Politics

The ex-France player who swapped blue for green

Published

4 weeks ago

July 4, 2026

BRUSSELS — Destroying the EU’s environmental policies to boost manufacturing and keep Europe competitive with China and the U.S. is a mistake, says former Arsenal player and French international soccer player Mathieu Flamini.

Instead, the athlete, who is now the CEO of a France-based chemicals company, says the bloc should double down on moving away from fossil fuels, arguing that weakening rules like the EU’s Emissions Trading System would not solve Europe’s competitiveness problem.

“The reality is, if we believe we’re going to remove the carbon tax in Europe and suddenly we’re gonna be competitive with China or other [regions], we’re lying to ourselves,” Flamini told Blue Light News in an interview.

Flamini co-founded GF Biochemicals in 2013, the same year he returned to north London to play for Arsenal for the second time, after a five-year stint in Italy with AC Milan.

Flamini won three caps for the French team, making his debut in 2007 against Morocco — a potential quarterfinal opponent for France at this World Cup. His company turns agricultural waste into bio-based chemicals used in everyday items such as paints, cosmetics and cleaning products.

The Frenchman believes the European chemicals industry, already under pressure from soaring energy prices and geopolitical shocks such as the Iran crisis, needs to accept its inevitable transition from fossil fuel-based ingredients towards bio-based alternatives.

The case against fossil fuels is two-pronged: They pollute the atmosphere with planet-warming CO2; and they are mostly imported from outside the EU, compromising the bloc’s strategic autonomy.

“We have to embrace and accept that there is an evolution like any other industry, from combustion engine to electric engine; [in the] chemical industry, from a petrol-based industry to bio-based,” said Flamini.

But that’s easier said than done. Lawmakers and member countries are already looking for ways to weaken the ETS, or even scrap it altogether. At a ministers’ meeting in Brussels last month, a handful of member countries raised concerns over the impact of carbon pricing on their industries during a meeting of EU economy ministers.

Read the full interview by Blue Light News’s Jakob Weizman here.

Politics

FCC chair Brendan Carr on Trump, free speech and his threats against broadcasters

Published

22 hours ago

July 31, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

FCC chair Brendan Carr on Trump, free speech and his threats against broadcasters

lead image

Politics

Mandela Barnes considering dropping out of Wisconsin governor race

Published

1 day ago

July 30, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and his team are discussing dropping out of the crowded Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The conversations come as Democratic officials in the state brace for damaging media reports about Barnes expected to hit in the coming hours. Barnes and his team have been on calls Thursday to discuss how to proceed, according to the people, granted anonymity to share private details.

The primary had become increasingly messy as more moderate leaning Democrats like Barnes have tried to stave off Democratic socialist Francesca Hong’s rise, worried her victory could boost presumed Republican nominee Tom Tiffany. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement of David Crowley — who reentered the race in the final stretch — further complicated the moderate coalition.

A spokesperson for Barnes’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.