French left-wing parties will not enter into coalition with Macron's bloc, Melenchon said

Jean-Luc Melenchon, founder of the left-wing La France Insoumise party, which is part of the New Popular Front coalition, said that he does not intend to unite with the coalition of French President Emmanuel Macron.

"We do not intend to participate in such negotiations," Melenchon said in an address to his supporters.

Earlier in the day, Melenchon called on Macron to admit defeat in the elections, dismiss incumbent Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and allow the left-wing coalition to form a new cabinet.

Melenchon has repeatedly criticized the policies of Macron and his government, including with regard to the situation in Ukraine. In particular, commenting on Macron’s statements about increasing military aid to Kiev, Melenchon stated that a conflict with Russia could only lead to the complete destruction of France, noting that it is necessary to find ways to talk about peace.

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Police cleared the Place de la Republique in Paris of demonstrators. The protesters left behind piles of garbage, burned bicycles and broken glass of bus stops, media reported.

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🇭🇺🇨🇳 Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban has arrived in Beijing where he will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Orban's spokesman Bertalan Havashi said.

"Prime Minister Viktor Orban's peace mission continues. The head of government arrived in Beijing early Monday morning... Viktor Orbán will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the day," Havashi was quoted as saying by the MTI news agency.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Russia's capital Moscow with a delegation on July 5 and held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He called the visit the next stage of a peace mission, with the previous stage being his trip to Kiev on July 2. Orban said he intended to hold several "equally unexpected" meetings next week.

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❗️ Left-wing coalition wins parliamentary elections, receives 182 seats in French parliament – Interior Ministry

➖ Jean-Luc Melanchon's New Popular Front coalition of left-wing parties has won 182 seats in the French National Assembly, according to the French Interior Ministry.

➖ President Emmanuel Macron's bloc gained 168 seats.

➖ Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardelle’s National Rally got 143 parliamentary seats.

In total, there are 577 seats in the lower house of parliament. Thus, no political force gained enough votes to form a majority government alone. No information has emerged about possible coalitions.

French and European media say the lack of a majority in parliament may plunge France into a prolonged political crisis due to an inability to form a new cabinet, calling the situation unmanageable.

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Radio station WURD fired a host who interviewed Biden using questions prepared by the president's campaign team.

The station's statement called the act a violation of the principle of independence and accountability solely to one's audience.

WURD stressed that Andrea Lawful-Sanders negotiated the interview and organized it independently - "without management's knowledge, consultation or interaction."

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Pastor: "Let us stand together!"

Biden: [thinking about ice cream]

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🇭🇺🇨🇳 Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met in Beijing Monday, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

"Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Hungarian Prime Minister Orban at Diaoyutai State Residence in Beijing on the morning of July 8," the television outlet said.

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Biden says he ended the pandemic, vows to seize the means of production, claiming "we gotta do something about" corporate profits after boasting he doubled them 🤔

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🇷🇺🇮🇳 Putin-Modi talks in Moscow: What to expect

Indian PM Narendra Modi is visiting Moscow on July 8-9 to co-chair the 22nd Russia-India Annual Summit with President Vladimir Putin.

Modi will attend a private dinner hosted by Putin on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday, Modi will meet with the Indian community in Moscow; lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Kremlin; and visit an exhibition venue. Core to the visit will be bilateral talks in “restricted” and broader, delegation-level format.

The upcoming talks should be viewed from the lens of an extremely promising bilateral context, which “allows India and Russia to strengthen their strategic autonomy amid global geopolitical changes”, Dr. Raj Kumar Sharma, a senior research fellow at NatStrat, a New Delhi-based think tank, tells Sputnik. Russia is a country that “remains very important for India's engagement in Eurasia,” alongside the overarching bilateral strategic relationship of the sides, he adds.

Putin-Modi talks to focus on:

🔸Defense and energy security amid regional and global developments

🔸Ties within groups like BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, East Asia Summit (EAS), UN.

🔸Bilateral trade, which has surged to $65 billion, predominantly due to energy cooperation;

🔸Sustainable payment mechanisms amid de-dollarization drive

🔸Investment in energy, banking, railways and steel

🔸Nuclear energy amid work on units of Kudankulam NPP built in collaboration with Russia

🔸Russia-India Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS), designed to boost military cooperation; streamline military logistics; expand India’s maritime outreach (including to the Arctic), balance India's logistics agreements with Quad countries; and strengthen Russia’s Indo-Pacific presence

🔸Transport projects like International North-South Transport Corridor and Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime Corridor

🔸Science & tech, education, and culture. Russia and India plan mutual visa-free travel by end of 2024.

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