Taxpayer stakes: billions of dollars are put in, but not everyone can use the technology that comes from it.
It’s up to you to either accept the imbalance or come up with a new way for Europe to share its crown jewels.
A delicate balance between privacy, independence, and shared power
When you look at the spreadsheets, you can almost feel something emotional happening.
France looks at its engines and sees a rare area where it can still compete with the US and the UK, and even move ahead on some technologies. Giving it up or even watering it down feels like taking away a part of the country’s backbone.
Some Europeans see the same engines and think of older hierarchies, where big states are in charge and everyone else follows, even though everyone has the same money and takes the same risks.
One message or one change to the treaty won’t end the debate over the DGA’s secret programs.
It makes us ask tough questions about how much secrecy a democracy can handle in the name of safety. How much control can a partner tolerate for the sake of working together? And how many times can Europe mess up a project that everyone is working on before they all decide it’s better to do it alone?
Some people say that the only way to move forward is to be uncomfortable honest: let more Europeans into French test cells, share roadmaps earlier, and really work together on propulsion. Some people are afraid that even a small opening will cause the crown jewels to fall out.
At the end of the day, this isn’t just about thrust curves, metal, or turbines.
When the stakes are high, it’s all about trust, timing, and the quiet politics of who gets to decide what “European” really means. The engines roaring in those DGA hangars may have been designed in France, but the echoes of their monopoly will affect the future of the whole continent. It’s still very much up in the air whether that future will sound like a chorus or a cacophony.
Value for the reader:
French engine monopoly
Safran and the DGA have the most advanced fighter jet engine knowledge in Europe. Helps readers understand why France is at the center of current defense debates
DGA secrecy
Partners can’t get to tests and data because of secret programs and unclear budgets. Explains why Germans, Italians, and Spaniards are upset
The future of defense in Europe
If the imbalance isn’t fixed, there is a chance that programs will become fragmented. Shows how this technical disagreement could affect taxpayers, exports, and security.
Questions and Answers:
Is France really the only European country that makes the best fighter engines?
France is the only EU country that has a fully independent, combat-tested high-performance fighter engine ecosystem, from design to testing to export support.
What part does the DGA play in this monopoly?
The DGA guides research, pays for secret programs, runs important test centers, and sets the technical standards that keep high-end propulsion work in France.
What is making Germany, Spain, and Italy so angry?
They put a lot of money into joint projects, but they don’t feel like they have a lot of knowledge about engines, so they have to rely on French decisions for future aircraft.
Could Europe make a shared engine that isn’t French?
Yes, technically, but it would take a lot of money, time, and a political decision to change the way things are done in the industry and the balance of power.
What do regular people have to lose?
They could lose the opportunity to benefit from a more balanced and efficient European defense system due to fragmentation and imbalance.
Why your kitchen towels turn yellow even when you “wash them right”
She could smell the dishwater even before she opened the washing machine. A sad pile of kitchen towels and tea towels, which were said to be “clean,” sat in a damp knot, looking grey and tired. The happy lemons on one towel had faded to a sort of beige. The one with blue stripes and white? It smells more like dishwater from a week ago. She sighed, got the baking soda out of the cupboard, and stopped what she was doing. She had done this many times. Every wash promised to work miracles. Every wash made it a little less yellow. Not ever bright white. It never looks like the clean, hotel-kitchen look you see on cooking shows and Pinterest. She looked at the clock, then at the pile of dirty dishes, and felt that familiar feeling of giving up. Then a neighbor gave them a strange, old-school tip that changed everything. A tip that doesn’t use baking soda in any way.
Say goodbye to baking soda: the easy way to get tea towels back to white
A little-known trick that people who work in real kitchens share is to soak things in hot water with oxygen bleach and dish soap. Not mystery powder or chlorine. Oxygen bleach, which is made from sodium percarbonate, makes oxygen bubbles when it is put in hot water. Put very hot water (about 60°C) in a bucket or your sink. If your hands can’t take more, that’s fine. Put in one tablespoon of oxygen bleach and a squirt of dish soap that cuts through grease. Stir until everything is mixed together, then add your wet towels and push them down. Soak them for at least two hours, or all night if they are really sad.
People think that the smell of chemicals will be strong and that the color will change right away.
What really happens is slower and almost fun to watch. The water turns cloudy and then beige, as if the years of sauce and frying oil are leaking out. Even before you put them in the washing machine, the towels look lighter when you take them out. Then you wash them like you normally would, but without baking soda, on a hot cycle. When they come out, there’s a quiet surprise: the weave looks sharper, the white is clearer, and the colored stripes stand out again. For once, the promise on the box of the product seems real.
A lot of people mess up this trick without even knowing it.
They put too many towels in a small bucket, so there isn’t enough water for the oxygen to work. They say they use lukewarm water “to save energy,” but then they complain about weak results. They don’t use the dish soap, which is the part that really gets rid of the greasy film. Or they wash the towels in cold water before putting them in the machine, which washes away half of the active solution. Let’s be honest: no one really does this every day. The point is not to be perfect. You should do this deep reset once a month or when your whites start to look like old dishcloths on a bad day. You won’t want to throw away your towels as quickly if you do this.
Camille, who runs a small bakery at home, says, “After the first overnight soak, I opened the machine and laughed.”
“These were the same towels, but they looked like they belonged in a professional kitchen again.” I realized that I didn’t need more things; I just needed to make the right move at the right time.
Use hot water (about 60°C) to fully activate the oxygen bleach and get it into the fibers.
- Let the oxygen bleach sit for at least two hours, and up to overnight for towels that are very yellow.
- To get rid of grease and old oil that dulls the cotton, add a squirt of strong dish soap.
- Don’t put too many towels in the soak; they should be able to float freely in a lot of water.
- After soaking, run a hot wash cycle to get rid of the dirt and other things that came up.
Living with white towels without going crazy about them
Once you’ve seen your towels go from sad grey to almost‑new white, you start noticing all the little gestures that keep them that way. Hanging them up between uses instead of leaving them in a damp ball on the worktop. Rinsing off big tomato splashes under cold water before they dry. Choosing cotton over microfibre for heavy kitchen work, because cotton survives hot cycles better. You don’t have to become a laundry influencer. You just need two or three habits that fit into your real life, not somebody else’s perfect routine.
The bigger question behind that “goodbye baking soda” moment is simple: what else are we doing out of habit that doesn’t actually work anymore?
We follow tips we heard from a friend of a friend, or from a viral post, and then wonder why our stuff wears out so fast. When you share this soak trick with someone, you’re not only giving them whiter towels. You’re giving them back the small pleasure of using something that feels properly clean, in a room where so much of daily life happens. Your kitchen becomes a little lighter, a little calmer, without buying anything fancy or changing everything overnight. Sometimes, the reset we need starts with a bucket, hot water, and a towel that finally looks like itself again.
Key point Detail Value for the reader
Hot oxygen‑bleach soak
Use sodium percarbonate + very hot water + dish soap before washing Restores whiteness and brightness to tired kitchen towels
Space and time
Let towels soak at least 2 hours in plenty of water Maximises the effect without extra products or effort
Simple habits
Hang towels, treat fresh stains, favour cotton for hot washes Keeps whites cleaner for longer and reduces textile waste
FAQ:
Question 1: Can I use regular chlorine bleach instead of oxygen bleach for this soak?
Chlorine works fast but is harsh on fibres, colours and the environment. Oxygen bleach is gentler, safer on coloured stripes, and better for repeated use on kitchen textiles.
Question 2: How often should I do this deep soak on my kitchen towels?
Once a month is enough for most homes. If you cook and fry a lot, every two weeks keeps whites bright without feeling like a chore.
Question 3: Does this method work on coloured towels too?
Yes, as long as the colours are colourfast and you use oxygen bleach, not chlorine. Test on a corner if you’re unsure, and avoid very delicate prints.
Question 4: What if I don’t have oxygen bleach at home right now?
You can still improve things with a hot soak using dish soap and a splash of white vinegar (in a separate rinse). The result won’t be as dramatic, but it already lifts a lot of grease.
Question 5: Are my towels “ruined” if they stay slightly yellow after the first try?
No. Very old or heavily stained towels sometimes need two or three soaks over a few weeks to fully recover. The fibres didn’t age in one day, they won’t come back in one day either.
