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You are here: Home » Politics + Society » Archive » November 2007-3
POLITICS AND SOCIETY NEWS AND EVENTS ARCHIVE NOVEMBER 2007-3
Archives: November 20-22, 2007
French Pro-Smoking Lobby Protests
AP. Nov, 22, 2007
Some
10,000 people, mainly tobacco sellers, marched through Paris on Nov.
21, 2007 to protest a smoking ban in French cafes, restaurants and
nightclubs, as of Jan. 1, 2008. Rene Le Pape, president of the
Confederation of Tobacco Sellers, came away from a Tuesday meeting with
Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot disappointed and angry, saying there
was a ''total blockage.'' Tobacconists fear they will lose clients
unable to have a cigarette with their coffee and will lose money on
other products typically sold in ''cafes tabacs'' -- cafes where
cigarettes can be bought.
> More
Alleged Chad Kidnappers Feel France Has Abandoned Them
News24. Nov. 22, 2007
The
head of the French charity Zoe's Ark, who is in a Chadian jail accused
of trying to abduct 103 children to France last month, says the French
government has thrown him to the wolves. Eric Breteau said, "The French
government let us down. They even made it worse for us,” by meddling
and making inflammatory statements. He insisted that the French
government had known about their operation. Breteau was arrested, along
with 16 other Europeans and four Chadians, last month after allegedly
attempting to bring the children to France.
> More
French Retail Reform Will Be Difficult
Wall Street Journal. Nov. 22, 2007
President
Sarkozy is hoping to shake up France's retail sector to spur consumer
spending and inject new life into the economy. But early indications
suggest change isn't likely to happen quickly. France's National
Assembly began debating yesterday the first in what Mr. Sarkozy says
will be a series of measures to free up one of the most highly
regulated retail environments in Europe. Despite calls from the
nation's largest retailers for nothing short of a complete makeover,
the process is more likely to become a long, drawn-out battle pitting
small shopkeepers against big-name producers and conglomerates.
> More
France and Israel enjoying 'honeymoon'
AFP. Nov. 21, 2007
France
and Israel are in the midst of a "honeymoon" in their relationship,
French presidential spokesman David Martinon said Wednesday in a speech
before the umbrella organisation of French Jewish organisations. "We
have the impression that we have gone back before 1967," when
Franco-Israeli relations soured over the Israeli-Arab war that year.
The new French government includes numerous prominent members of Jewish
descent: Prisdent Sarkozy himself, Diplomatic Advisor Jean-David
Levitte, and Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner.
> More
Chirac Under Investigation for Corruption
French Politics / Le Monde. Nov. 21, 2007
Jacques Chirac has been put under investigation ("mis en examen") for his alleged role in the
diversion of Paris city funds when he was mayor. Chirac was immune from
prosecution during his term as President. He joins former Prime
Minister Dominique de Villepin under a judicial cloud for alleged
malefeasance.
> More
Sarkozy Silent on Strikes
New York Times Nov. 20, 2007
As
major nationwide transit strikes dragged on for the sixth day on Nov.
19, 2007, and as civil servants were poised to walk out on Nov. 20,
French President Sarkozy went against character and remained silent,
gambling that a low-key approach to the first domestic crisis of his
six-month-old presidency would succeed in defusing tensions.
> More
Why the French lag in renewable energy
IHT. Nov. 20, 2007
France lags behind its neighbors in developing innovative
renewable-energy technologies, even as a much-touted government
conference on the environment in Paris last month called for new
initiatives. The reasons include a slow-moving bureaucracy, lack of
commitment from the French government, and French dependence on nuclear
plants. France gets 79 percent of its electricity from nuclear plants,
the highest rate in the world. Power from renewable sources was 13
percent in 2004, the most recent year for which data are available.
> More
Rwandan Genocide Report Examines France’s Role
AllAfricaNews. Nov. 20, 2007
On Nov. 16, 2007, a Rwandan commission’s 500-page report into the
alleged role of France in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda was presented to
President Paul Kagame who will decide if and when to make it public.
The commission president, the former minister of justice, Jean de Dieu
Mucyo, stated that there is evidence of French responsibility,
according to the local pro-government newspaper The New Times. The
French ministry of defence has denied the legitimacy or competence of
the commission, and plans its own investigations.
> More
French civil servants join strike
CNN. Nov. 20, 2007
A 24-hour walkout by French civil servants -- including teachers,
hospital workers, tax collectors, customs officials and post office
staff -- has coincided with the seventh straight day of crippling
strikes by transit workers, putting further pressure on the French
government to negotiate an end to the weeklong walkout.
> More
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