Article snippet: Posted at 9:00 pm on May 29, 2017 by streiff Vladimir Putin was in Paris today to meet with brand new French president Emmanuel Macron. The meeting was superficially cordial but there were obviously differences, not the least of which was that Russia had unsuccessfully meddled in the 2017 French elections and Macron is not going to forget. Here is the tick-tock via AP. The Daily Beast adds more drama. There is no doubt that Macron is presenting Europe with a fresh new face, and a face that can offer an alternative to the culture suicide being advocated by Merkel. But, ultimately, Macron, is another Euro socialist and despite his charismatic persona he is very unlikely to do much that is different as far as the way France operates is concerned. France can talk all it wants to about red lines and retaliation but the sad fact is that France’s air force can’t deliver munitions in Syria unless someone else, like the US, does the heavy work of finding targets and securing their aircraft. It is French companies and mercantile interests who are exposed to Russian retaliation, not vice versa. Macron is highly unlikely to change internal Russian policy. So while it was great theater and will give the anti-Trump people someone to swoon over (oh, [sigh, heart flutter, he is so dishy, he’s nearly as cute as Justin Trudeau] why couldn’t Trump talk to Putin like that) the fact is that Macron can talk tough because he’ll never be expected to deliver. Link to the full article to read more