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You are here: Home » Politics + Society » Archive » October 2007-1
POLITICS AND SOCIETY NEWS AND EVENTS ARCHIVE OCTOBER 2007-1
Oct. 1-Oct. 7, 2007
First Burma, Then Iran: France's Total Oil Again Involved
AFP. Oct. 7, 2007
Iran rejected the possibility of a French investors' pullout of its oil and gas sector amid calls by Paris for tougher sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme, the ISNA news agency reported. "Iran's resources and market are too attractive for the French to give up," deputy oil minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said. Under a deal last year, French oil giant Total is set to exploit phase 11 of Iran's South Pars gas field to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export and to build a liquefaction plant. In remarks cited by state radio last month, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran could review economic ties with France because of remarks by French officials that have included pointing to a possible war over Iran's atomic plans. >More
Iran Warns France: Don't Back the USA
AFP. Oct. 7, 2007
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned France over what he labelled its "illogical" position after Paris urged tough action against Tehran's nuclear programme. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner angered Tehran last month when he said the world had to prepare for war over Iran's atomic drive. Mottaki criticised Paris for providing Iran's archfoe the United States of "opportunities to gain political advantage". "France cannot continue this policy in the future and its interests are definitely not in line with the political objectives of America," Mottaki said. >More
Giuliani: French Should Work More
New York Times. Oct. 6, 2007
During one of Republican Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani;s Town hall meetings in Florida, the music playing was Edith Piaf’s hit La Vie en Rose. During the event, Mr. Giuliani mentioned Nicolas Sarkozy, talking about the French leader’s book and how he wants to reform France. “He wants to get the French to work more than 35 hours a week. This a very good thing, said Giuliani to laughter. >More
French Nationals Flee Algerian Violence
Reuters. Oct. 6, 2007
Families of French nationals working for Michelin in Algeria have been repatriated on fears of a security deterioration in the former French colony. Al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al Zawahri, had called in a recent video for the group's supporters in North Africa to "cleanse" their land of Spaniards and French. Up to 200,000 people have been killed in Algeria since 1992 after military-backed authorities scrapped parliamentary elections that an Islamist party was poised to win. >More
France Joins in Condemning Burmese repression
UK Inquirer. Oct. 6, 2007
France joines US and UK members of the United Nations Security Council on Oct. 5, 2007 in a draft statement which reads in part as follows: "The Security Council condemns the violent repression by the Government of Myanmar of peaceful demonstrations, including the use of force against religious figures and institutions." Unfortunately, major Western goverments have stopped short of ordering companies like France's Total oil, from ceasing to do business with the murderous Burnese junta. >More
Paris Seeks New Role as Financial Center
MSNBC. Oct. 6, 2007
The French government on Oct.5, 2007 unveiled its plans to boost Paris as a financial centre, proposing a more lightly regulated market for companies and funds on the Euronext exchange. Several of the measures are closely modelled on UK structures, as the French capital seeks to make up ground lost to London. The French government also wants to cut red tape, improve the quality of regulation and streamline immigration procedures to attract highly skilled workers. >More
French Oil Giant Total Will Stay in Burma
IHT. Oct. 6, 2007
French oil company Total SA will not withdraw or reduce its billion dollar operations in Myanmar, said Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie. Total "understood" French President Nicolas Sarkozy's message not to invest further in the southeast Asian country. But Total will not take any steps that might harm its business investements. >More
Nicolas and Cécilia Sarkozy marriage split rumours
UK Telegraph. Oct. 6, 2007
Rumours about the imminent break-up of Nicolas Sarkozy's marriage have intensified after his spokesman refused to confirm or deny claims that the French president's wife, Cécilia, would announce the couple's separation this weekend. The prospect of a divorcee leading the country for the first time in modern times has roused the French media, who have traditionally steered clear of the private lives of their political leaders. >More
No-shows by Cécilia gets French tongues wagging over First Marriage
UK Independant. Oct. 6, 2007
For première dame, read prima donna. The unpredictable French first lady, Cécilia Sarkozy, threatens to become as celebrated for her "no-shows" as an opera diva. Mme Sarkozy dropped out of a long-planned visit yesterday to Sofia where she was to be honoured for her involvement in the release of the Bulgarian nurses. Mme Sarkozy has also cancelled at short notice a live appearance on French television this weekend in which she was to pay tribute to her friend, the controversial Justice minister, Rachida Dati. She caused something approaching a diplomatic incident in August when she failed to turn up for a hot-dog picnic with President George Bush and his family in Maine. >More
Youths riot in French town
Wire Services. Oct. 5, 2007
French police clashed overnight with youths who went on a rampage in a town in eastern France, prompting Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie to travel to the trouble spot. Between 40 and 50 masked youths used metal bars to smash a firefighters' vehicle and a police car dispatched to a shopping mall in Saint-Dizier. The youths then fanned out across the town of 30 000 inhabitants, setting fire to two buildings, a car rental office and 16 vehicles. >More
Africans denounce French DNA immigration bill
Reuters. Oct. 5, 2007
French plans for DNA tests on would-be immigrants have upset Africans, many of whom see it as evidence of deep-seated racism in their former colonial power. The draft law, part of Sarkozy's promised crackdown on illegal immigration, would allow foreigners living in France to use a voluntary DNA test to prove blood lines to relatives they want to bring into the country. The main purpose of the legislation is to fight fraud in family reunion cases. "The practice of DNA testing is a violation of individual freedom, an attack on a person's physical integrity," Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade told a news conference this week. >More
Bill Clinton Urges United States to Embrace France
IHT. Oct. 5, 2007
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said that Americans should reach out to French President Nicolas Sarkozy to build a stronger U.S.-France partnership. Clinton, who was in Paris to promote his new book "Giving" and for meetings with French officials, said he was pleased with Sarkozy's efforts to improve his country's once-strained relations with the United States. Clinton hailed UNITAID, a group created last year by France and 19 other countries that sets aside some airline tax revenues for the fight against HIV/AIDS in developing countries. His organization, the Clinton Foundation, has been working with UNITAID to lower the cost of backup drugs to HIV-positive people with resistance to standard treatment. >More >More
Quebec Defends French Language
Toronto Globe. Oct. 5, 2007
With the referendum on sovereignty on the back burner, the Parti Québécois is seeking to resolve its identity crisis by placing the defence of the French language and culture at the forefront of the party platform. The new PQ Leader, Pauline Marois, says the party must return to its roots and demonstrate to Quebeckers the urgency of protecting the French language, which will eventually convince voters of the need to achieve sovereignty, she argued. >More
France Approves DNA Tests for Immigrants
BBC News. Oct. 4, 2007
France's Senate has approved a controversial law allowing voluntary DNA tests for would-be immigrants seeking to join family in France. Supporters of the move - part of a tough immigration bill passed by the lower house - say it will speed up the process for genuine applicants. Critics have attacked the law as racist. >More
LVMH's Sephora to Expand
AFX News. Oct. 4, 2007
French luxury conglomerate LVMH is planning to speed up its expansion of Sephora perfume and cosmetic stores, opening around 20 new shops in France in 2008, as well as targeting high potential areas like Poland, the Czech Republic, China (50 new shops), the US and Canada (35 new shops). >More
Uncertain
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