A total of 76 French residents with Russian or “Slavic-sounding” names have filed a complaint against a number of banks in France, alleging discrimination on account of national origin after getting caught up in the enforcement of anti-Russia sanctions.

Individuals with no ties to the Russian government found their bank accounts blocked and even long-time residents were caught in a net one attorney described as “Kafkaesque,” the newspaper Le Figaro reported.

Under the EU embargo rules enacted since the conflict in Ukraine escalated in February, banks were prohibited from accepting deposits of over 100,000 euros from Russian nationals. The intent was to crack down on “oligarchs” and tycoons allegedly close to the government in Moscow. Yet in their zeal to enforce the sanctions, the banks have frozen accounts of ordinary French residents over far smaller amounts, say the attorneys with Cartier-Meyniel-Schneller, the law firm representing the plaintiffs. Other discriminatory actions involved declining loan applications and refusing to open or close bank accounts.

“We are not talking about the owners of yachts or villas on the Cote d’Azur,” Marie-Laure Cartier told Le Figaro, showing the complaint that listed students, doctors, and shopkeepers caught under the enforcement hammer.

One plaintiff, a self-employed 26-year-old named Maria, found herself with just 30 euros in her pocket, forced to beg around to meet expenses such as food or rent. Another, identified only as Natalia, was told by her bank that her account was blocked “due to your nationality in the current context,” said attorney Alexandre Meyniel, who added that the banks have done “nothing” to help their customers despite receiving official complaints.

The lawyers say all the plaintiffs have one thing in common: Russian-sounding names. Among them are French citizens such as Evgueni Galperine, a renowned film music composer.

“I was born in the Urals but I am a French citizen, having received political asylum at age 15,” Galperine told Le Figaro. “I have been with the same bank for 31 years and I’ve never had a problem.” He and his brother Sacha have lived in Paris since 1990. In July, however, the bank told him his accounts would be closed in September. 

“This is because I was born in Russia. I’m shocked. I realized that I am basically a ‘discount’ Frenchman,”Galperine said. Such discrimination plays into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he added, as proof that Europe hates the Russians.

The discrimination lawsuit was filed before a Paris court on Monday, the attorneys said. The initial filing did not specify the extent of monetary damages involved, but “all these plaintiffs will claim financial compensation from the banks” if the complaint succeeds, Cartier told the French newspaper.

 

 

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Seeking to deprive Moscow of trade revenue over the conflict in Ukraine, the EU has proposed prohibiting the import of Russian-made hygiene products, from soap and shaving items to toilet paper and deodorant. The eighth wave of anti-Russian sanctions, unveiled in Brussels on Wednesday, would also ban the import of several steel products and attempt to impose a price cap on Russian oil.

“We do not accept the sham referenda and any kind of annexation in Ukraine, and we are determined to make the Kremlin pay for this further escalation,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in Brussels. According to her, the proposed sanctions package is expected to deprive Russia of “an additional 7 billion euros ($6.7 billion) in revenues.”

The scheme requires EU residents to make do without Russian-made “beauty or make-up” products, shaving supplies, “personal deodorants,” dental floss, soap, and toilet paper, according to Politico.

 

READ MORE: EU proposes new ‘biting’ sanctions against Russia

Von der Leyen’s announcement comes just days after one of Germany’s pioneer toilet paper manufacturers, Hakle, filed for bankruptcy citing the skyrocketing prices of energy and source materials.

 

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Germany: Housing is almost unaffordable 

Sabine Kinkartz

 

More and more people are desperately searching for accommodation across the country. The supply is too low, rents are rising and incomes are often no longer sufficient. An explosive situation.

Germany is traditionally a nation of tenants. While across Europe around 70% of the population own the house or apartment they live in, only 46% of people living in Germany do so. In major cities, that ratio is even lower. 

If you want to rent a nice apartment in a good location in Berlin, you need a lot of money. A "wonderfully spacious 4-room apartment" in Berlin's upmarket Charlottenburg district: 182 square meters, furnished, the rent is €8,190 ($8,947) per month. Plus heating, electricity and other incidental costs, that amounts to over €50 per square meter.

A so-called rental price cap was included in the German Civil Code in June 2015. According to this, when signing a new rental agreement, the rent may not be more than 10% above the local comparative rent. But in Berlin and other large cities, landlords have found a lucrative way around this: The cap does not apply to furnished apartments and contracts for short rental periods. So now, more than half of all apartments in Berlin are offered as "furnished." 

A rent level of €6.50 to €7.50 per square meter is considered socially acceptable in Germany. But for that price, you can't even find an apartment on the outskirts of Berlin these days. The online platform lists an apartment in an eastern suburb of Berlin — on the sixth floor without an elevator. In view of the need for renovation, the tenants should be "talented in handicrafts," the advertisement reads.

In Germany, the average net income — the amount that remains after taxes and social security payments have been deducted — currently stands at €2,165, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Around one-third of this income is spent on rent. But even that is often not enough.

In Munich, a square meter now costs €19 in rent, in Stuttgart €18, in Dusseldorf and Cologne €12 to €13 and in Berlin €11. "High demand for affordable housing meets historic rent increases and a supply that is vastly insufficient," reads a recent evaluation on the online portal Immoscout24.

Real estate prices on the rise again

Real estate prices are rising worldwide. In a study, the ifo Institute and the Institute for Swiss Economic Policy found that an average annual price increase of 9% can be expected over the next 10 years. For Germany, that figure is put at 7%. If increased interest rates on loans are taken into account, buying a house or apartment becomes unaffordable for many Germans. The only affordable option are older houses that have old fossil fuel heating systems that will have to be replaced over the next few years.

With no option to buy property, renting is the only alternative. This exacerbates the shortage on the rental market and leads to further price hikes there.

According to a study by the Eduard Pestel Institute for Systems Research, Germany lacks more than 700,000 apartments — especially in the affordable segment. The German government had announced plans to build 400,000 new homes per year. In reality, just over half will be achieved this year, and in 2024 the target will be missed by an even greater margin. This was calculated by the trade union-affiliated Macroeconomic and Business Cycle Research Institute.

The Ukraine war and inflation have driven up construction costs. There is a shortage of skilled workers and building materials, and work is being halted at many construction sites. 

Nothing left to rent

More and more people are competing for the few remaining affordable apartments. Of the refugees who arrived in the country in 2015/2016, around 25% are still living in a state-run refugee shelter because they have not yet been able to find a place of their own. In 2022, more than one million war refugees arrived in Germany from Ukraine.This year, around 300,000 asylum seekers are expected to come.

The state-subsidized construction of apartments is an option for those in society who cannot afford the rents on the free housing market. But German governments have neglected the "social housing scheme" for decades. 

At the end of 2022, there were only just under 1.1 million social housing units nationwide — a historic low. The socialist Left Party proposes a public housing program and a special fund for affordable housing.

But the current government wants to limit public borrowing and adhere to the so-called debt brake. In May, Federal Construction Minister Klara Geywitz from the center-left Social Democrat party (SPD)increased the housing allowance — that is the state subsidy for rent costs — and the group of those entitled to it was expanded. But this is seen as just a drop in the ocean.

Adequate housing is a human right, says the Workers' Welfare Association. But NGOs are warning that housing is becoming an existential problem for more and more people, which could turn out to be explosive. 

Critics warn there needs to be a financial incentive for investors to put their money into the construction of housing. But things are unlikely to improve in the short term on Germany's housing market.

This article was originally written in German.

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-housing-is-almost-unaffordable/a-66432276

 

 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnvEX6gm5hY

 

“The Germans Screwed Themselves Over Ukraine!” – Tucker Carlson

 

One of the enduring mysteries of the Ukraine War is why so many Western European nations — Germany in particuar — followed the United States’ lead like lapdogs against Russia, a nation responsible for supplying so much inexpensive natural gas to the continent. Germany screwed themselves, Tucker Carlson tells Jimmy, and now they’re paying the price, both literally and figuratively.

Jimmy and Americans’ Comedian Kurt Metzger talk to Carlson about how even the Nordstream bombing couldn’t derail German support for Ukraine.

 

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SEE ALSO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNwA-aPcQTc

 

 

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