Catherine Field: France Correspondent Elon Musk's attempt to sway elections, Fall out from the Magdeburg Christmas market attack and New Year and Bastille Day in France.

German government has accused maverick mischief maker Elon Musk of seeking to sway February's general elections. The remarks by a German government spokesperson came after Musk declared his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party.  Musk has pushed himself onto the stage on the basis that Tesla operates a manufacturing plant in the eastern of Germany.

More fall out from the Magdeburg Christmas market attack. German authorities announce that stepped-up border controls will continue through (and possibly beyond) March 2025. The government introduced the measures at its borders with 9 neighbouring countries in September 2024, and since then some 40,000 have been turned back at the country's borders and 1,800 arrested.

It's a New Year tradition that dates back to 1804..the Legion d'honneur. Or it was. It seems, with the political crisis in France (four governments and as many prime ministers this year) that there hasn't been enough cabinet meetings to approve those proposed for the highest order. The awarding of the highest order of merit takes place twice a year ...New Year and Bastille Day on 14 July.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks. It'd be
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International Correspondence on Summer Breakfast with Ends and Eye Insurance,
Peace of Mind for New Zealand Business.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
It's a very good morning, Catherine Field.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
Good morning too.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
German government has accused Elon Musk of a bit of mischief.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
It is indeed Elon Musker's in the whole of this
month has been having a go at the German government.
It sometimes seems like he stopped attacking Kestamer in the
UK and moved on to Germany, and just in the
last few days he's gone that step further than just
putting on a social media site, and he had an

(00:56):
opped an editorial in a conservative daily newspaper in Germany
which he came out very strongly in favor of this
far right alliance for Deutschan, this alternative for drouts Schan party,
saying that it was the last spark of hope for Germany. Now,
of course we've got these unscheduled federal elections in Germany

(01:16):
in February late February, and so this was really being
seen as something of a really interfering if you like,
in Germany's internal affairs. Now the spokesman for the government
just on Mondays said that this was completely out of line,
said that really is up to German voters to decide
who they should vote for, and that Musks shouldn't be

(01:37):
getting evolved. Other politicians have of course gone further. Term
the head of the center right party in Germany, who
could well become the next chancellor, has described Musk's intervention
and German politics as intrusive and pretentious. But of course
Mask knows no bounds. He says he has got the

(01:58):
right to talk about German politics because he has got
a large factory in Germany and Eastern Germany. In fact,
it's the first location in Europe when it was set
up that manufactured the cells and the cars in one
particular place. Musk has some eleven thousand employees there. They're
about to haas a record and produce some million cars annually.

(02:23):
There's Tesla cars. So he's saying, well, he's got a
big stake in that part of the country's economy. He
employs people, he's bought business there, and he has every
right and he's not going to be quiet.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
He says, oh, President musk Is some of the Democrats
are calling with Vice President Trump little test Trump's patients,
won't it.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
He Well, I think the jury's out still on how
long that friendship will last.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yes, I think that's why they're calling President mask. They're
trying to bring upon the end a bit quicker than
than Trump might want. Now more tragic fallout from the
tragic Magdabird Christmas market attack.

Speaker 3 (03:00):
Yes, indeed, I mean I know that, you know, I
am in France, but it does seem to me that over
this Christmas New Year period that since we only the
Germans that are working at the moment, and on this one,
it seems to be again again the German government just
in the last couple of hours, going back to those
subjects of security and immigration, have said that they will

(03:21):
heighten border controls for longer than originally thought. They had
originally back in September brought in increased patrols at borders
with all of the nine neighboring countries. Now this is
something that really does go against Europe. The EU is
meant to be a group of countries which there are
open borders, people move freely between them. But now after

(03:44):
that deadly attack in Magdeburg, which was what on December twentieth,
and don't forget back in August there was that knife
attack which three dead eight hundred in Western Germany, that
attack that was claimed by Islamic State. The Germans have
now said that they've got to strengthen their borders even
further and it will stay until at least March. Now

(04:06):
you're justifying this. The Interior has said, look, you we
have since those border controls came in, they've arrested eighteen
hundred people at the border, forty thousand have been turned back.
So they have saying, and she sit quite clearly that
until the EU's external borders are significantly strengthened, then Germany
is going to just keep these border controls in place.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
In New Year's tradition, there's one that goes back to
eighteen oh four.

Speaker 3 (04:34):
Oh yes, this is France. Now, I've just been hearing
about the New Zealand New Year's honors. Well, usually there
is one here in France, the Lesion Dinner, but it
seems to have fallen victim to the changing governments we've
had this year. There's been four governments in twenty twenty four.
Air in France and the Lesion dinner will not be

(04:54):
awarded this new year because apparently they haven't had time
to get all the proposals through. They haven't had them
put to cabinet. Cabinet haven't approved them, hasn't gone to
be checked that all these people who would normally get
this Lesions onner, that wasn't checked and therefore it hasn't
got back to the President's desk. So but quite a

(05:15):
bit of disappointment, I think, tim because it might seem
a long time ago, but this was the Olympics year,
so a lot of athletes were looking forward to getting
a gong for the new year. They might have to
wait a few weeks until a few more cabinet meetings
take place, but certainly yet not a good look when
your athletes have been out there getting medals working for

(05:36):
the country.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
They should have given the administration of it to the Germans,
shouldn't they. Excellent, Thanks very much for your time. That's
Catherine Field in France.

Speaker 1 (05:50):
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