French Culture Now

Archives: April 20-30, 2008

Critics shocked as Sarkozy hails Tunisia’s “civil rights” record
France24. April 30, 2008
In a speech on April 28, 2008, at the start of a trip aimed at boosting economic ties with Tunisia, President Sarkozy dismissed concerns over Tunisia's human rights record, portraying its counter-terrorism efforts as a bulwark against the emergence of a "Taliban-type" regime in north Africa. Sarkozy said he would not give lessons on human rights and Tunisia had made advances in granting more personal freedoms, but rights groups accuse the country’s government of muzzling the press and beating and jailing opponents. Sarkozy is expected to sign $2 billion worth of economic deals with Tunisia.
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French government urges hiring older staff
BBC. April 30, 2008
The French government has proposed measures to raise the number of older people in the workforce, in an attempt to tackle its ageing population. Companies could be threatened with penalties if they do not increase their number of staff aged 55 to 64. But the most controversial reform is for employees to work 41 years, not 40, to qualify for a full state pension. There are already calls from union leaders for strikes on 15 May. France has one of the lowest rates of employment of workers aged 55 to 64 in the European Union.
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Sarkozy's supermarket threat to shops
Telegraph. April 30, 2008
France's renowned butchers, bakers and grocers say they are being threatened by a new law that makes it easier for large supermarkets to open anywhere. Until now, petits commerçants - or small shop owners - have been protected by a 1996 law that makes it difficult for supermarkets to open stores bigger than 3,250sq ft. But Sarkozy’s government is introducing a new law that may change all that, and put thousands of small shopkeepers out of work.
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French consumer spending dips
Expatica. April 25, 2008
French consumers took fright at inflation in March, cutting back on spending in an ominous signal that overall economic momentum could now be seriously at risk. Household spending on manufactured goods, a key driver of the French economy, fell 1.7 percent in March after a gain of 1.3 percent in February, the national statistics institute INSEE reported on April 23, 2008. Analysts said the decline could herald a shift in behaviour, with French consumers saving more and spending less, except on necessities such as food and fuel for which prices are rising.
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French oppose Sarkozy's China overtures
WallStreetJournal. April 25, 2008
French President Sarkozy's campaign to calm Chinese anger over the Olympic torch's rough-and-tumble journey through the French capital faces one big obstacle: the French. His diplomatic gestures risk being drowned out by French voices hostile to Chinese policies, ranging from Beijing's actions in Tibet to its restrictions on press freedom.
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French radiation overdose scandal widens
AFP. April 25, 2008
More than 5,000 people were given overdoses of radiation in a French cancer treatment ward, 10 times more than initially thought, Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said. The patients received excessive amounts of radiation due to a calibration error at the general hospital in northeastern Epinal between 1999 and 2006. Of these, 715 were exposed to dangerous doses of radiation, 24 were seriously affected and five have died.
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Poll suggests Chinese hate France
ChinaDaily. April 25, 2008
France used to rank only next to their motherland as the most beloved country for the Chinese, but that has changed dramatically, according to a recent survey. The poll by Horizon Research Consultancy Group, an independent survey company, shows that as many as 60 percent of respondents "registered a growing dislike for France". The poll results clearly reveal simmering resentment among the Chinese toward France following a series of hostile gestures, including disruptions to the Olympic torch relay in Paris on April 7.
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French annual inflation jumps to 17-year high
France24. April 25, 2008
France's annual inflation rate jumped to a near-17-year high of 3.2 percent in March, powered by food and energy prices, the statistics institute INSEE reported. Mounting inflationary pressure in the 15-nation eurozone has preoccupied policymakers at the European Central Bank, preventing them from lowering interest rates to spur flagging growth.
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With China, Sarkozy has lost human rights credibility
DerSpiegel. April 25, 2008
The zeal with which France has rushed to mend relations with China following the Olympic torch protests and anti-French reaction in China, has raised a few eyebrows. German newspapers express some distaste at the way Sarkozy is suddenly sucking up to China. Sarkozy’s Sinophilia has damaged France's much-vaunted commitment to human rights. “Keeping silent on human rights out of fear of the economic consequences, Sarkozy has lost all credibility,” writes Die Tageszeitung.
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SocGen Replaces Scandal-Ridden CEO
NewYorkTimes. April 22, 2008
Société Générale, the French bank that was rocked by a multibillion-dollar rogue trading scandal, said late Thursday that Daniel Bouton would step aside as chief executive but would remain nonexecutive chairman as part of a management reorganization. Frédéric Oudea, 44, will succeed Daniel Bouton as Société Générale's chief executive.
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French radio audience shrinks
FollowtheMedia. April 22, 2008
The French national radio audience is moving away from music to news and talk. Total radio listening in France dropped to 82.7% from 84% in the same period 2007. About 500,000 fewer French people didn’t turn on the radio -- the lowest listening level in five years. There’s no panic at RTL: number one French radio channel continues to gain audience, now 13.2% market share, up from 12.1% in the same period 2007, up from 10.8% in 2006. But stations like France Bleu, Cherie FM, and Nostalgie lost market share.
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France's business phobia hides monopoly motives
RedHerring. April 22, 2008
The French call any hardball financial behavior by the French, “Anglo-Saxon” -- invoking images of rampaging hordes in horned helmets and furs. But French companies are starting to play tough, and pull no punches when it comes to mergers and acquisitions. TF1, an independent television network, has filed a 100 million euro ($150 million) lawsuit against the popular U.S. video-sharing site YouTube, accusing it of tolerating piracy. France Telecom, the giant legacy operator, is interested in acquiring TeliaSonera, the result of the 2003 merger of the national telecom monopolies of Finland and Sweden.
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Paris honours Dalai Lama
BBC. April 22, 2008
The Dalai Lama has been made an honorary citizen of Paris, as anti-French protests continue in China. Chinese protesters have been picketing French supermarket Carrefour, accusing it of supporting the Dalai Lama, which it has denied. Paris city council voted to bestow the symbolic title on the Tibetan spiritual leader, whom Mayor Bertrand Delanoe called "a champion of peace". The move was opposed by the party of President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been trying to ease tense ties with Beijing.
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SocGen stock rises on boss exit
IHT. April 22, 2008
Investors applaud decision of Société Générale chief to step aside
hares of the French bank Société Générale jumped nearly 6 percent Friday as investors applauded the decision of its chief executive, Daniel Bouton, to step aside three months after the bank disclosed nearly €5 billion in losses linked to a rogue trading scandal. Bouton, 58, will hand over the chief executive's job to Frédéric Oudéa, 44, the bank's chief financial officer,
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Sarkozy's approval rating sinks
AP. April 22, 2008
Beleaguered French President Nicolas Sarkozy's approval rating continues to slip, according to a poll published April 20, 2008. Just 36 percent of respondents to the survey — conducted by the Ifop agency for the Journal du Dimanche newspaper_ are satisfied with Sarkozy's performance, down 1 percent from March. Sixty-four percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied with Sarkozy, while 8 percent declined to give an answer, according to the poll — conducted by telephone between April 10-18, with 1,867 people interviewed. No margin of error was given.
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The War on Brigitte Bardot
FrontPageMagazine. April 22, 2008
French silver-screen darling Brigitte Bardot is being treated by France as an enemy of the people. Bardot has committed the sin of speaking frankly and unapologetically about her country’s hostile Muslim immigrant population and questioning the compatibility of some Muslim religious practices with Western society. Common sense, one might think, or least subjects fit for fruitful debate. Not in modern France. Last week Bardot went on trial on the charge of inciting “racial hatred against Muslims.” If convicted, she could face a two-month suspended prison sentence and nearly $24,000 in fines. The basis for the charge is utterly bogus, says one editorial writer.
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Germaine Tillion, 100, fought in French Resistance
IHT. April 22, 2008
Germaine Tillion, a French Resistance fighter during World War II and celebrated anthropologist, died April 19, 2008, her association said. President Nicolas Sarkozy's office hailed Tillion as "an exceptional woman for whom courage, dedication and humanism were lifelong guides."
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French Back Use of Surveillance Cameras
Angus Reid Global Monitor. April 20, 2008
Many adults in France see no problem with surveillance cameras in public places, according to a poll by Ipsos. 71 per cent of respondents favour the use of the devices, while 38 per cent are opposed.
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IMF: French banks in reasonable shape
Reuters. April 18, 2008
France's biggest banks have written down billions of euros of assets in the credit crunch, but have fared better than most Wall Street banks and some European peers. French banks should emerge from the international financial crisis in relatively good shape, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, said on April 18, 2008. “For the time being, no French banks are in great difficulty and I don't think any will be," he told Europe 1 radio station.
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AP Plans to Close French Bureau
FrenchPolitics. April 20, 2008
The Associated Press will very likely close its French bureau after its employees set conditions deemed impossible by potential buyers Bertrand Eveno and the Bolloré Group. This will leave many American papers even more in the dark about France than they already are.
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French luxury goods untouched by Chinese boycott
Forbes. April 20, 2008
Chinese nationalists have called for a boycott of French goods, in response to French protests against the Chinese Olympics. But the war of words does not seem to have had an effect on luxury goods, according to 59-year-old French billionaire Bernard Arnault, who is head of luxury goods firm Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. He told French daily Le Figaro that calls for a boycott have had "no effect" on the firm’s brands which include Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton.
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French poll: Sarkozy hasn't improved anything
SarkotheAmerican. April 20, 2008
A poll for Le Journal du Dimanche has some damaging numbers on Sarkozy's record so far as president. Asked whether Sarkozy and his government's actions have improved the situation for the French after one year, only 21% say yes while 79% say no.
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Commemorating the Deux Chevaux
Independent. April 20, 2008
An excellent small exhibition at the Cité des Sciences et de L'Industrie in Paris celebrates the Citroën Deux Chevaux. The French car was launched sixty years ago as Toute Petite Voiture ("really little car"), and it has suffered mockery throughout its 42 years of production but has come to be regarded as an automotive icon, epitomising France just as much as berets and baguettes.
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POLITICS AND SOCIETY NEWS AND EVENTS ARCHIVE APRIL 2008-2