Emmanuel Macron has home-field advantage at the ongoing G7 summit in the resort town of Évian-les-Bains, and the French president wants the participating countries to help him address Chinese trade. But while China isn’t a G7 member, it has an advantage of its own, given its power in the global trade market. So Macron may have to perform a delicate balancing act.

What did the commentators say?
The French president expects the G7 nations to “converge on the need to tackle a flood of subsidized Chinese exports that’s disrupting global markets,” said Politico. But it’s becoming increasingly clear that “credible action is one deliverable he won’t be able to land.” Macron is pushing for Europe and the U.S. to come together for a solution, but meetings are “unlikely to deliver answers.”

The problem is two-pronged: Beijing is “curling its lip” at Macron, while Europe and the U.S. are “diverging on how to contain China’s $1.2 trillion trade surplus,” said Politico. Macron wants the EU to present a unified front on China, and Europe has “made strides on its China policy since the Covid-19 pandemic” but “still struggles to align internally,” said the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

France and Macron’s ultimate goal is to “make the reduction of global imbalances and inequalities the priority and position the G7 as a space for dialogue among the major advanced industrialized democracies,” said the Chicago Council. Macron also believes that talks between China and France “signal a ‘new willingness’ by China, the U.S. and Europe to coordinate economic approaches,” said Bloomberg. President Donald Trump, however, appears “ready to use the G7 stage to berate allies for what he views as inadequate support,” said the Council on Foreign Relations.

What next?
The Évian-les-Bains summit will be Macron’s last, as his term expires in 2027. The U.S. is hosting next year’s G7 summit. China, meanwhile, maintains that it’s ready and willing to engage in economic cooperation with the EU, said Bloomberg, even as these discussions come “against the backdrop of talks in Europe over possible new restrictions to counter China’s export surge.”

President Donald Trump’s preference for personal loyalty in his subordinates may pose an insurmountable problem for a White House in search of a permanent attorney general. Nominee and acting AG Todd Blanche, the president’s onetime personal lawyer, faces a steep nomination process, as concerns grow over Blanche’s alleged willingness to subvert the role of attorney general for the president’s political purposes. Is Blanche’s nomination dead on arrival? Or does Trump still command the senatorial clout to ensure his longtime consiglieri survives a bruising nomination battle?

‘Prepared to defy Trump’
Blanche will test whether a “handful of increasingly restive Republican senators” are “prepared to defy Trump on a high-profile nominee,” said The Washington Post. As acting attorney general, Blanche “played a central role in setting up” Trump’s $1.8 billion Department of Justice weaponization reparations fund — a move that “triggered a rare revolt by Senate Republicans” before the courts froze the project entirely.

In the Senate Judiciary Committee, “just one GOP rebel could stop the whole thing,” said Semafor. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina has had “no issue gumming up Trump’s nominees” in the past, said ABC News. Blanche has “told us and the world that we are not going to do” the fund, and “I believe him,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) to reporters, per Semafor. Whether Blanche remains as committed as he has indicated will “obviously impact the story.”

‘Corruption’ and ‘competence’
There are “two stories” playing into Blanche’s nomination, said MS NOW legal analyst Andrew Weissmann to Slate. The first is a “story about corruption” and the “complicity he’s willing to engage in for the president.” The second is a “question of competence” about someone who has “made a series of serious missteps.” 

Having voted in lockstep for Bondi during her nomination, “by contrast, Republicans seem noncommittal on Blanche,” said The Independent. In a “healthier political climate,” there would be “dozens” of GOP senators who would “immediately pronounce Blanche unqualified for the job,” said The New York Times. Today, the list of senators who “may have the courage to do so is shorter yet plenty long enough.”

A National Park Service worker dumps bottles of hydrogen peroxide in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in an attempt to mitigate an algae bloom just days after the completion of the Trump administration’s $13.1 million renovation of the National Mall landmark in Washington, D.C.
Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

New video game releases have been scant this year, as developers wait for the Grand Theft Auto VI drop date. But the next few months still have a few gems to eye. This season, original games reminiscent of classic favorites are being released, along with a remastered collection of Metal Gear Solid entries.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales
Square Enix’s latest 2D role-playing game arrives soon. As the eponymous main character, you explore the land of Philabieldia across four time periods to fulfill a 1,000-year mission. The game is a “faithful homage to the Legend of Zelda games of old,” said PCMag. (June 18; Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S)

D-Topia
Fans of more chill games will likely enjoy the new puzzle adventure from publisher Annapurna Interactive. It’s an “experience that’s laid-back” but with a “dark undercurrent,” said Comics Gaming Magazine. And its “blend of cozy charm and subversive darkness” has critics “eager to see more.” (June 18; Nintendo Switch & Switch 2, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S)

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls
Superhero fans can rejoice, as last spring's Invincible VS isn’t the “only tag-team fighter for comic book readers this year,” said Polygon. From the developer behind Dragon Ball FighterZ, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls (pictured above) features classic Marvel heroes like “Spider-Man, Iron Man and Black Panther” with “new anime-inspired designs.” It gained attention online “thanks to its art style and the pedigree of its developer,” said Gizmodo. (Aug. 6; PC, PS5)