内容摘要："Only one in six passengers use it - so for £200m that money could be working harder," another source tells me, "but the politics wrapped around it mean if you touch, it is a third rail".

"Only one in six passengers use it - so for £200m that money could be working harder," another source tells me, "but the politics wrapped around it mean if you touch, it is a third rail".

But events this week, ostensibly meant to bully, ridicule and embarrass Ramaphosa around the world, actually reminded many South Africans of what he brings to the government and the country - a constant, stable and predictable centre."I think what happened in the Oval Office has reinforced the idea of 'If not Ramaphosa then who?'" says Pillay.

In fact, some think that what South Africans saw in the White House will actually strengthen the GNU - backed as it is by big business, which will ultimately reassure South Africans who were watching the drama."The meeting displayed a united front from South Africa, a public-private performance that the country has been promoting for over a decade. This for the GNU is great political theatre that translates into political capital," says Itumeleng Makgetla, a political analyst at the University of Pretoria.And indeed, the optics were all there. Ramaphosa facilitated a passionate rebuttal of the worst of Trump's misinformation through interventions from his partner in the GNU - Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen - and one of South Africa's wealthiest people, Johann Rupert - both white South Africans. If Trump understood the power of performance, so too did Ramaphosa.

"I do think the GNU comes out of this looking quite strong," says Pillay. "The GNU happened at a really good moment for South Africa ahead of this crisis. If it was just the ANC government in the room, [Ramaphosa's arguments] wouldn't have landed. But being able to say that we have these parties that represent white people in government is such a strong statement."So what does this all mean for those on the extreme flanks of South African politics and discourse?

After the lights dimmed, Julius Malema was shown by Trump singing a song that some say calls for the murder of white farmers, although a court has ruled it is just political rhetoric. Might he reap domestic political capital from being thrust into the global spotlight?

Yes, say some. "For those in the country that are quite tired of the diatribe from President Trump and the US… this will likely strengthen Malema [and] parties like the MK because it'll basically be saying: 'Look, surely we can't be bending over backwards for such individuals and lies,'" says South African political analyst Prof Kagiso "TK" Pooe from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.Earlier this month French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau vowed to bolster security around the country's crypto executives and their families.

A total of 24 people have been taken into custody, French media report.The arrests were connected to an unsuccessful attempt by

The pair were described by French media as relatives of Pierre Noizat, the co-founder of French Bitcoin exchange platform Paymium.Arrests were also made over a kidnapping attempt against a person with ties to the crypto sector which was foiled by police in the Nantes region of western France on Monday, local media outlets reported.