At home with Bernard Kouchner, Sarkozy's musketeer

When Napoleon III built the great mansion on the Quai d'Orsay, the idea was to impress foreign dignitaries with the majesty of his empire. A century and a half later, the home of the French Foreign Ministry still oozes grandeur.

They usher you down an endless gallery with portraits of past statesmen.  Everything is outsize, from the gilt-encrusted moldings to the huge chandeliers.  When you enter the Rotunda, the  minister's magnificent office, the reaction is supposed to be awe. The place is vast, big enough for a couple of Oval Offices, bigger than President Sarkozy's office at the Elysée Palace.  In this chamber,  the dashing Bernard Kouchner cuts a slight figure as he greets you, tie-less and in shirt sleeves. 

But what Kouchner lacks in stature  -- he is about the same diminutive height as Sarkozy --  he makes up with  energy and passion for a job that is one of the toughest in Sarko's government.  A veteran rights campaigner, showman and one of France's most popular political figures, Kouchner is foreign minister for a president who likes to do the job himself and does not share the stage.

Kouchner, 68, was typically forthright about the problems of working for Sarko when he led me and four European colleagues into the sumptuous garden for a chat about the revolution that he and Sarko have wrought in French foreign policy (This was last weekend, before the holiday).

"I didn't vote for Nicolas Sarkozy. But I get on well with him.  It's not a relationship of subservience... I believed, like him, that French foreign policy needed to be changed," he says.

Sarkozy is a man from a new generation who has broken with the "majestic" ways of French presidents, he adds.  "This man is not a conformist. He doesn't have any preset way of thinking. Sometimes it's very hard. You have to put into question your own certainties all the time. It's a good lesson."

Sarkozy's main act has been to veer from, if not break with,  the semi-independent line started by de Gaulle in the 1960s and followed under left and right through to President Chirac. Hiring Kouchner was a clever ploy by Sarkozy.  A glamour figure of the left, Kouchner is one of the most pro-American of French public figures while also a star among campaigners for international human rights. He earned the reputation in the late 1960s as co-founder of the Médecins-sans-Frontières charity and he stayed in the media spotlight through decades during which he served as a junior  minister in Socialist governments and then UN administrator in Kosovo. In France, Kouchner is revered as the father of the doctrine of intervention -- the idea that the international community has a duty to impose its will on sovereign states with force if necessary to relieve suffering.

Kouchner's friends on the left were surprised that a man who is seen as the conscience of France could work for the radical rightwing president. But it was obvious that he could not pass up a job that he had always dreamed of, even if it meant regularly having to eat his hat, as le Monde put it the other day. 

Kouchner has had to swallow Sarkozy's overtures to unsavoury characters such as President Assad of Syria and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya while also putting human rights aside in their dealings with Russia and China. He was overruled when he tried to get an international force into Darfur.  Unkind commentators depict Kouchner as a symbol, relegated to the sidelines while the presidency runs the show. He is left with such PR missions as bringing back to Paris Ingrid Betancourt, the Colombian hostage, they note.  The minister acknowledges the conflict with his old role. He says that the toughest moment for him was Gaddafi's long Paris visit last December, when he pitched his Bedouin tent in the guest mansion right by the Elysée.

Kouchner says he can handle the contradictions. "I am minister, no longer a human rights activist. As minister you can't reduce your country's policy to the defence of human rights alone. They have their place but they are only an element. This is very difficult for me to do. There have been times when I have wondered whether I should stay on... When I can't do it any more I'll leave."

Ever passionate in his speech, Kouchner says working for Sarko is "exaltant" -- thrilling --  and fulfilling even if he does not always agree with him. He believes that he and Sarko have revolutionized French diplomacy. Gesturing across the lawn at the grand ministry, he said: "We have broken with the immobilisme -- the passivity -- of the past. We have imposed deep change on the state of mind of this great house... The era of diplomacy without policy is over."

What this means is frantic activity on all fronts by the "hyper-president". It  sometimes lead to confusion and contradiction as it did with Sarko's hot and cold approach to China ahead of the Olympics.  Part of it is the shift towards Nato and the United States which, in the eyes of the public, has come with no return favour from the Americans. The new activism has been exemplified by Sarko's 44-nation summit this month on the Mediterranean and Middle East. Even the sceptics agree that he pulled off something of a diplomatic feat. Kouchner proudly picks up an edition of The Economist, the British news weekly, and reads out the editorial praising the "Club Med" summit. "You see, it works," he says.

Kouchner, who is loaded with charm and looks much younger than his nearly seven decades, depicts himself as an independent spirit. He looks with sadness towards the Socialist colleagues and friends  who, he says, now "hate me" as a traitor to his camp.  It's an uncomfortable position to be in but he can take it, if only because it's the French left that is out of touch.  "The European Socialists are always asking why the French Socialists are the only Marxists left in Europe," he says.

[Forgive any glitches here. I am sending this from a laptop with a phone connection sitting under a chestnut tree on a hilltop in the Cévennes. The house phone line has collapsed and this is the only place with mobile coverage. I have been using my bike to get here, but it just blew a tyre.  5kms back to the house.  I'll blog about the  Cévennes next time, in a few days. In the meantime, the dog has a thorn in his paw and I'm looking for a vet. CB] 

      

          



          
   

Comments

[dot king]

Kouchner (IMO) is one of those rare politicians who holds high office and still has fire in his belly. He was very visibly moved after watching a film recap of Karadzic's atrocities on th FR2 news the other evening. It showed, he didn't mind, thought it was natural that he should feel that way and said so. This is refreshing humanity all too rare in politicians, who seem to spend more time saying things they evidently don't believe themselves and certainly don't expect any of the rest of us to believe.

The other one who can't be relied upon to say what goes along any expected lines is Hubert Védrine, but he speaks with more restraint, ie less emotion, but never any langue de bois.

Kouchner and Védrine are two men who stand out on the French political scene for their outspokenness. Sarkozy (or someone very close to him who advised him) recognised this and asked them on board. Both men are far too intelligent to be "used" in any way.

CHARLES, so they've left you at least one chestnut tree then? The good news is that at least it's downhill all the way back to the house, and if it's anything like here, you can leave your bike and come back for it later and it won't have moved - someone might even have mended the puncture for you! (I recently left my bag on a table at the inauguration of our new Place, completely forgot I even had it with me for about half an hour; when I went back, a Parisian couple were guarding it for me!)
And this pooch with a thorn in its paw - Great Dane? Labrador? Poodle? Yorkshire terrier? Can you carry it? Or it hobbles back on 3 legs?
In the theory of series, you've had your three - for today :)

[Daisy]

Kouchner sold out his principles, his party and his friends for power, position and prestige. People like that can never be trusted as they will always go to the highest bidder. I once had respect for him. Not anymore.

Charles:

I hope you got some nice ideas for your office on your visit to Bernard. (try to palm a vase or something next time). Sorry about the bad luck on vacation. Im off to Cape May, New Jersey for mine.

"the idea that the international community has a duty to impose its will on sovereign states with force if necessary to relieve suffering."

Ayn Rand said that dictatorships that rule by the gun are not really sovereign. This is because they do not have the consent of the governed. So, imposing France's will on Belgium to relieve human suffering would be wrong (too much bitter chocolate?) but Darfur would be perfectly okay. I think it's good France is moving somewhat in this direction.

When Bernard does leave, I wonder if it will be friendly or will he take a shot at Sarko on his way out the door.

[Mauvezin]

> Dot
Savez-vous qu'il existe des français honnetes et bien élevés !?

> Daisy
B Kouchner is a Radical ie a humanist;not a socialist.

[Azo]

I would disagree Daisy. What did he get from his "friends and party"? no big minister, no big responsibiliies within the party. You say he sold his principles, isn't it the opposite? Because, he's got principles, he left friends and party who currently learn to stab in the back and took his chance with the only one who ever offered him this minister? Very well done by Sarko and Kouchner has chosen between loud useless speaking and hard uncertainty action. Kouchner has always preferred action so it sounds to me he still follows his principles.

[John Gregory Flinn]

Cynically, one might argue that Sarkozy saw improvement in american relations as a priority and hired Kouchner because he is one of the most pro-American of French public figures.

Kouchner's penchant for intervention based on the 'the idea that the international community has a duty to impose its will on sovereign states' is a popular leftist notion. And is likely to founder against the will of large states like China, Russia and even India because it is invariably partisan.

I read that Sarkozy had called the French socialists 'le plus sectaire d'Europe', which I suppose fits with your penultimate paragraph.
This was related to the recent vote to reform institutions and which relied on - I believe - one vote from another 'ancien socialiste' Jack Lang. So Kouchner may not feel "hated" alone anymore.

Other perjorative descriptions including dinosaurs, luddites, etc., may sound scathing enough, but to be accused of sectarianism smacks of secrecy, cabals, conspiracies and even sedition (so what's new!).
Clearly Kouchner and Lang have jumped ship and joined the real world, and perhaps should be better described as social democrats.

PS;- I had to laugh at Gaddafi's refusal to supply oil to Switzerland because the police there arrested his son with some alleged 'vigour'.
Clearly Kouchner's unsavoury opinion of Gaddafi is justified.

[Ros]

Dot King: Of course, Charles can carry it - I remember we saw it last year or the year before just getting off Charles' plane - am almost sure it was a Westie!

[valerie]

Kouchner saw the opportunity to fulfill what he sees as his destiny and took it. It may seem turncoat but, frankly, Kouchner was a Socialist, too, because it was most convenient at the time to his goals.

In fact, he is just an ambitious man who wanted to do what he sees as ''good'' as well as make a name for himself. It doesn't really matter what party he's in. And time was running out for him... He's no longer a spring chicken, so he went to work for Sarko.

He and his wife, Christine Ockrent, have managed all these years to avoid most accusations of conflict of interest, too, because they are perceived as being people with a certain amount of personal integrity.

It was a smart move for Sarko to take on someone who was already respected outside of France. So, both benefit from what they've done.

[Daniel Strohl]

Daisy,

"Kouchner sold out his principles, his party and his friends for power, position and prestige"

This is a harsh (and IMHO undeserved) judgment ! I don't know where you live - may be you are not informed that a few days ago four rather well known socialist "députés" (including Manuel Vals) published a communiqué in which they criticized "l'anti-sarkozysme pavlovien" of the Socialist Party.

Some people, like Kouchner, try to do things, even when they are difficult and unrewarding; many others are criticizing endlessly everything.

Critics are useful, as long as an alternative (credible and feasible) solution is proposed - this is most of the time not the case.

The problem of the socialists is that they do not have for the moment being a credible alternative. And many of them envy secretly Kouchner, Besson, Allègre who were courageous enough to denounce the hypocrisy of the management of the Socialist Party and of the various and numerous potential candidates to the presidency in 2012 ...

[Robert Marchenoir]

"I am sending this from a laptop with a phone connection sitting under a chestnut tree on a hilltop in the Cévennes. The house phone line has collapsed, etc."

Hahaha! How sweet. We get our own private correspondent cycling uphill just to keep us entertained during his holidays with some Kouchner considerations. That's dedication for you.

Sometimes, I suspect that a pool of Hollywood scenarists must be employed by The Times just in order to cook up the perfect setting for us readers, make us picture the archetypal French countryside, lack of modern communication technology, the Paris correspondent filing his report nonetheless, etc.

Maybe Charles has even used his government contacts to make sure his phone line would go down at the right moment, by special arrangement with France Télécom.

Some high-powered London procurement office must have scoured the best specialists worldwide, in order to provide a bike that would be sure to puncture itself at a pre-set turn on a desert Cévennes road, at the hint of a satellite signal.

Pity they had to hurt a dog in order to complete this year's scenario. Fortunately, I think Brigitte Bardot does not speak English.

I remember, last year (or was it the year before?), we had a long walk through a dark forest, where Charles had to battle wolves and bears (I think) before he could reach the appropriate phone plug.

That was nice also.

I hope at least the bicycle ride was a pleasant one. And the sun was not too hot. I can hear the birds singing from here. It must be a lovely place.

[Thanks, Robert. It's just luck. Not orchestrated. And it is a lovely place. CB]

[Judith]

I am not convinced that Kouchner has sold out his principles to take up the position of Foreign Minister.
We have a former rock star politician in Australia who previously sang protest songs, led the anti-nuclear (energy) movement and was head of an environmental non government organisation.
He became a Minister in our recently elected centre left government. Many of his former fans think he sold out his principles also. He said that he wanted to actually do things rather than just protest about them.

I imagine Kouchner would have similar motives. He has set up and run a highly respect non-government organisation and had a high profile role in Kosovo. Now he has the chance to effect change in the foreign policy of France. How alluring that must have been for him? Far more than the prospect of position or prestige. As to power, we can never underestimate the attraction that power has on anyone, but, in view of his past, I would imagine that Kouchner was attracted to power for the outcomes he hoped to achieve rather than for any ego trips associated with it.

[Romain]

Kouchner is a good showman, but the music is played by Sarkozy's foreign affairs advisers. His decisions are under close scrutiny, and often dismissed by David Levitt or Claude Guéant. Like Charles says , he has to eat his hat every day. That is the price to pay for being a puppet on a string, and an alibi for the so called "ouverture" policy.

[dot king]

> Dot
Savez-vous qu'il existe des français honnetes et bien élevés !?

(Mauvezin)

Qu'est-ce que j'ai dit pour provoquer une telle question? Je ne pourrais pas rester 17 ans dans un pays où il n'y avait pas de gens "honnêtes et bien élevés". Dans la politique, la plupart du temps, les gens hésitent de dire quoi que ce soit par peur de détournement.
Sur cette scène, je trouve en Kouchner et Védrine, deux hommes qu'on ne pourrait pas manipuler. Qui disent toujours leur pensée, leur analyse, et ce n'est pas toujours ce qu'on voudrait entendre (en parlant des interrogateurs). Dans le cas de Kouchner AMA, il est là où il pense pouvoir faire du bien, même si Sarkozy doit être parfois une source d'embarras.
J'en ai parlé (de K et V) en tant que hommes politiques, non pas en "gens ordinaires". Je les trouve admirables dans ce sens - il n'y avait rien de "French-bashing" dans mes propos.

ROS: " it was a Westie!"
Ah, that photo must have appeared before my time here. Still, 5km with a dog under one arm, a bike that can't be ridden and a laptop in the other hand . . .
And in that heat too!
Life gets tedious, don't it. ; )

VALERIE: "In fact, he is just an ambitious man who wanted to do what he sees as ''good'' as well as make a name for himself."

Kouchner had already made a name for himself with MSF. He has a vast experience on the terrain and possibly more knowledge than anyone else in France about how Foreign societies work. IMO that's needed in French politics with their otherwise rather insular approach.

[Julio]

Ce que les hommes ne feraient pas pour les hochets du pouvoir !

Koukouche is just the last example if that weird behavioural trait.

As for the no conflicts between his wife and his government status : Let just say that her nomination as head of "France Monde" came in handy.

[Daniel Strohl]

CHARLES assis sous un châtaignier au sommet d'une colline des Cévennes et rédigeant un article avec l'équanimité que nous lui connaissons: ceci me fait penser au bon roi St Louis assis sous un chêne et rendant la justice avec magnanimité :))

PS : King of France Louis IX (1226 - 1270) was canonized in 1297. If I am not wrong, he is - up to now - the only French king (or head of state :)) known as a saint ...

[Thank you, Daniel. Your comparisons are far too kind. But strangely enough I have just been reading the history of Saint Louis in an excellent "Anglo-Saxon History of France", by the venerable Alastair Horne. I'm up to Louis XIII now. It's a good refresher of all those details one forgets. Back under the chestnut tree, with the bike fixed and the dog on the mend.... CB]

[peter kinsley www.peterkinsley.com]

For a journalist to have to cycle into the woods to get his phone message out is no joke. On the Riviera in the 60's one queued behind a dozen saillors in the PTT to make a phone call and the long waiting list for home phones caused British residents of A-M. to advise Elliston Trevor (author of Flight of the Phoenix)to order it 2 years in advance to coincide with the finished house-building near Vence.
He took their advice and a week later, visiting the foundations with the architect, there, in a plastic bag, on a tree stump, sat a brand new PTT telephone, bill inside, and he paid rental until the house became habitable a year later!

[christopher muir]

Disraeli said that in politics there is no honour. Switching sides for a politician is never a comfortable move - even if it is propelled by the best of intentions. An act of conscience, motivated by a desire to do universal good, will most probably be interpreted by former colleagues as blatant treachery. Especially if it brings about promotion to a coveted ministerial position.

[qwerty]

Bernard Kouchner has been looking for a job for yonks and not finding one. He was glad to grab the one in Kosovo, even though it was a fixed-term contract and he had someone supervising him, and of course delighted to bag the ministerial position.

Apart from that I think he seems nice (good? I don't know) even though friends who run into him at cocktails quite frequently tell me that he and Ockrent only speak to people who matter and snub the unimportant.

[colin grayson]

sorry about your phone line charles , although a little surprised
I used to get LOTS of problems on my line ...but when the abonnement maison secondaire was introduced and I changed to it the service became impeccable [ for those of you not resident in france ,if you have a second residence you can have it blocked when not there and only pay the line rental when in residence ]

clearly this was introduced because , with the the advent of [almost] universal mobile phone access , people were having their secondary fixed lines removed

but wait a minute ....I did say ALMOST universal .... maybe france telecom have a list of places where mobile access is impossible , and the priority service list is now doctors , vets , pharmacies , maison secondaire owners etc

does your lack of a line mean you didn't get around to changing subscriptions charles?

[azloon]

CB seems to have managed to avoid the obama european hoopla, no doubt by assigning an underling to cover the french portion of it. so rank has it's privileges.

for a left-leaning, insider, female 'take' on it, i offer maureen dowd's amusing/perceptive column from new york times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/opinion/27dowd.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

"Disraeli said that in politics there is no honour. Switching sides for a politician is never a comfortable move - even if it is propelled by the best of intentions"

Disraeli was exaggerating a bit quand même - politics is often an accurate mirror of society :)
Maybe someone knew how to persuade Kouchner that he was not switching sides, but serving the higher common good?

[Roger Goodacre]

For someone who completed the massacre of the Albigensians, introduced the Inquisition to France, and rejoiced in his slaughter of 'infidels' on his Crusades, Louis IX seems a strange choice for canonisation. Maybe it was in acknowledgement of ceding Guyenne and Gascony to the English..

[Mauvezin]

> Dot
Veuillez bien m'excuser, je me suis mal exprimé.
Je voulais etre ironique en reprenant votre :when I went back, a Parisian couple were guarding it(your bag) for me!)
Pour ce qui est de BK & HV, je suis entierement de votre avis en ajoutant simplement que ces deux hommes et surtout BK sont arrivés à un age ou ce ministère est la dernière chance d'oeuvrer.
Un homme politique sincère doit avoir l'ambition du pouvoir afin de mette ses idées en oeuvre.
Ce genre d'ambition est noble et légitime.
Pardonnez-moi si je vous ai offensé, c'etait tout à fait involontaire.
MdM.

[Daniel Strohl]

Dot,

"Ah, that photo must have appeared before my time here"

To have a look at Charles' dog, you should read "La France tranquille" dated 29.4.2007 - to find this article, click on AVIATION in CATEGORIES (just under RECENT COMMENTS) and scroll several articles down to "La France tranquille"

[Gill]

Colin Grayson,
Thank you for mentioning the abonnement maison secondaire - I had not heard of this before. I shall have to make enquiries about it when I am next in France, although perhaps it applies only to those who also have their primary residence in France.

[Daisy]

A little light reading for those dog days of summer...

http://www.vanityfair.com/style/features/2008/09/bruni200809

[Mary Fernandez]

Charles -

Great article. I love Bernard Kouchner and I applaud him for wanting to affect real change rather than just sit on the sidelines carping.

I watched the Obama/Sarko press conference. Was that Sarko's cell phone that kept going off?! Can't he set it to vibrate? Better yet, turn it off for 5 minutes?! I can't believe Jean-David Levitte hasn't taken it away and stomped it into pieces by now.

First he 'texts' with the Pope and now he's taking calls with the Messiah.

[sean]

two ardent zionists, frauding their way to a fraudlent war mongering foreign policy, in a massive election fraud. shades of zionists bush and cheney. fake french men, their allegience is to rothschilds and the zionist world order. they never served france, they just serve france real central bank owners.

[Mauvezin]

Pardonnez-moi mais je me suis mal exprimé.
En vous disant cela ,je me voulais ironique en ce qui concernait le couple qui avait gardé votre sac.
Je pensais nullement à un bashing de votre part.

En ce qui concerne HV & BK, je partage totalement votre avis surtout de la part de BK qui, vu son age,ne pouvait refuser cette derniere occasion qui lui est offerte de servir son pays et de mettre en oeuvre ses idées ce qui est la noblesse de l'ambition politique légitime pour un homme de cette qualité.

[colin grayson]

Gill , the maison secondaire system seems to work wherever your primary residence is ; I know a number of people whose primary residence is not in france who have one

the monthly charge is the same as a normal installation ....there is a small admin charge each time you have it suspended , but other than that you just phone 1014 to arrange the suspension and the mise en marche ; normally this is done within 24 hours , even instantly

[Eva]

Vous avez raison, Qwerty, il est snob comme un pot de chambre notre Kouchner, il ne s'abaisse pas a parler a ceux qui ne peuvent pas lui etre utile.
il ne faut pas oublier qu'avant Kouchner, sarko avait demande a Vedrine d'etre son ministre des Affaires etrangeres. Vedrine a une autre stature! (Mais) il a refuse.

[Daniel Strohl]

Charles,

You are already on the new Google competitor :

http://www.cuil.com
[Thanks, Daniel. cuil looks quite good. CB]

[dot king]

MAUVEZIN: pas de problème - je n'étais nullement offensée, je me demandais si j'aurais pu m'exprimer plus clairement.
Je ne pensais plus à mon anecdote "sac à main" mais à ce que j'avais écrit sur Kouchner et Hubie (celui-ci étant mon chouchou particulier, je l'appelle comme cela - séduite par l'esprit de l'homme et une autorité sûre et tranquille chez lui - mon Hubie :)). (J'aime aussi Eric Clapton et Jacques Weber - je suis une femme de goût :)).
Pour conclure l'anecdote des Parisiens, ils sont restés à côté de mon sac exprès, vraiment gentils, et m'ont dit qu'à Paris, malheureusement, il aurait disparu en 30 secondes. Je ne les ai jamais revus - c'était un après-midi de fête, mouvementé, et il est rare que je me promène dans le village avec un sac, j'ai le plus souvent mon chien en laisse - mais lui je n'aurais pas oublié!

DAISY that's the most I've ever read on the presidential couple in one sitting! Just imagine what we could have been spared if VF had come up with that earlier!

A recommendation for a good read, whether beach, train, back garden, poolside, under the spreading chestnut tree at the top of the Cévennes hill, bed, wherever - then "Les pantoufles du Samouraï" by Patrick Cauvin (his latest) is excellent, very original idée de base - an 84 year-old bachelor, retired maths teacher, locked in small routines, with a passion for primary numbers, faces a major life upheaval when his local shop closes down. Hilarious.

[dot king]

DANIEL: thanks for doggie instructions. He looks an intrepid little soul, cool shades, a regular Snoopy vs the Red Baron.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxzg_iM-T4E

Ever thought CB also equals Charlie Brown?

[dot king]

CHARLES B -
Dear MdM MAUVEZIN,
This morning I wrote quite a long post in reply to yours, but it seems to have gone astray as it was posted before the Snoopy one. Perhaps it isn't lost and gone forever?
If so, then please, worry not, no offence taken, just a question of crossed wires - I was talking about Kouchner and Védrine, you about my sac à main!
Perhaps CHARLES will come across it and post it after all . . . there was also a note for DAISY and a book recommendation for anyone.

[Sorry if it went missing. I'm not doing all the mediating this week. A colleague in London is kindly helping out. Back to normal from mid next week. CB]

[Ros]

DOT: And Carla Bruni too - as someone has already said, I think ..........

[Ros]

DANIEL STROHL: I must be rather slow on the uptake but I took a long time discovering that one has to go first into http://www.kweigo.com to see the videos mentioned - however, we have already seen the one about "strikes in France" somewhere else ...

[Gill]

Colin, many thanks for that information - I shall give it a try.

If Kouchner is Sarko's favorite musketeer, is Carla Madame de Winter?

My favorite musketeer was actually Athos aptly played by Oliver Reed.

[dot king]

Hello Whoever-you-are - I remember Oliver Reed as a mousquetaire too, but I'd thought he was Porthos - perhaps he did Athos before he became Porthos-shaped.
Brian Blessed was also an excellent Porthos.
They were both excellent anythings really.
Oh, dear Madame De Winter - recently portrayed by Arielle Dombasle in a TV version with Florent Pagny as D'Artagnan - it was awful. The loves scenes were really embarrassing because neither can act and you had the impression that you were a voyeur watching AD and FP having an affair.

[Mauvezin]

....celui-ci étant mon chouchou particulier, je l'appelle comme cela - séduite par l'esprit de l'homme et une autorité sûre et tranquille chez lui - mon Hubie :))
***********************
Tss! tss!
Dites-moi plutot que votre émoi vient son exquis zézaiement ! ;-))
A propos du sac à main , imaginez qu'en place d'un couple il se fut agi d'un homme seul vous cherchant ,dans l'assemblée ,un sac à la main ! ;-)
PS: Ma premiere reponse fut egalement "sucrée"

[Daniel Strohl]

Ros,

Sorry, I didn't post a link. Are you referring to a link posted by
Dot ?

Terry,

I suppose the anonymous post about Madame de Winter&Carla :)) is from you.

[dot king]

Daniel: I haven't posted any links to do with strikes - all mine are humorous (depending on what you find funny) or musical links.

I don't think Terry is the Mme de Winter / Carla post, only because I don't think he'll be familiar with Oliver Reed - not at the height of his powers anyway. That's a "mystery someone" in my age-group or thereabouts - like me and Gill - someone young and in their prime with vague memories of being dandled to the Old Grey Whistle Test ;D

[Ros]

Daniel: Sorry, I think I was referring to the following but was a bit muddled (it's very hot in Paris!)
You said "Charles,You are already on the new Google competitor :http://www.cuil.com" - I went in to it & must have got lost.

http://www.cuil.com
[Thanks, Daniel. cuil looks quite good. CB]

[terry]

Daniel is correct. I am the anonymous poster. As usual, by accident. Unfortunately, this blog likes to erase my information and I am too lazy to always check. Did you recognize my voice, Daniel?

DOT:

Oliver Reed played Athos. Not exactly the sort you'd expect to want to join the priesthood (as Athos desired). You are right though that Reed was actually more portly than the actor who actually played Porthos. From reading the book, I always imagined he looked like the actor who played Aramis. (the name escapes me but he is gay). Carla makes an excellent Madame De Winter in my (always) humble opinion.

(celui-ci étant mon chouchou particulier, je l'appelle comme cela - séduite par l'esprit de l'homme et une autorité sûre et tranquille chez lui - mon Hubie :))
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Tss! Tss!
Dites-moi plutot que votre émoi vient de son exquis zézaiement ! ;-))

[Terry]

Dot:

"I don't think Terry is the Mme de Winter / Carla post, only because I don't think he'll be familiar with Oliver Reed"

You should be right. I am actually a very old 38 year old. I dont read the new novels, etc. BUt prefer to stick to the ole classics. Movies are the same for me. One of my favorite movies is His Gal Friday, an old black and white. My favorite group is Genesis (i like their music from the 70s). I was a history major so I like everything old or ancient, like Daniel. Ask me about contemporary music and t.v., and I am lost. The Three Musketeers with Oliver Reed was played a lot on tv when I was 10 (1978). I took up fencing because of it (i was lousy). In my opinion, that was the best Three Musketeers done. I also remember him as Bill Sykes in "Oliver". Because of this, I usually find people in my age group quite boring. I find nothing more boring than sitting around talking about "Seinfeld" or some John Grisham novel I am supposed to read. Perhaps, that's why I like hanging out here with you stalagmites.

I have reduced myself to a myspace page and there are even some pictures there of me.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=98807397

[dot king]

Terry, I think it was Michael York who played Aramis? Sorry I didn't recognise you, but then you're so much younger, and we being still in our prime, I thought we were all looking forward to the happy event of your birth!

"Tss Tss" I guess you are Mauvezin, but I've been wrong before - see above. I've just looked up "zézaiement" and have never noticed this speech characteristic in mon Hubie; I shall listen out for it in future. Are you sure?

Zézaiement or not, anyone who can second guess his potential critics and/or decriers with the following, has got whatever it takes to impress me:

"C'est plutôt l'illusion qui conduit à la désillusion et, par là, au cynisme au sens moderne du terme. (1)"
Footnote (1): "Je veux parler là du cynisme tel que la vulgate médiatique le stigmatise, pas du cynisme de Diogène . . ."

And that's just on the 3rd page of the préface! (Face à l'Hyperpuissance - I admit to not finishing it!)

[Francois D]

I hope that CB's interview with BK was cooler than this recent one on France24.

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/kouchner/video/x6ax0b_le-talk-de-kouchner-sur-france24-in_news

Indeed BK encourages this journalist to read British newspapers ...

(Note that BK use a nearly argot term ("bétasse" which means "stupid"). If it is "pétasse" it is stronger..)

Irony of history is that France24's boss is Christine Okrent, Ms. Kouchner in the city.

I hope that Ulysse Gosset is OK with union dues.

He is a good journalist, correspondent for a long time abroad (Moscow, if I remember, for the public channel).

"Queen Christine" (Christine Okrent nickname) normally is intelligent, so I think that she will respect Gosset's professional independence.

[Daniel Strohl]

Terry,

"Did you recognize my voice, Daniel?"

No, but your New-Jersey accent :))