Sarkozy season II: back to basics

Le Sarko nouveau has arrived. Nicolas Sarkozy is out being presidential today, officiating at the grand funeral of France's last world war one veteran. This is the kind of statesmanlike image that he wants to project now that the French have slapped down his administration in nationwide local elections.

French voters are as fickle as those anywhere so it was no surprise that they swung against Super Sarko in the voting that ended yesterday. Here briefly is the fallout and a few lessons as we wonder how long the impulsive, slightly manic, president can stick to a new script in which he does dignified and distant.

The expected vague rose -- pink wave -- enabled the Socialist opposition to take 15 big cities from centre-right control, including Toulouse and Strasbourg, but not Marseille as they had hoped. One of the left's more impressive victories was the capture of the eastern city of Metz, which had been under rightwing control since 1848. The left now run a handsome majority of large towns. They comfortably held on to Paris and Lyon, the two biggest.

François Bayrou, the centrist who made such a strong run for the presidency last year, is consigned to history after failing to take the Pyrenean city of Pau for himself and letting his MoDem party self-destruct.

Of historical note was the fall of three Communist bastions -- the channel port of Calais and Montreuil and Aubvervilliers, on the eastern edge of Paris. Montreuil was won by Dominique Voynet, a veteran Green party figure who becomes the first écologiste to run a big city. On the other fringe, Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National got nowhere. With the old bogeyman nearing 80, it is unlikely that his movement will survive.

So what conclusions are to be drawn from the battering of Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement ?

The Socialists were quick to see it as rejection of the president's policies as well as his unseemly personal style.  In full Joan of Arc mode, Ségolène Royal, a would-be party leader, went over the top, saying that it was urgent to "protect, imagine and above all repair what the government has damaged and destroyed over these past months."

With Sarko silent, it was left to François Fillon, the low-key Prime Minister, to explain that the "partial rebalancing" of local government power showed impatience with the slow pace of reform. This brought mockery from the left, but a poll in today's Le Parisien shows that Fillon might be right. Sixty-seven percent want Sarkozy's reforms to continue, against 25 percent who do not, the CSA institute found. That hardly supports the Socialist's claim that his whole strategy has been discredited.

A big message for Sarkozy came from the 58 percent who said that "he must try to adopt a more presidential style". Only one third thought he should stay the same. Those are sobering figures for a man who basked in adulation last summer after storming to power with promises of la rupture, a clean break with old methods.

Three sentences from Sarkozy over the past two months encapsulate everything he has done to disappoint and irritate.

1) Carla et moi, c'est du sérieux (It's serious, Carla and me. When he confirmed in January that he was in love with Carla Bruni and was about to marry her after their high-speed romance)

2) Les caisses sont vides (The treasury is empty. Telling France that there was no money left 10 minutes after the Carla boast and a few days after expensive foreign jaunts with her)

3) Casse-toi, pauvre con (Piss off, jerk, or equivalent. His outburst to a man who did not want to shake his hand at a farm show last month. A glimpse of hot temper and lack of self-restraint)

Le Monde has come out this afternoon with an even-handed verdict. Sarkozy, with his erratic, self-aggrandising ways, has squandered his credit. He has been served a warning, but he has not been rejected, it said. "In reality the French are not asking Nicolas Sarkozy to change. On the contrary, they are asking him to be what he said he would be: an active president, absolutely committed to his reform programme."

Sarkozy is helped by the shambles among the Socialists. Their mayors may do a good job at running towns, but nearly a year since Royal's presidential defeat, the national opposition remains headless and rudderless. About 10 of its barons and rising stars are manoeuvering for the top job when François Hollande, its lame-duck boss, leaves in the autumn. Like Britain's Labour party in the 1980s and early 90s, the Socialists have no plan for running the country. They are nowhere near adapting their old Marx-based creed to the modern world. Their failure to do so is reflected in polls that show that however poorly Sarko is deemed to be doing, a majority do not believe that the Socialists would run the country any better.

Socialists like Royal and her rivals are convinced that they still have to comfort the French with the old dogmas: capitalism is a necessary evil. It must be kept in check by a protective state that redistributes its proceeds to the people. This outlook is still popular in some quarters, such as the civil service and the education world. You still hear the echo of ancestral wars in the contempt with which la gauche speaks of la droite and, to a lesser extent, vice versa. Libération, the leftwing daily, oozes with loathing for la droite today.

But France has changed more than the Socialist leaders seem to realise. A large part of the country now works in a private sector dominated by service industries. A majority remains convinced by Sarkozy's original message that France must catch up with the competition by shedding the dead-weight of regulation and over-taxation.  If they are to push out Sarkozy in 2012, the Socialists will have to reconcile themselves overtly, not just in practice, with the market place and globalisation. The British, Spanish and Italian left have managed to win power after doing so in the past few years.

In the meantime, Sarko has time to get his act back together -- if he can.

[below: Ségolène Royal in local campaign] 

Comments

[Emlyn]

The idea of encapsulating anyone in three phrases comes perilously close to the foundations on which racism and xenophobia are built.1)Only a hypocrite would deny a man the right to fall in love. Sarkozy is hardly a Bill Clinton (not that I disapproved of him). 2) The coffers ARE empty yet many Frenchmen seem unable to face the fact. 3)You persist in making a dysphemism of the harmless "Casse-toi".

[Racism and xenophobia... come come. These are Sarko's key quotes of the last two months. As I am sure you know, they are cited endlessly as revealing a lot about his character. His people accept that the "caisses sont vides" line was a big political blunder, equivalent to Jospin's losing bourde back in the 2002 election about the state not being able to take care of everything. No idea where you see any racism or xenophobia in any of this! CB]

[dot king]

Charles, I'm pretty sure Toulouse was right-wing before yesterday, in a region that is traditionally left-wing, the city has had a right-wing mayor.
The new PS mayor refused all political alliances and won against all expectations.
Our Maire sortant here was re-elected, with his whole list, after the first round with about 78%. Sans étiquette. Ca pour une plébiscite, alors!

[Emlyn]

Charles,
I am not suggesting that you are a racist or a xenophobe - that would amount to libel - only that the reductive way of presenting a person is similar to the weapons used by such people.And who is decreeing that these are his "key quotes", aside from his Socialist enemies?

[qwerty]

Charles's judgment of Sarkozy was not xenophobic or racist, which would imply generality, but a judgment of Sarkozy the person. In my own judgment, Sarkozy is a vulgar narcissistic individual who wanted to be a "people" and thought that the public were so enamoured of his person that they would be avidly and delightedly following the events of his private life. Which personal life has seemed to take complete precedence over his job in the past few months. And which can be summarised as follows: "Ma femme m'a quitté? Regardez-moi - j'en ai trouvé une autre, plus jeune, plus belle, il m'a fallu deux mois, pas plus! Je suis un mec! je les tombe toutes! je suis mieux que vous tous!"

Sarkozy is now burned to a crisp. I believe he has amply demonstrated that he is not as good as his program was, and will never be able to carry it out. Unfortunately, I don't think there is anyone else in France who will be able do it either, even though Fillon is conscientiously trying to keep the reforms on track.

Rupture? Quelle rupture?

[Maggie G]

Just trying to figure out Dot's message, Charles, and discovered that you have contradicted yourself in the third paragraph.

First you say "The expected vague rose.... enabled the Socialist opposition to take 15 big cities from centre-right control, including Toulouse and Strasbourg..."

Then at the end of the same paragraph you say " The left... comfortably held on to Paris and Toulouse".

Our mayor (right) was also re-elected in the first round with about 78 percent.

[Sorry, Maggie. A typo. Of course it should read Lyon with Paris. That's what comes with having no editors on a blog. I'll correct it. CB]

[qwerty]

And as for Ségolène "sainte colère", exhorting that it's urgent "to "protect, imagine and above all repair what the government has damaged and destroyed over these past months", what unmitigated cr*p. Notwithstanding everything else, mentalities ARE changing to some extent in this country: cf. autonomy of universities, whittling down & professionals on the conseils d'administration, simplification of decision making. Les réformes structurelles sont en marche malgré tout.

[Daniel Strohl]

Excellent article from Charles - well balanced and witty as usual ("François Bayrou ... is consigned to history").

However, the article may possibly not please utterly our leftists; it is never enjoyable to read some obvious truths ("If they are to push out Sarkozy in 2012, the Socialists will have to reconcile themselves overtly, not just in practice, with the market place and globalisation" - Charles).

The latter will be very difficult for the socialists, since it would mean that they would have to contradict by 100% the anti-market Propaganda they have hammered restlessly since decades on "le bon peuple". And "le bon peuple" is not as stupid as some high level socialists with high level diplomas seem to believe.

An indirect proof of this may be the result of these elections : it was indeed a "pink wave" in terms of cities and conseils généraux (due to the "scrutin majoritaire"). However, if I believe figures I have read this morning, the left got ca. 49 % of the votes, the right ca. 47 % - but there was a high abstention (35 %?).

One may imagine that at least one part of the abstentionists were not convinced by the arguments of the socialists, whereas another part was not really willing to help Sarkozy, but was not eager either to vote against him.

May be one should recall that Sarkozy has been elected in May 2007 with 57% of the votes against 47% for Mme Royal.

[Daniel Strohl]

Qwerty,

"Les réformes structurelles sont en marche malgré tout".

Heureusement! Il était grand temps!

[marc millier]

sorry 53% no 57%

[the Socialists have no plan for running the country]
Agreed! There is none, their only claim seems to be "Yes! We have no bananas today".
It would be more reassuring if the country had a credible alternate solution.
The impending financial turmoil and its consequences will not encourage people to even consider le Parti Socialiste to be able to govern.

[Daniel Strohl]

Marc,

You are right : 53% + 47% = 100 %!

I will get "un mauvais point" from Dominique + un bonnet d'âne - LOL!

[Helen]

Did anyone else see Jean-Francois Copé openly laughing in the TF1 studio last night when Ségolène uttered the words "réformes justes" ? Highlight of my weekend! (well, almost)

[Josephine]

Does it make a practical difference in France having a right vs. a left mayor? For example, does a city with a Socialist mayor have more services or is local money distributed more equitably? How much power does a mayor have? Merci, Josephine

[Sandrine]

"May be one should recall that Sarkozy has been elected in May 2007 with 57% of the votes against 47% for Mme Royal."

57% ? Il a dû fumer quelque chose Daniel...

"However, the article may possibly not please utterly our leftists;"

C'est peu de le dire, mais j'y reviendrai plus tard...

"Excellent article from Charles - well balanced and witty as usual"

Pas du tout, pour une fois même je trouve que Charles s'est complètement laissé emporter, tellement il devait souhaiter la victoire de la droite.

[Daisy]

Sarko is too ministerial to be president. Elysee requires a measure dignity and elegance. He has neither.

[Fernandez]

May be one should recall that Sarkozy has been elected in May 2007 with 57% of the votes against 47% for Mme Royal.

Does France have its own Chicago?

[John]

In 2012 the Socialist candidate will win the presidency because Wallonia will be part of France and that will tilt the balance in favor of the Socialists.

Otherwise I'm like Qwerty, I don't think Sarkozy can deliver anymore. We'll have to wait until 2017 before a real reformer is possibly elected president. It's really depressing.

[Valentin]

I retain 3 things from this :

- there was a huge disinterest in these elections
- still 70% of electors voted with local issues in mind
- 70% say they want reforms to continue and Fillon to stay

As to the three sentences, one might argue it's the media who made them what they are. Then again, knowing Sarko a master of communication, one might also say he brought it on himself: the media simplified, even bashed, but those lines were just asking for it - as I'm sure he's aware.

[Daniel Strohl]

Sandrine,

"57% ? Il a dû fumer quelque chose Daniel..."

LOL! Je ne le ferai plus, c'est promis! Ce n'est plus de mon âge...

[Marguerite.]

Pour montrer qu'il a change de style, Sarkozy a fait quatre fois de suite le signe de croix, les yeux fermes et l'air douloureux comme une vieille bigote, pendant l'enterrement du poilu, aux Invalides, ce matin

[Sam Young]

Apparently, the following is a true story:
Jacques Chirac, as President of France, is in the process of shaking hands, when some guy in the crowd shouts "Connard" (= asshole, but stronger). And Jacques, cool as a breeze, turns to the guy, puts a big smile on his face, holds out his hand to the guy and says "Chirac, enchanté".

[Romain]

Les municipales is a comfortable cushion for Socialist politicians, who find good acceptance from the public in that form of "junior" local governement. There is no ideology in local governance, local politicians accomodate very well with opponents when it comes to manage local interests.
The antiquated Parti Socialiste has to cut its deadwood if it want to win national elections. Deadwood being leftist currents from Fabius to Melanchon to the communists and even the trotskyists.
Only then, le Parti Socialiste will be able to say what it is, what it wants and how to deliver.

[Romain]

A bit off topic : Jérôme Kerviel is free after the decision of the court of appeal.

[French Blue]

Sarkozy's been waiting to get les municipales out of the way before getting down to business. He doesn't care a great deal about the vague rose - irritating maybe, but not damaging. The real action now is going to be the RGPP, which is poised to roll out. This is where it gets serious...

[john o'doe]

Excellent post CB. Sarkozy really has to get back to basics now and fix the economy. He also has to show that he is acting JUSTLY in the general interest and not just in favour of his CAC40 cronies.
The list of futile distractions is endless-
Fouquet's, Bolloré's yacht, Bolloré's planes & Wolfsboro with Cécilia, Disneyland & Petra with Carla and her son, the Guy Moquet letter & Bernard Laporte, that Dakar speech, the Politics of Civilisation, the search for a lost faith, praying for an SMS and Bigard with the Pope, lecturing the Saudis about Islam, the ridiculous Gaddafi visit, adopting a Shoah victim, Balkany everywhere, tax breaks for millionaires that still don't bring Johnny Halliday back from Swiss exile, hard vodka but soft-pedalling human rights with Putin, backslapping, hugs and kisses and Mediterranean Union with Merkel, - have created an enormous credibility gap to overcome.
The way back is going to be long and hard.
Incidentally just where in the world was the Madonna of Poitou supposed to be on Sunday evening? On TV she appeared to be in another lighter timezone and a sunnier climate although by all accounts this was just clever stage-managing to give that impression and in fact she was in Poitou.

[christopher muir]

Much as I enjoy reading predictions about politicians’ futures, it seems an impossible task to trust tea leaves in today’s economic climate. Indeed, if the alarming Wall Street charts are anything to go by, President Bling Bling may well be blown about with other world leaders in a storm that should have been anticipated. It could truly test his metal.

[Daniel Strohl]

Romain,

"Deadwood being leftist currents from Fabius to Melanchon"

May be one should not forget also your (almost) neighbour Emmanuelli, one of the staunchest pillars of the "antiquated Parti Socialiste" - LOL!

[john o'doe]

Watch out Sarko-bashers, Nicolas is watching you - see
http://www.lepost.fr/article/2008/03/17/1163369_il-surveillera-tout-ce-qui-fait-du-buzz-autour-de-nicolas-sarkozy.html

[Lily]

["Excellent article from Charles - well balanced and witty as usual" (DS)
Pas du tout, pour une fois même je trouve que Charles s'est complètement laissé emporter, tellement il devait souhaiter la victoire de la droite.] (Sandrine)

There is no reason to blame the journalist’s opinion on the journalist on his blog, I think. I like the article because I don’t contradict with it. If I did it would still be okay because I could explain why I disagreed.

Everyone can remain ‘neutral’ in a report about a stranded cargo ship tourist attraction – and attract two commentators - or take some risk of bias, be edgy and interesting. I prefer the latter.

Charles, please continue in this vein.

[John Gregory Flinn]

"... Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National got nowhere. With the old bogeyman nearing 80, it is unlikely that his movement will survive."

Maybe, but it may not need to, his policies and ideas are main-stream now.
Indeed, the loss of Calais by the PCF to the RIGHT, and not the left, can be understood in this context. As does the retention of Marseilles by the right.

Much of your other points have a paradoxical feel about them.
What is the real difference between French left and right?
It is nothing like as stark as you imply and more like a nuance than a difference, if at all
The 'dead weight of regulation' is here and now from the EU, 'over-taxation' may be necessary to simply balance the books because of this, and infra.
Many of the restrictive practices that affect France's internal competitiveness are more due monopoly tendencies than politics. From Pharmacies to Farmers, Lawyers to Labour Unions - they all want to retain their exclusive controls.
The right seem to me just as keen on 'the protective state' as the left - but do not shout about it.
Since I've been living in France the government of the right have increased the tax take on GP consultations, introduced retention taxes on overseas savings, et alia.

Left and Right are a distraction intended to throw sand in one's eyes (I cannot remember the french translation for this), to mask the raw greed of administrations in modern western 'democracies'.
The rocketing price of oil, commodities and the shrinking 'pouvoir d'achat' are all win-win for Governments, as their tax revenue rises.

[Terry]

CB said:

"Socialists like Royal and her rivals are convinced that they still have to comfort the French with the old dogmas: capitalism is a necessary evil. It must be kept in check by a protective state that redistributes its proceeds to the people."

This is indeed the problem. The socialists, as usual, have it backwards. GOVERNMENT is the necessary evil that must be kept in check lest it gain too much power. Capitalism is merely an economic system that provides us food, wealth and material goods.

[Robert Marchenoir]

"Les caisses sont vides (The treasury is empty. Telling France that there was no money left 10 minutes after the Carla boast and a few days after expensive foreign jaunts with her)."

It is important to stress that the mistake was not in saying that the treasury is empty. This is true. It's not only true, it's a gross understatement. It's high time Sarkozy says it, repeats it and rams the message home. The French are living on borrowed time.

The mistake is in coupling this with what Charles describes in his second sentence (conspicuous lifestyle).

It is also, and mainly, in not being aggressive enough with unpleasant reforms, which are badly needed in order to fill the coffers again.

[Terry]

Emylyn said:

"The idea of encapsulating anyone in three phrases comes perilously close to the foundations on which racism and xenophobia are built."

"I am not suggesting that you are a racist or a xenophobe - that would amount to libel."

It never ceases to amaze me the lengths some will go to manipulate his/her command of language to call someone racist, xenophobe or whatever with (im)plausible deniability.

C'est drole!

[John Bland]

Mr Fillon mentioned recently that a lot of regional councils (counties in english_conseil regionale) which are dominated by socialists and are giving less funds to ump mairies. The prime minister even said he was going to investigate this matter. I just wandered if you have any more info on this Mr Bremner?

Kind regards

JP Bland

[alan morgan]

The comments are full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

[Romain]

Daniel

Emmanuelli is the last custodian of the "true blue" pre-war Socialist faith. That is why they've boxed him in a glass case .(lol)

[* P]

Dear Mr. Bremner,

Hi,

Talking about Nicolas Sarkozy, would you care to comment on the reports about his rival, Segolene Royal, and her recent support of Porto Rico's independence and self-determination at her visit to Harvard University?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9gol%C3%A8ne_Royal#Harvard_University:_S.C3.A9gol.C3.A8ne_Royal_supports_independence_for_Puerto_Rico

http://5-yearslater.com/index.php/2008/03/14/2118-segolene-royal-favorable-a-l-independance-de-porto-rico

Thank you,

-P

[jopo]

"Sound and fury" Alan Morgan ?
Surely that is a sign of a good healthy debate (something that I would say is essential in a democracy). How can you say it signifies nothing ? It's just a sign of ordinary people (French, English, American ...) thinking and exchanging ideas about what is going on around them ?
Is there anything really wrong with that ?

[concedo nulli]

At this stage and as a French citizen familiar with 'le pouvoir de la rue' I fear an insurrection in May with huge strikes. May I ask the contributors to this blog how they react to the notion?

[The 3rd Column]

Charles Bremner declares: "Three sentences from Sarkozy over the past two months encapsulate everything he has done to disappoint and irritate."

Firstly, these 3 sentence disappoint and irritate because they are true and we all know people don't like the truth about the state of affairs being bandied about by their politicians, let alone by their national leader.

Re "1) Carla et moi, c'est du sérieux (It's serious, Carla and me." TRUE. Well, what's wrong with that? After all, he proved by marrying her that the love affair was serious, didn't he? Now that he's done it, people must get over it. That said, I agree, the voters did not hesitate to pummel the UMP in the last local election partly to "punish" Mr Sarkozy's very public lifestyle with his mistress turned wife/First Lady, something which is rather anathema to many French. I believe (and hope we all do, including Mr Bremner hopefullmy) Sarkozy will have learned a lesson and to keep his private amorous life well out of the public eye.

Re: "2) Les caisses sont vides (The treasury is empty.": ABSOLUTELY TRUE and our dear friends who are not French should know that part of the problem is caused by the French themselves who cannot go beyond the permanent 'assisté' mentality.

Re "3) Casse-toi, pauvre con (Piss off, jerk, or equivalent. A glimpse of hot temper and lack of self-restraint)": DEFINITELY. Unfortunately, people prefer their leaders to be hypocritical about things.

However, I am disappointed that Charles Bremner is only able to pick out out only 3 sentences to define, i.e., "encapsulate everything he (Sarkozy) has done...", Sarkozy's 10-month record following the May 2008 presidential election, Charles is guilty of resorting to a bit of crap reporting; lets face it -- Sarkozy started with a stack of French problems against him that couldn't be resolved 10 months after he was elected, no way! So to expect him to fix the ills of the nation, considered the sick man of Europe, in so short a time, is hardly realistic. Remember "les caisses sont vides!" In that sense, Charles Bremner is doing his readers great disservice by infering that Sarkozy should have kept quiet about the state coffers being empty. Why should he keep quiet? It's the truth! Shouldn't the French be forewarned about the truth? Don't they have the right to know that "les caisses sont vides"?

If only Charles could use his great talent for digging info and scrape well below the surface of the 10-month old Sarkozy presidency, instead of constantly resorting to hollow journalistic 'rhetorics' where the Sarkozy presidency is concerned, he'd find that the Sarkozy-Fillon tandem have had achievements albeit modest in trying to turn France from being sick man/ICU case of Europe into a convalescing patient. But I leave Charles to do the digging -- he is the reporter/journalist/blogger who owes his readers a bit more than just regularly dissing bad news.

In fine, someone judged this particular post of Charles as being well-balanced and witty, I'm afraid, witty it may be but well-balanced, certainly it isn't.

[Judith]

Helen
I did not see Jean François Copé laughing at Segolene Royal but I saw everyone laughing at her comments on France 2. Even the people from the PS were trying to keep straight faces when she was commenting on the outcome of the election. And what she was saying was very 'funny'.
Charles
I agree that it will be hard for Nicolas to maintain his new persona as he will be suffering severe 'cognative dissonance' by acting contrary to his deeply held values. He is bound to revert to his old behaviour to a degree but I think that the French will give him marks for trying in any event. We are sure to see him rise in the polls over the next month or so.
Concedo Nulli, please no strikes in May as I will be in France.

[Joan Arles]

To The 3rd Column:

It seems that you should have read Charles' post before trashing it, Mr or Ms 3rd Column. You write... "I am disappointed that Charles Bremner is only able to pick out out only 3 sentences to define, i.e., "encapsulate everything he (Sarkozy) has done..."

Those three dots tell us a lot about you and your bias. The rest of Charles's sentence said "everything he has done to disappoint and irritate."

You cut them out and then attack Charles for "crap reporting" because he failed to report Sarkozy's reforms! He wasn't talking about that. He has written a lot about them. What he was doing here, as he said, was summarising why Sarkozy disappointed and irritated.

It's clear who's doing the "crap reporting" here.

[john o'doe]

Mise en scene trompeuse pour Ségo sur TF1 dimanche soir; http://instantstele.blogs.liberation.fr/instantstele/

[Valentin]

Joan,

I think you misinterpret Third Column's post and you are wrong to talk about him like that.
I have just read his post, and there is absolutely no "crap reporting in there.

3rd Column says, in the very beginning of his post:

"Charles Bremner declares: "Three sentences from Sarkozy over the past two months encapsulate everything he has done to disappoint and irritate.""

He quotes Charles exactly and then he says

"Firstly, these 3 sentence disappoint and irritate because they are true "

3rd Column then details why he thinks so.
Further on, he protests against CB's focusing on those 3 sentences, and on them alone, without speaking of anything else but the slander part in reports about Sarkozy's 10 months of presidency.
The second time he quotes Charles and and the 10 months, he protests about reducing them to the 3 sentences (which, if we look at the big picture of CB's articles, is not untrue).

[Major Tom]

France is dead...Decomposed and unable to come back to the surface of the world. That's the reason why I encourage all the sleepless youngsters to leave the France before it sinks!

[PJB]

Je suis totalement d'accord avec M. Jean-Grégoire Flynn. Après la "droitisation" du nouveau gouvernement (dixit le PC, en réaction sûrement à la nomination de Christian Blanc et d'Anne-Marie Idrac), le parallèle le plus exact me semble celui avec Madame Thatcher: on parlait à l'époque des "secs" et des "mouillés", nous dirions de ce côté de la Manche les "durs" et les "mous", de ceux qui adhéraient à une nouvelle politique de société (intégrant au demeurant certaines idées du Front National, si l'on se réfère à Norman Tebbitt, le Daniel Strohl anglais) et de ceux qui se contentaient du consensus habituel. A l'époque, la gauche britannique n'avait pas encore viré sa cutie. Ce qui fait la distinction française, c'est que le PS ait présenté aux élections présidentielles Madame Royale plutôt qu'un Lionel Jospin ou un Olivier Besancenot. En conséquence, les réformes seront plus organisées, la rupture moins destructrice, que celles qu'a connues le Royaume-Uni dans les années 80-90.

[Lily]

Major Tom :) -

WHERE are we supposed to go? - What ship are you on? -

Please, hand out maps to the desperate.

[Emlyn]

May I assert once again, in reply to Terry, that I do not think Charles Bremner is a racist or a xenophobe nor did I intend to imply as much. I meant what I said and I said what I meant!

[anotherjohn]

If President Sarkozy's new media Czar is looking at these positings - then probably the most horrific experience I could provide is the following
Last year , I had a brief experience -- after working professionally speaking across France for over a decade -- this occured, not out of any great desire, but I received a "mission' posting inside a Conseil Général (CG) -
It was so frightening, to see 'inside' that I can't do justice to say, where or why I was involved ... but the one thing I can say was that it was more of a 'vague rose' feeling, from the moment you stepped inside ...I'm not in anyway saying that a British bureaucratic would be any different, but ...
Truly a scary, deeply troubling time, because underneath the veneer, the politics was as thick as "road tar" ! Really, it was my experience. I wouldn't ever want to inflict such an experience on any one else in my life ....
Is this what Michel Foucault had in mind, with some of his treatise(s) ...

Perhaps some one in Sarkozy's Elysee team is already busy in working out how to dismember these "institiutions" ... If his team need the reading - and my posting would be reaffirm that they do, then any sort of stuff like the "The Road to Serfdom" should give them a very good lead into the problems that they face ...
An "investigateur" for a journalist in the Ile de France, awaits an ambitious blogger! ALLEZ .... or ALLEZ CB

[dot king]

"the politics was as thick as "road tar" (anotherjohn)

I'm not altogether sure what your whole post is saying, but as for the quotation above - well, what do you expect politics to be like? :)

[joline]

I watch a french show yestarday in http://www.inner-live.com and I constate that for french, he's just a fashion president.

[dot king]

"I watch a french show yestarday in http://www.inner-live.com and I constate that for french, he's just a fashion president."

Posted by: joline | 19 Mar 2008 16:33:42

Joline, this just goes to a screenful of choices, which one are we supposed to watch? I want to know what you mean by "a fashion president" - will they discard him next season?
He's not the man to put the "haut" in haute couture!

[Daniel Strohl]

PJB,

"le Daniel Strohl anglais" - LOL!

Me voir assimilé à un ancien ministre conservateur, anobli de surcroit - quel honneur!

Les seuls vrais points communs que j'ai avec lui sont d'une part le vélo (d'appartement dans mon cas - LOL!) et d'autre part le manque de sympathie pour certains syndicats, qu'il n'est pas nécessaire de nommer. Cependant, je suppose que tout le monde aura quand même compris que je pense essentiellement à la CGT - LOL!

PS : PJB, votre post m'a permis de m'instruire (Wikipedia); en effet, si je me souvenais vaguement avoir entendu le nom de Tebbit, j'avais oublié ou plus probablement jamais su réellement ce que ce gentleman avait fait ou pas fait.

[Roger Goodacre]

Daniel Strohl - in my opinion at least, you can take it as a compliment to be compared with Norman Tebbit: he was (and still is) a no-nonsense straight-talking politician, firmly on the side of the free market, who leaves no doubt about what he thinks.

By the way, you must be a very jolly fellow to have around the house - you appear to spend a lot of time laughing out loud!

[Fernandez]

Bon courage, Charles.

There are a lot of cranky people on the blog this last 24 hours. I'll assume it's all post-St. Paddy's day hangovers.

Remember French people, you have to be Irish to drink like the Irish.

Unless, of course, St. Paddy's day is just the warm up to Cinco de Mayo.

[Daniel Strohl]

Roger,

Laughing (or smiling) is a good medicine for everything. However, I will have to expand my somewhat basic Internet signalling vocabulary with more elaborate messages like .) .)) ROTFL etc. Nuances are sometimes important!

PS : I too like politicians who leave no doubt about what they think!

[dot king]

"Me voir assimilé à un ancien ministre conservateur, anobli de surcroit - quel honneur!"
(Daniel)

Je ne suis pas convaincuë que c'est à votre honneur d'être comparé à Norman Tebbit! :)

[tari]

From Jacques Chirac to Jacque Tati in one election. Hilarious!. I feel sorry for the Queen; Sarkoy's trip to
Britain. State visit? more like 'Monsieur Hulot Goes On Holiday!

[semaine de la francophonie]

Je ne suis pas convaincuë que c'est à votre honneur d'être comparé à Norman Tebbit! :(

Je ne suis pas convaincue que CE SOIT à votre honneur de...

[dot king]

Je ne suis pas convaincue que CE SOIT à votre honneur de...

Posted by: semaine de la francophonie | 20 Mar 2008 14:25:50

Merci mille fois, semaine de la francophonie, mais (permettez-moi) je suis convaincuë que vous AYEZ oublié le tréma sur le ë :)
(j'avais toujours pensé que ce tréma allait sur le u, mais le contrôle d'orthographe de l'ordinateur l'a refusé et par la suite j'ai cherché plus loin.)

[semaine de la francophonie]

"je suis convaincuë que vous AYEZ oublié le tréma sur le ë"

-> Je suis convaincue que vous avez oublié le tréma sur le « e ».

-> faux.

[John Gregory Flinn]

DOT KING
One must not forget that the subjunctive is more regularly used in latin languages than english...oops - should I have put 'be more...'?

ROGER/DANIEL/PJB
The reference to Norman Tebbit is apt. His views are becoming vindicated; and, according to reports more and more young French are 'getting on their bikes' to go after jobs abroad.
This was his much-derided (by, inter alia, the media) advice to the unemployed in UK during Mrs T's 'reign'.

[PJB]

Ah non Mr Flinn, though the French cyclists of last year's tour de France were to be found in London, they finished on the avenue des Champs-Elysées, as usual. And only one found employment with a foreign team (belgian), down 50% on the previous year (the other foreign employer in 2006 being swiss).

[dot king]

"je suis convaincuë que vous AYEZ oublié le tréma sur le ë"

(semaine de la francophonie)

Sorry, I was thinking of "contiguë" - a word I had to use often when I worked in an estate agency "dépendances contiguës" or "maison d'ouvrier contiguë".
At first I put the tréma over the "u", but the PC added a wiggly red error line. So I looked it up and found the PC was right, in agreement with Le Robert, and I was wrong.
I realised after that of course the "u" in this case isn't there to harden the "g" so we don't pronounce it as we would a "j", but has to be pronounced.
Is that better?
Why does your first correction have a subjunctive and your second one doesn't? Is it the negation that makes the difference?

When does la semaine de la francophonie end? :)

[PJB]

Dorothy King,

A propos my wife's famous crumble aux pommes:
- je pense qu'il est prêt
- je ne pense pas qu'il soit prêt.

The first expresses certainty (indicative), the second expresses doubt (subjunctive).

Quant à Semaine:
- je suis convaincu qu'il a raison
- je ne suis pas convaincu qu'il ait raison.

Autant que je sache (doubt, subjunctive), la règle ne présente pas d'exception.

From which it may be deduced that the French are far more humble than the English.

Australian (or Scottish) joke for Charles: what's the difference between a Frenchman and an Englishman?

A: they're both arrogant, but the Frenchman knows he's arrogant.

[dot king]

PJB: Thank you for that, so it is the negation that introduces the doubt that necessitates the use of the sunjunctive that proves the humility of the French (and this is the house that Jacques built!)

French people always think that apple crumble is so exotic and difficult, whilst it's the first thing schoolkids learn to make in cookery lessons in the UK (or it used to be - I expect they do "doigts de poissons" now).
A couple of Christmases ago I stayed with friends in Bordeaux and for Christmas lunch we were all to go to another branch of the family with our plats. (Mine is always ze Eeengleesh Christmas cake, which they still refer to as a pudding, after 15 years there's no hope).
There was general panic around 11am when I was found to be the only one showered and dressed and no-one knew how to make, nor who was going to make the very exotic dessert they were supposed to be taking with them. What is it? Happoul creumboul. What? Oh apple crumble. Riiiiight. Pas de problème.
How to "Save The Day in One Easy Stage". :)

[PJB]

Word for the day: curmudgeonly. Bougon. Anything english is exotic for a frenchman, if it tastes good. Have you tried a savoury crumble, Dot?

[dot king]

PJB: yes indeed - it's something to have in the culinary repertoire for vegetarian friends. Just leave the sugar out of the crumble mix, add any pepper or spice in its place, top off puréed or just layered mixed vegetables (which should be pre-cooked). Can also accompany meats, for curmudgeonly carnivores. :)

[Romain]

Dot
My own version of "La madeleine de Proust" is the rubarb crumble. Memories of a French teenager chasing "les petites anglaises" in Arundel during the mid-sixties, when I had the priviledge of watching the Duke of Norfolk making a spectacle of himself trying to play cricket. Rubarb crumble toppled with sour cream, why no one ever made a song about it ?

[dot king]

Romain, didn't I detect a wisp of rhubarb in the Windsor Castle Royal Banquet Menu? Typiquement anglais, n'est-ce pas?
I used to make rhubarb fool with whey cream from the cheese shop.
(I'm from The Rhubarb Triangle).
There could be a song about rhubarb in Lancashire dialect, I'll look it up and see. Otherwise you'll have to make do with the version from the Monty Python Team, before they were Monty Python, in a radio programme called "I'm sorry I'll read that again", which, to the tune of a Da Souza March, went "I want another slice of rhubarb tart, give me another blooming lovely slice . . . etc" (it becomes repetitive quite quickly.)
Some bloggers might remember Angus Prune and his tune, but then again it was all very silly, I loved it.

[dot king]

What a triumph! Found the "Rhubarb Tart Song" first try

I want another slice of rhubarb tart.
I want another lovely slice.
I'm not disparaging the blueberry pie
But rhubarb tart is oh so very nice.
A rhubarb what? A rhubarb tart!
A whatbarb tart? A rhubarb tart!
I want another slice of rhubarb tart!

The principles of modern philosophy
Were postulated by Descartes.
Discarding everything he wasn't certain of
He said 'I think therefore I am a rhubarb tart.'
A rhubarb what? A rhubarb tart!
A Rene who? Rene Descartes!
Poor nut he thought he was a rhubarb tart!

Read all the existentialist philosophers,
Like Schopenhauer and Jean-Paul Sartre.
Even Martin Heidegger agrees on one thing:
Eternal happiness is rhubarb tart.
A rhubarb what? A rhubarb tart!
A Jean-Paul who? A Jean-Paul Sartre!
Eternal happiness is rhubarb tart.

A rhubarb tart has fascinated all the poets.
Especially the immortal bard.
He caused Richard the Third to call on Bosworth Field:
'My kingdom for a slice of rhubarb tart!'
A rhubarb what? A rhubarb bard!
Immortal what? Immortal tart!
As rhymes go that is really pretty bard!

[dot king]

A Lancashire dialect poem by Sally James "A bun in the oven"

(bon courage - translations on request!)

A bun in the oven.

Am gooin to mi Auntie Annie's
I like her, she's big un fat,
She allus has er pinny on
Un her hair done in a plait.

Yer can allus smell her cookin
Is it apple er jam tart?
Er maybe rhubarb crumble
Eh! It nearly breaks mi heart.

At last she'll oppen th'oven dooer
It smells as it's from heaven,
Lovely scones un currant cake
Eh! Am glad am only seven.

She'll sit me deawn ert side ert grate
Un say, "Ast washed thi paws?
Well here thi are, now eat it up
That's wor ave cooked it for."

Eh! A love mi Auntie Annie
A know she's big un fat,
Un a know she's gor er foncy mon
With er big black trilby hat.

[Romain]

'I think therefore I am a rhubarb tart.' Dot
I've got rhubarb tart all over my taste buds. You've made my day.

[azloon]

'Just because you put kittens in the oven don't make 'em biscuits."

Texas expression

[dot king]

'Just because you put kittens in the oven don't make 'em biscuits."

Texas expression (azloon)

Do they do that in Texas?
Right, that does it, Texas is crossed off my list of "must visits" :)

[PAIR (prudish anglo-saxon i'd like to ridicule)]

Dot

it never was on my list of musts tho i've had to be there a few times.

they've got some graphic expressions, i must say.

[Lily]

O PAIR,

Since you had to be in Texas, did you try their bisuits? ??

In France, there are cat tongue biscuits/chocolates. Not too bad.:)

[dot king]

I remember a country & western song that went "will somebody PLEASE pass the biscuits".
Whassamatta? Cat got yer tongue?

[Daniel Strohl]

Azloon,

"list of "must visits" :)

A few weeks ago, I heard on TV that there are still a few American states where alcohol is prohibited. If I got it right, Arkansas is one of them.

Is this true? If yes, I will cross it off my list of "must visits" (thanks for the expression, Dot). May be for another reason as well; this evening, a Swiss TV station made an interesting and very detailed feature on the Clinton's - their start in Arkansas, Bill's elections there and later in Washington plus various related matters. One may infer from these related matters that some Anglo-Saxons seem to be not as prudish (in deeds) as one may think .))

[Azloon/Rob Furlong]

Daniel --

some states, mostly in the southen Bible Belt (that would be arkansas) have 'blue laws' which restrict the sale of alcohol. the range of restrictions run from no private sale of containers (only at state-owned stores) to no sales at all to the public, though permitting private 'clubs' to serve alcohol. naturally, everyone joins the private club when they arrive at the door for the first time. it usually costs a few dollars, about the price of a drink.

i am sure you realize this goes back to the 1920s when alcohol was forbidden to be made or consumed in the u.s. (called Prohibition), leading to al capone, elliot ness and all that stuff. some states never followed the national lead in repealing Prohibition, and enacted their own state laws continuing it, or some form of it. it lasted for 12 years if i recall corectly (too lazy to google it).

Daniel, i am sure you would have found a way to make your own, as did many others here. police rarely prosecuted individuals for producing small quantities for personal consumption. on the other hand. 'small quantities' may have presented a problem for you. :)

[Daniel Strohl]

Rob,

"'small quantities' may have presented a problem for you. :) - LOL!

Apparently, the situation in the southern Bible Belt is not as tragic as it looks as seen from outside ...

This morning, I heard a funny joke on radio (Europe I - J.Pradel). A kangaroo enters a bar on the Champs-Elysées and orders a gin fizz. He gets it, drinks it and asks for the bill: 15 €!. He pays and starts to leave - then the barman says to him : "It is rather unusual to have kangaroos drinking gin fizz, Sir!" - "Yes, but at these prices, this is no wonder!".

May be the joke will amuse Terry ...

PS : a few days ago, we (re)watched "Crocodile Dundee" on TV - a gentle and funny caricature of Australia and Australians. In the movie, the main character always wears a hat. Good idea, since the sun is rather hot over there. A member of our family has spent may be 10 years in Australia. I presume he never bothered to wear a hat, if I judge by the result .))

[Mary Fernandez]

I don't think there are any 'dry states' but there are dry counties within states. All this does is cause cause people to drive over to the next county buy all their booze and bring it home. I know Dollywood in Tennesee is in a dry county.

Watch 'Footloose' or 'Dukes of Hazzard'. BTW, NASCAR got started by moonshiners trying to outrun the police with their illegal liquor from stills in the backwoods.

BTW, AZLOON, speaking of movies, do you think Carlita picked her flight attendent uniform from our film picks? Maybe Sarko flew the plane!

[dot king]

"speaking of movies, do you think Carlita picked her flight attendent uniform from our film picks?" (Mary Fernandez)

"Airplane"??

[Romain]

"It is rather unusual to have kangaroos drinking gin fizz" Daniel
I bet your kangaroo was hopping mad !

[Azloon/Rob Furlong]

[BTW, AZLOON, speaking of movies, do you think Carlita picked her flight attendent uniform from our film picks? Maybe Sarko flew the plane!] Mary F.

Mary, you remember the old stewardess joke, the 'drinks' invitation to each passenger: 'would you like coffee, tea, or me."

Carlita, the stew, would have likely skipped the first two.

Daniel, Mary is correct about 'dry' counties within states having less stringent laws. so a state with a private club provision might have counties with absolutely no sale or serving in restaurants. of course, consumption is not prohibited so going to the nearest county to get it is how it's done. but in arizona (which isn't dry, far from it) a county might be larger than the state of new jersey (ours is), so getting a little hootch could take hours.

[Daniel Strohl]

Mary, Azloon,

Mary, thanks for the info. But as one might have expected, Azloon is very knowledgeable regarding this important matter.

"of course, consumption is not prohibited"

This is indeed good news - LOL!

PS : I presume that "dry" counties are not specifically marked as such on ordinary maps. Therefore, it might be a good precaution to have some booze in reserve in the car, just in case ...

[Azloon/Rob Furlong]

Daniel --

you know you are in a dry country when you've driven fifty miles and haven't seen a tavern.

so, exactement -- have some handy.