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You are here: Home » Politics + Society » Archive » October 2007-5
POLITICS AND SOCIETY NEWS AND EVENTS ARCHIVE OCTOBER 2007-5
Archives: Oct. 16-19, 2007
Monsanto files suit against French GMO activists
Reuters. Oct. 19, 2007
The French unit of U.S. Biotech giant Monsanto has filed a lawsuit
following damage to some of its test fields for genetically-modified
maize in Valdivienne in central France. Heated debate has surrounded
the use of GMO products across Europe and in France, where many
consumers and green groups doubt the safety of GMO products and fear
that they will reduce biodiversity. > More
Sarkozy's New Africa Policy
All Africa. Oct. 19, 2007
According
to AllAfrica.com, Sarkozy's new Africa policy means: France wants to
get rid of its historical baggage and normalise its relations with
Africa. Africa must take its share of responsibility for the past as
well as the future. The future of the continent rests largely on what
Africans, not the French or others, do. The goal is to protect French
economic interests while countering US influence. > More
Airbus Launch Comes Amidst Cost Overruns, Stock Drops, & Scandal
Globe and Mail. Oct. 19, 2007
Airbus's A380 superjumbo jet may prove be a success story. But fallout
from the plane's disastrous development almost wrecked the company. Two
years of delays and extra work pushed development cost from €11-billion
($15.3-billion) to €16-billion or more, wiping out €5-billion in future
profits. Stock prices have plunged. Now the parent company EADS is
under investigation for insider trading. > More
France May Loosen Online Gambling Rules
Forbes. Oct. 19, 2007
The French state has a monopoly on gambling and has arrested foreign
gambling companies who venture into the market, but French Interior
Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said that she wanted to liberalize online
gambling, in order to allow French casinos "to be present in these new
markets." > Forbes
NeoCon Bolton Happy with Sarkozy
Financial Times. Oct. 19, 2007
Former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton predicts
US will attack Iran and rejoices "we finally have a French president
who sounds just like we do on Iran." > More
French Named Worst Drivers
New Car News. Oct. 19, 2007
A
poll by social networking site WAYN.com named the French the world’s
worst drivers, just ahead of Italians, Indians, Spanish, and Turks.
Inconsiderate or aggressive driving, failure to signal, making rude
hand gestures and shouting expletives were the reasons. > More
French Language Campaigns Poison
Quebec Life
Canadian Press. Oct. 19, 2007
Quebecois
language activists like the Mouvement Montreal francais insists French
is being eroded by companies like Second Cup that have English-only
names. Meanwhile, Quebec separatist politicians propose banning
immigrants who can't speak fluent French. > More
Sarkozy Seeks to Mend Bridges With Morocco Visit
Reuters. Oct. 19, 2007
Morocco
considers itself one of France's most steadfast allies in the Arab
world. This week Sarkozy arrives in the kingdom on a three-day mission
to smooth ruffled feathers, campaign for his proposed Mediterranean
Union and salvage what he can in deals and diplomacy after a French
magazine said Morocco was pulling out of a major contract for French
combat planes. > More
It's Official: Sarkozy and Wife Split
UK Telegraph. Oct. 18, 2007
President
Nicolas Sarkozy of France and his wife Cécilia are separating by mutual
consent, the president's office has announced, ending weeks of
speculation about their 11-year old marriage. Presidential
spokespersons denied the fact right up to the last minute, while
reports leaked out that the couple had drawn up separation papers
months ago. The French media has probed the Sarkozy relationship more
than previous presidents, because, as the editor of l'Express
explained, "The Sarkozys turned their private life into an instrument
of conquest, a political weapon," hence fair game. > More
Union Corruption Trial Rocks France
Financial Times. Oct. 18, 2007
A
funding scandal that has exposed years of cosy cronyism between French
employers and trade unions threatens to heighten tensions surrounding
the government's proposed economic reforms. The transfer of some $24
million by union bosses has lifted the lid on the shadowy state of
trade union finances and called into question France's
institutionalised system of social relations. > More
Lagarde Seeks to Americanize French Work Habits
New York Times. Oct. 18, 2007
France’s finance minister Christine Lagarde, known as “the American”
is "trying to change the psyche of the French people in relation to
work." "A hopeless task?" asks the Times. "Deep in the Gallic soul
resides the notion that work is exploitation, a ruse concocted by
American robber barons, best regulated and minimized and offset by
hours of idleness. The demise of the Soviet Union left France leading
the counter-capitalist school. France, long hung up in a left-bank
bubble filled with quaint notions of reversing globalization, now wants
to take advantage of a globalized world, rather than be defensive.
>More
Strike Paralyzes France
New York Times. Oct. 18, 2007
French commuters faced travel chaos on Oct. 18, 2007 after transport
workers went on strike nationwide over plans to scrap their pension
privileges, handing President Nicolas Sarkozy a first major challenge
of his reforms. Plane, train, and metro unions called the 24-hour
strike in an attempt to force concessions from the government. This
strike is just the first shot in a larger battle expected over plans to
review the entire French pensions system next year. > More
Crime Pays: French Murderer Now a Bestseller
Guardian. oct. 18, 2007
French
singer Bertrand Cantat hit his lover an estimated 19 times in one
attack, causing irreversible brain damage that led, a few days later,
to her death. You might think that would make him unpopular with his
peers. Not so: since killing Marie Trintignant in 2003 sales of
Cantat's albums have gone through the roof. Sentenced to eight years in
prison, he has been released after serving just four. >More
Expert Critiques New York Times’s French Coverage
Goldhammerblog. Oct. 18, 2007
Harvard
Professor Arthur Goldhammer, a top American expert on French affairs,
panned the New York Times’s erratic and superficial coverage of French
affairs. Referring to two recent articles by Elaine Sciolino and
Michael Kimmelman, "Americans with no particular interest in French
politics would have a hard time piecing things together from the
coverage provided by our newspaper of record." >More
Survey: French Media is Politically Dependant
Editorsweblog. Oct. 18, 2007
A media survey conducted for the French daily Libération draws a grim
view of public’s opinion towards French media: 62% of respondents
thought news media were “dependent on political power” and only 7%
thought they were “totally independent.” There’s at least some evidence
to reinforce this perception. French journalists eagerly accept
political appointments and rewards: recently, Georges-Marc Benamou,
former columnist at la Provence, became Nicolas Sarkozy’s special
advisor. Catherine Pégard, who covered Sarkozy’s campaign for Le Point,
and Myriam Lévy of the Figaro got positions at L’Elysée and Matignon
respectively. And Jean-Marc Plantade, former investigative journalist
for Le Parisien, has become communications advisor for Christine
Lagarde, the minister of Economy. > More
France 24 eyes Arab channel extension
RapidNews. Oct. 17, 2007
France’s state-owned international channel France 24 plans to extend
its Arabic channel from four to 12 hours by next January. The managing
board of the channel is currently trying to convince the French state
to give the service €5 million more, that would add €3 million to the
Arabic service. BBC Worldwide spends €36 million on its Arab news
channel. > More
French argue over aerial robot surveillance
News.com. Oct. 17, 2007
Not everyone in the French government wants to use flying robotic
surveillance drones next year as part of a plan to triple police
surveillance efforts. ELSA (a French acronym for "light device for
aerial surveillance") is a 4-foot aerial robot that would be used to
watch people in Paris and towns connected to Paris by the Metro subway
system. But Some French politicians voiced protests after learning that
the device had already been tested in several towns without their
knowledge. > More
Opposition to Sarkozy Rises
New York Times. Oct. 17, 2007
The French public and politicians are balking at “Czarkozy”’s
dictatorial flood of political and economic initiatives aimed at
changing the way things are done in France, and remaking society in his
own image. His first duty is to balance the budget. France is the
biggest public spender, relative to its gross domestic product, in the
European Union and the economy is in such bad shape, Prime Minister
François Fillon said last month, that the French state is “bankrupt.”
> More
Britain's Wealthiest Man was French
UK Times. Oct. 17, 2007
A
new book, The Richest of the Rich, reveals that an 11th century French
immigrant was the wealthiest man in British history. Soldier and
landowner Alan Rufus, nephew to William the Conqueror, came from Brittany and
amassed
a fortune calculated to be worth $160 billion in today's money. William
the Conquerer gave Rufus 250,000 acres of British land. Four of
the richest men of all time were Norman barons. Says one commentator,
"The Norman conquest was probably the biggest hostile
takeover of all time." > More
France leads the way in technology transfer to developing countries
Cordis News. Oct. 16, 2007
France has come out on top following a survey on the technology
assistance provided by industrialised nations to developing countries.
The Commitment to Development Index is produced annually by the US
think-tank the Center for Global Development (CGD). It analyses seven
policy areas: environment, aid, trade, investment, migration, security
and technology. France scores highest overall, followed by Canada and
then Japan. > More
France's Orange to Sell Apple IPhone
AP. Oct. 16, 2007
Apple
Inc. said Tuesday that French wireless carrier Orange, a France Telecom
brand, will be the exclusive partner for the iPhone in France. Orange
will begin offering service for the iPhone when the device goes on sale
in France on Nov. 29. Apple said the 8-gigabyte iPhone will cost 399
euros, or about $565. France will become the third European country, in
addition to Great Britain and Germany, to sell the iPhone. >More
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