FRANCE BLOG

Six Nations Cup Tournament: France XV demolish Italy 46-20 -- Tournoi de 6 Nations Les XV de France ont demoli l'Italie

2010-03-15T04:37:00.000-07:00

Match du 14 Mars 2010 : Les XV de France ont demoli l'Italie France-Italie 46-20

Done! Italy is out of the way! To the Italians, a 10-15 point loss against the clinical French would have meant "victory" for them but that was not to be. This is the 30th Italian defeat in the hands of the French in their 31 matches.

France is now on the way to their 9th Grand Slam. But first, they must beat England next Saturday. France cannot be complacent because despite England's dismal record this season, the English team has always made it a point of honour to fight the French every inch of the way. The French must remember that the English don't know when to give up.

BBC Six Nations Photos: (Photo 2) Marc Andreu scoring his first try for France 11 minutes into the game.

(Photo 3) Alexandre Lapandry makes it six for the French. Winger Julien Malzieu passes to the flanker and Lapandry wrestles free of the Italian tacklers

From the BBC:

France have been a class apart from the rest of the Six Nations teams in 2010 and they were on a different plane from their Continental neighbours from the opening whistle.

Playing with a fluidity that evoked memories of great French teams of the past, they exposed the limitations of Italy in a way that was beyond the rest of the teams in the championship.

From Le Figaro:

Le XV de France a surclassé l'Italie (46-20) dimanche au Stade de France. Le Tournoi quasiment dans la poche, les Bleus auront l'occasion de valider le Grand Chelem samedi prochain face à l'Angleterre.

(Le XV de France outclassed Italy (46-20) on Sunday at the Stade de France. The Tournament is practically in the pocket -- the Blues will have the occassion to validate the Grand Slam title next Saturday against England.)

Six Nations Rugby Cup: Magnificent XV de France thrash Ireland 33 -10

2010-02-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

BBC blogger Tom Fordyce wrote a beautiful piece about the match: Fabulous France and Irish dream

Lifted from Hillblogger3

Six Nations Rugby Tournament: France beats Scotland 18 - 9 [On a gagné! On a gagné!]

2010-02-07T17:38:00.000-08:00

Mathieu Bastareaud a inscrit deux essais pour l'équipe de France, sur une attaque au large, à la 15e et à la 33e. Le Parisien aura été le principal artisan de la victoire tricolore 18-9. (Crédit photo : DPPI) More pictures in Le Figaro

Scotland v France today, the 3rd match of the Six Nations Cup Tournament that began yesterday.

Scotland played a great game but didn't stand a chance against the more impressive France team whom Scottish coach described as one of the best scrummers in the world. Final score: France 18, Scotland 9.

Live blogging at the BBC

This from Imanol Hari [French captain]: "We're very happy to win today. The Scotland team has a big heart, and it's always a tough match to come here. We knew we had to have a big performance from the forwards, and we won the match in the scrum and the fight."

FULL-TIME: Scotland 9-18 France More comprehensive than the scoreline suggests, that win - France hugely impressive, and as many through, next weekend's clash in Paris against Ireland is looking like the decisive match in the championship. Scotland very disappointing - too many errors, inability to capitalise on the few breaks they had.

Our victory chant: On a gagné! On a gagné!

Cross-posted from hillblogger 3

Time to prohibit the wearing of burkas in public!!!

2010-01-26T20:04:00.000-08:00

At last! Burqa : «l'interdiction sera absolue dans les lieux publics»

"Elle va demander, dans une proposition de résolution, que le port du voile intégral soit «prohibé sur le territoire de la République»." ("The report will ask that a resolution be tabled so that the wearing of the burka be prohibited in whole territory of the Republic.")

The Parliamentary Commission that has been tasked with the submission of a report on the legality of imposing a complete ban on the wearing of the burka will be submitting its findings tomorrow:

In an interview with Le Figaro, André Gerin, (Communist Party) Vice Mayor of Vénissieux de Vénissieux who chaired the Parliamentary Commission, said:

"En six mois, j'ai découvert que le problème est encore plus grave que je ne pensais. Dans certaines entreprises du CAC 40 se constituent des syndicats religieux ou communautaristes qui remettent en cause la mixité au travail, ou la tenue vestimentaire des femmes. Dans certains établissements scolaires, 50 % des jeunes filles mineures sont exonérées de gymnastique ou de piscine, et des gamins contestent les cours d'histoire ou de sciences naturelles. Les enseignants nous supplient de les aider. En milieu hospitalier, des médecins hommes sont menacés individuellement par des gourous qui accompagnent des femmes voilées et qui exigent que leurs médecins soient des femmes. Une chose est sûre : dans les lieux ouverts au public, ce sera comme une lame de couteau. L'interdiction du voile intégral sera absolue."

(Translation mine) "In six months, I discovered that the problem is even more serious than what I had thought. In some CAC 40 companies, religious labor unions or communitarists have banded together and put in question the validity of having men and women work together or the dress code of women. In some schools, 50% of young women are exempted from gym classes or swimming, pupils contest their lessons in history or natural sciences. Teachers have begged us to help them. In hospitals, male doctors are threatened individually by gurus who accompany veilled women and demand that female doctors attend to them [veilled women]. One thing is sure: In public places, it will be like the blade of a knife. The interdiction of the wearing of the burka shall be absolute."

Frankly, if I had my way, I would go even further... Why ban the wearing of the burka only in public places? In France, supermarkets and commercial establishments are not legally considered "public places" -- I believe the wearing of burkas should also be prohibited in supermarkets, movie houses malls and in private commercial establishments, e.g., hotels, restaurants, etc. frequented by or open to the public.

In some districts of Brussels, the wearing of the burka is already illegal. And I'm all for it!

I don't see any reason why an entire nation should be held hostage by the dictates of a minority group that predicates their philosphy on a religious dress code for women, or on a concept that's alien to me and my fellow French! If they insist on this archaic practice, they should go back to where they came from where, I'm sure, they'll be happier because they are among their own.

Lifted from hillblogger3

France is number 1 in Quality of Life Index for 5th year in a row

2010-01-09T17:58:00.000-08:00

France is the best country to live in for its quality of life, according to American magazine, International Living.

For the 5th year in a row, France tops the list of the best places to live for 2010, with the UK being a distant 25th prompting Francophobic Rod Liddle of The Times to bang his head on the wall as he tries to convince himself that the index is not to be taken seriously. Poor bloke!

Liddle also rubbishes Belgium, which has come 8th, one of the few countries in Europe that's greenest per square mile. I believe that the United States has never been quite able to compete with France and other countries in Europe in terms of quality of life despite the absolutely vast opportunities in terms of space, geography and professional opportunities on offer.

While my family is half British, or English to be more precisce, sadly, the UK is last in my list of places in Western Europe to live for its not-so-endearing quality of life. France is my favourite because tthe quality of life is in abundance.

In fact, I have been resisting all attempts to be repatriated to England, and if push comes to shove (we're on our last year of expatriation), I would rather Darling and I took a cut in salary than go back and experience the dreary, ultra-liberal-faux-multi-cultural lifestyle in Britain....We are lucky in that we are a Franco-British family and have a choice. There is no doubt that we will feel "at home" in one or the other but will be much happier to be living for good in France than anywhere else.

Report by International Living:

To produce this annual Index we consider nine categories: Cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy, Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk, and Climate. This involves a lot of number crunching from "official" sources, including government websites, the World Health Organization, and The Economist, to name but a few. We also take into account what our editors from all over the world have to say about our findings.

Here's what International Living says of the top 10 countries in this year's Quality of Life Index:

1. France
For the fifth year running, France takes first in our annual Quality of Life Index. No surprise. Its tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes are outweighed by an unsurpassable quality of life, including the world's best health care.

France always nets high scores in most categories. But you don't need number-crunchers to tell you its bon vivant lifestyle is special. Step off a plane and you'll experience it first-hand.

2. Australia
Across the continent, Aussies and those who've chosen to emigrate there have access to an active and healthy lifestyle. But urban dwellers will find plenty of great culture and excellent food in Sydney and Melbourne, and a cost of living below that of some of the world's other great cities.

3. Switzerland
Switzerland is an award-winning country because it turned all its natural disadvantages to its own advantage, ending up as a super-efficient, high-tech society while still managing to play Alpine inn-keeper to the world. Moreover the cuckoo clock comes from the Black Forest in Germany.

4. Germany
Will your medical insurance fund a health spa stay? Probably not, but it happens here with a doctor's recommendation. Despite the global downturn, Germans have it pretty good. Along with 30 days paid annual holiday, the average employee earns €41,509 ($61,433).

5. New Zealand
From Auckland's waterfront to the Southern Alps, English-speaking New Zealand boasts some of the most pristine landscapes on earth. Much of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy was filmed here. For younger migrants with the right skills, it's a wonderful place to relocate and raise a family. There's huge emphasis on sports, beach-life, and healthy lifestyles.

6. Luxembourg
If we judged quality of life by a nation's Michelin-starred restaurants per square mile, the winner would be the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. A founder member of the EU, its national motto is Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sin (we want to remain what we are).

Only 51 miles long and 35 miles wide, landlocked Luxembourg is relatively unknown to Americans. Yet with per capita GDP of $88,000, it's among the world's richest countries. Most apartments in its postcard-pretty capital—also called Luxembourg—cost at least $7,400 per square meter. But they come with an operetta scene of medieval turrets, bridges, and flower-filled squares.

7. United States
From Florida's palm-lined coasts to Alaska's snow-covered crags…from the dazzle of New York to the big skies of Montana…the U.S. has, arguably, something to offer everyone.
And no question: It is the land of convenience. No place else on Earth is it easier to get what you want, when you want it.

8. Belgium
Ringed with parks, it's Europe's greenest capital. Along with many international schools, it delivers all an expat could desire: theater, English-language cinema, sports centers, great public transport, Trappist-brewed beers, numerous gourmet and ethnic restaurants, and fast trains to London, Paris, and Amsterdam. As they rarely plan to stay, most expats rent. In central Brussels, one-bedroom apartments start at $740 monthly.

9. Canada
Health care and living standards are among the highest in the world. Canada's economy is based on vast natural resources, a robust financial industry, and innovative manufacturing including the renewable energy sector. Canada has remained resilient through the global financial crises. The banks are considered "more Swiss than the Swiss banks," and property markets are "on fire."

10. Italy
...trains are often in ritardo (late), workers frequently strike, corruption isn't unknown, and red tape comes in slow-moving triplicate. But balance that against Rome, Venice, and Florence...against mountains reflected in sapphire lakes...against golden beaches and hill towns cobbled with secrets.
Then throw in 60% of the world's art treasures. A national health care system rated second in the world by the WHO. Sunflowers, vineyards, and opera. And the best espresso, pizza, and ice cream you'll ever taste.

Pictures I took on Christmas Day in the northwestern coast of France: Cotes-d-Armor, Brittany

(1) Gites de France: sign of cottages to let; A cottage owner may put up the sign 'Gites de France' after fulfilling stringent standards imposed by a region's official tourism bureau.

(2) Kiddies right in front of the Bay of Paimpol across the Ile de Brehat in the background.

(3) Open air Coquilles Saint Jacques pond by Ploubazlanec in Cotes-d-Armor, Brittany

(4 & 5) View of a rainbow from my bedroom window on Christmas Day 2009.

Lifted from Hllblogger3

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année à tous!

2009-12-16T15:44:00.001-08:00

Wishing one and all a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Breaking my fast, breakfast otherwise known as petit déjeuner

2009-08-28T16:57:00.000-07:00

Will get my head down now for the night, will wake up in a few hours and I'm gonna break my fast, i.e., breakfast, with hot home-made baguette served with my very own confiture de mirabelle along with a cup of espresso or a steaming cup of tea!

French breakfast at its best!

Video footage of Michael Jackson rehearsing for the London concerts that never happened.

2009-07-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

Video footage of Michael Jackson rehearsing for the London concerts that never happened. He looked energetic in the pictures taken two days before he died, Sky News reports.

America acknowledges role in empowering Talibans, etc.

2009-05-26T03:44:00.000-07:00

Lifted from Hillblogger 3:

If we were to go by what Hilary Clinton has been saying (watch You Tube video below, H/T Marina Mahathir), America indeed has acknowledged its role in empowering the Talibans, and by extension, Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.

Stalwarts of the US Republican Party seem to have been suffering from memory loss these last few years but this space has never forgotten that the rise of the Talibans in the terrorism power realm was a result of America's aggressive, almost vindicative but short-sighted forward defence policy that was a cornerstone of the Reagan administration.

The short sighted approach that was America's, in its desire to defeat the Russians at all costs, inevitably led to the formation of a fundamentalist-extremist terrorism oriented movement inspired by the Talibans, the Al Qaeda.

There were two real major factions in Afghanistan fighting against Russia's occupation of the country in the late 70s until the late 80s, the Talibans and the Northern Alliance. America supported and heavily funded the Talibans and encouraged the recruitment of fighters from fundamentally Islamist countries.

France, on the other hand, was supporting, financing and advising the Northern Alliance, led by Ahmed Shah Masood, popularly known as the “The Lion of Panjshir” (shown), the coalition that eventually became the West's real major ally in the run up to America's war against the Talibans.

The rest is history -- the Talibans turned against America leading to the infamous 9/11.

Recommended read: Examining the U.S. foreign policy missteps leading up to 9/11

When in a hole, stop digging!

2009-03-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

There's a saying in French:
"Quand tu es dans la merde, ne dis rien, et essaye de donner l'impression de savoir ce que tu fais..."

You know, kind of "When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging!"

Fantabulous Sam Davies, the family's yachting heroine crosses Vendée Globe 2008 finish line!

2009-02-14T23:18:00.000-08:00

After 96 days alone on Roxy at sea, round-the-world yachtswoman Sam Davies crosses solo Vendée Globe 2008 finish line on St Valentine's Day!

More here and on Sam's website: Jour 96 ! : Vendée Globe 2008 : Samedi 14 Février

Bravo to our fellow Breton and heroine Sam!

Meet Sam Davies, our heroine!

Photo from Sam Davies' website

August 2008 picture above shows Dad with Sam's Dad talking on the gangplank in front of the Davies' family boat where Sam was raised. Taken at the Tabarly Center Port, L'Orient, Brittany.

And a shot of me on my way to join them...

A glimpse into the difference between Europe and USA

2009-01-25T15:26:00.001-08:00

Th e Difference Between European and American Woman

Et c'est à peu près vrai! Tee-hee!

H/T Blogs Warwick: (UK)

Sarkozy and Obama should be partners and not "rivals"

2009-01-21T05:38:00.000-08:00

French newspapers banner Obama inauguration

Wed Jan 21, 5:56 AM ET

From Yahoo news: A display of French newspapers showing front page coverage of the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington D.C., in Paris, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009. Obama ushered in a new era for the United States, becoming the first black leader of the country. (AP Photo/Bertrand Combaldieu)

Crédits photo : Le Figaro

Meanwhile, Le Figaro playfully pits the French president against the new American leader: Sarkozy's American "buddy" will be a rival. I don't see why they should be rivals; they can and should be partners? For starters, they share a similar background, family, education and politics wise, i.e., both were abandoned by their foreign-born fathers and raised by their mothers; both grew into politics as community organizers and both are trained lawyers. Secondly, as they say, in unity there's strength.

But as ever in politics, national or international, we say, there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests. Oh well...

Un moment historique: Barack Obama est le 44ème Président des Etats-Unis

2009-01-18T17:56:00.000-08:00

Le 44ème président des Etats-Unis: Barack Obama

Toutes nos félicitations et nos meilleurs voeux pour une présidence pleine de reussite!

Newsweek: "The Last Model Standing Is France" (Can't blame me for feeling smug!)

2009-01-14T20:52:00.000-08:00

Hat tip to SuperFrenchie who reveals one of the final stupid presidential acts of outgoing US President George W Bush: Bush's last food fight by imposing a 300% tariff on roquefort. Yes, roquefort, one of the famous French cheeses. 300% tariff???? Hilariously ridiculous. It seems this is his final retaliation act against France for French refusal to back him in his illegal invasion of and war on Iraq that has culminated in more than 1 million deaths so far.

So what! I'm all for keeping our roquefort and Bush can keep his hormone-infested beef!

But there is a happy, and might I add, judiciously savourous note, thanks again to SuperFrenchie's That was then; this is now that's making me feel embarassingly smug.

Well, here's why: while the US and the UK, its bosom buddy, played France and French bashing games on the world bashing court in the run up to that stupid invasion of Iraq, France stuck to her guns and boy, was she proven right. There were no bloody WMDs and worse, we learned that Bush and Blair and their subalterns had been fixing intelligence data around the invasion. And as if things couldn't be any more worse for them, France played its cards right and guess what? France has not gone down as bad as Bush and Blair/Brown countries have fared on the economic front.

One might interject, "They had what was coming to them!" Alright, it's not proper to be showing one's smugness in the current situation but heck, and I'm sorry about it (Dad, sorry I'm embarassingly feeling smug*) but good news is hard to come by! So, right you are: I am a teeny weeny bit feeling smug about it.

Here's what making me feel smug:

The Last Model Standing Is France: "For better or worse, French-style intervention is gaining the upper hand as other economic models lose credibility."

(*My Dad is English but also happens to be against the invasion of and war on Iraq from the onset and believes that Tony Blair should be charged with war crimes.)

NOTE: 29 January 2009. Have just been to SuperFrenchie's blog and found that this post has been linked by a search engine that's called Skyrock India.

French doctors in Gaza tell of horror (Audio)

2009-01-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

Thank goodness, help has arrived in Gaza.

French doctors are now in situ and a French A-310 carrying 40 tons of humanitarian aid to the civilian population of Gaza left Wednesday 14 January for Israel from where the cargo will be transported to Gaza, according to an AFP report published in Le Figaro.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the humanitarian aid cargo constitutes 6,000 blankets, 3,000 of which were supplied by a French NGO Voix de l'Enfant, 5,000 water cannisters, 30 boxes of medicine from Tulipe, a French organisation that federates medical donations from companies, and 14 water purification systems with a total value of 350,000 euros.

The cargo will be distributed in Gaza in collaboration with the World Health Organisation and the UNRWA, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

Also in Le Figaro: A French doctor from the University Hospital of Lille has just arrived in Gaza with a team of surgeons and speaks of the horror. He talks of the total lack of equipment needed to treat the wounded and of the devastations inflicted on the families.

L'ONG française Help Doctors est entrée hier dans la bande de Gaza. Son président Régis Garrigue, médecin urgentiste au CHU de Lille avec une équipe de médecins et de chirurgiens sont sur zone. Cette mission est soutenue par la Communauté Urbaine de Dunkerque qui est jumelée avec la ville de Gaza depuis avril 1996. (French NGO Help Doctors arrived last night on the Gaza strip. Régis Garrigue, a doctor with the emergency unit of the University Hospital of Lille along with a team of doctors and surgeons are now in Gaza. Their mission is backed by the Urban Community of Dunkirk that has been a twin city to Gaza since April 1996.)

Click on link to listen to tape: A French doctor in Gaza talks about the horror

Click on link to read plea by Help Doctors: Gaza: "Il faut que les décès d'enfants cessent !" (Gaza: "Death of children must stop!")

The death toll in Gaza has reached more than 1,000, many of them children. Israel has been accused by Human Rights Watch of using a new weapon that causes worse and far bigger damage than the size of the Gaza strip itself and calls on Israel to stop its unlawful use:

Israel: Stop Unlawful Use of White Phosporous in Gaza.

(Jerusalem) – Israel should stop using white phosphorus in military operations in densely populated areas of Gaza, Human Rights Watch said today. On January 9 and 10, 2009, Human Rights Watch researchers in Israel observed multiple air-bursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over what appeared to be the Gaza City/Jabaliya area.
Israel appeared to be using white phosphorus as an “obscurant” (a chemical used to hide military operations), a permissible use in principle under international humanitarian law (the laws of war). However, white phosphorus has a significant, incidental, incendiary effect that can severely burn people and set structures, fields, and other civilian objects in the vicinity on fire. The potential for harm to civilians is magnified by Gaza’s high population density, among the highest in the world.

“White phosphorous can burn down houses and cause horrific burns when it touches the skin,” said Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch. “Israel should not use it in Gaza’s densely populated areas.”
Human Rights Watch believes that the use of white phosphorus in densely populated areas of Gaza violates the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life. More here.

Calling Israel: Stop the murderous rampage in Gaza

2009-01-12T08:02:00.000-08:00

We all know now that Israel welcomed 2009 by launching a murderous raid into Gaza.

More than 120,000 people all over France mobilised last Saturday calling for a stop to this senseless war that has killed more than 700 Palestinians of whom more than 200 were children.

This blog supports the call for this murderous rampage to cease!

AFP/PIERRE VERDY Manifestation à Paris contre la guerre à Gaza, samedi 10 janvier.

AFP/ERIC CABANIS Manifestation à Toulouse contre la guerre de Gaza, samedi 10 janvier.

AFP/VALERY HACHE A Nice, samedi 10 janvier.

From Le Monde:

A Toulouse, une mobilisation similaire a eu lieu en fin de matinée. Entre 1 600 et 4 000 personnes ont défilé dans les rues de la "ville rose", sans que les autorités ne constatent de débordements. Réunis derrière un grand drapeau palestinien, les manifestants ont scandé de multiples slogans, notamment "Bush, Olmert, Livni, Barak assassins, Sarkozy complice" ou encore "Etat d'Israël, Etat criminel" et "solidarité avec le peuple de Palestine". Des syndicats et l'ensemble des partis de gauche étaient visibles en fin de cortège. A Lyon, entre 8 000 et 10 000 composaient le cortège qui s'est rassemblé devant la préfecture du Rhône avant de défiler dans le centre de la ville.
A Lille, ils étaient près de 10 000 à défiler derrière d'immenses drapeaux palestiniens et une banderole de l'Association France-Palestine solidarité (AFPS), alors que la précédente manifestation avait mobilisé près de 3 000 personnes. Entre 2 000 et 3 000 manifestants ont été recensés au Havre, au moins 3 500 à Grenoble, entre 2 500 et 3 000 à Mulhouse et près de 2 000 à Rouen. Des incidents ont été signalés lors d'un rassemblement qui a réuni entre 2 500 et 6 000 à Nice, samedi. Les vitrines d'un Mac Donald dans l'avenue Jean Médecin, la principale artère de la ville, ont été brisées avec des chaises et des tables qui se trouvaient sur la chaussée. La police n'a pas fait état de blessés. A Marseille , entre 2 000 et 5 000 personnes ont défile et à Bordeaux, entre 1 800 et 8 000 manifestants ont traversé les rues de la ville aux cris de "Israël assassin" et "Gaza vaincra, Gaza vivra". Dans un tract distribué aux manifestants, le comité Action Palestine a par ailleurs dénoncé la poursuite du jumelage de la ville de Bordeaux avec la ville israélienne d'Ashdod, "élevée sur la destruction de villages palestiniens et le massacre de leurs habitants".

D'autres manifestations ont eu lieu à Nantes, Strasbourg, Colmar, Besançon, Lorient, Saint-Brieuc, Caen, La Roche-sur-Yon, Laval, Albi, Auch, Agen, Angoulème, Pau, Roanne, Le Creusot ou encore Evry, partout à l'appel d'un Collectif national pour une Paix juste et durable entre Palestiniens et Israéliens. Outre les incidents à Nice et Paris, le ministère de l'intérieur a signalé de légers problèmes à Toulouse et Perpignan.

Meilleurs Voeux!

2008-12-20T03:59:00.000-08:00

Worthy of note in the blogsphere: A Miquelon post that hits back French bashers with facts and figures

2008-12-17T16:38:00.000-08:00

Worthy of note in the blogsphere: A Miquelon post that hits back French bashers with facts and figures is Huffington Post’s PICK.

Enough with the “SURRENDER MEME” in the comment sections every time the Huffington Post has an item about France.

For over five years, we - French expatriates in America - have had to endure all kinds of harassment, public humiliation and ridicule, all because our government refused to follow the Bush / Cheney in lock and step over the invasion of Irak.

Mocking the 1940 armistice by Marshall Pétain show lack of understanding and respect. 92,000 men died fighting in 1939-40 and 20,000 French resistance fighters and 40,000 POWs died from 1940 to 1945. Civilian losses include 120,000 killed due to military action and 230,000 victims of Nazi reprisals and genocide including 83,000 FRENCH Jews.

This is no laughing matter, yet day in, day out, Monday morning quarterbacks spew their hatred of the French here and elsewhere with the impunity that comes with remote disconnection.

Once again I shall maintain that mocking the 1940 deblacle is as funny to the French as 9/11 is to Americans. It’s time to get past the Jonah Goldberg / Grounds keeper Willie zingers and show some mutual respect between our sister republics.

Marc A. Cormier

A huge bravo for Marc who has remained dignified and calm amidst the vitriol against the French because our government refused, and rightly so, to sanction President Bush's illegal, immoral and criminal invasion of and war on Iraq.

Not all Americans deserve to be rebuked. But I maintain that those Americans who take to bashing the French because America's own president lied to his people are the parochial, insular, ignorant types, much like their blundering warmonger for a commander in chief, Bush. Frankly, this blog is tempted to to deal with people of this caliber by simply letting them wallow in their pathetic and flawed self-righteousness but, heck, Marc Cormier is right: something has got to be done to educate them!

Lest there be any misunderstanding: Most French backed our government’s refusal, as Marc stated, “to follow Bush/Cheney in lock and step over the invasion of Irak” because we believed that Bush and his fellow hawks were totally wrong to invade and cause havoc on a nation based on deceit and lies… Didn't America’s own officials involved in the Iraq Study Group virtually prove that Bush had been completely inept when he insisted that Iraq must be invaded and its people violated on the basis of fixed intelligence?

It is not a measure of courage or intelligence for a government and a people who have at their command an omnipotent military to be able to poke holes on every square foot of land in a third world country and cause devastation and misery to its already suffering population but it takes immense courage and great intelligence NOT TO DO something as odious and ignoble as that.

And for that we are called cowards?

Photo of commemorative plate in the tunnel at Plage Bonaparte from Mathieu GUY's photostream and also from here.

New Michelin France "Le Guide Rouge" chief is a German woman

2008-12-17T14:24:00.000-08:00

The title of this post should have been: News that Michelin France "Le Guide Rouge" is German draws a mocking appraisal of a purported French reaction from The Independent.

British 'tabloid' The Independent reports that French find German's role hard to swallow.

The world of Teutonic gastronomy is in shock following the surprise announcement by the board of Guide Michelin France that a 38-year-old German woman has been chosen to run the male-dominated culinary bible for the first time in its 108-year history.

Read the full story here.

We say, "Bullocks!"

The Independent is speaking from their backside. This blog and its French members are happy to learn that a woman, a German, who The Independent themselves say, "In German culinary circles, Ms Caspar has been criticised by some for being too rooted in the traditions classical French cuisine. For others, she is the Michelin editor who has gone out of her way to award stars to young chefs who are not afraid to experiment" has been selected for the job.

[...] Julianne Caspar is the first woman and - it goes almost without saying - the first German to run Michelin's legendary "Guide Rouge". She was previously responsible for Michelin guides on Germany, Switzerland and Austria but will take over the French Guide from January next year.

Michelin France yesterday described the deliberately publicity shy Ms Caspar, who hails from the German industrial city of Bochum, as a "polyglot who speaks four languages fluently." The publication added: "She is the first foreigner to run Guide Michelin France". [...]

So, why should the appointment of Ms Julianne Caspar, someone who is clearly a hugely qualified traditional French cuisine proponent to the most influential restaurant guide in the world, shock the French? The Independent is treading in dangerous French bashing waters by unecessarily misleading their readers with their sensationalism driven treatment of this news.

Welcome aboard Ms Caspar!

Obama, Time Person of the Year, runners up: Paulson and French Pres Sarkozy

2008-12-17T12:51:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama is 'Time' Person of the Year

[...] Time magazine named US President-Elect Barack Obama its 2008 "Person of the Year", in what must have been one of the easiest decisions its editorial board has had to make. [...]

Runners-Up include President Nicolas Sarkozy and Henry M. (Hank) Paulson Jr: More here

Former UK PM Tony Blair writes:

[...] There are times when Nicolas Sarkozy resembles a force of nature rather than a conventional political leader. He has energy, ideas and vitality in abundance, as he showed in such matters as his handling of the Georgia crisis and the global economic downturn. Of course, as with any new leader, 18 months — Nicolas was elected President of France in May 2007 — is insufficient time to make a final judgment. But certain elements are already clear.
First, Nicolas has the hallmark of any true leader: a capacity to take decisions and implement them. He sees a problem and wants to solve it. What's more, he believes he can.
Second, he is prepared to think outside the box. Reflect for a moment, and the construction of his government in France is a remarkable achievement. His Foreign Minister — the immensely capable Bernard Kouchner — is a Socialist, as are several other ministers. Nicolas has adopted bipartisanship with not only a natural grace but also a wholehearted and sincere embrace. He stands in the modern postideological mold. He wants to get things done, and he wants the best people to do them. [...]
More here.

Truth is France Blog didn't think the American weekly magazine would include French President Sarkozy in their persons of the year line up. So, it was a surprise. France Blog congratulates the winners and while Paulson would have been our last choice, we think the line up is made up of clever choices. Needless to say, we believe Sarkozy bashers will be at work objecting to the French president's inclusion but we in France Blog believe Time's choice of President Sarkozy in the line up is truly judicious.

Janine di Giovanni embelishes her story about France and the French with arsenic and lies

2008-12-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

SuperFrenchie reports a bad reporting, a case of writing in bad faith by an American French-bashing journalist, who it seems, if the Wiki blurb were to be believed, is a 'decorated' war correspondent.

I read the purported beastly article in question and true enough, Janine di Giovanni's arsenic-laced piece of journalism is an exercise in frustration and it does "take the cake for bad faith reporting."

Giovanni's piece nearly had me flummoxed. I mean, some of the garbage she said about France are just completely false. An example: zero credit card. She writes, "No one lives on credit in France because banks don’t allow overdrafts and zero percent credit cards do not exist."

Where did she get that piece of rubbish? So blatantly misleading is she that klancymiller, one of the commenters in her site, was prompted to ask quite rightly: "Where do you do your research?" and went on to point Giovanni's spins.

No one lives on credit in France and don't allow overdrafts, etc., etc.? Utter falsehood. My brother, who is a student in an Ecole de commerce in Paris, survives virtually on his credit card overdrafts. I can tell you right here and now that my parents have just (very recently matter of fact) paid off his 1500-euro overdraft after his bank threatened to do something drastic about his burgeoning debt.

Giovanni pushed her reporting too far when she wrote, “Last week Lanvin, the French couture house favored by Hollywood celebrities, gave a private sale and I stood in the midst of hysterical women clamoring for fur coats. Fur coats? In the midst of the global meltdown?”

I Googled the Lanvin sale and found what she might have been talking about in L'Express which is a pretty reputable French weekly (by the way, I am familiar with these Faubourg-Saint Honoré soldes):

Lanvin- 40% sur le prêt-à-porter automne-hiver, les chaussures, les sacs et les ceintures sauf manteaux en fourrure et certains bijoux cristaux, colliers plastron et perles. La bonne affaire: la sublime robe longue du soir en jersey gris chiné retenue par de fines bretelles, avec sur le devant un nœud de velours noir à 925 € au lieu de 1 540 €. Ou bien, petit «must-have» de la collection, les ballerines plates à 330 € soldées 198 €. 15, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, VIIIe. 01-44-71-33-33.

Translation of those in bold: 40% on ready to wear Fall-Winter collection, shoes, bags, belts except fur coats and some crystal jewelry, plastron and pearl necklaces. °

In other words, Lanvin fur coats were not part of the private sale, hence the women shoppers couldn't have been clamouring for fur coats in that private sale precisely because they weren't included in the private sale!

So, is Giovanni (shown right in picture) LYING?

Well, what's clear to me is that she has embelished her story to shock and awe her readers but why did she have to make up, i.e., lie about, some of the things she was reporting on? Of course, there are more anneries in her artitcle but this is just one spin too many so I will leave it at that. Go, read it and try not to puke!

No matter how you turn her article around, you see it dripping with disdain, contempt, scorn for the French etc. That article contains a historical record of her thoughts about the French and there's no doubt about it, she hates the French.

Why Janine de Giovanni baise français (fucks a Frenchman) boggles the mind but maybe, just maybe, elle souffre de la malbaise! (she's fucked badly!)

Gluttony is ugly

2008-12-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't have been interested in obesity had I not ran into a report on CNN-AC 360° tonight announcing that Oprah Winfrey, US talk show host, is obese and that she was embarassed because she weighed 200 pounds. (Whew! That's a lot of weight to carry around for someone who doesn't seem to be tall.)

The commentator followed up the report with a shocking revelation: 7 out of 10 Americans are obese. My goodness me. That's a lot of fat. No wonder, they say Americans are too fat for x-rays!

The CNN report that I heard seems to jibe with what I've just read in a Medical News report:

[...] An estimated two-thirds of the entire U.S. adult population is overweight or obese, and an estimated 23 million children fall into one of the two categories. [...]

Two thirds? Yuck! So, Is the Average American really becoming like this?

According to a Down to Earth report, "the average [American] child sees more than 10,000 food ads on TV each year, most for high-calorie, high-fat, and high-sugar meals. Not only does the fast food industry spend billions per year on marketing, but they have also infiltrated our schools, signing contracts with them. Our children are bombarded from every angle with these toxic foods making it virtually impossible for them to eat anything else. It is no wonder that we have an increasingly obese population of children (who in time will become an obese population of adults)."

(I don't really know if this McDonald advert is for real but by gum, if it is, McDonald's is virtually committing a crime for inciting children to eat themselves to death!)

And with a poor national health care system, I wonder how these obese people will cared for when their health degenerates on account of excessive, unecessary, ugly body fat.

Thus making Americans officially the fattest humans on the planet, writes Healthy 360° .Must say this is the ugliest picture I've ever seen. It seems so gross and just downright vulgar to parade such ugliness that's primaritly been caused by gluttony. Think of how much prettier these fat women could have been had they put in some of the money they spent on food in a fund that would buy food for these starving children in Africa.

But let's face it. The trend towards putting on more weight that one can do without seems to be everywhere, even in France, home to the chic and slim. (Although I must say, I still have to see 7 out of 10 French that's obese.) Fortunately, the government has stepped up its campaign against obesity.

In fact, France is the leader in Europe in the introduction of public health measures aimed at reducing childhood obesity and have banned vending machines in schools since 2005. Read IHT report here.
°

A piece of advice to Ms Winfrey and to all those folks in America who say they can't lose weight: The secret to losing weight is to just stop eating or at least eat much, much less. Everytime, you want to eat an extra slice of bread, think of the starving children in Africa.

France overtakes British economy

2008-12-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

Britain on the brink of recession? I think the UK is already in recession. The days of wild spending are over. Who would think that the free-wheeling and dealing Brits who had it good for the last decade are on the verge of falling behind the poorer Italians?

Thirty years ago, France was also host to thousands and thousands of jobless Brits when Britain was at its wits' ends trying to make ends meet, and I'm afraid that today's younger Brits -- even those who are anti-Europe or are Euro haters but who now find themselves in dire economic situation, will start trooping back here looking for jobs. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they might soon compete for jobs that were usually reserved for the Poles and the Latvians or other Eastern Europeans.

Frankly, that's fine by me on the condition that they learn to speak French! I've met many Brits who have lived years and years in France but do not even try to learn or to speak French. They continue to live in a world of their own, among themselves, refusing to integrate. Most of them have expatriated to France but don't necessarily like the French. They simply want to avail of the French quality of life and the nation's first class health care system, things that are not readily available to them in cold, wet, dreary UK. Quite appalling behaviour actually!

According to The Times' in-country French basher Charles Bremner, many Brits who have come to France thinking that they would live la belle vie with their British pensions in Sterling are flying back home because the British currency has dwindled in value compared to the hated Euro.

Speaking of Bremner, I doubt however that he would be one of them. His bread and butter is in France. He lives la belle vie and gets to criticise France and the French and gets paid for doing it. So, why should he? Why would he want to live a potentially impoverished life in London?

Here's a report by The Daily Telegraph...

Britain's economy has been overtaken by France and could fall behind Italy's next year, according to leading economists.

By Ben Leach
Last Updated: 5:12PM GMT 07 Dec 2008

The UK is now the sixth largest economy in the world Photo: GETTY

New figures show that the economic crisis has pushed Britain well down the international league table.
The UK is now the sixth largest economy in the world, behind America, Japan, China, Germany and France.
Economists said the fall reflected the pound's slump to record lows against the euro.
A year ago the UK economy was 8 per cent bigger than that of France, measured by gross domestic product (GDP).
Now it is 14 per cent smaller, according to figures from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). More here.

Mixed race beauty from Albigeois Midi-Pyrénées is Miss France 2009

2008-12-06T15:03:00.000-08:00

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2008, Year of the mixed race!

US Golf Open champion: Tiger Woods; Formula 1 Champion: Lewis Hamilton;Elected president of the United States:Barack Obama

Last year, Valérie Bègue, a pretty mixed-race Miss Réunion was elected by TV viewers and a panel of pageant judges to become Miss France 2008.

Tonight, her successor, 19-year old Chloe Mortaud , a mixed-race beauty from Albigeois Midi Pyrénées bested a bevy of lovelies, including my pick, Miss Lorraine who came in 1st runner-up, for the title of Miss France 2009.

Chloe Mortaud, Miss France 2009

Age: 19
Place of birth: Lisieux
Studies: Bachelor of Technical Sciences in International Trade
Height: 1m80 (5'11") with dark brown eyes and hair Hobbies: dance, jazz and classical music, playing the piano and the theatre
Qualities: la joie de vivre, determined and hardworking

Video of the Miss France 2009 finalists...

Félicitations Miss France 2009!

Headline grabbers this week: Sarkozy-Dalai Lama meet, 2 million American jobs destroyed, US contempt for rule of law, cluster bombs

2008-12-06T09:36:00.000-08:00

Despite vulgar threats threats from Peking, President Nicolas Sarkozy keeps meeting with the Dalai Lama in Poland.

From Le Figaro: Première rencontre entre Sarkozy et le dalaï-lama First meeting between Sarkozy and the Dalai Lama

(Eric Feferberg / AFP)

[...] «Il convient de ne dramatiser aucun rendez-vous. Je suis libre de mon agenda», a tranché le président de la République, avant de s'entretenir avec le leader spirituel tibétain samedi en Pologne. [...] "There's no reason to over-react about any meeting. I'm free to do as I please", so decided the president of the Republic before meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader in Poland today.
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[...] C'est fait. Après des mois d'attentes, de polémiques et de menaces de Pékin, le président français Nicolas Sarkozy a rencontré le dalaï-lama, pour la première fois, samedi à Gdansk, au nord de la Pologne. L'entretien entre les deux hommes a débuté peu après 16h30 et se poursuit actuellement. Peu avant, lors d'une conférence de presse, le chef de l'Etat français avait affirmé qu'il convenait de «ne pas dramatiser» cette rencontre. [...] Done. After months of waiting, of controvery and of threats from Peking, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Dalai Lama met for the first time on Saturday (today) in the Polish town of Gdansk. The meeting between the two men began at around 4.30 PM and is still going on. More here.

Well, well... that will learn 'em Chinese not to go around threatening leaders of sovereign European states with whatever.

Of course, it didn't stop Chinese authorities attacking France, qualifying Sarkozy's decision to meet with the Dalai Lama as opportunistic and hasty for not only ruffling Chinese feelings but also for weakening Sino-Franco relations. Frankly, who cares!

On the other side of the pond, things are going from bad to worse. Reports have it that the US has almost reached the two million job loss mark for the year, the highest in the last 15 years. More than half a million jobs were lost for the month of November alone and still counting.

From Le Monde: Le chômage aux Etats-Unis au plus haut depuis quinze ans The highest unemployment rate in the United States in the last 15 years.

Meanwhile in the :

Roger Cohen writes about the "snub symbol of U.S. contempt for the rule of law."

[...] THE HAGUE: Of the many issues that have soured relations between Europe and the United States under the Bush administration, few have been as poisonous as America's refusal to join the world's first permanent war crimes court here. The snub symbol of U.S. contempt for the rule of law.
°
In one of his last acts, Bill Clinton signed the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court, but the signature never led to U.S. ratification. On the contrary, President Bush withdrew the signature.

.../...
°
The effect of U.S. rejection of the court, combined with the trashing of habeas corpus at Guantánamo Bay, has been devastating. Allies from Canada to Germany that are court members have been dismayed by the U.S. dismissal of an institution they see doing evident good.
°
Other smaller nations from Latin America to Africa, browbeaten by the United States on the issue, have looked elsewhere for lost military or financial support. The American idea, grounded in legal principles, has been undermined. [...] More here.

Human rights be damned? Let's hope the incoming US administration will prove to be as good as the world expects them to be.

And the good news is from Oslo: Afghans sign treaty banning cluster munitions

In a surprising last-minute change of policy, the government of President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan agreed Wednesday to join about 100 nations signing a treaty banning the use of cluster munitions, Afghan officials said.
°
The decision appeared to reflect Karzai's growing independence from the Bush administration, which has opposed the treaty and, according to a senior Afghan official who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, had urged Karzai not to sign it.
°

Barack Obama mentor Warren Buffett competing with France's EDF for US electricity firm buyout

2008-12-03T06:30:00.000-08:00

From Le Monde: EDF concurrence Warren Buffet sur le rachat de l'électricien américain Constellation EDF competing with Warren Buffet over Constellation, American electricity company.

EDF a proposé, mercredi 3 décembre, de racheter 50 % des actions du producteur d'électricité américain Constellation, pour un montant de 52 dollars par action, soit un investissement total de 4,5 milliards de dollars (3,5 milliards d'euros). Le groupe français entre ainsi en concurrence avec MidAmerican Energy Holdings, la société du milliardaire américain Warren Buffett. EDF offered on Wednesday, 3rd December to buy 50% of of the shares of American electricity company, Constellation, at 52 dollars per share representing a total investment of 4.5 billion dollars (3.5 billion euros). The French group is in competition with MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a company owned by American billionaire Warren Buffett.

EDF, I believe is one of the world's largest in electricity production and energy businessess. The French conglomerate is present in many countries and already operates in the UK.

Coming at the heel of the Boeing-led torpedoeing of EADS-Northrop bid there will surely be an outcry from Americans who are some of the worst isolationists in business. We all know how EADS lost the USD 35 billion US Air Force contract it had already won. Detractors had ignorantly claimed that EADS was a French company which it is not -- it is a pan-European company and Northrop-EADS bid would be made up of a grouping of American firms.
°

I have no doubt Warren Buffett, the world's richest man, will not allow himself to be defeated in the contest and I have a suspicison he will use his influence with President-elect Obama to make sure France's EDF doesn't win.

Extremism, Sarkozy voodoo dolls and basic human rights

2008-11-28T07:31:00.000-08:00

Following the extremist attacks on Mumbai from Le Figaro:

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Deux Français ont été tués dans les attaques de Bombay Two French were killed in Mumbai attacks

Le Quai d'Orsay a confirmé la mort de ce couple, qui séjournait à l'Oberoi/Trident. L'armée a repris le contrôle du centre juif de Bombay où les corps de 5 otages ont été retrouvés. Des explosions et des échanges de tirs ont encore lieu à l'hôtel Taj Mahal. Quai d'Orsay has confirmed the death of the couple who were staying at the Oberoi/Trident hotel. The army has taken control of the Jewish center of Mumbai where the bodies of 5 hostages were found. Explosions and gunshots are still heard in the Hotel Taj Mahal.

Loumia Hiridjee et son mari dînaient à l'Oberei, au moment de l'attaque. Loumia Hirdjee, a French-Indian national and founder of Princess Tam Tam lingerie, and her husband were dining at the Oberei during the attack. They had been living in Mumbai for a year doing humanitarian work.

°
The Times headlines Jewish hostages killed as British terrorists linked to Bombay attacks. Pakistanis holding British citizenship have become very radical and as we all know, some have been directly linked to Al Qaeda. British laws on immigration and nationality have been considered some of the more lax in Europe when it comes to immigration which have probably allowed foreigners with extremist links to circulate freely and liberally in the UK.

°
Time to rethink state policies and to formulate better strategies on dealing with extremism -- whatever the colour. Si vis pacem para bellum!
°

Meanwhile, the Paris Appeals Court agrees that the Sarkozy voodoo dolls sold in the streets attack presidential dignity but rules that this attack does not justify forbidding their sale.

La poupée vaudou de Sarkozy reste dans le commerce Sarkozy voodoo dolls to remain in shops

I don't agree with the Court of Appeals. Let's leave the presidential seal out of it and look at it from the perspective of human rights.
°
No French or any human being should be deprived of his/her dignity and certainly not by a group of individuals whose objective is purely borne of malice, depravity and with serious intent to cause moral harm. By virtue of the fundamental right to dignity that each and every human being is entitled to, why should Nicolas Sarkozy be deprived of his elementary human right to dignity just because he happens to be the president of the republic? It doesn't make sense!

To the oppressive regime in China: We eat Chinese threats for breakfast!

2008-11-27T04:48:00.000-08:00

The Chinese are flexing their muscles and are trying to pin down Pres Nicolas Sarkozy to the ground.

From Le Monde:

Le régime chinois veut imposer un rapport de force avec M. Sarkozy The Chinese regime want to impose their will on Mr Sarkozy

Pékin a décidé d'annuler la tenue d'un sommet UE-Chine, prévu le 1er décembre à Lyon, pour protester contre la prochaine rencontre entre le président français et le dalaï-lama. Peking has decided to cancel a UE-China summit scheduled on 1st December in Lyon to protest against a forthcoming meeting between the French president and the Dalai Lama.

The French president and the Dalai Lama are scheduled to meet on 6th December. The Tibetan spiritual chief is also awaited in Brussels next week.

EU member nations are astonished by the virulent reaction of the Chinese, reports Le Monde:

INCOMPRÉHENSION
A Pékin, certains observateurs européens interprètent la décision chinoise avec un mélange d'incompréhension et de rancœur, estimant que le coup de colère en dit long sur la vision que se font les Chinois du reste du monde en général et de l'Union européenne en particulier : le principe de priorité, même à propos d'une question tibétaine particulièrement sensible pour la République populaire, aurait dû normalement faire passer les relations sino-européennes avant une irritation essentiellement dirigée contre la France. In Pekin, some European observers interpret the Chinese decision with a mixture of incomprehension and sadness, and believe that the tantrum shows how the Chinese view the rest of the world in general and the European Union more specifically: the principle of priority, no matter how senstive the Chinese are feeling about the Tibetan question, should have taken precedence and that Sino-European relations should have been been put first before their irritation that's primarily directed against France.

The French president and the Dalai Lama are scheduled to meet on 6th December. The Tibetan spiritual chief is also awaited in Brussels next week.

Peking has been very vocal about their opposition to a meeting between Sarkozy and the Dalai Lama since August and have threatened Paris firms doing business with Peking with sanctions should such a meeting take place.

Well, here's what I say to these old hooliganistic Chinese regime leaders: I am not particularly enamoured of the Dalai Lama but this is the last straw. You guys are now trying to export to the West your authoritarian attitudes borne of decades of suppression within your own walls so, I think, it's time to say, you can do it to your own but shouldn't tell us what we, the freedom loving people of the West, could or couldn't do.

You, the morally corrupt leaders of China, have been going on a murderous rampage in Tibet, have been suppressing Tibetan freedon, are still trying to cow the Tibetans into submission, are continuously wrecking the lives of Tibetans living abroad and you want us to kowtow to your desiderata?

You may have lulled yourselves into believing that you are now poised to take over the world just because one of your debtor nations, America which is considered the mightiest and the most powerful on earth, cannot pay you back the hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars they owe you, and so you are starting to believe that the rest of the West has weakened, but guess what? You are kidding yourselves! As long as your corrupt, reppressive and murderous regime continues, there's no way the West will respect you.

Communism is dead! There's no way you can export your communistic diktats to France, a nation that was borne of a revolution, long before you guys did the unthinkable when you murdered millions and millions of your own.

The French are a civilised people but don't be fooled by the lip service because as a freedom loving people, there's no way we will accept your stupid childish diktats. You can take back your Chinese yuans and feed on them -- your threats are chicken feed to us. We eat Chinese threats for breakfast.

This blog now officially supports a Free Tibet!
°

Believe it or not: America owes Thanksgiving Day to France!

2008-11-26T08:31:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Day in June? (H/T to Mark over at SuperFrenchie's)

Kenneth C. Davis, author of “America’s Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation”, wrote an amazing Op-Ed piece in the NY Times, suggesting that a June date would be far more appropriate to commemorate the arrival of the first pilgrims to America’s shores, “After all the first European arrivals seeking religious freedom in the “New World” were French. And they beat their English counterparts by 50 years.” °

A French Connection
By KENNETH C. DAVIS
Published: November 25, 2008

[...] That French settlers bested the Mayflower Pilgrims may surprise Americans raised on our foundational myth, but the record is clear.

Long before the Pilgrims sailed in 1620, another group of dissident Christians sought a haven in which to worship freely. These French Calvinists, or Huguenots, hoped to escape the sectarian fighting between Catholics and Protestants that had bloodied France since 1560.

Landing in balmy Florida in June of 1564, at what a French explorer had earlier named the River of May (now the St. Johns River near Jacksonville), the French émigrés promptly held a service of “thanksgiving.” Carrying the seeds of a new colony, they also brought cannons to fortify the small, wooden enclosure they named Fort Caroline, in honor of their king, Charles IX. [...]
°
Full NY Times article here.

Now, let me tell you that this was a surprising discovery for me just as I think it will surprise many Europeans and Americans alike to learn that America has a lot to thank the French for, eg., not only when they helped Gen George Washington boot King George's colonial armies but also for Thanksgiving Day! (I can't wait to hear what my English side of the family will say about that!)

So, with history for a backdrop, what better way than to wish all our friends in America a Happy Thanksgiving Feast in French: Joyeux Fêtes de Remerciements a tous nos amis en Amerique!

Cross-posted from Hillblogger3: Thanksgiving Day: The first European arrivals seeking religious freedom in the “New World” were French

Dream Team Obama

2008-11-24T19:13:00.001-08:00

Hmm... President-elect Barack Obama has come up with his team. Le Figaro headline:

Pour braver la crise, Obama choisit les «meilleurs esprits»

To confront the crisis, Obama selects the "best minds" or The Dream Team!

La «dream team»
de Barack Obama
Click (on the link above) to see the gallery of pictures of Obama's "Dream Team"
And the cost of the Obama plan? » Le plan Obama à 700 milliards d'euros
And guess what? The stock market surged all over world! A result of confidence in the American president-elect and his economic dream team.
Here's a message from David Plouffe, Campaign Manager, Obama for America:

Friend --

Today and yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama announced key members of an economic team tasked with creating jobs, stabilizing the economy, and getting our country back on track.

Barack is bringing together some of the best minds in the country to make swift progress on the economic challenges we face.

Timothy F. Geithner, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will serve as Secretary of the Treasury. Lawrence H. Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton, will serve as Director of the National Economic Council.

Christina D. Romer will serve as Director of the Council of Economic Advisers, Melody C. Barnes will serve as Director of the Domestic Policy Council, and Heather A. Higginbottom will serve as Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Peter Orszag, currently Director of the Congressional Budget Office, will serve as Office of Management and Budget Director, and Rob Nabors will serve as Deputy Director.

Watch the video of Barack's announcement yesterday and learn more about the economic team:

Barack's economic team has already begun work on a recovery plan, and he'll provide progress updates in the coming weeks. He'll also provide their initial recommendations to the incoming Congress.

You'll be instrumental in generating support to pass legislation that puts America on the road to recovery.

While we can't underestimate the challenge we face, we also can't underestimate the opportunity we have to bring the change our country needs.

Thanks,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

Mettons dehors ces individus lâches qui insultent la France! (Kick out those cowards who insult France!)

2008-11-19T07:30:00.000-08:00

A disturbing phenomenon is happening right here in France and I don't like it...

Le Figaro reports: «La Marseillaise» sous surveillance La Marseillaise under surveillance

Crédits photo : AFP

Le secrétaire d'Etat aux Sports, Bernard Laporte, a annoncé qu'il quitterait le stade si l'hymne français venait à être sifflé lors du match contre l'Uruguay. The Secretary of State for Sports, Bernard Laporte, announced that he will walk out of the stadium if the French national anthem is hissed, whisteled over, etc. during the match with Uruguay.
Les sifflets qui ont couvert La Marseillaise lors du France-Tunisie du 14 octobre résonnent encore. Un sujet sensible. Le lendemain du match, le gouvernement avait préconisé la suspension des matchs en cas d'incidents de ce genre. L'hymne national sera-t-il encore sifflé ce soir ? Si La Marseillaise devait être à nouveau conspuée, ce ne serait pas le fait des supporteurs uruguayens, ils ne seront pas nombreux, mais plutôt de provocateurs profitant du contexte. The hissing and the whistling that drowned La Marseillaise during the France-Tunisia match on 14th October still resonates and continues to be a delicate subject. The day after the match, the government suggested the suspension of matches in case of another incident of the type occurs. Will the national hymn be hissed and whisteled over again tonight? If La Marseillaise is whistle-mobbed again, it won't come from supporters of the Uruguay team because they are not likely to be that many, but it will certainly be by provocateurs who will take advantage of the sporting context.

(Translation by France Blog. More on the story here.)

Commentaires de France Blog: Je suis complètement interloquée ! Comment peut-on tolérer ce genre d'agissements de la part de gens qui sont visiblement hostiles à la France. Le fait de siffler La Marseillaise dans un stade public lors d'une rencontre sportive qui se déroule en France ou ailleurs est une insulte à la France et au peuple français. Ces individus font preuve de la plus grand hostilité envers la France qui les accueille. Ils n'ont aucune raison de se trouver et de rester en France.

Il est du devoir de tout français qui se respecte de mettre un terme à ce genre d'agissements ignobles -- ces individus lâches doivent être montrés du doigt en public et, s'il se trouve qu'ils sont étrangers, il faut les expulser illico!

France Blog comments: I'm completely gobsmacked! How can we tolerate this type of act by people who are clearly hostile to France. Hissing, whistling, booing while La Marseillaise is being played in public during a sporting event, whether it's taking place right in France or somewhere else, is an insult to France and to the French people. It's a proof that those individuals are hostile to France that's welcomed them. They have no reason to find themselves nor to stay in France.

It is the duty of every French worthy of the name to put a stop to these ignoble actions -- these cowards should be pointed out in public and if they are foreigners, they must be kicked out without a moment's hesitation.

Commentaire paru/comments posted in Le Figaro: ces individus lâches doivent être montrés du doigt en public et, FRANCE BLOG

France nabs Basque terror chief suspect

2008-11-17T15:14:00.000-08:00

From: Le Point: Le chef militaire présumé de l'ETA arrêté en France ETA military cell chief arrested in France.

L'opération a été menée sur commission rogatoire de la juge antiterroriste Laurence Le Vert, par des fonctionnaires de la Sous-Direction antiterroriste (SDAT), de la Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur (DCRI), de la PJ de Bayonne et du Raid. Selon une source proche du dossier, c'est un renseignement de la garde civile espagnole, transmis à la DCRI, qui a permis l'interpellation.
The operation was led on the basis of an order issued by Anti-terrorism judge Laurence Vert by members of SDAT (Counter Terrorism Sub Unit), the agents of DCRI (Interior Intelligence Central Office), the Judiciary Police unit and of Raid. According to a source who knows the file, the arrest was made on a tip received from the Spanish Guardia Civil which had been transmitted to the DCRI.

From CNN:

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Police arrested the suspected military chief of the Basque separatist group ETA in a pre-dawn raid Monday in southern France, the French interior minister announced.

Suspected ETA military chief Aspiazu is considered a Basque separatist hardliner.

The suspect, Mikel Garikoitz Aspiazu, 35, is wanted in connection with the shooting deaths of two plainclothes Spanish Civil Guards last December -- while they were on an anti-ETA investigation in France. He is thought to have been the ETA commander who trained and sent operatives to carry out attacks.
French anti-terrorism police arrested Aspiazu, alias "Txeroki," at an apartment in the Pyrenees resort village of Cauterets, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Lourdes. A woman, not immediately identified, was also detained in the raid with a warrant from French anti-terrorism judge Laurence Le Vert, CNN partner station CNN+ reported. Full story here.

Comment: I can safely say that I know the Basque regions both in France and in Spain. For years, we used to holiday in the Basque region down in the southwest of France and had made excellent friends with both French and Spanish Basques that continue to this day. We had a home in Ascain, a small village near the coastal towns of Cibourre, Biarritz and St Jean-de-Luz. The children learned to ski in the Pyrenees near Saint Nary Soulan, a few miles from world famous pilgrimage site Lourdes.

Basque terrorism (ETA) on the other side of the border (in Spain) was raging but despite the troubles in the neighbouring region of San Sebastian, there were no incidents over at our side. The French Basques were perhaps more financially at ease. They had integrated very well into the mainstream French way of life. Didier Deschamps and Bixente Lizarazu were two prominent football players who played for the French team in 1998 and became World Cup champions. Deschamps captained the team to victory.

Why a group or a handful of Basques in Spain continues to violently espouse independence thus causing havoc and misery among the otherwise peaceful population in the Spanish Basque region is beyond me. Doesn't make sense. They cannot go it alone even if they had their independence. That part of Spain is not just up to it.

Taliban at the gates of Peshawar and threatening to hit Paris

2008-11-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

From Le Figaro:

Des officiers de la police pakistanaise sont en état d'alerte, à un croisement à Shabqadar, à 30 kilomètres au nord de Peshawar, le 12 novembre. Un attentatsuicide venait d'y faire 3 morts à l'entrée d'une école. Crédits photo : AP (On 12th November, Pakistani police were in a state of alert at the junction of Shabkadar 30 kms north of Peshawar. A suicide bombing had killed 3 people at the gates of a school.)

Refuge des habitants des zones tribales chassés par les bombardements, la capitale du Nord-Ouest frontalière de l'Afghanistan est devenue la cible des talibans pakistanais. (Refuge for tribes who were driven away by the bombings, the capital of the North-West border of Afhganistan has become the target of Pakistani Talibans.)

Comment: The Talibans should be decimated. Extremism has no place in a society that wishes to survive. They are a menace to every man, woman and child who simply want to go about living their lives.

The bloody Talibans even had the audacity to threaten to bomb Paris if we didn't withdraw our forces from Afghanistan! Do they really want to end up like Bush?

So they want to bring their poppy cultivating war right to our doorstep? Well, here's what... I have no doubt that President Sarkozy will follow Jacques Chirac's nuke doctrine if these Taliban weasels even if they remotely try: France will make potholes every single square foot of land these Taliban weasels inhabit!

Reuters video

Sarkozy à Putin: "Tu veux terminer comme Bush?"

2008-11-13T15:25:00.000-08:00

French left-wing take on the Sarkozy-Putin anecdote: «Oui, mais tu veux terminer comme Bush ?»

From one of the most critical and anti-Sarkozy left wing political tabloids, Le Nouvel Observateur: Sarko le Russe (Sarko the Russian).

But despite their hate-Sarkozt spins, Le Nouvel Obs couldn't hide the fact that President Sarkozy played a great stabilising hand in the then Russia-Georgia debacle. Obviously, Nouvel Obs wouldn't be Nouvel Obs without their usual virulent snarks, but it really doesn't matter -- at the end of the day, no matter the left-hand/backhand salute, there was no beating around the bush: President Sarkozy saved the day for the Western World. Russia did stand down!

La scène, qui n'a jamais été racontée, se déroule au Kremlin, le 12 août, en début d'après-midi. Nicolas Sarkozy est seul face à Vladimir Poutine et Dimitri Medvedev. Il essaie de convaincre les deux Russes d'arrêter les combats en Géorgie et surtout de ne pas prendre Tbilissi. Il sait qu'une grande partie de l'armée russe veut aller jusqu'au bout et renverser Saakachvili. Comment ? Grâce aux interceptions des services secrets français ! Selon une note de la direction du renseignement militaire à ce sujet, certains responsables de l'état-major à Moscou conseillent à leurs chefs de foncer puisque la voie est libre. Sarkozy sait aussi - ou croit savoir qu'un pouvoir géorgien fantoche a été constitué par le Kremlin et qu'il est prêt à prendre la relève.
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Le président français interpelle Poutine et Medvedev : «Vous ne pouvez pas faire cela, le monde ne l'acceptera pas.» Poutine réplique dans son langage ordurier habituel : «Saakachvili, je vais le faire pendre par les couilles.» «Le pendre ?» demande le président français, effaré. «Pourquoi pas ? répond le Premier ministre russe. Les Américains ont bien pendu Saddam Hussein.» «Oui, mais tu veux terminer comme Bush ?», rétorque Sarkozy. Poutine est interloqué. Comme Bush ? Il réfléchit puis lâche : «Ah, là, tu marques un point.»
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C'est gagné : Saakachvili sauve sa tête et ses... Cet échange fleuri, épisode crucial de la geste géorgienne de Sarkozy, nous a été relaté par Jean-David Levitte, le conseiller diplomatique à l'Elysée. Normal : il donne le beau rôle au président français, auquel beaucoup, en Europe comme en France, reprochent d'avoir - par ignorance ou par calcul - trop cédé aux Russes cet été.
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The scene that has never been told before happened in Kremlin early in the afternoon of 12 August. Nicolas Sarkozy was alone with Vladimir Putin and Dimitri Medvedev. He was trying to convince the two Russians to stop the combat in Georgia and more specifically, not to invade Tbilissi. He knew that the Russian Army wanted to go the whole hog and depose Saakachvili. How? Thanks to the interceptions made by the French Secret Service! According to a note issued byt the chief of French military intelligence, some of the top ranking members of the Moscow estabslishment were advising their chiefs to go ahead. Sarkozy was well aware too -- or believed he knew that a puppet regime (to replace Saakachvili) had been formed by Kremlin and was preparing to take over.
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The French president told Putin and Medvedev: "You can't do that, the world won't accept it." Putin replied in his usual trashy language: "Saakachvili, I'm going to hang him by the balls." "Hang him?" the surprised French president asked. "Why not?" the Russian Prime Minister answered. "The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein." "Yes, but do you want to end up like Bush?" countered Sarkozy. Putin was gobsmacked. Like Bush? He thought for a while and said: "Ah, you scored a point there."
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The "battle" was won. Saakachvili saved his head and his ... This rather pittoresque exchange, a crucial episode in Sarkozy's Georgia initiative was recounted to us by Jean-David Levitte, a diplomatic adviser at the Elysée. Well, nothing extraordinary really that he should attribute the hero role to the French president whom many in Europe, just like in France, reproach for having given in too much to the Russians last Summer either out of ignorance or cunning.
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(Translation by HB) Complete Nouvel Obs story here.

This is effing funny! Hah!
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Like it or not, Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili should thank his lucky stars that President Nicolas Sarkozy of France saved his balls from the destructive ire of ex-KGB butchering operative-turned Russian president-turned Russian PM Vladimir Putin.

A delicious, effing funny anecdote from The Times on last August's ex-would be Russian grand invasion of Georgia (For the benefit of US VP election loser Sarah Palin: Georgia the country not the state in the US, OK?):

.../... With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr Sarkozy told Mr Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia...

"I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls," Mr Putin replied.

Mr Sarkozy responded: "Hang him?"

"Why not? The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein," said Mr Putin. (Which reminds me of a debate that was raging in Russia earlier this year: To be "as cruel as the Americans" or not)
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Mr Sarkozy replied, using the familiar (French) "tu": "Yes but do you want to end up like (President) Bush?"
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Mr Putin was briefly lost for words, then said: "Ah, you have scored a point there."
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President Mikhail Saakashvili, who was in Paris to meet Mr Sarkozy today, laughed nervously when a French radio station read him the exchange. "I knew about this scene, but not all the details. It's funny, all the same," said the Georgian President.
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Mr Putin's reported remarks appear to confirm that he was calling the shots in Moscow and not President Medvedev, who was Mr Sarkozy's host at the Kremlin meeting.
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The language was in keeping with Mr Putin's fondness for coarse imagery. More here.

Hat off to the French president who, like it or not, can be really persuasive. A lawyer by training and a professional politician by vocation, the man is quick witted and a pragmatist par excellence.

Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with French broadsheet Le Figaro today, Russian chief executive Dmitri Medvedev declared that Russia is prepared to cancel its plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Kalinigrad if the new US president (Barack Obama) renounces American plans to build an anti-missile shield in Poland.

Medevdev will be in Nice shortly to attend a Russia-EU summit and will be in Washington this weekend to attend another summit aimed at tackling the global economic crisis.

Clearly, President-elect Obama cannot or shouldn't refuse this proferred Russian hand of "world peace". Question is how will he do it without making America appear or at the very least, his presidency weak? Hmm... Wonder if President-elect Obama plays chess...

Cross-posted from Hillblogger3: Sarkozy to Putin: "Do you want to end up like (President) Bush?"

100,000 driving licenses withdrawn from French car owners in 2008

2008-11-13T05:14:00.000-08:00

From Le Figaro: Record : 100 000 retraits de permis de conduire en 2008 (Crédits photo : AFP)

Report says: The cancellation of driving permits after losing points have never been as many. But other indicators show that drivers have returned to good old caution when on the road.

And I say, excellent news this is...

Félicitations America! Félicitations Monsieur le Président Obama!

2008-11-04T22:31:00.000-08:00

Le Figaro: Barack Obama élu président Le démocrate Barack Obama a remporté mardi une victoire historique, devenant le premier Noir élu président des Etats-Unis. John McCain a reconnu sa défaite
Related sister blog: US Presidential Election 2008: Game over! Barack Obama is POTUS-elect! (Liveblogging updates!)

Félicitations America!

Landslide French vote for Barack Obama

2008-11-04T14:59:00.001-08:00

Americans will elect the 44th president of the United States today. Polls have consistently forecast Obama as the winner. Same is true the world over.

Aucun doute pour les Français, qui plébiscitent le concurrent démocrate dans la course à la Maison-Blanche. Un soutien qui transcende les clivages sociologiques et politiques. Crédits photo : AFP (No doubt about it for the French who prefer the current Democratic candidate for the White House. Barack Obama transcends all social and political divisions.)

In France, Le Figaro reports that 80% of the French voted for Barack Obama.

Le départ de George Bush de la Maison-Blanche ne pourra qu'améliorer encore l'opinion, déjà bonne, que les Français ont de l'Amérique. Surtout si Barack Obama, plébiscité par nos concitoyens, est élu. (The departure of George Bush from the White House could only improve the already good opinion of the Franch towards the United States, particularly if Barack Obama, who's preferred by our countrymen, is elected.)

Les Français ont plutôt une bonne opinion des Américains. C'est George W. Bush et la politique de son Administration qui se sont chargés de dégrader l'image des États-Unis dans l'Hexagone, le jugement de nos concitoyens n'étant d'ailleurs pas différent de ceux recueillis en Europe et partout dans le monde. Conséquemment, l'opinion que les Français ont de Barack Obama, le successeur le plus éloigné possible de l'actuel hôte de la Maison-Blanche, est excellente. (The French have a rather good opinion of Americans. It was George Bush and the politics of his heavy handed administration that damaged the image of the United States in France, a judgement call of our countrymen that isn't any different from those in other countries in Europe and elsewhere in the world. Consequently, the opinion of the French of Barack Obama, the successor who is as far from the current White House tenant as possible, is excellent.)

Here's the rest of the report in French....

Selon l'enquête menée par l'institut TNS Sofres et Logica, les 2 et 3 septembre dernier, pour la French-American Fondation et publié en excusivité par Le Figaro, le candidat démocrate est ainsi préféré par 80 % des sondés, John McCain ne recueillant que 8 % des souhaits de victoire pour l'élection de novembre prochain à la présidence des États-Unis. Dans cette étude auprès d'un échantillon de quelque 1 000 personnes, 66 % des sondés ont une «bonne opinion» des Américains.

Sympathie pour l'Amérique

Dans ses précédentes enquêtes, la French-American Fondation avait mesuré la «sympathie» des Français à l'égard de leurs alliés d'outre-Atlantique. Au début des années 2000, nos concitoyens, à peu près 40 % d'entre eux, ont exprimé cette «sympathie» pour les Américains, 10 % des sondés avouant plutôt de l'antipathie, quand le reste se refusait à se prononcer. Mais après le déclenchement de la guerre en Irak, en 2003, ils n'étaient plus que 31 % - 10 points de moins -, à éprouver de la «sympathie» pour les cousins d'Amérique. Bien que l'énoncé de la question ne soit plus le même, faut-il en conclure que le prochain départ de George Bush - seulement 18 % d'opinion favorable dans le sondage TNS Sofres -, commencerait à raviver la flamme pro-américaine en France ?

Aucun doute possible sur Barack Obama, dont l'image auprès des Français est des plus nettes. Parmi les personnes interrogées, 86 % ont une «bonne opinion» du représentant démocrate - contre seulement 35 % pour McCain -, 80 % des sondés souhaitant voir le candidat démocrate élu. Un tel soutien transcende tous les clivages sociologiques et politiques. Barack Obama est ainsi plébiscité par les hommes et les femmes, les jeunes et les vieux, les cadres et les ouvriers, les ruraux et les citadins, les électeurs de gauche et ceux de droite. Son arrivée au pouvoir, selon les sondés, aurait des effets positifs sur la société américaine (84 %), les relations des États-Unis avec l'Europe et la France (82 %), la protection de l'environnement (81 %), le conflit en Irak (76 %), l'économie mondiale (72 %).

Les Français ne sont pas les seuls à déclarer leur amour à Barack Obama, qui, selon un sondage de la BBC réalisé dans 22 pays, est préféré par 49 % des personnes interrogées, contre 12 % pour McCain. L'avance d'Obama sur son rival va de 9 points en Inde à 82 points au Kenya.

» L'intégralité du sondage TNS-Sofres-Logica (pdf) (Complete TNS-Sofres-Logica poll results)

Tragic turn of events for Senator Obama

2008-11-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

23h07 Paris time - A very sad news

Sen Obama's grandmother Madelyn Dunham has just died. 'Toot' as Sen Obama fondly called her died ater a battle with cancer. How sad and tragic that she did not live to see the day her grandson might be proclaimed the next president of the United States.
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Condolences to Senator Obama, to his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng and their families.

Actor Leonardo di Caprio says he's just voted for Obama

2008-11-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

Guesting on French TV TF1's Laurence Ferrari primetime newscast (tonight), Hollywood actor Lionardo di Caprio, accompanied by film director Ridley Scott, announced that he's just cast his absentee ballot vote for Sen Barack Obama.

Di Caprio, who's in France to promote his latest film (which I know nothing about and can't even remember the title), said that Sen Barack Obama represents change and will be the next best thing that could happen to America.

Will post the link to TF1 interview of di Caprio when it's up.

Bonne chance Monsieur Obama!

2008-11-03T07:23:00.000-08:00

Je parie que le prochain président des Etats-Unis sera...

A beaming and seemingly confident Barack Obama talks with his staff before a rally at the Bank Atlantic Center Arena in Sunrise, Florida.

I too am confident that Obama will be elected president of the United States tomorrow; that he will replace bumbling and clueless George W Bush who almost brought the United States to its knees and who, with the help of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, abetted no less by Tony Blair, the British liar par excellence, has made the world a Christian extremist-Islamic fundamentalist battlefield, a much less safe place to live in.

Although Mr Obama is the exact opposite of Mr Bush, and despite his intellectual brilliance, his great analytical mind, his ability to cope under extreme pressure, I won't expect Mr Obama to solve the ills that's plagued Bush's and Fox News' America. Nor do I believe he will be able to wipe away the global economic meltdown that was started by American financial and economic institutions in one go -- not in one hundred days and not even in a couple of hundred days, but I do believe he will be able to regain the moral high ground and the good will that America lost because of the inept Bush presidency. He will restore world confidence in America and will regain the trust and respect of hundreds of millions of people in the United States. And that will be a great judicious start...

How ironic that a little less than fifty years ago, the likes of Mr Obama would not have been allowed to sit on a bus along with the white folks in the South or would have been physically abused and refused entrance in an all-white university. How ironic too that a president who hails from the South and who has failed America and the world will now be replaced by a coloured man! When that finally happens, i.e., when he beats the Republican Party's John McCain on November 4, this entire US election season's clamour for change will at last have found its true meaning.

Bonne chance Monsieur Obama!

L'election présidentielle aux Etats-Unis en anglais simple

2008-10-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok_VQ8I7g6I by leelefever

Pres Sarkozy takes intl lead reformer role amidst world economic crises

2008-10-23T11:47:00.001-07:00

Crédits photo : AFP

La victoire de l'Europe

The world has to move on - US election or no US election - and start addressing the world economic problems that was triggered in large part by the United States Wall Street meltdown. And Europe has taken the lead... Europe is prescient in move to mitigate financial crisis reports the IHT.

...After initially dithering, European leaders came up with a financial bailout plan that has now set the pace for Washington, not the other way around, as had been customary for decades.

That was clear when the U.S. Treasury Department decided to depart from its own initial bailout plan - the one approved by Congress this month - and invest as much as $250 billion directly in American banks. The nuts and bolts of that approach were laid out days earlier by European leaders as they tried to save their own financial systems.

And that outcome left Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, in something of a commanding position to claim the title of wise men. They are now speaking of creating a Bretton Woods agreement for the 21st century, while the leaders of the country that devised the postwar financial system worked out at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, prefer to stay away from such big-picture talk.

Sarkozy, who met over the weekend with President George W. Bush, told European leaders who gathered in Paris recently that he hoped "literally to rebuild the foundations of the financial systems."

There will be a series of summits and the first one will be held with incumbent albeit lame duck US president after the Nov 4 US election, most likely in the US, as Sarkozy imposes a world financial summit on Bush

Le premier de ces sommets «se tiendra aux États-Unis, peu après les élections américaines» du 4 novembre, précise ce communiqué. Cette rencontre au niveau des chefs de gouvernement visera à «examiner les progrès enregistrés pour faire face à la crise actuelle et à rechercher un accord sur les principes des réformes nécessaires pour éviter que se reproduise une telle crise», poursuit le texte. «Les sommets suivants se pencheront sur la mise en œuvre des mesures précises devant être prises pour concrétiser ces principes», lit-on encore.

The first of these summits "will be held in the United States, immediately after the US elections on 4 November" according to the press release (issued jointly by US Sec of Treas Henry Paulson, his French counterpart Christine Lagarde and Condoleezza Rice."

The meeting will be held among the heads of states and will examine the progress that will have been made in adressing the financial crisis and to agree on the principles of reforms required to prevent the occurrence of said crisis again.

The press release also said, "Succeeding summits will deal with the formulation of a set of measures to concretise these principles."

Sarkozy has taken the lead it seems, in the intl fight for global financial institutional reforms... I can only applaud him.

En revanche, le président américain, qui sera la puissance invitante du premier sommet, très certainement à New York, a refusé qu'il se tienne sous la houlette de l'ONU, comme le proposait Ban Ki-moon. Surtout, des divergences de fond sur l'ampleur des réformes devront être surmontées. «Il est essentiel que nous préservions les fondements du capitalisme financier», a dit George W. Bush, samedi. Certes, lui a répondu Nicolas Sarkozy, «mais on ne peut pas non plus continuer avec les mêmes causes qui produiront les mêmes effets».
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Meanwhile, the US president, who will be hosting the first summit which will most likely be held in New York, refused that it be held under the auspices of the UN. Diverging opinions on the magnitude of reforms are expected.

"It is essential to preserve the foundations of financial capitalism," Pres Bush said on Saturday.
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"Certainly, but we also cannot continue with the same causes which are bound to produce the same effects" Nicolas Sarkozy riposted.

(Translations mine.)

Meanwhile, there are suggestions by some commenters to a Daily Kos post Polyphemus that Europe should wait for a President-elect Obama before beginning international initiatives aimed at finding solutions to reform "corrupt" practices by international financial institutions.

One even suggested that Sarkozy is "bulldozing his way to jumpstart reforms" and implied that Americans might not take the French president's proposed reform summits well.

Whoa! But why? I don't understand this obtuse attitude... It's like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

I beg to disagree with those who believe that the world should wait for a new US president before jumpstarting the finding of solutions to the largely US induced global economic crisis. The take that anything negotiated & signed won't be honoured by the president elect is wrong; that the US president-elect re-negotiates any agreement he inherits is another matter.

In my view, the world has to move on - US election or no US election - and start addressing the world economic problems that was triggered in large part by the United States before we find ourselves in another great depression. Proof is that the Sarkozy-led European initiative has produced a bit of positive result: bank lending has once again begun. It's all a question of restoring confidence in the market and Europe is jumpstarting this initiative. Is there anything wrong with that?

FRANCE BLOG

Six Nations Cup Tournament: France XV demolish Italy 46-20 -- Tournoi de 6 Nations Les XV de France ont demoli l'Italie

Six Nations Rugby Cup: Magnificent XV de France thrash Ireland 33 -10

Six Nations Rugby Tournament: France beats Scotland 18 - 9 [On a gagné! On a gagné!]

Time to prohibit the wearing of burkas in public!!!

France is number 1 in Quality of Life Index for 5th year in a row

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année à tous!

Breaking my fast, breakfast otherwise known as petit déjeuner

Video footage of Michael Jackson rehearsing for the London concerts that never happened.

America acknowledges role in empowering Talibans, etc.

When in a hole, stop digging!

Fantabulous Sam Davies, the family's yachting heroine crosses Vendée Globe 2008 finish line!

A glimpse into the difference between Europe and USA

Sarkozy and Obama should be partners and not "rivals"

Un moment historique: Barack Obama est le 44ème Président des Etats-Unis

Newsweek: "The Last Model Standing Is France" (Can't blame me for feeling smug!)

French doctors in Gaza tell of horror (Audio)

Calling Israel: Stop the murderous rampage in Gaza

Meilleurs Voeux!

Worthy of note in the blogsphere: A Miquelon post that hits back French bashers with facts and figures

New Michelin France "Le Guide Rouge" chief is a German woman

Obama, Time Person of the Year, runners up: Paulson and French Pres Sarkozy

Janine di Giovanni embelishes her story about France and the French with arsenic and lies

Gluttony is ugly

France overtakes British economy

Mixed race beauty from Albigeois Midi-Pyrénées is Miss France 2009

Headline grabbers this week: Sarkozy-Dalai Lama meet, 2 million American jobs destroyed, US contempt for rule of law, cluster bombs

Barack Obama mentor Warren Buffett competing with France's EDF for US electricity firm buyout

Extremism, Sarkozy voodoo dolls and basic human rights

To the oppressive regime in China: We eat Chinese threats for breakfast!

Believe it or not: America owes Thanksgiving Day to France!

Dream Team Obama

Pour braver la crise, Obama choisit les «meilleurs esprits»

La «dream team»de Barack Obama

Click (on the link above) to see the gallery of pictures of Obama's "Dream Team"

Mettons dehors ces individus lâches qui insultent la France! (Kick out those cowards who insult France!)

France nabs Basque terror chief suspect

Taliban at the gates of Peshawar and threatening to hit Paris

Sarkozy à Putin: "Tu veux terminer comme Bush?"

100,000 driving licenses withdrawn from French car owners in 2008

Félicitations America! Félicitations Monsieur le Président Obama!

Landslide French vote for Barack Obama

Tragic turn of events for Senator Obama

Actor Leonardo di Caprio says he's just voted for Obama

Bonne chance Monsieur Obama!

L'election présidentielle aux Etats-Unis en anglais simple

Pres Sarkozy takes intl lead reformer role amidst world economic crises

La «dream team»
de Barack Obama