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You are here: Home » Politics + Society » Archive » January 2008-2
POLITICS AND SOCIETY NEWS AND EVENTS ARCHIVE JANUARY 2008-2
Archives: January 8-16, 2008
French unions and business agree new labour rules
UKGuardian. Jan. 16, 2008
French unions and businesses reached a deal on Tuesday over new
flexible labour rules that they hammered out to head off the threat of
tougher measures from President Sarkozy. The deal, which needed the
backing of three of the five main unions, extends trial periods for
employees and opens the way for the negotiated departure of staff on
permanent contracts.
> More
Amazon.com challenges French competition law
IHT. Jan. 15, 2008
The online retailer Amazon.com said Monday that it would pay €1,000
($1500) a day in fines rather than eliminate its offer of free shipping
on book purchases, which a French court has declared an illegal
discount. Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of the company, was
equally defiant in a weekend e-mail message to French customers.
"France would be the only country in the world where the free delivery
practiced by Amazon would be declared illegal,” he wrote.
>More
'Sarkozy is Petain' book proves popular
AFP. Jan. 15, 2008
Alain Badiou, one of France's most respected academic philosophers, has
produced a surprise literary hit with "De quoi Sarkozy est-il le nom?,”
an outspoken attack on the President that compares him to wartime
collaborator Marshal Philippe Petain. "Sarkozy is the name of a society
which is afraid and asks to be protected. I sense in this society a
demand for a master-protector capable of using violence against those
who are the origin of that fear," Badiou said in a recent television
interview.
>More
Is Carla Bruni Pregnant? Have Sarkozy and Bruni married?
Reuters. Jan. 15, 2008
Britain’s Daily Mail said French website 20minutes.fr reported that pop
singer and former supermodel Carla Bruni is pregnant by French
President Sarkozy. Meanwhile, French paper L'Est Republicain reports
that Sarkozy and Bruni wed last Thursday at the Elysee Palace, citing
an anonymous source with ties to a witness at the ceremony. The wedding
was allegedly held hastily because of the diplomatic problems raised by
the couple’s unmarried status on official trips to countries with
strict religious values.
>More
Sarkozy eyes big contracts with Saudi
AFP. Jan. 14, 2008
President Sarkozy wrapped up a visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday saying
French firms would sign major contracts with Riyadh potentially worth
40 billion euros, but without securing any deals. "They are immense
contracts, both civilian and military," Sarkozy told reporters.
Sarkozy’s “politique du chequier” has seen him rack up billions of
euros worth of contracts with Libya, Morocco, and China in his first
year in office.
>More
Sarkozy’s TV scheme promises a windfall for private channels
Forbes. Jan. 14, 2008
Private French TV channels TF1 and M6 (owned by President Sarkozy’s
billionaire buddies) could absorb as much as 50 pct of the advertising
revenue currently generated by public TV channels if govenment
proposals for a ban on public TV advertising goes ahead.
>More
French companies to build nuclear reactors in Abu Dhabi
Yahoo. Jan. 14, 2008
French companies Total, Areva and Suez have formed a joint venture to
build two third-generation nuclear reactors for the emirate of Abu
Dhabi, the French business daily Les Echos reported Monday. The three
companies signed an agreement at the weekend, following months of
negotiations. The deal is said to be worth 6 billion euros (8.8 billion
dollars).
>More
Facebook 'president' suckers French media in embarrassing hoax
UKTimes. Jan. 14, 2008
French news outlets are facing severe criticism after hailing a
small-time Parisian politician as a French hero and conqueror of
cyberspace before he was unmasked as a prankster. Arash Derambarsh
announced his election as president of Facebook, the social networking
website, on January 1, 2008. The French media gave him massive
publicity in a nation desperate for a prominent place on the
US-dominated web. But pride turned to embarrassment when it emerged
that Mr. Derambarsh was a hoaxer and that there was no such thing as
“President of Facebook.”
>More
Sarkozy’s ratings slide
AP. Jan. 13, 2008
President Sarkozy's glamorous love life and blunt speeches fail to
impress the French public, according to a poll published on Jan 11,
2008. Despite Sarkozy's sweeping New Year's speech and the biggest news
conference since his election, only 39% of respondents to a poll by
CSA-Le Parisien found his performance "convincing," while 50% said it
was not. The pollsters blamed persistent voter frustration with
stagnant salaries and rising prices.
>More
France's Jouyet Says Europe Cannot Live With Current Euro Level
Bloomberg. Jan. 13, 2008
The European economy cannot cope with the euro's current exchange rate
when the yuan, the yen and the dollar are "weak,'' France's European
Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet said. Jouyet is the second European
government member to complain about the euro in two days. Italian Prime
Minister Romano Prodi said yesterday he's worried that the euro's
appreciation may slow economic growth in the 15 nations sharing the
currency.The euro gained 15 percent against the dollar in the past
year, making European exports less competitive.
>More
Criticism of Sarkozy’s "French Only" TV
Reuters. Jan. 13, 2008
Trade unions at France's international news channel France 24 have
strongly criticized President Sarkozy for saying the broadcaster should
ditch its English and Arabic services and stick to French. "How does
one measure the world influence of a country and its culture? Is it by
counting the number of people who speak its language? Or is it by
counting those interested in its views and cultural knowledge,
irrespective of language," the unions said in the statement also
written in French and Arabic.
>More
Sarkozy's stealth plan for Mediterranean dominance
Haaretz. Jan. 13, 2008
President Sarkozy plans for France to lead a union of "Mediterranean"
countries, whose aim will be economic development, political stability,
social prosperity and cultural blossoming. In North Africa, the
reactions ranged from condemnation of a perceived "neocolonial"
attitude, to charges of racist anti-immigration motives and suspicion
of Sarkozy's "Zionist" credentials. But Sarkozy, whose family hails
from Eastern Europe and Greece, seems intent on fathering a new
political body and trading block, with France as the senior supplier of
energy, transportation and communications technology.
>More
France bans genetically modified crop
Bloomberg. Jan. 13, 2008
France will activate a safeguard clause that will effectively prohibit
growing Monsanto’s genetically modified MON810 corn, Prime Minister
Francois Fillon's office said in a statement on June 11. France's
watchdog on gene-altered foods ruled Jan. 9 that Monsanto's MON810 corn
may have an impact on wildlife. The move sparked criticism from farm
lobbies and praise from environmental groups. “Faced with the experts'
uncertainty, I made a political decision,'' President Sarkozy said. “It
doesn't mean that France mustn't participate in research on GMOs.”
Farmer and activist José Bove and about 15 supporters ended an
eight-day hunger, having won their point.
>More
Analyze this: Sarkozy’s mid-life crisis
UKTimes. Jan. 11, 2008
The media has gone into a frenzy analysing President Sarkozy’s
psychology, as he pursues his love affair with the leggy, 40 year old
brunette “maneater” model Carla Bruni, 13 years his junior and several
inches his superior. In this case it seems opposites attract: The
President fits a certain Freudian stereotype due to his diminutive
stature, Jewishness, macho skirt chasing, and flashy arriviste style.
Bruni is his opposite: a tall “polyandrous” beauty from a super-rich
Italian family, who has previously seduced Donald Trump, Mick Jagger,
and others. Now, just as Bruni moves into the Elysee Palace and is
tipped as the next First Lady of France, Sarkozy’s ex-wife calls the
Head of State a ‘miserly skirt-chaser’ unworthy of high office. How do
you say “Oy vey!” in French?
>More
An Indian heir to the French royal throne ?
Los Angeles Tomes. Jan. 11, 2008
Balthazar Napoleon de Bourbon of Bhopal, India, traces his lineage to
Jean Philippe, a nephew of French King Henri IV, who made his home at
the Mogul court in the 16th century. Some say Balthazar de Bourbon is
first in line to France’s defunct throne, though he speaks no French.
The Indian lawyer is proud of his descent but is hurt that European
aristocrats have ignored his overtures.
>More
Book traces Sarozy’s Greek-Jewish roots
Haaretz. Jan. 11, 2007
A book on the Greek-Jewish roots of President Sarkozy, whose family can
be traced back to the Jewish community Thessaloniki, went on sale in
Greece this week. The book, whose English title reads “Me, the Grandson
of a Greek,” was launched by the Greek Foreign Minister and and the
ambassadors of France and Israel at a lavish gathering in Athens.
>More
France needs to invest in startup talent
Businessweek. Jan. 10, 2008
Instead of backing young, innovative companies, the government is
handing out billions in research aid to rich corporations. Most
developed countries that boast strong economic growth achieve this by
boosting the excellence and competitiveness of universities and by
betting on young, innovative enterprises that grow fast into large
companies. France still doesn't get this.
>More
Sarkozy seeks to redefine social progress
UKTimes. Jan. 10, 2008
President Sarkozy announced that a panel led by Joseph Stiglitz, the
American critic of globalisation and including another Nobel Laureate,
the Indian economist Amartya Sen, would seek to develop new indicators
for economic growth to include “quality of life” alongside traditional
numerical indicators of production and output like GDP. The new Sarkozy
Scale might help “improve” polls and statistics that show France is
economically stagnant and that French people are discontented with
their prospects. But is this “Touchy-Feely Index” (WallStreetJournal)
just another gesture “to make French people feel good about being
French”?
>More
Cecilia Sarkozy wants to block book in which she trashes President
Monstersandcritics. Jan. 10, 2008
Cecilia, the ex-wife of President Sarkozy, asked a French court to stop
Flammarion’s publication of Anna Biton’s book “Cecilia” in which she is
quoted as calling him a philanderer, stingy and unworthy of being
president. She also describes him as 'a man who likes no-one, not even
his children’ and his aides as 'young guys who found themselves puffed
out with power and who took themselves for the princes of Paris.'
Meanwhile, in another new book “Rupture,” Cecilia is quoted as saying that Sarko’s new dish Carla Bruni “is not the one who will make him forget her in a hurry".
>More
Sarkozy’s FranceMonde project is controversial
Reuters. Jan. 10, 2008
This week President Sarkozy anounced a new plan to defund the
multilingual public TV station France24, in favor of a new BBC-style
network "France Monde" (France World) which will broadcast only in
French. But he is opposed by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who
said: "Competing in English with an information channel like CNN, like
Al Jazeera or like BBC World seems useless to [Sarkozy]. To me, it
doesn't completely. I think there is a French touch that will have to
be developed.” Culture Minister Christine Albanel said the debate on
the future shape of France Monde was still ongoing, and would be
decided later this year.
>More
France headed for record 2007 trade deficit
AFP. Jan. 10, 2008
France is on track to post a record trade deficit in 2007, following a
huge surge in the shortfall in November that threatens to weigh heavily
on prospects for the French economy. The data led analysts and
officials to warn that France was suffering from an underlying fall in
competitiveness, a point frequently made by commentators as the trade
and balance of payments figures have worsened over the last two years.
>More
Sarkozy axes France24
AFP. Jan. 9, 2008
The France24 TV channel was created by Jacques Chirac in 2006 with a
much-touted mission to promote the “French perspective” on
international news, countering the influence of the BBC and Al-Jazeera.
Now President Sarkozy has pulled the plug on Chirac's
80 million euro per year
propaganda
outlet. "With taxpayers' money, I am not prepared to broadcast a
channel that does not speak French," he told a press conference on Jan.
8, 2007. Sarkozy's new plan is to merge Radio France Internationale,
TV5 television, and France 24 into a new entity called France Monde,
which will broadcast in French with English subtitles.
>More
New Sarkozy polls
Bloomberg. Jan. 9, 2008
In a new
LH2 poll,
60
percent of the French said Sarkozy is publicizing his private life too
much. The poll was carried out Jan. 4 and 5 with 1,003 people, and no
margin of error was given. In the same poll, the president's overall
popularity dropped two percentage points from a month earlier to 54
percent.
>More
French TV stocks rise on Sarkozy news
Bloomberg. Jan. 9, 2008
TF1 (Societe Television Francaise 1), M6-Metropole Television SA, and
Lagardere SCA stock
jumped
in Paris trading after President Sarkozy proposed to eliminate
advertising on public television, which competes with private TV
stations for ad euros. Sarkozy's policy will boost the value and
profits of private TV stations owned by his friends. TF1 is 42% owned
by Bougyues SA, whose billionaire chairman Martin Bouygues is one of
Sarkozy’s closest pals.
Lagardère
is owned by
Arnaud Lagardère,
another of Sarkozy's billionaire buddies.
>More
Sarkozy eyes asset sales to raise cash
Reuters. Jan. 9, 2008
Government-owned energy and defence companies are prime targets for
privatization, as the ruling conservatives scout opportunities to raise
cash through the sale of state holdings in key companies like power
utility EDF and nuclear giant Areva. Public watchdogs warn that the
sales will benefit Sarkozy’s billionaire business buddies more than the
public.
>More
Sarkozy's new priorities
Reuters. Jan. 9, 2008
In a major news conference on
Jan. 8, 2007
,
President Sarkozy said he'd push for a more productive economy and
encourage “diversity'' at home and abroad in what he called a
“civilization'' program. He planned to merge France's two international
television channels with a radio station to create a single news
organization in French to compete with Cable News Network and Al
Jazeera. He called the planned network “France Monde.” He pledged to
use state-owned lender Caisse des Depots et Consignations to protect
French companies against foreign predators; he hoped 2008 would bring
about the demise of the 35-hour workweek; and he suggested that he will
marry Italian model-turned-singer Carla Bruni.
>More
Sarkozy suffers from the “Carla effect”
NewYorkTimes. Jan. 8 , 2008
Far from endearing Mr. Sarkozy to his people, his paparazzi romance
with the model-turned-singer Carla Bruni has fueled criticism that he
is ignoring the country and spending too much time having fun.
An editorial in Monday’s L'Est Républicain said, “The French people did not elect him to be a rock star.”
According
to a nationwide survey by the polling group CSA published Sunday, only
48 percent of the French surveyed said they trusted the president to
run the country - a fall of seven points in a month. Since last July,
his approval rating has plunged by 17 percentage points.
>More
French youth feel hopelessness and despair
Figaro/Frogsmoke. Jan. 8, 2008
According to a poll by the “Fondation pour l'innovation politique” and
Kairos Future, French youth are among the world’s most pessimistic.
“They are hyperconformists, resigned to their fate, without any hope to
change society, and incapable of controlling their personal future.
Only 25% of the young in France think their future is promising and
only 22% believe they are in control of their life, against over 50% of
Americans. According to the researchers, one of the reasons lies in the
French education system, which doesn’t prepare them for a working
life.” (Thanks to Frogsmoke for the translation and summary).
>More (in French)
In Europe, favoritism and corruption rules
IHT. Jan. 8, 2008
Giovanni Flori’s new book "Mal di Merito" (merit sickness) reveals that
the only way to get ahead in Europe is through favors, string pulling,
and personal connections. The culture of favoritism is an "epidemic”
that has “changed the DNA” of how Italian and European society works.
In France, despite a complex examination and evaluation system,
promotions and awards are often based on nepotism and back-scratching.
Floris cites the case of former French President Chirac, who allegedly
tried to persuade the American movie director Ron Howard to give the
lead female role in "The Da Vinci Code" to a friend of his daughter's.
>More
French budget “will deprive 10,000 AIDS patients of treatment”
ActUpFance. Jan. 8, 2008
“In 2008 France will reduce by 20 million euros its contribution to the
Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria [1] as confirmed by
the 2008 Finance Act published in the French Governmental Register
(Journal Officiel) on the 27th of December, 2007. Through the Global
Fund, France contributed in 2007 to the treatment of 140 000 AIDS
patients. Therefore this 7% decrease in funding amounts to the
withdrawal of treatment for 10 000 people.”
>More
Sarkozy popularity drops
Xinhua. Jan. 8, 2008
French President Sarkozy's approval rating dropped two points to 54
percent compared with December 2007, according to a poll for the French
newspaper Liberation. Only 34 percent of the respondents believed the
French leader had taken measures which are "likely to improve
purchasing power" among ordinary French people. Meanwhile, 60 percent
of the respondents thought Sarkozy "projected a good image of France on
the international stage."
>More
Europe is speaking less and less French
Liberation. Jan, 8, 2008
"The English-speaking tendency of the European Commission is accelerating", deplores Jean Quatremer, Liberation’s
Brussels correspondent. "In less than ten years, French has become a
minority language in the executive, with only 14 % documents still
being written in French and most positions monopolised by non-French
nationals. This unevenness besmirches the prospect of the French
six-month presidency of the Union just around the corner."
>More (French)
France best, U.S. worst in preventable death ranking
Reuters.
Jan, 8, 2008
France
rated best and the United States worst in new rankings of preventable
deaths due to treatable conditions in 19 leading industrialized
nations. France did best -- with 64.8 deaths deemed preventable by
timely and effective health care per 100,000 people, in the study
period of 2002 and 2003. The United States had 109.7 such deaths per
100,000 people.
>More
//end
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