§ 2.7 Let the People Decide
What happened next was described by my friend Fatima in her piece A Day in the Life of My Friend Leila:
"At the time I was working as a waitress at the Régence Café, 161 Rue Saint-Honoré. I was serving a customer—as I set down the jasmine cold brew coffee, I heard him say to the woman across from him, 'If we're not getting married, then let's just have an affair.' I heard the sound of coffee being spit out all around."
"When I turned back after setting down the coffee, I saw President Macron on the television. He was wearing a Napoleonic military uniform, looking like the king of the country I was then residing in. I heard him say, '...then let the people decide!' Then a chorus of gasps rippled through the café."
The historic "affair moment" that Fatima described occurred roughly two hours after the no-confidence vote had passed. Like a wedding ceremony, it was a case where the outcome was already settled, yet the formalities still had to be observed. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne got into her car and delivered her resignation to the President's desk. The President accepted, offered words of encouragement, shook hands. Then, as though addicted to televised addresses, the President appeared once more on screens across the nation.
After his speech, Fatima brought the cheesecake to the adulterous couple. "Let's just wait until after the election!" she heard the woman say to the man. The man kissed the woman's lips.
In the days that followed, French television stations endlessly debated and analyzed the President's "September Declaration." Here is the key passage:
Fellow citizens of the Fifth Republic, American President Trump and the Russian President have just met in Alaska. On a piece of land that Russia once sold to America, President Trump attempted to sell Ukraine to Russia: he offered to recognize Russia's permanent occupation of Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk in exchange for a piece of paper called a ceasefire agreement.
Over the past several centuries, and especially in recent decades, the Russians haven't even used such paper to wipe their backsides—not even when the planned economy couldn't produce toilet paper. And now they are trying to force Ukraine, France, and all of Europe to accept it.
Fellow citizens! Can we accept this? This is an agreement that legitimizes Russian aggression, that legitimizes Russia holding a gun to Europe's head. Some of you may feel that this is, after all, something happening in Ukraine. But history proves that Russia never voluntarily stops its aggression. Can we surrender Ukraine to Russia? Can we hand the future of our European sovereignty (souveraineté européenne) to the businessman in the White House?
Fellow citizens! This is a pivotal moment in post-war history. This is not a war far from France—this is the founding battle of our strategic autonomy (autonomie stratégique). France is not merely a nation; it is a civilization. France must stand tall and defend this continent, defend the modern values established since the Revolution.
How shall we choose? Then let the people decide. Vive le peuple!
Fatima, working in the café at the time, asked a colleague beside her—a Hunanese man named Lao Liu—what "Vive le peuple" meant. "Long live the people!" Lao Liu proclaimed in his sing-song Hunan accent.
§ 2.8 The Alaska Ceasefire Agreement and the Nuclear Umbrella
On the very same day that President Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called early elections, Ukrainian President Zelensky addressed the cameras directly to state Ukraine's position: the so-called "Alaska Ceasefire Agreement" reached between Presidents Trump and Putin was an agreement made without Ukraine's participation. Ukraine did not recognize it. The agreement absurdly recognized Russia's permanent occupation of Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk—something the Ukrainian nation would never accept.
When President Trump saw the video on a phone handed to him by a reporter, he flew into a rage: "Then let Ukraine fight! I've said it all along—you've got no cards. If you don't want peace, then fight it yourself!"
Russian and Ukrainian forces faced off tensely along the front lines. Occasional sounds of fracturing could be heard, but none produced a breakthrough. Former Russian President Medvedev—Putin's college roommate—posted on X: "Since Ukraine doesn't want peace, let tactical nuclear weapons do the talking. Russia's patience is not infinite!" The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement: "We reiterate that Mr. Medvedev's remarks do not represent the official position, but all options remain on the table."
That same day, word came from Washington. A Trump confidant told reporters: "The key question is whether Zelensky wants peace." They didn't even say "President Zelensky."
The next morning, the French Ministry of Defense notified me to attend a press conference. The spokesperson said briefly: "The French military has successfully test-fired the M51 intercontinental ballistic missile. The test was successful, hitting the designated sea area with precision." Then the briefing ended.
I found a press officer, hoping for further information. She said: "The President's Special Security Advisor, Mr. Guiguzi, can receive you for an interview this afternoon." As if they had been waiting for me.
That afternoon at noon, when the President faced reporters, he said simply: "To hit Moscow, you actually don't need that much range." But he didn't say what such range was intended for.
That afternoon, the Ministry of Defense sent a car to take me to the office of Mr. Guiguzi Schelling—a secluded courtyard. The office was crammed with books in every language, seemingly about to overflow. Maps on the wall were covered in red and blue pencil marks. On the desk sat a red telephone. On the wall behind the desk hung four large Chinese characters: 大展宏图 ("Grand Ambitions Unfold"). Everything was so old-fashioned that I thought to myself: what exactly are you cosplaying?
"Welcome, welcome, young Qian. Welcome, welcome—I couldn't come out to greet you, my apologies, my apologies." He spoke while chewing bread—not a baguette, but the fluffy kind common in China.
We shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, and I began my questions:
"Mr. Gui, why conduct an ICBM test at this particular moment?"
"The President wishes to convey a clear message through you: I am absolutely prepared to press the nuclear button," Guiguzi said, ignoring both my question and my playful "Mr. Gui" address. "If necessary."
"We often say that Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine is unthinkable," Guiguzi continued. "In fact, it is thinkable—and we have no choice but to think about it. If such a thing were to happen, the French Republic would consider it the use of nuclear weapons against Europe, against France. To defend civilization, the President would press the nuclear button."
"France reaffirms its clear, unconditional nuclear umbrella for Ukraine," Guiguzi said. "Everything above represents the President's position in full."
I immediately wrote my report and filed it. That evening, President Macron placed an emergency call to the President of China. The President obtained what he wanted. The Chinese leader said: China's position is consistent—nuclear war cannot be won and must not be fought. There is only one consensus regarding nuclear weapons: use or non-use. China has always adhered to the principles of no-first-use and no use against non-nuclear states or nuclear-free zones. China calls on other nuclear powers to make the same commitment. China is deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine and is willing to make the necessary efforts to de-escalate and promote dialogue.
Years later, when Guiguzi and I were drinking, he showed me several documents:
DGSE Intercepted Intelligence Summary
Source: GRU internal asset (codename: "Versailles," reliability: B+, access level: A2)
Summary: At a high-level operational meeting of the Russian Ministry of Defense, hardliners (represented by Gerasimov and Surovikin) strongly demanded the President authorize a tactical nuclear strike on the eastern Ukrainian front. The strategic research department's assessment concluded: Given the Alaska Agreement and recent U.S. statements, it could be confirmed with High Confidence that the United States would not initiate a nuclear counter-strike. Assessment conclusion: "This is the only chance to compel Kyiv and Europe into submission. The tactical window is brief—there must be no hesitation."
Note: Asset "Versailles" is assessed as "financially motivated"; family members have high-value luxury spending records in Paris.
SCEAU (European Aid to Ukraine Super Committee) Strategic Intelligence Unit (G2) RED ALERT
Classification: CRITICAL / EU TOP SECRET
From: SATCEN / EUMS Special Task Force
Subject: Early Warning: Signs of tactical nuclear weapons deployment detected in Belgorod Oblast, Russia.
Details: Satellite imagery (SAR/IMINT) shows anomalous movements by units subordinate to Russia's 12th Main Directorate, consistent with characteristics of tactical nuclear warhead transfer. Warsaw contacted this unit through emergency channels, reporting that multiple independent sources have confirmed this intelligence.
Assessment: The probability of a Russian tactical nuclear strike has significantly increased (Probability Significantly Increased).
"The threat facing Europe—Europe needs to become a nation in its own name, needs to defend itself! This isn't something we made up—it's real, those sleepless nights are real! Not just plot points in your novel." Guiguzi spoke to me again like an orator.
"Alright, alright, fine, it is what it is," I said. "But what's with you staring at Sophia's chest?"
"You two are bastards!" Sophia stomped away, face flushed crimson.
I remember laughing heartily at the time.
I think what Guiguzi said was probably true. Later, I read the memoirs of then-French President Macron:
Those were the hardest days of my life. Even today, I don't know—could I have pressed that button? Could I? If I pressed it, when the confirmation call came through, could I have tremblingly said "yes"? I don't know. But I thought: I must completely pretend to be someone who says "yes" without blinking. If I didn't, I might later be forced to actually become such a person.
My mind had already flashed to the image of a nuclear weapon detonating on the Ukrainian front, the shockwave reaching Paris, people in the streets staring at each other in stunned silence. I imagined what they were thinking. They were surely thinking to themselves: Ah, history repeating itself once more. Is the man in the Élysée Palace Pétain, or de Gaulle?
...
Days later, when the intelligence officer told me the alert had been lifted, I finally sat down. As I tried to relocate my sense of gravity, I kept asking: Is this how it is? Is this really how it is? Can history be this way and not that way?
"Pétain, or de Gaulle"—the phrase that Macron had thought to himself—became the campaign slogan of the "Renaissance Party." After the dissolution of the Assembly, they immediately began warming up the message across media, TikTok, and the streets. Short videos set to the rousing Marseillaise showed a man flexing his muscles powerfully, standing at the edge of an abyss:
Pétain, or de Gaulle?
The French people were left reeling.