Europe is in an unprecedented state of flux. After decades of virtual inanition, the continent is being convulsed by a ferment of change and conflict; the overused cliché “seismic” is, for once, appropriate. This turbulence might not be instantly discernible to a visitor travelling across Europe: the public institutions of government appear to be functioning normally; there is little overt sign of upheaval; at the Berlaymont building in Brussels it looks like business as usual. Yet a traveller in Europe might have registered the same deceptive perceptions in June, 1914.
All eyes on Paris ahead of Olympics opening ceremony
France’s opening ceremony promises to be quite the spectacle, provided security threats can be kept at bay.