Category Archives: Contemporary France

Trump Administration Aims to Manipulate History

Posted on April 24, 2025 by briansandberg

President Trump and his administration are attempting to manipulate the historical record of the United States and control historical interpretations of its past. President Trump issued an executive order on “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” on 27 March … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Contemporary France, Education Policy, French History, Higher Education, Historiography and Social Theory, History in the Media, History of Race and Racism, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Museums and Historical Memory, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Le Pen Guilty of Embezzlement, Barred from Politics

Posted on March 31, 2025 by briansandberg

French politician Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) political party, has been found guilty of embezzling millions of euros in European Parliament funds. She was found guilty of using the European Union funds illegally to … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary France, European History, European Studies, European Union, French History, Political Culture, Political History of the United States, Political Parties and Organizations, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Marine Le Pen Embezzlement Trial in France

Posted on March 31, 2025 by briansandberg

The French public awaits the verdict in Marine Le Pen’s embezzlement trial, which is expected to conclude tomorrow (Monday 31 March). Le Pen is the leader of the far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) political party, which has has its roots … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary France, European History, European Studies, European Union, French History, Legal history, Political Culture, Political Parties and Organizations | Leave a comment

Attack on U.S. Research and Education: French Views

Posted on March 17, 2025 by briansandberg

I participated in a workshop on Guerres de Religion et Changement Climatique (Religious Wars and Climate Change) at the IMéRA (Institute for Advanced Study) in Marseille, France, on 11 March 2025. This was a workshop that I co-organized with Jérémie … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Climate Change, Contemporary France, Current Research, Education Policy, Environmental History, European History, European Studies, European Union, French History, French Wars of Religion, History of Science, History of Violence, Little Ice Age, Mediterranean World, Religious Violence, Revolts and Revolutions, United States History and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World, Women and Gender History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

French and U.S. Presidents are Divided on Ukraine

Posted on February 25, 2025 by briansandberg

The Presidents of France and the United States are sharply divided on the Russian-Ukrainian War. The future of Ukraine and the European Union seems to hang in the balance. “President Trump and President Emmanuel Macron of France put on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic World, Contemporary France, Empires and Imperialism, French History, Peacemaking Processes, Strategy and International Politics, United States Foreign Policy, United States History and Society, War, Culture, and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Europe in Trumplandia

Posted on February 22, 2025 by briansandberg

Europeans are in shock after the recent Munich Security Conference, an annual meeting of European diplomats and international security officials in Germany. Academic colleagues and friends across Europe have been contacting me to ask what exactly the Trump administration is … Continue reading →

Posted in Arms Control, Authoritarianism, Contemporary France, Democracy, European History, European Studies, European Union, History in the Media, History of the Western World, Italian History, Political Culture, Political History of the United States, Political Parties and Organizations, Security Studies, State Development Theory, Strategy and International Politics, United States Foreign Policy, United States History and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the Growing Strength of the French Far-Right

Posted on February 14, 2025 by briansandberg

The far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) Party continues to grow in France, threatening to topple the current government, led by centrist François Bayrou, and preparing for the next presidential election. David Broder, an political analyst who publishes on far-right movements … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary France, European History, European Studies, European Union, French History, Human Rights | Leave a comment

France’s Far-Right Embraces Jean-Marie Le Pen

Posted on January 8, 2025 by briansandberg

French far-right political leader Jean-Marie Le Pen died this week. In 1972, Le Pen founded the Front National (National Front) and gradually built it into the preeminent far-right political party in France. Jean-Marie Le Pen was a former military intelligence … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary France, European History, European Studies, European Union, French History, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture | Leave a comment

Death of Front National Founder Jean-Marie Le Pen

Posted on January 7, 2025 by briansandberg

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the firebrand far-right French politician and one of the key architects of the modern neo-fascist movement in Europe, has died. The New York Times reports that “Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founding father of France’s modern political far … Continue reading →

Posted in Atrocities, Contemporary France, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Studies, European Union, French Empire, French History, Genocides, History of Violence, Human Rights, Laws of War, Political Culture, War, Culture, and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Remembering the Charlie Hebdo Attacks

Posted on January 7, 2025 by briansandberg

Remembering the victims of the Charlie Hebdo Attacks on 7 January 2015 in Paris. I was living nearby in the Marais at the time and remember that terrible day and its aftermath vividly. It is hard to believe that 10 … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary France, European History, European Studies, European Union, French History, History of Violence, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture, Terrorism | Leave a comment