Andrew Neil

Columnist for Daily Mail UK and MailOnline USA. @TimesRadio anchor. Former Chairman of The Spectator, Editor Sunday Times, BBC TV anchor, Chairman Sky TV

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

FRANCE UPDATE
Unions now claiming 800,000 protesting countrywide, as last Saturday. That’s a stretch. The pictures don’t bear that out. The Interior Ministry says 410,000, which is more like it.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

FRANCE UPDATE — 5
Standoff between police and rioters becoming a major confrontation in Paris by the Porte de Vincennes. Police firing tear gas and water canon (lacrymogène et lanceur d’eau).

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Good point. The BBB does lend money, it brokers debt deals. Quite right. But it does take equity stakes. By mid-2026 it had invested more than £600 million directly into more than 50 UK scale-ups and was aiming to deploy around £400 million per year in direct equity activity as part of a broader annual investment push. So I suppose that’s what it will continue to do with the extra dosh. It’s rough equivalent in Scotland has been a bit of a money-loser (surprise).

[Anthony @bigtony2023]

@afneil Hi Andrew, love your content, just a quick note on British Business Bank. It does not lend money to businesses it brokers deals with the market for you so quite what they need £5B for is beyond me?

[Lyon Mag @lyonmag]

Un manifestant armé de bouteilles en verre se jette dans la gueule du loup avenue de Saxe

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

FRANCE UPDATE — 5
Standoff between police and rioters becoming a major confrontation in Paris by the Porte de Vincennes. Police firing tear gas and water canon (lacrymogène et lanceur d’eau).

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Kicking off in Paris by Porte de Vincennes too. Water canon deployed.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Multiple sources. Public and private. Across all the main manifestations devient désormais violent.

[JohnSmith-1 @JohnSmith171393]

@afneil Where are you watching footage?

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Kicking off in Paris by Porte de Vincennes too. Water canon deployed.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

FRANCE UPDATE — 4
Violence, destruction, chaos kicking off in Nantes. Masked (mainly) men in black now dominating the protestors — again.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Sorry. I have no idea.

[Amanda Meehan @willowbeachbum]

@afneil Morning Andrew (from 🇨🇦) I know it's small potatoes but is hugely visible - how is the big NFL game at Park des Princes factoring into any of this in Paris with I'd guess thousands of Americans in town for the game and a few days either side likely?
Noted the PSG game was moved

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

FRANCE UPDATE — 4
Violence, destruction, chaos kicking off in Nantes. Masked (mainly) men in black now dominating the protestors — again.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

FRANCE UPDATE — 3
Nantes and Lyon have seen clashes between protestors and police. Continuing.
Tensions high in Marseille and Rennes but no widespread rioting.
At about 15:30 in Paris (where it’s all been pretty quiet so far) protesters tried to build a barricade on the périphérique at Porte de Bercy but backed off when police arrived in numbers.
For the moment the police would seem to be largely on top of things. Keeping marches away from city centres has worked.
Plus police report only 140,000 demonstrators countrywide. Far fewer than last week.
But events still developing. Masked troublemakers in black now emerging in Lille. Standoff with police, who just fired their water canon.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

UK Treasury confirms extra £20bn over five years for the so-called National Wealth Fund (£15bn) and the state-owned British Business Bank (£5bn), which lends to business.
Treasury claims this will support around 100,000 jobs by 2035 in AI, defence and green energy — a figure it has pretty much plucked out of thin air and will never really be tested because by 2035 everyone will have forgotten such a modest announcement.
Two takeaways:
Yet more government borrowing. It’s an addiction.
Illustrates government philosophy: growth will come from a bigger, more activist state. Ho hum.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

You’ve clearly never been in a civil war.

[Robert Corbishley @robcorb]

@afneil It all sounds like civil war.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

FRANCE UPDATE — 3
Nantes and Lyon have seen clashes between protestors and police. Continuing.
Tensions high in Marseille and Rennes but no widespread rioting.
At about 15:30 in Paris (where it’s all been pretty quiet so far) protesters tried to build a barricade on the périphérique at Porte de Bercy but backed off when police arrived in numbers.
For the moment the police would seem to be largely on top of things. Keeping marches away from city centres has worked.
Plus police report only 140,000 demonstrators countrywide. Far fewer than last week.
But events still developing. Masked troublemakers in black now emerging in Lille. Standoff with police, who just fired their water canon.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

UPDATE FRANCE — 2
Saturday's protests are much smaller, calmer than last week's — so far.
At 13:00 local time Interior Ministry reported 35,000 protesters nationwide, against 60,000 at the same point last Saturday, with 135 arrests, mostly at checkpoints. Police seized steel balls, fireworks, slingshots and even a katana. Some clearly out for trouble.
No major incidents by 13:30.
Then skirmishes with the police kicked off in Nantes, France’s 6th largest town, on the north-west coast, in Loire-Atlantique department.
Police used tear gas and stun grenades on an unauthorised march in Clermont-Ferrand; tear gas again in Lyon's banned zone, where there’s been some unrest.
Nantes most serious so far. Perhaps the rain will dampen things down.
The Paris march left Porte d'Italie at 14:00. Police describe the city as calm. Mélenchon is marching (of course) and has called on Macron to "give way" (of course).
In Orléans, where Le Pen’s RN is holding its congress, the prefecture counted 11,000 at the anti-RN march by midday. The organisers say 26,000. Again, so far, so peaceful.
But it is only 15:30 French time.
BREAKING NEWS: It’s escalating somewhat in Nantes.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Wet in places, grey all round.

[S F Malbec @y_ropy_footman]

@afneil How is the weather?

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Mélenchon was vaccinated with a gramophone needle when young. Since when he’s never stopped talking. It’s exhausting.

[BFM @BFMTV]

Changement du parcours de la manifestation à Paris: Jean-Luc Mélenchon, candidat LFI à la présidentielle, souligne "une discipline collective magnifique"

[(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges]

Has the New Statesman been hacked.

[mark @pr1mate_]

@afneil Thank you for the posts. As a wary traveller in Paris, they've been helpful

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Pretty quiet so far (see my updated post).

[Lescromps @Lescromps]

@afneil Any word on the situation from Orléans Andrew ?

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

UPDATE FRANCE — 2
Saturday's protests are much smaller, calmer than last week's — so far.
At 13:00 local time Interior Ministry reported 35,000 protesters nationwide, against 60,000 at the same point last Saturday, with 135 arrests, mostly at checkpoints. Police seized steel balls, fireworks, slingshots and even a katana. Some clearly out for trouble.
No major incidents by 13:30.
Then skirmishes with the police kicked off in Nantes, France’s 6th largest town, on the north-west coast, in Loire-Atlantique department.
Police used tear gas and stun grenades on an unauthorised march in Clermont-Ferrand; tear gas again in Lyon's banned zone, where there’s been some unrest.
Nantes most serious so far. Perhaps the rain will dampen things down.
The Paris march left Porte d'Italie at 14:00. Police describe the city as calm. Mélenchon is marching (of course) and has called on Macron to "give way" (of course).
In Orléans, where Le Pen’s RN is holding its congress, the prefecture counted 11,000 at the anti-RN march by midday. The organisers say 26,000. Again, so far, so peaceful.
But it is only 15:30 French time.
BREAKING NEWS: It’s escalating somewhat in Nantes.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

UPDATE FROM FRANCE:
1. Paris march going ahead but on the route demanded by police. Court threw out union challenge at about 11:10 this morning.
Unions, students and school pupils have now accepted the Porte d'Italie to Porte de Vincennes route, setting off at 14:00, which avoids the heart of Paris.
Gilets jaunes still calling for unauthorised gatherings at Bastille, Opéra, Madeleine and Saint-Lazare from 14:00.

2. Both suspects arrested in connection with appalling torching of Limoges town hall fire have now been charged and remanded in custody.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Dean Baker predicted the 2008 financial crash. This is what he thinks of the AI bubble.
https://t.co/pj34NcLWyU via @YouTube

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

What bit of ‘more people die of cold in winter than heat in summer’ don’t you get?

[Mike Johns @sosprachzara]

@afneil Andrew calls the assumptions made by actual scientists dubious then suggests we believe his instead. He used to be a top class journalist you know 🤷‍♂️

[J Watson @Watson73John]

@afneil