28Well, I don't know if he should continue all of a sudden.
07:31Where did that come from?
07:32She was 100 percent all of a sudden.
07:34She's not sure.
07:36Not sure means he's gone.
07:38But no, she's crazy as a bed bug.
07:40She's a crazy.
07:42Kate, any comments?
07:44I think it's a convenient narrative that has been used for a long time to slam women leaders
07:50and women who pose a threat.
07:51How can any woman in America vote for Donald Trump?
07:54I think that's a question a lot of folks have been asking, but he did seem to tap into,
07:58you know, there are still that conservative segment of the population, especially religious
08:03folks that they want to see those traditional values represented.
08:07And, you know, Donald Trump has really harnessed that narrative.
08:09And the people around him do believe that.
08:12Of course, there's questions about whether he really believes what he's saying.
08:15But there is he has tapped into that narrative.
08:16And I think that that works for a segment of the population in the U.S.
08:20But, you know, calling a woman crazy is a very normative thing that we see often,
08:25especially in politics.
08:26It's an easy way.
08:27I think he doesn't really know what to make of her, really.
08:30So the very first polls show that Harris is doing significantly better than Biden and
08:38therefore Trump among women, blacks and young voters between 18 and 35.
08:44Is that the enthusiasm that was missing on the Democratic side?
08:49Well, I mean, from their point of view, you'd certainly hope so.
08:52I mean, I think, yes, it is difficult to imagine that young Americans can be particularly excited
08:58about a guy who ran for Senate in the 70s or was elected to the Senate in the 70s.
09:05So I think, yes, I think that has something to do with it.
09:09And but it's the usual issue in the U.S.
09:11Will young people, they might be enthusiastic.
09:14They might even sign up to vote.
09:16But will they actually turn up and cast a ballot?
09:18We don't know.
09:19But if they do on the numbers that we have seen, then I think, you know, Kamala Harris,
09:23it looks pretty good.
09:24Yeah.
09:25Matthew, what do you think?
09:27Some of the indicators have definitely started to tick a little bit
09:31in a positive direction for the Harris campaign.
09:33But I think we should be very cautious about looking at nationwide polling.
09:38This election is going to come down to the Electoral College and a handful of swing states,
09:42Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, maybe parts of the Sun Belt,
09:47although Trump is starting to poll very well there in the likes of Arizona,
09:50Nevada.
09:51If you look to the south in Georgia, this is where the campaign is going to be fought.
09:56Won or lost.
09:57I know the Harris campaign is starting to look potentially at the likes of North Carolina.
10:02The governor there, Cooper, has been tagged as I think he's on the short list now for
10:06a running mate.
10:07The Harris campaign is going to need to claw back your blue collar,
10:12Rust Belt voters in certain parts of the country.
10:15If her campaign can manage to do that, maybe she's in the running.
10:19But I think these broad nationwide polling as it relates to certain demographics is,
10:23well, shouldn't be completely ignored.
10:27It's not the important thing here.
10:28Kamala Harris could end up winning the popular vote in the United States by about five,
10:32six million votes and still potentially lose in a quasi-Electoral College landslide.
10:37That's the reality for the Democratic Party today.
10:40And I think they're very...
10:41But if she has a better turnout, manages to get a better turnout among Blacks,
10:45and then cities like Detroit, Milwaukee will bring her over the top.
10:51I mean, that could be...
10:52I mean, the vice president will need a big turnout in some of these urban areas,
10:58certainly in the likes of Georgia and Atlanta.
11:01I think the Democrats have struggled amongst the Latino population,
11:05and they've seen that as Trump is gaining a solid lead in the likes of Arizona and Nevada.
11:11It's not impossible, but the Democratic Party have got themselves into this whole
11:15unarguably completely avoidable scenario, but they are where they are.
11:20And you already see the Republican vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance,
11:25he is crisscrossing the Rust Belt.
11:27And that Trump campaign has made no secrets about that.
11:30They're putting him in Michigan, Wisconsin.
11:32So we just saw Trump.
11:34Let's look at Kamala Harris, who made her first campaign appearance on Tuesday in Milwaukee,
11:39Wisconsin, of all places, the city where the Republicans held their party convention
11:43just a few days earlier.
11:45Here she is.
11:46So Wisconsin, ultimately in this election, we each face a question.
11:51What kind of country do we want to live in?
11:54Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion,
12:00and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear, and hate?
12:08And here's the beauty of this moment.
12:11We each have the power to answer that question.
12:16The power is with the people.
12:18We have doors to knock on.
12:19We have phone calls to make.
12:21We have voters to register.
12:24And we have an election to win.
12:30I want to come back to the enthusiasm factor, Kate.
12:34How important is it?
12:36Well, I think it is a big deal because it can get people that are sitting on their couches
12:39and don't necessarily, you know, go to vote if it's a, you know, the double hater situation.
12:43If they don't want Joe Biden and they don't want Donald Trump,
12:46they may be willing to go out and vote for Kamala Harris if she's able to get them powered up.
12:50And those are some of those key demographics, young people, people of color, women.
12:54If she can get them to go and vote for her by convincing them that she's going to be able to,
12:59you know, have an America that those folks would believe would be the right way for the
13:03country to be going in, she does stand a chance.
13:05Obviously, like, that is some way that she could move forward and cinch that, the win.
13:12And Jacob, the Democratic coalition, very fragile, as we've heard and as we know.
13:19Can she hold it together?
13:21Again, it's early days.
13:22We'll see who the VP will be that obviously decides which region of the country,
13:27even which specific swing states they focus on, given that she can.
13:31I mean, you mentioned Roy Cooper.
13:32You could take Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania.
13:34There are sort of different strategies.
13:36But no, I mean, I think I think she can.
13:38And I think she does have a pretty potentially good narrative, because what she can do that
13:44arguably, you know, other incumbent presidents haven't been able to do since, I guess, what,
13:501892, she can basically say, and she said it, right?
13:53We are not going back to that, a.k.a. Trump.
13:56She needs to remind, and she's arguably did it in the clip you just put, but I mean,
14:01she needs to remind people what the Trump years were.
14:05I lived in Washington at the time, and it was complete chaos.
14:09Do people really want that?
14:10I strongly doubt that.
14:12And if she can articulate that narrative forcefully, I think she can win.
14:16The fact that she's a woman, does that play a role against Trump?
14:19I think the fact, and not to sound too harsh, but I think the fact that she can string a
14:24couple of sentences together and talk coherently is a bit of a refreshing reality for the Democratic
14:31Party.
14:32And sadly, and I say with the greatest respect of the president, but Biden was not up for
14:37the task of campaigning.
14:39So I think you've seen this democratic grassroots and base that were really quite depressed
14:46about the prospects of the nominee.
14:48Now you've seen a burst of enthusiasm, and I think the vice president is going to try
14:53and tap into that.
14:53I mean, I'd say as it relates to her running mates, another individual that we haven't
14:59discussed is Mark Kelly, Senator for Arizona, former astronaut.
15:03His wife, and interestingly, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, was the victim of a horrific
15:09gun violence crime that led to, and certainly that will play into the campaign as Trump
15:14tries to play onto the assassination attempt.
15:16So that's a somewhat of a dark horse, but certainly on the short list.
15:22Let's turn our attention to her foreign policy stances.
15:27Just hour after the nomination, the quasi-nomination of Kamala Harris, the EU foreign ministers
15:33met in Brussels for a routine meeting.
15:35Naturally, they were asked about the events in the USA, and here are some of their answers.
15:41Biden did a great job for many, many years.
15:44It was a courageous decision.
15:46Kamala Harris, who will take the lead now for the Democrats.
15:51It's a woman.
15:53It's a strong woman, and I wish her all the best.
15:56Well, the Americans have to decide.
15:58I don't want to interfere.
16:00I don't think it's our role to go and to tell the Americans what do they have to do,
16:04or to express preferences for one or the other.
16:07For all of us, it's the same.
16:08We will work with whoever is democratically elected in the US.
16:11It's very clear.
16:12Again, let's remember the Trump administration previously was actually good for European
16:16defense.
16:17They put more money, more troops in Europe.
16:20I have great respect for the American president's decision.
16:23Joe Biden is putting his country's interests above his own.
16:28Who is Kamala Harris?
16:29Most Europeans don't know her.
16:31Most European politicians don't know her.
16:33Do we know her foreign policy positions, Kate?
16:36Well, she hasn't really been focusing on that.
16:38A lot of her lead, she was leading on a lot of domestic files.
16:41You know, there was migration, which she was highly criticized for in the southern border
16:45with the US and Mexico.
16:46And then she's become a champion for abortion rights after Roe v.
16:50Wade was thrown out.
16:52So she has focused a lot on domestic issues, and Biden has really driven that foreign policy
16:56agenda.
16:57And he sees it as his legacy at this point from what we're seeing.
17:00You know, he wants to focus on what's going on in Ukraine and Israel.
17:02So I think Harris hasn't actually had the opportunity to really flex those foreign policy
17:06muscles.
17:07But honestly, she spent a lot of her childhood in Canada.
17:09She's got parents from India and Jamaica.
17:11She's very international perspective, just even from her own upbringing.
17:15So I think she's quite aware of the world.
17:17She speaks some French, which, of course, in Brussels is going to make her more popular.
17:21So yeah, I think that I wouldn't count her out.
17:23Yeah, yeah.
17:25We've been hearing this for quite a while now that in this town and elsewhere,
17:30Europeans are getting ready for a second Trump administration.
17:34If they need to get ready for a Harris administration, what would they need to do?
17:41Well, I mean, I think, as was alluded to just now, I mean, it would be to a large
17:45extent a continuity administration on a lot of these issues.
17:49I mean, if you listen to some of the speeches, I mean, she did go to the Munich Security
17:52Conference for several years, for instance, and basically expressed, if anything, you
17:57could say probably a moderately more hawkish line on Ukraine than certainly parts of the
18:03White House, aka the National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan.
18:08If you look at her potential new National Security Advisor, Philip Gordon, he's another
18:14person who until recently was doing a lot of work on the Middle East, where he clearly
18:18has, I mean, he wrote a book about how it was basically wrong for the Obama administration
18:23that he was in not to bomb Assad in 2014, 2015.
18:29So I think we might actually in Europe be prepared for one continuity.
18:36But if it swings away from continuity, perhaps in a more hawkish direction.
18:40Matthew, she was in Munich several times, but the fact that European politicians haven't
18:47really built a relationship with her, given Biden's age, wasn't that a mistake?
18:52I think arguably, yes.
18:54And what hasn't been discussed, I think there's a reason why, in my view, the Biden administration
19:02and the Biden campaign didn't have a closer look back in December at stepping out of this
19:06race.
19:07If there was a sitting, strong, viable vice president that really could take the leads
19:13and take it to the Trump campaign, I think he would have considered more seriously stepping
19:18by in January.
19:20Kamala Harris enjoys some of the worst approval ratings of any sitting vice president in history.
19:26Part of that is not the vice president's fault.
19:29She has arguably been kept in the shadows a little bit by the Biden administration.
19:33I think arguably on foreign policy, there are a host of them.
19:37Dan Quayle had similar thoughts, maybe.
19:40All right.
19:40We're going to take a break now.
19:41And when we come back, Ukraine's third summer in the trenches.
19:45Can the country reverse the situation on the battlefield?
19:49Stay with us.
19:59Welcome back to Brussels, my love.
20:01I'm Stefan Grobe, and my guests are still Matthew Robinson, Kate Bolognaro, and Jacob
20:05Kierkegaard.
20:07Between now and fall, Ukraine is expected to battle Russian advances along a 1,000-kilometer
20:12front line, hoping recently supplied Western weapons will help hold back Russian forces.
20:19But Kiev's increasingly bigger concern is of political nature.
20:22Ukraine has to navigate a delicate diplomatic landscape, balancing Western unity with a
20:27push for peace talks on its own terms.
20:30Viktor Orban's trips to Moscow and Beijing are seen in Ukraine as an attempt to undermine
20:35Western unity and to weaken or even end military support.
20:40The rest of the EU is still united in its opposition to such a stance, but for how much
20:46longer?
20:47So what's next, Jacob?
20:49Can Ukraine survive the Ukrainian – the Hungarian presidency and the U.S. elections
20:55in November?
20:56No, I think they can.
20:57I mean, I think – actually, in military terms, I would actually argue that Ukraine
21:02probably earlier this year passed the trough, if you like.
21:05I don't think there's a risk that they in the future will run as low on artillery
21:11shells, for instance, as they did.
21:13We're seeing, obviously, the rising – ever-rising importance of drones.
21:19The key figure here is that 90 percent of drones used in Ukraine are domestically produced.
21:25We're starting to see Western arms producers set up production facilities in Ukraine.
21:31So from a military point of view, they need to keep doing what they're doing, which
21:35is to kill as many Russians and destroy as much Russian equipment as possible.
21:40That doesn't mean hold on to every strip of land.
21:44So it's actually an advantage for Ukraine if Russia, for political reasons, keeps attacking.
21:49I mean, you have probably seen the latest numbers from the UK defense ministry where
21:54they are now estimating – and these are not Ukrainian numbers.
21:57These are British intelligence or NATO numbers.
22:00They are talking about Russian losses on average in the last couple of months of 1,200, 1,300
22:05men a day.
22:06How about the EU position?
22:08I mean, Hungary is still blocking.
22:12Now they have the presidency.
22:13Was Borrell right to sabotage, to boycott the meeting, council meeting, Kate, in Budapest
22:20next month?
22:20Well, I think he was quite clever.
22:22He found a way to try to strike back at Hungary in a visible way, but without being – because
22:30there's only so much that they can do here at the EU.
22:33Obviously, Orban has tried to assert that role abroad.
22:37The reception, obviously, was quite well with Putin, and Putin was happy to have him there.
22:42But the EU was not happy with him.
22:44But I think that it really goes to the crux of the matter that the EU sometimes struggles
22:49to take a tough stance when a member state does something that, you know, the Club of
22:5327 doesn't agree with.
22:55And so I think that it was a way – a clever way of Borrell trying to show some strength
22:59without entirely undermining the EU system, which is, you know, the presidency.
23:03Borrell said something else this week, Matthew, following the Foreign Affairs Council, which
23:08promptly made headlines.
23:10Here it is, and then get to you.
23:13Putin wants to put Ukraine into the darkness and the cold.
23:18And that's why the coming two or three months will be crucial.
23:22And we don't have time to wait before the winter arrives.
23:26I ask ministers to start mobilising now to provide more power generation capacities to
23:31Ukraine.
23:32Contributing to the Ukrainian Energy Support Fund is also needed.
23:37To remind there is an aggressor and an aggressor that Ukraine is defending, and we are supporting
23:43Ukraine on defending itself.
23:45Matthew, the Russian attacks on – he's talking about the power grid and the thermal
23:51power plants.
23:52Is that a new escalation of warfare?
23:55Yeah, I mean, I think you're seeing, you know, the Russians are trying to get as creative
23:59as they can.
24:00But I think we've framed this entire debate in the wrong way.
24:05The endgame here is a peace and a sustainable peace.
24:10And I think we've framed it in a great way, either continued war or peace on Russia's
24:15terms and concessions on the Ukrainian side.
24:19I think we start – we need to start to think more creatively about a peace on Ukrainian
24:24terms.
24:25And yes, it was welcome if you look at the NATO conference in Washington, certainly in
24:31advance, arguably, in some of the spending commitments that they'll see Ukraine well
24:36through 2025, maybe in part safeguarding on a potential Trump White House.
24:41But I think we have to tread very carefully.
24:45I think Orban's decision to unilaterally meet with Putin was a mistake.
24:51But equally, I think it's a mistake on the part of some, both – and you've seen it
24:56in the newly elected parliament here, the Council on boycotting aspects of the Hungarian
25:01presidency.
25:02I think we need cooler heads here.
25:04I think it's right that spending is maintained for now.
25:07But I think in the long term, we need to start thinking about peace on Ukrainian terms.
25:13Because whether Trump wins this election or not, be under no doubt, the U.S. Congress
25:20controls money and appropriations as it relates to the funding in the Ukraine.
25:25And even in a potential Kamala Harris presidency, there's a good chance the Republican Party
25:31is still going to hold control of the House of Representatives, wins back the Senate,
25:35and you could already see squeezing potentially on Ukrainian spending.
25:40That's just the legislative reality of where I think this conflict is going.
25:44Look, Borrell also said that if it comes to peace plans, the EU's position is the Zelensky
25:52peace plan.
25:53It's about 10 or 12 points or something.
25:55And among them is the total withdrawal of Russian troops and the prosecution of war
26:01crimes.
26:02How can we achieve that peace on Ukrainians?
26:05You have to militarily defeat Russia.
26:08It's very simple.
26:09I mean, that's what it means to continue the war.
26:11It's basically to convince Vladimir Putin to withdraw Russian troops.
26:16Now, the Ukrainians have ways in which they think, for instance, if they believe they
26:20can isolate Crimea, they have, you know, they have now bombed all the ferries.
26:26They have clearly forced Russia to withdraw its navy.
26:30We will see whether they're able to destroy the Kirk Bridge.
26:33But if you can isolate and basically put Crimea under siege, well, maybe Putin will
26:39change his mind.
26:40I don't know.
26:41But I mean, this peace plan is only feasible if you militarily defeat Putin.
26:45You're not going to get him to stop by sitting down with him unless that happens.
26:50Right.
26:50Kate, what do you think?
26:53My impression is that when you talk to people, there is the impression that this war cannot
26:57be decided on the battlefield.
27:00So where do we go from here, then?
27:02Well, I think it really depends what happens in the United States in November.
27:05I think, to be honest, that's really going to be the question because, you know, Trump
27:10is pushing for, you know, them sitting down and negotiating.
27:14And he's going to push Ukraine harder to accept Russian terms than a Harris presidency,
27:20for example, who would be willing to perhaps spend more, continue that support so that
27:25Ukraine can reposition itself to be able to exact the demands that it wants.
27:29Thank you very much.
27:30That's all we have time for.
27:32Thanks to our guests and to our audience watching.
27:36Make sure you stay tuned to Euronews.
27:46Welcome back to Brussels, my love.
27:48I'm Stefan Grobe, still joined by Matthew Robinson, Kate Bolongaro, and Jacob Kierkegaard.
27:54The games are on.
27:55After years of preparations, it's now time for the athletes to show who is faster, higher,
28:01stronger.
28:02All this under the official slogan, Games Wide Open.
28:06But for some Paris locals, it's rather all closed.
28:10Shop owners and cafe operators are angry at the authorities for heavily restricting people's
28:16movement and literally fencing them in.
28:18Like during COVID, people now have to show a QR code to pass.
28:23Not good for business.
28:24So no joy in the city of light.
28:27We found a bar owner and here's what he had to say.
28:34I've just come out of my restaurant and I realized they have locked me up like a prisoner.
28:38I can't get in or out.
28:40And as for my customers, I'm forced to close for 10 days because customers can't get in.
28:46Look at the barriers they've put up.
28:47July is normally the busiest month because there are tourists.
28:51But now the tourists can't even get in.
28:53They need a QR code.
28:55Since this morning, people have had to turn back and they don't know where to go.
29:01People who don't know where to go, that's not necessarily good for business.
29:05Have the security authorities overdone it here?
29:08Well, I remember seeing the Olympics in Vancouver in 2010 and definitely we weren't dealing
29:13with the same situation.
29:15And definitely we weren't dealing with the same level of security threats.
29:18France has had quite a few attacks over the last few years.
29:22They are concerned about that.
29:23But clearly, this is also having an impact on locals' lives and the ability to move around.
29:30The Olympics are really an albatross at the end.
29:33It really does cost a lot of money for a city and it does disrupt the life of locals.
29:37The tourists love it, but it can really be annoying for folks that are living there.
29:41We've been seeing this for quite some time now, that there are less and less
29:45cities in democratic countries who even want to put in a bid here because
29:51it's so annoying and it's so expensive.
29:55That's probably something.
29:57We have another Olympics on the horizon in Europe.
29:59That's the Winter Olympics.
30:00It's in early 2026 in Milan and Cortina.
30:05I was up in the Dolomites just a few months ago.
30:09And it was interesting watching that clip because I already heard some of the similar
30:13type of narratives from some Italian restaurant and hotel where some of these areas have turned
30:19into building sites for the Winter Olympic Games and they've been already forced to close.
30:24I think you're always going to see concerns like this.
30:27But we should look at the big picture.
30:29This is a huge selling point from a European standpoint.
30:33I think it's really important that Paris pulls off, and I think they will pull off,
30:37an excellent Games.
30:38I hope the same for the Italians in the Winter Olympics in the not so distant future.
30:44So you're going to get all of this, whether it's Olympics, whether it's major golf
30:48tournaments, tennis tournaments, the Euros.
30:52Of course, there's going to be local concerns.
30:54But where a country and a local authority can put together the money, both public and
30:59private, to pull this off, I think the local community needs to rally behind this.
31:04We need to look at the big picture.
31:05Jacob, your thoughts?
31:07A bar owner's issue is something where you can fix that relatively quickly.
31:13Yes, maybe he loses business.
31:14Well, you do a transfer from proceeds elsewhere.
31:18But it's also other Parisians.
31:21Now they can't.
31:24They like the city as it is.
31:26And obviously, Paris in July is always full, right?
31:29I mean, this is kind of perhaps one of the…
31:30French are always complaining.
31:33There is that as well.
31:34But I mean, I think it is an issue, as you mentioned,
31:37typically the Olympics is either…
31:39I mean, this is the third time Paris has hosted it, for instance.
31:43But it's also…
31:44Alternatively, the model is a new country, the Seoul, Beijing, etc., sort of announcing
31:49itself on the world stage.
31:51That's not the model that you obviously can use in Europe.
31:55You need to integrate with the existing local population.
32:00And perhaps there are some glitches here and there.
32:03But overall, I'm convinced they will pull off great games.
32:05We'll see.
32:06Wonderful closing words.
32:07That's it for this edition of Brussels, my love.
32:10Many thanks to our panel and to our viewers at home.
32:13If you want to tell us anything on any topic, write to brusselsmylove at euronews.com
32:18or find us on social media.
32:20I'm Stefan Grober.
32:21Have an excellent week and see you soon on Euronews.
32:24Take care and bye-bye.
32:33Bye-bye.