Why France is nuts over Ingrid

It's impossible not to come back to Ingrid Betancourt. She, or at least her promotion by the media and political world, have obliterated all other topics in France for the past three days.

What is going on when a country seems to lose its sense of reality and throws itself into an act of communion from which it is impossible to dissent?

First, I don't want to be superior. Every country succumbs to bouts of hysteria. Britain goes irrational usually with bad news, such as the death of Princess Diana or the disappearance of little Madeleine McCann.

Intolerance of dissent is always a symptom. In this case, look at the way that Saint Ségolène Royal has brought down the wrath of the whole political establishment. Her offence was merely to note the obvious: Nicolas Sarkozy is cashing in mercilessly on Betancourt's release by the Colombian armed forces.

The President is in heaven basking in Betancourt's glory. On hearing of her unexpected release, he rushed from Carla Bruni's house to the Elysée Palace and called Betancourt's children to his side for a national TV address. In his welcoming remarks at the airport, Sarkozy had the cheek to compare Betancourt to the Bulgarian nurses whose release from Libya last summer was one of his first self-promoting feats.

His message with Betancourt at his side was: "If someone takes you hostage, call for Super Sarko." Betancourt, a very smooth operator despite six years and four months in captivity, then laid it on with a trowel, thanking him for saving her life. In Bogota, she had first thanked God. President Uribe interrupted her and added "God and the Columbian armed forces."

I'll answer the question from PaulAngers on the last thread (was that "gentlemanly" double-edged, Paul?). He asked whether the Betancourt frenzy is propaganda and "when must we switch off French television to preserve our sanity?"

I'd suggest that you keep the TV switched off at least until tomorrow, Paul, when Ingridmania will start subsiding. But the tidal wave of celebration is not propaganda.

No-one is disseminating information to promote a cause or a doctrine. Her saga has taken over because it is a great story of human survival; it has come at the right time and it has been turbo-charged by the close, self-interested involvement of President Sarkozy and Dominique de Villepin, the last Prime Minister.

The Betancourt affair has all the ingredients for Gallic feel-good therapy.  It's about grace, the human spirit and the belief that France has a mission as global guardian of human rights. Its star is an elegant Paris-educated rights campaigner with the talent for self-promotion that is common to many such heroes.  Betancourt dazzled France with her courage during years of torture and deprivation by the Farc rebels in Colombia. The video of her last November wasting away in the jungle was terribly moving. Her near magical deliverance has lifted French spirits at a time when all the news seems to be bad. It has given the media a chance to celebrate something for once.

Propaganda may be a way of describing the campaign that was conducted in France over the past few years to keep the memory of Betancourt alive when her native Colombia appeared to have forgotten her. But the activity by support groups, city councils and media sympathisers was in a good cause. France is always moved by the plight of hostages and even more so when they are women with attractive qualities. She was also lucky to have had a Prime Minister as a close friend, followed by a French President who decided to ride to her rescue.

The uncritical adulation and Sarkozy's brazen "récupération" are tiring but I don't see anything sinister in Ingridmania. Judging from the comments on media web sites and blog chatter, people have largely put aside the usual Gallic cynicism to enjoy the good news.

If you haven't seen it, here's the video released today, showing the instant of Betancourt's liberation by Colombian forces posting as Farc personnel and humanitarian workers.  It seems to show that the operation was not the sham that recent reports have suggested.

Vidéo de la libération d'Ingrid Bétancourt

Comments

[PAUL]

Jack Lang made this statement:"Pour avoir personnellement participé à l'Elysée, en décembre dernier, à une rencontre entre le président Sarkozy et le président Chavez, je peux témoigner que le président français n'a pas ménagé sa peine pour arracher Ingrid Betancourt à ses geôliers." Who is one to believe?

[Vincent Sottile]

When my (UN) "natural" skepticism kicked in this morning and I made the same mistake as Royal in verbalizing my skepticism of L'Affair Betancourt, I was roasted too (by my wife the hopeless romantic). Ah! Les Cannoise sont tres romantic. You are always so negative, she said OK! Nice Story But really! The "rescue video could have been a set up too. C'mon 20 Million bucks, The FARC guys standing around not making a move C'mon. OK! Again. Nice Story but my best Fairy tale is still the one about the Emperor's clothes.

[SebFlyte]

You are right, the Betancourt case is an example of collective hysteria. But it's more harmless to go crazy over a hostage than succumbing to insanity about Saddam Hussein teaming up Al Qaida to threaten Americans in their homes. Sometimes it seems that America's bouts of media brainwashing are not occasional, like the Betancourt affair, but recurrent, almost permanent.

[Sam Young]

Je n'ai rien à rajouter.
Your short article sums this Ingridmania up very well.
Shutters down, Screens off is the only remedy.
Or, move on to what all of France is really interested in: their summer vacation.

[Joan Arles]

Let's not get too excited about Betancourt. I realised that we need to calm down when the excellent Dominique Moisi, an old expert on international relations, compared her on France 2 TV yesterday to Nelson Mandela. Let's have a reality check, folks. How is it conceivable that he could do that ? Betancourt is a wacky self-promoter from a rich family with a background in the Avenue Foch. She courted trouble for self publicity and landed in a terrible mess. Her courage is great, but Mandela? Come on!

[Sandrine]

"But it's more harmless to go crazy over a hostage than succumbing to insanity about Saddam Hussein teaming up Al Qaida to threaten Americans in their homes."

Bien dit ! Clearly every country has had its share of hysteria... but you know that it's better to say the French are the worst at this ! ;o) oh well...

[azloon]

[Ingrid was sustained by "her Roman Catholic faith and thoughts of her family.
...... She called her rescue “a miracle of the Virgin Mary” and said, “You need tremendous spirituality to stop yourself falling into the abyss.” She had made herself a wooden rosary in the jungle, she said.] NY Times article today.

these distinctly non-laicte comments from IB would certainly distinguish her from 99 % of her fellow french (as she describes herself) and ought to cause largely atheist france to do some soul-searching, if they can locate their souls).

if it is is necessary to have spiritual beliefs to sustain oneself thru such an ordeal. i would say this bodes extremely ill for most french if confronted with such a situation (i.e. they're screwed).

I would rather doubt that sarko will be accompanying IB on her pilgrimage to lourdes.

[Romain]

Is it wrong to have a party ? What's with all the people ? Don't want to have fun ? That's ok for you, don't blame those who want. Tighten it well, LOL.

[Daisy]

Mandela? Seriously? Mandela was imprisoned for his beliefs and principles, she was taken hostage because she was famous and in the area! I think having famous/powerful friends could, in fact, have prolonged her captivity due to her "value" to her captors. It was a double-edge sword. Whatever her faults, she did pay a high price for them. Being chained, beaten, forced to march through a jungle filled with deadly creatures is punishment by any standards.

As for Sarko, the press (when it calms down) will see him for the opportunist that he is. As with the Bulgarians, someone else did all the hard work then Sarko swooped in and took all the credit. The difference is that now people know him and his methods so they are less inclined to believe the propaganda. I notice that Betancourt is always careful to thank Chirac and Villepin whenever she thanks Sarko. That must annoy him. If he had risen above it all and invited Chirac and DDV to the welcoming ceremony, that would have been a magnanimous and presidential gesture, but he stayed true to his form.

The hysteria will die down and, human nature being what it is, the same people contributing to the euphoria (the press) will tear down the pedestal and the person they put on it. If they can do it to a global icon like Diana, Ingrid doesn't stand a chance.

[dot king]

"ought to cause largely atheist france to do some soul-searching, if they can locate their souls"
Azloon

France isn't "largely atheist", it's a lay country, but state and church are separate, religion is a private matter.
Sarkozy has been making a BIG show of his Catholicism in inappropriate (political) ways recently, causing adverse comment.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if he were to accompany IB to Lourdes, what a photo op that would be! But it would be an inappropriate public action.

I'm quite surprised to see you think that France is "largely atheist" (unless it's "de la provoque"), since I've always thought that in spite of its procalimed laïcité, everyone in the world thinks of France as "a Catholic country" in just the same way all the French I meet assume I'm C of E or Protestant just because I'm English.

[Romain]

Azloon,

You are largely mistaken, France is far from being largely atheist. Laîcité is about the state, not individuals .It guarantees the freedom of belief, and the free practice of all cults. When Mitterand tried to cancel the catholic (and other confessions) schools, he faced a one million people demonstration and had to paddle back full speed.

[Monika]

It is great news that Ingrid Betancourt alongside other long time hostages were freed. And chapeau to the Columbian forces who managed to free her (presuming that it wasn't a fake operation).

And who would blame the French to celebrate this event so long hoped for?

The only disgusting is Sarko who tries to bath in this event in which he had no part and whose attempts were all failures. Best proof is his invitation to Ingrid Betancourt to the Elysée. Did anybody asked her anyhow if she actually liked this tamtam? She is probably too politician to turn down such an invitation but one might be quite sure that she had prefered to be left alone with her family and to come to terms with the long years in the jungle without too much media.

[dot king]

Mme Bétancourt was interviewed on Fr3 news earlier. Without going into the content of what she said, just her whole presentation is that of an immature idealist.

[Dodo]

Charles.
The problem with Ségo (LOL for your Saint Ségo) is more for how her comment shows his 'Petitude' that for what she said.

I believe we can call it : Jalousy. Remember when Saint Sego claimed herself to be a sort of Jeanne D'Arc ?

She whant France to love her, she is angry because France showed to love another one.

This said I agree with your article and congrat to SebFlyte for his comment :
"But it's more harmless to go crazy over a hostage than succumbing to insanity about Saddam Hussein teaming up Al Qaida to threaten Americans in their homes."
Right on the point.

[Romain]

Difference between Sego and Ingrid is that Ingrid has got class.

[Pete119]

Mandela may be a hero but he went to prison for his terrorist activities and was never used as bargain chip by the South African government. IB was kidnapped while campaigning and was kept under dreadful conditions by the Marxist guerrilla linked to cocaine traffic that intended to use her as a high-value bargain chip.

[christopher muir]

The possession of French citizenship appears to be of great advantage to a traveller. The French government has repeatedly shown the strenuous efforts it will make to free their compatriots from foreign captivity. Other democratic governments should salute this commitment and do the same.

[edie Gormey]

Got some news for the Frogophiles.

It was the Israeli Mossad who organised, planned and basically held the Columbian's hands in the Entebe style rescue. And, the American C.I.A. was also behind the scenes.

Super Sarko and his country folk had nothing to do with the "hard part" but they sure are making a big deal now the dust has settled!

[Daniel Strohl]

Romain,

"(Mitterand) had to paddle back full speed".

Nice expression, Romain ! As you may have noticed, I am not a big fan either of M.

The word "paddle" reminds me that I purchased a couple of weeks ago an exercise rowing machine, to replace my (cheap) vélo elliptique d'appartement I managed to trod down within two years.

The rowing machine has no "marche arrière" :))

[Romain]

Daniel,

Azloon would say he (Mitterand) was paddling up shit creek. lol

[dot king]

Edie Gormey, I'm sure you kept their hopes and spirits up all those years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ4FN95B8Og

[azloon]

Romain

the expression is 'up shit creek without a paddle.'

'paddling up shit creek' would be a situation not quite so dire, though quite unpleasant nonetheless. :)

[PAUL]

"J'ai honte pour elle [Mme Royal]. Pourquoi a-t-elle dit cela? De manière générale, les attaques que nous avons subies sont particulièrement odieuses. Avant cette libération, il y avait des gens qui nous disaient que nous en faisions beaucoup pour les uns et pas assez pour les autres. Nous nous sommes obstinés", note Bernard Kouchner.
I have always admired Bernard Kouchner from the time he founded 'Médecins sans Frontières'. Since he was also photographed at the airport with his arm round Ingrid should one now consider that he too only worked for "sa gloire personnelle"?

[Mouhaha]

Zz Fourth or fifth "articles" from Charles on this subject, nearly 5000 English written articles in google news about Betancourt, yet "the french" are supposed to be "nuts over Ingrid". ::rollingeyes:: Make me laugh: few care outside the media-turning-tabloids overplaying it for their summer break.

[Mouhaha]

@ edie Gormey

Ty for your priceless insight!
These Mossad guys are just too amazing! /sarcasm off

[dot king]

"the expression is 'up shit creek without a paddle.'"

Being out of favour in some quarters at present, I modestly :-)refrained from correcting an English expression above.
Pleased that Azloon has dealt with that one (immediately above), but earlier ROMAIN used "paddled back" and DANIEL associated it with "vélo", so it should have been "back-pedalled" - "Mitterand was obliged to back-pedal at great speed" paraphrased.
Now if the aforementioned Mitterand had been on a paddle-steamer, then he might have been able to "back-paddle" but I'll need confirmation from a batelier to be absolutely sure - Daniel, can you be a batelier as well as a marin or matelot? Or are bateliers riverboaters?

[Romain]

Dot,
Back-pedal is appropriate, but I prefer imagining Mitterand up shit creek back paddling without a paddle, kind of Tex Avery scenario.
Batelier relates to mariners on river barges, the most famous are the Volga boatmen, like in here :

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=4cgCDHz6G1s

[Lex Stevens]

One of the privileges of power is that one gets to claim credit for what happens on one's watch. One must also take blame, whether it is one's fault or not.

One of my great fears is that the Palestinians and the Israelis will by some miracle sign a peace treaty while G. W. Bush is still President, and he will be able to claim credit for it, just as his father claims credit for the destruction of the Berlin Wall.

I agree with CB that there is no propaganda involved. This is a media hysteria, with all media outlets competing with one another to be current and relevant. The hysteria has reached such a high degree because Betancourt is one of their own, and the celebrations include such high profile personalities. Had the rescue only involved military personnel, the story would have only lasted one or two news cycles.

[Daniel Strohl]

Dot,

A marin or matelot is working on a sea-going ship, a batelier on a river-going barge ("péniche"). However, the skipper of a barge (le batelier) may call an on-board employee a "matelot", but not "marin".

Marin is a generic term for all persons working on sea-going ships. It is also used for "plaisanciers" - for instance, one may say : "Helen Mc Arthur est un grand marin ! (not une grande marine :))

The French word matelot is the equivalent of the British word sailor.

When a real marin or matelot sees somebody manoeuvering clumsily a small boat or dinghy, he would usually say (or only think, if he is well mannered ...): c'est un marin d'eau douce !

Some politicians "naviguent ou naviguaient en eau trouble" - je ne cite personne ...

[Valerie]

Pres Bush (père) claims credit for the fall of the wall? What?? Have you never heard of Pres Reagan's speech where he said to Gorachev, ''Tear down this wall!''. I don't remember reading that Bush père took credit for it finally falling, although he was in office in 1989, so he was the one making speeches about it, obviously.

I think your anti-Bush feeling is getting you confused.

As for hoping the Palis & Israelis don't make peace while Pres Bush (fils) is in office...that's rather unlikely but your reasons for not wanting it to happen are, well, rather unsavory.

And, finally, as for Sarko... I think Ingrid is definitely milking her moment for all that it is worth and she is very happy to have the current pres at her side, makes her look stately. LOL And I agree with the comment that, if you want to blame Sarko for everything that doesn't go well, then you can't not give him credit when things do go well. He may have had nothing to do with the liberation, but he is welcoming Ingrid back in his role as pres. And he DID try to do something about it, as he tried, and succeeded with the Bulgarian hostages...

Ingrid's behavior is more suspect, I would say. After all that time in the jungle, you'd think she's want some quiet time with family and friends. LOL Not Ingrid! She's probably planning her campaign for the French presidency already. Or she'll be at the UN, or in the Euro parliament, if all else eludes her. Ambition, thy name is Ingrid!

[Eachran]

First time I've commented on The Times site. Hello everyone, I hope you are all as friendly as people on The G.

Joan Arles and Daisy I agree, but for Joan Arles you may like to review the definition of excellence or your views on Dominique Moisi.

As for Madame Betancourt? Who knows, she seemed to hang around with some strange people, the arrogant and vain Villepin being one.

Mr S has more difficult problems on his plate : how to explain his ignorance on the difference between the Euro and USD interest rates and how to manage the French public finances. I see that The Economist poll of polls is now forecasting a range of 1 to 1,5% growth for next year : that range is correct.

[Fernandez]

Yeah, Lex. It would be really horrible if peace broke out in the Middle East under that horrible scenario.

You might want to see a shrink about your BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome). BTW, nobody I know gives Bush Snr. credit for the Berlin Wall. He was on the job less than a year. Reagan, Thatcher and the implosion of unsustainable economic system are generally credited with that.

[Lex Stevens]

After twelve years of living under the Bushes, I may indeed be a little deranged.

No one I know gives GHWB credit for the fall of the Berlin Wall. With the Bushes, it is always death by a thousand cuts. I imagine that GHWB never actually claimed that he did it, but he associated himself so much with the fall of the wall that there was a great deal of comedy about it in the States.

There IS a sculpture in front of his library of horses jumping over a fallen piece of the Berlin Wall. The official Bush line goes something like: 'under his leadership many great things happened,' including Berlin.

If we read in the newspaper: "Under the leadership of Mr. Robber-Baron, profits at the Cosmodemonic Telegraph Company rose twelve percent," we might think that Mr. Robber-Baron's leadership was involved in the rise in profits. That assumption on our part might be incorrect, but our confusion would be understandable. Were we to learn that MR. R-B's leadership had little or nothing to do with the rise in profits, we might begin to think that there was an attempt to deceive us.

As Aesop wrote: There are many statues of men slaying lions, but if only the lions were sculptors, there might be quite a different set of statues.

As for the Palestinians and the Israelis, they can stop shooting at one another any time. If it is all the same, I would appreciate it if they could wait until after 20 January 2009 to put pen to paper. In my opinion, GWB has caused so much suffering in the world, that I would deny him any and every little thing.

[Lex Stevens]

I wonder if Sra. Betancourt will actually remember all of this. Just as one doesn't remember all the details of one's wedding day, or the forgotten time after the death of a parent or a spouse, I wonder if she is going through the motions because she is being prompted to do so.

I was a little surprised to see her and her family eating in a restaurant. Then I thought that maybe after being isolated for so long, she might want to be out amongst people.

Andre Malraux wrote of the difficulty of returning to France after spending so much time in Asia -- or Africa, I can't remember which. He said that he had forgotten how to climb stairs, and the thing he noticed most was the advertising images.

It must be an amazing transition to endure. Being held captive in the jungle, then three days later to be in a bustling city, to be the center of attention wherever one goes. Imagine not having had a toilet or shower for so long, or not having sat down to a table with a full compliment of dishes and utensils. An elevator? There must be many things that we do automatically that she has had to pause and think about for a moment. There must be many things that we take for granted that she relishes just now.

Therefore I wonder if she is actually in a state of mind where she could be calculating, if she chose to be, or if we are not seeing more of the genuine person.

She is a beautiful and graceful woman. I understand why so many are charmed by her. I only wish that I understood spoken French better, so that I could hear the nuance in her language.

[christopher muir]

I heard that there is now a film to be made of the dramatic Colombian events. If it's well directed, it can't go wrong at the box office. Then there are all those books to be written as well. This set me thinking about the universal interest in escapes. I dug up a quote by the late UK essayist, AC Benson. He died in 1925, so he confirms that stories about crawling under the wire or jumping from the wall are hardly a new fascination. Combine the more modern "celebrity" with "escape" and there's a media frenzy.

"All the best stories are but one story in reality - the story of escape. It is the only thing which interests us all and at all times, how to escape." (AC Benson)

[qwerty]

I'm becoming more and more sceptical about the purity of Ingrid Betancourt's intentions. First of all, she's wearing white all the time - just like Ségo - and had her hand kissed by a SDF on the steps of St Sulpice church (I don't think Ségo has yet achieved that).

Before that, she and Dominique Villepin had an emotional hug in rue de Condé and then lunch on the terrace of restaurant Marco Polo at the Odéon, all with full media coverage. They both looked great, thank you - tanned, fit, good-looking, perfectly waved hair. We remembered Villepin running half-naked on the beach with a golden retriever in a distant past, where he had a distinct physical advantage over Sarkozy.

I once spent two weeks in a remote Venezuelan jungle and was so bitten by a variety of insects I came back looking disease-ridden....the Farcs must distribute very effective insect-repellent.

[Pierre]

"Every country succumbs to bouts of hysteria. Britain goes irrational usually with bad news, such as the death of Princess Diana or the disappearance of little Madeleine McCann."

Comparing Diana and Betancourt's achievements and commitments (or their representations), the balance of hype and susbstance goes in favor of the second. The facts that she's "only" half-french, and that this national communion worhsips an act of life rather than a announcement of death, make the collective feelings only more valuable.

"to cause largely atheist france to do some soul-searching, if they can locate their souls"

Why is it that Azloon, certainly a subtile and supposedly liberal American, regularly feels obliged to think&post like a redneck?

"feels obliged to think&post like a redneck"

Give him some slack Pierre, must be Sarko, he seems to make this effect on certain people :)

[Romain]

Qwerty
"the purity of Ingrid Betancourt's intentions"

Let's call Torquemada to investigate. lol
I don't believe it was an SDF kissing her hands, it was a spanish speaking by-stander. Faith is stronger and much more demonstrative in Latin America than in Europe. One must admit Ingrid's charisma is resplendissant.

[qwerty]

Azloon & Pierre:

"to cause largely atheist france to do some soul-searching, if they can locate their souls"

Actually Roger Auque, French journalist taken hostage in Lebanon, also said he "found God" while in captivity. This may be a case of mistaken identity. I think these people found themselves. In periods of extreme stress people find a resilience, an inner core, a person they didn't even know existed within themselves. And it's frquently someone they can like. They never suspected they could be like that. I think everyone experiences it on some level.

[Eachran]

Qwerty, is that the same from The G?

You seem to have spotted the fake bits too. I was wondering about how healthy she looked and how easily she slotted into life in Paris.

I think you missed in your summary that she stayed at the Raphael.

[dot king]

Mme Bétancourt ought to go underground a while now if she's to preserve anything of her present martyr, heroine or saint-like status, judging from some of the comments above with which I'm in general agreement, though less vehemently.

She has three children - isn't there a Fabrice? The blue of whose eyes remained in her memory and gave her strength in the jungle?
He was said to be "more discrete" (in the French sense, to be absolutely fair) when the story of her release broke, and, fine, if he wants to remain out of the public gaze, but why not so much as a glimpse of him at any of the reunion scenes, neither in Colombia nor in France, nor a mention of him at any stage since?

Anyone else intrigued?

[dot king]

"All the best stories are but one story in reality - the story of escape. It is the only thing which interests us all and at all times, how to escape." (AC Benson)

Posted by: christopher muir |

That is why "The Great Escape" is still shown every Christmas, as much a part of the festivities as the Queen's speech and mince pies! :)

Seriously, Mme Bétancourt didn't escape, she was rescued, or maybe "bought", one day we might know which, but it only qualifies loosely as "escape".
An escapee turns up out of the blue when no-one expects it and at the cost of their own efforts, someone who is rescued is usually costly either in lives or money.

[dot king]

Did I hear right? She's now going to speak dans l'Hémisphère? (JR 13h)

Et peut-on savoir pourquoi?
Quel intérêt politique pour la France?

[christopher muir]

Dot King -
"She was helped to escape by..." might be a better way of describing her exit from the jungle. Still, I think the event comes under the banner- heading "Escapes". Benson's theory runs deeper than only escaping from physical restraint.

[qwerty]

I won't grudge Ingrid Betancourt for wanting a bit of the easy life after 6 years of horror (though that lack of insect bites...mystery there). So she's welcome to the Raphael. However the meeting with Villepin was clearly staged: street, terrasse de restaurant... press convened?
All terribly narcissistic, and clearly Villepin had a thing or two to prove. All terribly Villepin. I'd forgotten he was like that, he'd done a sort of mea culpa some months ago on TV.

[qwerty]

Eachran: I've never posted anything on the Guardian. must be another qwerty.

[MYOS]

Dot, I think she might speak in L'hémicycle, aka l'assemblée nationale (or is that le senat?)
Found an analysis of the phenomenon, in French, here:
http://www.liberation.fr/rebonds/chroniques/mediatiques/337292.FR.php

[MYOS]

De Villepin is a personal friend of Betancourt's. Yet he wasn't invited by Sarkozy to welcome her at the airport. Guéant gave the official explanation why: there can be only one person representing France and greeting Ingrid Betancourt (I read that yesterday night in Le Figaro and scratched my head - is Sarkozy THAT threatened by Villepin that he pulls stuff like that, still?)
She nevertheless thanked Villepin in her speech... and the chunk was cut out from the video by Le Figaro -- le Figaro then said they didn't mean to or somesuch. (After a couple days the full video reappeared.)
So in my opinion it was to protest this non-invitation of a longtime friend of hers that they dined together in full view of all.

The lack of insect bites makes me think the rescue might have taken place a while back, that the hostages got fattened up and healed a bit before being paraded in front of cameras by Uribe (who'd just launched a new election campaign.)

On the other hand, TVs and radios were full of psychologists who explained released hostages experienced a period of adrenaline-fueled revival, followed by a physical and psychological crash. So we might just be witnessing the revival period.

[dot king]

"Dot, I think she might speak in L'hémicycle, aka l'assemblée nationale (or is that le senat?)"
MYOS

Oops, you're quite right of course. I have my head "in the clouds" at present (that means I'm painting a ceiling and coming down from my ladder for a change of neck-and-shoulder position from time to time) - it would have been just the same if I'd said she was going to speak in the Stratosphere!

I meant l'Hémicycle aka, as you say, as l'Assembée Nationale.

I could be wrong about that too, and it might be le Sénat; either way, why should she be treated like a head of state?

[qwerty]

I know about the adrenalin high. My car once flipped over on its roof on the autoroute and I narrowly escaped. I was euphoric for a few hours, but didn't get the corresponding down. I believe that Chirac and Villepin were invited to the party at the Elysée palace after the airport reception, but neither accepted.

[azloon]

["found God" while in captivity. This may be a case of mistaken identity. I think these people found themselves.] QWERTY

"We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was part of our make-up, just as much as the feelings we have for a friend. Sometimes we had to search fearlessly, but He [She] was there.He [She] was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down with us. In the last analysis, it is only there that He [She] may be found. It was so with us.."

p. 55, Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, Fourth Edition, 2001

[Romain]

National Assembly's president, M. Accoyer, invited Ingrid to a reception at the "salle des fêtes", not the hemicycle. A bit too much though.
Sego will be fuming again, that's unfair competition. lol

[Lex Stevens]

The insect bite issue is a curious one. There was mention that some of the men in the group of hostages had trouble with a parasite that caused bumps with craters in the center. For some reason, I assumed that was the American DEA agents.

Millions of people live in the jungle however, and maybe some sort of adaptation has taken place. Or maybe it is that washed and perfumed town folk are more tasty to the average bug, or maybe it is a factor of diet. Or maybe the part of the jungle they were in has less of a problem with biting insects, or maybe biting insects are such a problem that everyone must be protected from them, even lowly 'human assets.'

I have noticed in my native Texas that while the sweat is pouring off of me, and the mosquitoes are making a feast of my pale, Anglo-Saxon flesh, my Mexican friends sweat less and are less bothered by the insects.

Then there is the issue of her health, which seems dramatically improved since the images of her were released that caused such a furor. It would make sense, if one were going to go to all the trouble to hold hostages with the hope of some gain, to keep them alive. I also have the impression that the Colombian military had been posing -- for several months -- as the FARC leaders to the isolated group holding the hostages, so they may have been giving orders to take better care of them.

Then she was the highest value hostage, and she was also the only woman.

No doubt, more will be revealed.

[Daniel Strohl]

Things are improving ! In todays 1 pm news bulletin of TF1, JPP devoted barely 30 seconds to I.Betancourt ...

MYOS,

"that the hostages got fattened up and healed a bit"

This is also my impression. Adrenalin does not cure instantly insect bites.

[dot king]

The sixtine ceiling is now finished and I think our Ingrid is going to speak in both l'Hémicycle and Le Sénat. (The air is less rarified in the kitchen, so there's a chance I might have got it right :).

[David Powell]

When you call it 'Ingrid Mania' or hysteria, it seems to imply that this is a very French, as opposed to British.

But I seem to remember TV programmes interrupted, whole evenings given over to Terry Waite, John McCarthy and more recently Alan Johnston (although not so much) and huge headlines in the British press.

Now I read that Betancourt was well connected, but what Jill Morell lacked in status she sure made up for in effort. And some might say that Terry Waite's trip to the Middle East was ill advised, it was certainly advised against.

It seems that when anybody is captured, held prisoner in appalling conditions, then released, they are hailed as heroes, both sides of La Manche.

Finally, where I live in France people are saying 'Good, she is free, but we must not forget the others who are not.'

Which seems to me to be a long way from hysteria.

[Lex Stevens]

I've just realized the faulty logic.

If Qwerty returned from two weeks in a jungle in Argentina so covered in insect bites that s/he looked disease-ridden, then Sra. Betancourt would appear spotty on the television after six years in the jungle in Colombia.

Mmmm....not necessarily.

[Don]

"You are right, the Betancourt case is an example of collective hysteria. But it's more harmless to go crazy over a hostage than succumbing to insanity about Saddam Hussein teaming up Al Qaida to threaten Americans in their homes." -SebFlyte
"Bien dit !" -Sandrine "Right on the point." -DODO

Saddam had uranium suitable for making nuclear bombs. He had invaded Iran and Kuwait, had used WMD against his own people. He was a threat to the entire world. (Nuclear debris from explosions travels in the jet stream around the world. Look at Chernobyl.)

Was Saddam a threat to the world?
Look at a recent article from AFP and draw your own conclusions:

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ipJWtiKvlGBuDdP_W9UX-sRlukCQ

The world should be thanking America for getting rid of this guy instead of describing Americans as hysterics!

[Lex Stevens]

"When you call it 'Ingrid Mania' or hysteria, it seems to imply that this is a very French, as opposed to British." - D. Powell

I don't think that it is a uniquely French phenomenon, though the French are not exempt. Remember the trial of Madame Caillaux.

I think that the 'hysteria' is in the Fourth Estate. Hysteria was probably too dramatic a word; a "frenzy" would be the more appropriate choice in American English. My apologies. Yet, the phenomenon does have some characteristics of a public hysteria, in that it is somewhat contagious.

As I have said before, I think that the various media outlets are competing with one another. That is what they do. Sell soap, dontchaknow. Add to that the connections Sra. Betancourt has to the French ruling class, and that the issue has been kept in the public eye for so many years, and you have the perfect storm.

I imagine that this phenomenon is most likely found in societies that have a high degree of media saturation. I would venture to say that the amount of information readily available now keeps these situations more realistic than in the days when most information was only available to the palace, and the streets were more full of rumor and conjecture.

I would be surprised if the French were not remembering those who are still held hostage. That sentiment will eventually make its way into print and be cast through the air waves. What we say to ourselves around our kitchen tables is hardly ever news, because -- quite frankly -- what everyone knows and thinks isn't that exciting.

I personally think that overplaying something in the media is more characteristic of the British and the Americans. The British seem to me to have more of a taste for human peccadillos, whereas we Americans have more of a taste for the blunders of our government, quasi-imperial, militaristic posturing, and bomb throwing. Of course, that is why the British journalists have to work so hard to dig up smut. In the States, all we have to do is wake up in the morning, turn on the television, and see what the bastards have gotten up to while we were sleeping. It is rather like being governed by a bunch of delinquent teen-agers.

[Fernandez]

I think the obsession with insect bites is a bit of a red herring.

A Frenchman (or any European) maybe be eaten alive in the jungle, but So. American natives have thousands of years of adaptation to their environment. Phillipinos don't look bug eaten either.

[Fernandez]

Here's gratitude for you:

"...Chavez détient une clef que personne d'autre ne possède. Les Farc l'écoutent. Chavez est un allié pour nous. Chavez, je l'adore.

Le président Uribe a été très adroit, très fort, et il a beaucoup de ficelles dans sa politique de sécurité nationale...(mais) le président Uribe - non seulement le président Uribe mais la Colombie entière - doit aussi rectifier certaines choses...on est arrivé au moment où il faut changer ce vocabulaire radical, extrémiste, de haine, de mots très forts qui blessent intimement l'être humain."

From RFI interview today. St. Ingrid or Patty Hearst?

[qwerty]

V. important discussion scheduled on radio France Info today:

"Should Ingrid Betancourt be given the Nobel peace prize?"

Azloon, I'm not entirely ruling out the possibility of a God and an afterlife, I'm just checking my columns (left: exists, right: doesn't exist).

After all, I met a couple of ghosts once in an ancient Bourgogne farmhouse during a glass-turning session: the first said he was a "bidasse" and the second said he was a "batelier" (I was reminded of this incident on another thread here explaining the meaning of "batelier") - the connection unfortunately broke off before we got to the letter "C". (I'm not entirely kidding either, as far as I can judge, none of us were pranksters).

[dot king]

Azloon QWERTY - is this a case of crossed wires?
I thought that quoting the AA "bible" was meant ironically, to say that, in difficulty, people often have to find strength with a "god" or whatever they want to call it (in case you happen to be alcoholic AND atheist - tricky). AA lean very strongly on this to "cure" alcoholism.
However, I think, being South American and strongly Catholic, Ingrid Bétancourt probably had the Faith from which she could find the strength to survive. But (IMO) she should be bearing in mind that if she survived thanks to her faith, then she was rescued by Human Effort.

QWERTY if your ghosts were alphabetical, "batelier" should have come (appeared?) before "bidasse". But I (sincerely) don't dismiss your story as "bidon" : ).

[azloon]

QWERTY

I think my point is that grasping and absorbing your deepest innermost truth IS the essence of discovering God.

the whole business of afterlife i'll leave to others. the experience of ghosts leaves open the possibility there is something other than a void beyond this 'mortal coil.'

whatever happened to IB in captivity, it certainly was profoundly life-changing even if she was something of a flake when she stupidly stumbled into her predicament.

[qwerty]

Phew - back comes rational Azloon.

In my right-hand, rational-minded column (see above), I'd put:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1580394-1,00.html
which makes interesting reading. It means that, even if after your soul-searching you think you've found something, it probably isn't what you think it is.

[azloon]

QWERTY

steven pinker is a bright guy, a scientist, whose job is to explain everything, even though everything can't be explained. he probably comes as close as anyone in his specialty, but, alas, he ultimately fails, as scientists will continue to do until the end of time. but, god bless them, we benefit greatly from their efforts.

so perhaps what we think we know after reading pinker's science, we don't actually know. he is looking 'thru a glass darkly,' as we all are.

and if you doubt that, stand out on a dark, clear night, staring at the smallest sparkle of light in a distant galaxy and imagine what is beyond it, and then beyond that.

[Rulf]

The hysteria about IB is a pure media phenomenon, whipped up by a terrible sub-human species called "French journalists". In my corner of the woods [the 16th arrondissement] you won't find any visible or audible trace of hysteria about the dame.

Apropos Sainte Ségo (please don't omit the feminine "e", my dear Charles!), attacking her for speaking out loud the evident truth and, what's more, in almost exactly the same words as Claude Guéant (who is Sarkozy's very own Richelieu) before her, is not only grossly unfair but also seriously dim-witted (with a "d" as in "devedjian" or "dati").

[Pierre]

"The hysteria about IB is a pure media phenomenon, whipped up by a terrible sub-human species called "French journalists".

*Sub human, huh? What about "sub posters"?

*Funny to read about the accusations of hysteria fron "les Anglo saxons", when comparing to the usual flons flons, flags, "welcome home" & "pride" stuffed speaches any ordinary soldier having been detained more than a day abroad.

*Have to say too that, for the first times maybe, I read a Charles Bremner's article today that seemed to lack (just a litte bit) of some substance at least regarding the sources.For two reasons.
France it says is beginning to turn against IB and the celebration.
First it is all but normal after those frenzy days in a time when any event related to one individual, (even of the scale of JFK's or Stalin's death) would not make the front page more than five days in a row.
Second and mostly, because the sources, Dominique Dhombres of Le Monde, and Daniel Schneidermann formerly of Le Monde, are hardly "échantillons représentatifs" of any mainstream France, France profonde or public opinion to cut it short. They are themselves 200% journalists, professional observers and certainly intelligent, but quite conventional leftist orientated medias' critics. It's even a kind "fonds de commerce" for the second one.

[Romain]

Those who want to breakaway from Ingridmania can go to carlabruni.com and listen to her new album.
I am anxious to know what Sego's reaction will be...

[Francois D]

I come back from two weeks holidays abroad, (in a village helded by "bronzés" people as said the film)) with the ban, from my wife to open tv, to talk about Sarko and to read CB'blog.

But IB's release (knowed by texto phone) lifted the double ban some minutes and we have had great emotion (with some tears for seeing her free) and for me a new and more firm ban about her return in France with predictible Sarko circus.
What a shame to discover that Chirac and De Villepin were not invited on the tarmac ..
But why to talk about collective hysteria? It is very good for a nation to manifest from time to time its emotions. It would be sad to do that only for soccer cups (it seems they have renewed Domenech, so french people unconsciously must be mourning about "les bleus"), and that may have also contributed to the ingridmania's exasperation.

I d'nt question about the IB's faith. That was useful and probably essential to overcome this hell and we must respect that.

I expect the images of her pilgrimage at Lourdes and above all I hope she will meet the Pope at the Vatican (and not in Lourdes when he will come this summer, because there will be Sarko who will disrupt this moment of great emotion expected).
It is true that there is a little of "Ste Ségoléne" in IB, but both are issued from the same mold: Sciences Po, rue St Gullaume, left side in Paris. They have acquired the same ambitions and the same methods to achieve it.

It seems that Segoléne has missed a good opportunity to keep quiet about this libétaion.

For IB, after having met the Pope, I advise her to rapidly return to Colombia, with a good body security, without moving in province, if she really wants to become President of this country, but the road will be long and hard.

[dot king]

There should be a referendum or a consensus-type survey to find out what people EXPECT a newly-released hostage to behave like.

That way a suitable programme could be put in place, to be followed to the letter, and with any luck, the widely celebrated idol of Tuesday will not become either the canonised saint or the vilified demon by Thursday at the latest.