Labels: Airbus Tanker, EU, France, US
But what's behind Sarkozy's Russophile display? Most observers agree that it marks a rapid acceleration of the pragmatism that has been steadily influencing French policy toward Moscow and that it's a signal that Paris is ready to interact with Russia without the usual qualifiers. Gone are Sarkozy's early promises to make a respect of human rights and democracy central to all French foreign relations. Also gone is Sarkozy's former mocking of realpolitik as a political cop-out of cynical diplomats without principles. France is now eager to work with Russia on common security and economic interests — and it doesn't want to hear any sniping or criticism from other countries, s'il vous plaît.
For more: France-Russia Talks: Europe Wary Over Warship Sale - TIME
President Dmitry Medvedev and his French host President Nicolas Sarkozy stressed their consistency on such burning issues as Iran’s nuclear program, European security reforms and global warming. Medvedev and Sarkozy addressed the media after their bilateral meeting in Paris Monday and summarized the results of the talks.
For more: Russia and France lose their “ideological border” - RT
The sight of a French leader laying a wreath at the main genocide memorial in the capital, Kigali, helps cement closer ties between the two countries after diplomatic relations were restored late last year.
The dominant foreign power in Rwanda prior to the genocide, France’s influence collapsed over accusations that leading French politicians at the time helped arm and train those responsible for the killings.
Just over three years ago, Rwanda broke off diplomatic relations after a French judge indicted nine top Rwandan officials for sparking the genocide by shooting down the plane of then-President Juvenal Habyarimana.
For more: Sarkozy admits France made 'serious errors' over Rwanda genocide - Yahoo! News
What's in the water in Europe? First
The Associated Press reports that the strike is scheduled to last four days, and is a response to "plans to integrate European air traffic control, which workers fear will lead to losses of jobs and civil servant benefits." The unions involved are trying to "pressure President Nicolas Sarkozy's governing conservatives before next month's regional elections."
For more: France Air Traffic Control Goes on StrikeLabels: Air Traffic Control, EU, France
France can "reasonably expect" a deal next week between seven countries and European defense giant EADS to resolve a financial dispute over the A400M military transport plane, a Defense Ministry spokesman said Wednesday.France hopes a deal that could lay the foundation for a new contract will emerge on the sidelines of a
Governments had made proposals to EADS on Monday, and EADS responded two days later, German officials said Wednesday. Teisseire said France believed the responses "go in a favorable direction." EADS and the seven governments that ordered the four-propeller Airbus plane have been haggling over who will pay for 5.2 billion in cost overruns and technical problems that have put the program almost four years behind schedule.
For the complete report: The Associated Press: France sees Airbus military plane deal next weekLabels: Airbus, Aircraft Industry, EU Economy, France, Military Aircraft
France is defending its approval of warship sales to Russia, amid concerns from the US and former Soviet republics. If completed, the deal would be the first major military sale by a NATO member to Russia, and would significantly boost the Russian Navy's capabilities.
Reuters reported that other NATO members and former Soviet republics, such as Lithuania and Georgia, have expressed concern about the deal. The assault ships are able to carry helicopters, troops, armored vehicles, and tanks. This advanced technology could potentially be used against NATO members or small, non-NATO Russian neighbors such as Georgia.
Note EU-Digest: The concerns by former Soviet Republics on this issue certainly do not outweigh Russia's long term relationship with the EU.
France hopes that Airbus and the seven governments which ordered the A400M military transport plane can agree new financing terms to save the troubled program by the end of the week, the defense minister said Monday. Herve Morin told journalists that the positions of the seven countries —
The advanced and ultra sophisticated four-engine turboprop is seen as occupying an important niche market between the
Labels: A400 military transport aircraft, Aircraft Industry, Belgium, Britain, EU, France, Germany, Luxembourgh, Spain, Turkey
Prime Minister Francois Fillon told Europe 1 radio that he would sign the decree issued by Immigration Minister Eric Besson. "It's French law," Fillon said. "The civil code has for a very long time provided that naturalisation could be refused to someone who does not respect the values of the (French) republic.
"This case is about a religious radical: he imposes the burqa, he imposes the separation of men and women in his own home, and he refuses to shake the hands of women. If this man does not want to change his attitude, he has no place in our country. In any case, he does not deserve French nationality."
For more: AFP: PM says man with 'burqa' wife has no place in France
France and Germany will unveil a raft of proposals on Thursday to revive their flagging partnership and add momentum to the
The so-called Franco-German Agenda 2020 consists of 80 “concrete ideas” for collaboration, including closer co-ordination of economic planning and financial regulation, joint research programmes and bilingual kindergartens. But it stops short of tackling contentious issues in bilateral relations such as co-operation between the members of the eurozone and joint financing for big industrial projects.
FT.com / Europe - Merkel and Sarkozy to boost partnership
The report is expected to be followed by the drafting of a bill and a parliamentary debate on the issue.
For more: BBC News - France MPs' report backs Muslim face veil ban
Certa, a French government agency that oversees cyber threats, warned against using all versions of the web browser.
Germany warned users on Friday after malicious code - implicated in attacks on Google - was published online.
But Microsoft told BBC News that IE8 was the "most secure browser on the market" and people should upgrade.
For more: "BBC News - France joins Germany warning against Internet Explorer""
“This choice shows the attachment of the inhabitants of Martinique and Guiana to a statute close to that of the mainland, and reaffirms the close links that unite them to the Republic,” President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a statement today.
Martinique, Guadeloupe and Guiana became departments in 1946, giving them to same status as the 96 departments of mainland France. The 100th department is Reunion in the Indian Ocean. Note EU-Digest: Being an integral part of France also makes these departments part of the EU with the Euro as their national currency.
The Commission has estimated that a carbon price of around the €40-50 per tonne would be required to reach the EU’s 2020 commitments. This would imply, at current exchange rates, about $50-70 per tonne. This might be too high for the US, where $30-$40 per tonne has been estimated to be the politically feasible limit. At $40 (€30) per tonne, a border carbon tax on Chinese exports (to the EU) would be a bit more than two times $40 per $1,000 of exports, or approximately 9% on average. Rates would be much higher for energy-intensive products and lower for most others.
As China upgrades the sophistication of its exports, the average rate might come down, but under current conditions the average carbon tax could thus be very significant, much higher than the most-favoured-nation tariffs currently applied by the EU, and certainly an order of magnitude larger than the modest tariff reductions that were contemplated under the
Note EU-Digest:
It is unfair to impose carbon tax on EU enterprises, while letting other countries like China neglect their environmental responsibilities and get a competitive advantage.
For the complete report click on the link : Why the EU needs a border tax on carbon | vox - Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists
Labels: Carbon emissions, China, EU, France, Pollution and the environment, US
Outgoing EU commissioner for internal market affairs - Charlie McCreevy - has said the French hold disproportionate power in Brussels, and are also masters at securing senior EU positions for their own.
In a speech to the Association of European Journalists in Dublin on Friday (18 December), the Irishman directed special criticism towards French President Nicolas Sarkozy, pointing to recent statements by the French leader as a "coming out" on EU matters.
In addition to having to deal with the likes of Google and Apple, now Microsoft finds itself taking flak from another front: the French military. Specifically, the French Ministry of Defense made the executive decision to switch to Mozilla Thunderbird, an open-source email platform, over Microsoft Outlook. According to a Reuters article on the topic, the Mozilla's open-source design allowed the army to create security extensions, something it allegedly couldn't do with Microsoft's system. Thunderbird, along with a modified variant known as "Trustedbird," currently runs on some 80,000 French military computers, according to the article. Other French ministries are also apparently adopting open-source software for some of their own systems. When queried by moi, a Microsoft spokesperson offered a curt: "We are not commenting on this topic."
The newest version of Mozilla's email platform, Thunderbird 3, includes features such as filtered search and tabbed-email. Rated as compatible with Windows, Mac OS X and open-source platforms, Thunderbird 3 is built on the Gecko 1.9.1 rendering platform, which gives it the same security enhancements and Web Standards support as the Firefox browser.
For free open source software click here.
Labels: EU, France, Military, Open Source Software
We’ve heard it said often enough, children aren’t reading books any more. They’re listening to music on mp3, or sending cell phone sms’s, or watching tv. So how does this affect the children's book industry? Le Salon du livre et de la presse jeunesse, the French Children’s Book Fair, provided an occasion to find out. The Book Fair took place in the Paris suburb of Montreuil at the end of November. With over 150,000 visitors it’s the biggest event of its kind in Europe. From pre-schoolers perusing glossy picture books to teenagers seeking the latest tome in their favourite series, the aisles and exhibitors stands of the Book Fair were full of curious youngsters, with adults often looking on with just-as-eager interest.
Indeed, the frontier between children’s and adult literature is nowadays not so clearcut. When popular books lead to popular films (e.g. Harry Potter, Twilight, Les Enfants Baudélaire, Astérix, Eragon, Le Petit Nicolas….) their success galvanizes children into reading other titles in the series and similar books in the genre.If the children’s book market is flourishing it’s also because public authorities in France do much to promote reading, by supporting the industry and literary events such as this one.
So do parents worry that internet will replace the time kids spend reading? Despite competition from internet, tv and video games, and in a difficult economic climate, a trip to the Children’s Book Fair revealed that in France today children’s literature is alive and well.
Labels: EU, France, Literature
Google’s plans to provide digital versions of classic books over the internet have run into trouble in France after President Sarkozy vowed to spend hundreds of millions of euros to see off what he regards as a threat to the country’s cultural heritage. Mr Sarkozy has signalled that he will earmark a substantial portion of a new state investment fund to try to head off Google’s drive to digitise French-language and European books and art. “We are not going to be stripped of our heritage for the benefit of a big company, no matter how friendly, big or American it is,” Mr Sarkozy said.
Mr Sarkozy’s money will go to boosting Gallica, France’s own book-scanning project, which is tied into Europeana, the EU’s ambitious digital library. The underfunded institution, also inspired by France and backed by Germany, has gathered pace over the past year. Defenders of Gallic independence warned of disaster if France allowed Google to digitise its culture. Jean-Noël Jeanneney, a former chief of the national library (BNF), said that Europe’s very history was under threat. The French could be fed only an Anglo-Saxon version of its revolution in which “valiant British aristocrats triumphed over bloodthirsty Jacobins and the guillotine blotted out the rights of man”, he wrote recently
Labels: Culture, EU, France, Google, Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy has abandoned plans to visit London tomorrow to make amends after describing Britain as the "losers" in the distribution of new jobs in the European Commission. A planned bilateral meeting in No 10 has been downgraded to a meeting in the margins of next weeks's European Council, but Downing Street played down speculation about a rift and blamed a "diary clash".
The prime minister's spokesman said Gordon Brown had spent "some good face time" with Sarkozy when they meet at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Trinidad and Tobago last weekend. London was irritated when Sarkozy mocked Britain over the distribution of jobs in the new commission. He was delighted when France secured the powerful internal market portfolio. Michel Barnier, a former agriculture minister, will take charge of new financial regulation that will have an impact on the City of London. The French president told Le Monde: "The English are the big losers in this business."
You win some. You lose some. That may be what General Electric Co. chief executive Jeffrey Immelt is telling himself on Tuesday. That's when separate news stories broke about GE's successful negotiations with one French company and its failed bid for another. First, the good news for GE. The company on Tuesday reached an agreement with Vivendi SA in which the French telecom will sell its 20% stake in NBC Universal Inc. to GE for $5.8 billion. The Deal's Paul Whitfield has the financial details (The Deal Pipeline subscription required), but essentially, the sale of Vivendi's stake appears to clear the way for a previously announced $30 billion joint venture between GE-owned NBC Universal and Comcast Corp. that will eventually allow GE to exit its position in NBC Universal.
Labels: Alternative Energy, EU, France, GE
The CAMCOPTER S-100 will be leased for a selection of comprehensive experimental trials in France by the French Army at a military camp, during a military exercise, as well as two weeks of demanding trials at a non European location, and on behalf of the French Navy at a Navy base. The trials will take place during the first half of 2010.Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER S-100 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) is a proven capability for military and civilian applications. The Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAS needs no prepared area or supporting launch or recovery equipment. It operates day and night, under adverse weather conditions, with a beyond line-of-sight capability out to 200km, both on land and at sea.
Labels: Aircraft Industry, Camcopter, EU, France
What is it about Woody Allen that gets women accepting his film roles? Recently, he snagged Freida Pinto; now he’s somehow managed to get France’s first lady to appear in his movie! Following the circulation of rumors that pointed to the collaboration, former supermodel Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has finally openly agreed to act for Allen, despite not having a clue who she will portray nor having much expertise on a set. “I do everything a little bit blindly. If I don’t, I won’t do anything. I’m not at all an actress. Maybe I’ll be absolutely terrible,” Carla admitted.
Labels: Carla Bruni, EU, France
Under French law, Beaujolais Nouveau cannot officially be released until the third Thursday of November. Hence, the global glass-clinking that breaks out at countless restaurants and special events on this same day, from Cannes to Cape Town to Chicago.
Labels: Beaujolais, EU, France, Wine Industry
Long stuck at a red light in India, French automaker Renault has fresh plans to conquer the country's explosively growing car market with a revitalized local partnership deal and a low-cost vehicle. Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan are set to join in 2012 the crowd of manufacturers producing low-cost cars for India in a bid to challenge head-on the Tata Nano, the world's cheapest automobile. "I don?t want Renault and Nissan to be makers of very pretty cars people dream about but can't afford," Carlos Ghosn, who runs the Franco-Japanese car-making alliance Renault Nissan, said in New Delhi last week.
Labels: Automotive Industry, EU, France, India
President Nicolas Sarkozy awarded U.S. actor and director Clint Eastwood one of France's top honors on Friday, hailing him as a cinema legend and a symbol of the type of America that the French adored. It is unusual for a foreigner to be elevated to the rank of commander of the French Legion of Honor but Eastwood, who went from playing tough-guy roles like Dirty Harry to directing highly praised films, said he saw France as his second home.
"My wife chastised me, saying if that was true why don't I speak French," he told friends and officials gathered at the Elysee Palace for the ceremony, promising to take lessons.
Labels: Clint Eastwood, EU, France
Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy - propelling the EU into a new dimension
For the complete report from Al Jazeera click on this link
The leaders of France and Germany have held a joint ceremony commemorating the end of World War One for the first time since the end of the conflict 91 years ago. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, laid a wreath with Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris on Wednesday. "French-German friendship is sealed with blood," Sarkozy said at the Armistice Day ceremony, which marks the end of fighting in France on November 11, 1918.
"This small flame is also ... the flame of hope," he said as the two leaders re-lit the flame above the tomb.
Labels: Armestice, EU, European Unity, France, Germany
In an unusual spat that may foretell choppy relations across the English Channel, a French government minister attacked Britain’s opposition Conservatives months before an election, calling their policy on Europe “pathetic” and reflecting a “bizarre sense of autism.” Pierre Lellouche, the minister for European affairs, was speaking to The Guardian in Britain after the Conservative leader, David Cameron, promised on Wednesday to limit British integration in some areas of European Union policy if he came to power after elections that must be held by June. Mr. Cameron spoke one day after the Lisbon Treaty to strengthen the European Union cleared its last major hurdle. He announced that he would not hold a referendum on the accord if he became prime minister. “A made-up referendum might make people feel better for five minutes,” he said in a speech in London, “but my job is to put together a plan that lasts five years.” But Mr. Cameron, whose party (Conservatives) has historically displayed a powerful and often divisive streak of skepticism about Britain’s relationship with Europe, promised that any future European treaties would be put to referendums. He also pledged to seek to withdraw Britain from some aspects of European law relating to jobs, criminal law and other areas.
“They have one line, and they just repeat one line,” Mr. Lellouche was quoted as saying of Conservative policy. “It is a very bizarre sense of autism. He added: “It is time when the destiny of Europe is being defined — whether or not we will exist as a third of the world’s G.D.P. capable of fighting it out on climate, on trade, on every issue on the surface of the earth. We need to be united, otherwise we will be wiped out and marginalized.”
Labels: Britain, Conservative Party, EU, France
After more than a decade of lectures from Gordon Brown about the need to let markets rip, it is little wonder that the French are having the last laugh. As she relaxed in her room in the Dorchester in London ahead of Saturday's G20 meeting in Scotland, the French economy minister, Christine Lagarde, was quietly satisfied that the French economy is in better shape than Britain's. And if you suggest to her that working with the pro-City, anti-regulation Conservatives will be more of a struggle than the Labour government, the former head of a US law firm cannot help but burst out laughing: "But you had Gordon Brown for all those years!"
Lagarde insists that the interventionist policies of President Nicolas Sarkozy's government, along with France's famously more generous social safety net, have been crucial factors. "The welfare system that we have, on which we spend a lot more public money than the UK, that's an economic model that is slightly different; that has been a bit of a shock absorber." Instead of relying on exhortations to banks to lend, Lagarde has taken a more "dirigiste" approach, appointing a "credit mediator" to intervene. So far, 10,000 firms have been helped and banks that fail to extend credit lines to viable businesses are "named and shamed".
France: - Sarkozy’s Son Will Not Seek High-Profile Post
Amid fierce accusations of favoritism, President Nicolas Sarkozy's son renounced his candidacy Thursday for the leadership of the organization that runs France's most important business district on the western edge of the capital. The younger Sarkozy's candidacy drew mounting criticism from both the left and within the conservatives on grounds the 23-year-old, who has not completed his law studies, was not qualified for the high-profile job. The polemic was starting to damage his powerful father whose ratings have slipped in the last two weeks, in part because of the polemic over his son.
EPAD, as the organization is known, is a quasi-governmental agency that oversees real estate and administration in the La Defense complex where 150,000 people work. The French president has big ambitions for La Defense to become an even more important European financial center, and his son's accession to a leadership position was part of the plan.
France: Sarko nepotism row rages in France The youth wing of the French Socialist Party last night launched a tongue-and-cheek campaign urging jobless youths to ask President Nicolas Sarkozy to adopt them, as a nepotism row rages over his son Jean's expected appointment to run France's top business district. The 23-year-old second-year law student and municipal councillor plans to take the helm of the EPAD agency overseeing development at La Defense, west of Paris. "This is to help young people who are struggling because it appears that it is easier to find a job when your name is Sarkozy," said Thomas Le Goff from the Socialist Party youth wing.
Polanski's arrest has shocked France - by Agnès Poirier
Roman Polanski, who hasn't set foot in Britain since 1978 for fear of extradition, was arrested yesterday in Zurich by the Swiss police for an assault he pleaded guilty to in 1977. The irony is that such an event, the kind he has dreaded for 32 years, should take place in a country where he owns a chalet and spends many weeks every year. The blow came unexpectedly; the news was a shock to many. A shock, not because the man is innocent (the case is summarised here) but because since last year, thanks to a remarkable American documentary by investigative film-maker Marina Zenovich called Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, we now know that Roman Polanski was treated unfairly by the judge Laurence Rittenband and that he was the victim of gross misconduct from the Los Angeles court. Even the victim's lawyer implies at the end of the documentary that he would have done the same that Polanski did – jump bail and take the first plane to Paris to avoid a lengthier prison sentence. One detail of importance: by the time he fled the US, he had already served a short time in prison.
It is precisely in the light of the new evidence revealed by this documentary that Roman Polanski's lawyers asked the US justice department a few months ago for the case to be closed.
Labels: EU, France, Roman Polanski, Switzerland
G20 - Obama: Iran's secret nuke facility 'inconsistent with a peaceful program
President Obama opened G-20 summit day with a bang this morning, condemning Iran for hiding the existence of a secret nuclear facility and demanding that it be opened to international inspections. "The size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful (nuclear) program," Obama said, and further raises concerns that Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon. "Iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow, endangering the global nonproliferation regime," Obama said. "denying its own people access to the opportunity they deserve, and threatening the stability and security of the region and the world."
Obama made the announcement along with Great Britain Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Note EU-Digest: Even though Iran's nuclear adventures are a most serious issue, it is important that the leaders present at the G20 remember that the principal reason they came to Pittsburgh is to work on remedies to correct the serious economic flaws which still exist in the world financial system.
Nicolas Sarkozy may walk from G20 summit over failure to curb bank bonuses - "Show time or reality" ? by A.Michaels and H.Samuel
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mrs Lagarde said bonuses were top of Mr Sarkozy’s list of issues to tackle at the summit in Pittsburgh.“I hope that we will save [Mr Sarkozy] the trouble of having to walk out,” she said. The finance minister also cautioned: “I would find it absolutely outrageous and extraordinary if leaders of other countries did not understand the necessity to change the system and not go back to business as usual.”
Note EU-Digest: The question remains, if Mr. Sarkozy, who obviously is trying to impress his audience at home that he is a though negotiator, will have what it takes to carry out the threat his finance minister has announced. Most people do not believe so.
Labels: EU, France, G20, Nicolas Sarkozy
Foreign tourism dips in France
If you were in France this summer, chances are you got a warmer welcome than usual. Foreign tourists are becoming more a rarity, especially big-spending American travelers, who are finding the euro-dollar exchange rate tough to swallow. Foreign visits to France dropped dramatically this summer, dipping 14.5 percent in overnight stays in July and August. That was according to Henri Novelli, secretary of state for French tourism, who revealed the data during a press conference this week. France is the world’s No. 1 tourist destination, with 80 million tourist visits in 2008.
France and Germany declare war on bankers' bonuses - by Phillip Inman
France and Germany are squaring up for a fight with Britain and the US over bankers' bonuses after President Nicolas Sarkozy and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, agreed a hardline stance before the G20 finance ministers' meeting this weekend. France and Germany will seek widespread agreement for proposals that will limit bonus payments and the risks taken by banks. The proposals are aimed at preventing a repeat of the financial crisis. The French administration plans to ban banks from winning government contracts if they fail to agree to limits on bonuses, while bonuses must be deferred for at least four years under rules being considered by Merkel's cabinet.
However, the Obama administration is expected to say tomorrow that it wants the summit to focus on getting the world economy back on its feet and promoting financial stability. Note EU-Digest: Unfortunately the Obama administration, which faces an uphill struggle to pass healthcare reforms through congress does not seem to have the courage to oppose the risky bonus culture on Wall Street or the powerful financial industry.
Labels: Banking Industry, EU, France, G20, Germany
The French Revolution - People Power
For the complete report from Cyberessays on the French revolution click on this link
Analysis of the French Revolution - Can similar methods be applied to break today's economic and political powers global stranglehold?
The major cause of the French Revolution were the differences the three major economic groups (called Estates during that period) had. The First Estate (the Church) and the second Estate (Nobility/Privileged) owned just about everything and paid very little taxes. The Third Estate consisted of the commoners. It included the bourgeoisie, peasants and city workers. The bourgeoisie, or the middle class, were probably the most fortunate in this group. In the bourgeoisie, there were the merchants and manufacturers, lawyers, doctors and others similar to those types of professions. Peasants made up the largest group within the Third Estate. They were forced to pay hefty taxes, tithes to the church, and rents to their landlords for the land that they lived on. The last group within the Third Estate were the city workers. They were servants, apprentices, and household maids.
However, there was another important factor during these times. France suffered from harsh economic problems. Poor farm harvests by farmers hurt the economy, and trade rules from the Middle Ages still survived, making trade difficult. However, the most serious problem was the problem facing the government during this time. The French government borrowed much money to pay for the wars of Louis XIV. Louis still borrowed money to fight wars and to keep French power alive in Europe. These costs greatly increased the national debt, which was, at the time, already too high. It all sounds very familiar doesn't it?
This time in French History was not only important to the people of France because of the different types of government they had, but also had an historical impact on the world. Socialism, liberalism and nationalism all were results of the French Revolution. It gave people the confidence that if they tried, they could reorganize a society whenever it was needed and could change anything that they wanted with political ideas, words, action and laws. What people seem to have forgotten today is that they still have that same power to overthrow, by force if necessary, those which have infiltrated and exploited our social, economic and political systems to their benefit.
Labels: EU, France, the French Revolution
Germany, France target bank "excesses" for G20 meet
The leaders of Germany and France took aim at the banking sector on Monday, pledging to check banks' power and push for limits on bonus payments at a Group of 20 summit next month. Chancellor Angela Merkel said bonus payments to bankers were "rightly driving a lot of people crazy" and that she and French President Nicolas Sarkozy wanted the G20 summit in Pittsburgh on September 24-25 to make progress on financial regulation. "No bank may become so big that it could get into a position where it could blackmail governments," Merkel told a joint news conference with Sarkozy in Berlin.
Germany and France regard financial market excesses as being the root cause of the global economic downturn and want tighter regulations to prevent a repeat of the biggest financial crisis since World War Two.
Note EU-Digest: They are absolutely right.
Labels: Banking Industry, EU, Financial Regulation, France, Germany
Wine - Vive la France - reclaiming top wine output crown - by Svetlana Kovalyova
Reuters - France has regained its status as the world's biggest wine producer, after having been overtaken by Italy last year, Italy's largest farmers' association Coldiretti said Friday. France, with its expected 4.8 billion liter wine output in 2009, is set to surpass Italy, which is forecast to make 4.7 billion liters this year, Coldiretti said citing the French agency FranceAgriMer and Italian research published in July. Italian wine output has slowed this year after farmers dug up vines, wooed by incentives under the European Union wine sector reform, farmers' research center ISMEA and wine industry body Unione Italiana Vini (UOV) have said.
Labels: EU, France, Wine Industry
Russia plans to buy an advanced warship from France this year, a top general said on Wednesday, in what would be the country's first major foreign military purchase and a blow to domestic arms producers. Gen. Nikolai Makarov, the chief of Russia's general staff, said that before the end of the year the navy planned to agree the purchase of a 21,300 ton Mistral-class helicopter carrier. The deal would be Russia's biggest one-off post-Soviet purchase of weapons abroad, representing a major departure for the Kremlin, which has traditionally been protective of domestic arms producers.
The Kremlin has made re-equipping the 1.1 million-strong armed forces a top priority after last year's war in Georgia revealed serious problems with hardware and electronic equipment. The appearance of NATO warships in the Black Sea during the war also highlighted the problem of upgrading Moscow's Soviet-era navy. But a series of accidents, including the sinking of the Nerpa submarine last year with the loss of 20 crew and five failed tests of the new Bulava intercontinental missile have exposed serious problems with Russian military technology.
Turkey vs. France: a Clash – Part of the Freemasonic Plan for Europe
As it is known, France advocates a special partnership with Turkey instead of full EU membership; what is not known is why the French pursue this policy. The explanation is simple. Turkey will never accept any sort of special partnership because this would simply consist in explicitly racist and unfair treatment, and at the same time it would be a national humiliation, following many decades of rapprochement and goals supposedly set for a final adhesion. In view of Turkey’s European identity and Turkey’s outperformance of several Balkan member countries (Bulgaria and Romania), a possible rejection of Turkey’s adhesion can be justified only through divergence at the level of legislation and the political life. With Turkey readjusting its economy and legislation, any European pretext will simply be a point of Anti-Turkish duplicity and mendacity.
With Turkey rejecting special partnership, the ridiculous pseudo-concept of a fake Mediterranean Union or any other type of association, and with the expected and methodically triggered deterioration of the Euro-Russian relationship, the way will be cleared for a great Turco-Russian alliance against Europe and Israel.
Acadians Commemorate History, Celebrate French Culture - by Cindy Chan
It has been called the Olympics of culture in French communities. The fourth World Acadian Congress, which runs from Aug. 7 to 23 in the Acadian Peninsula of northeast New Brunswick, is a gathering of Acadian people from around the world that’s held every five years. An estimated 40,000 Acadians, the descendants of French colonists who settled in Atlantic Canada beginning in the early 1600s, are attending the two-and-a-half week event to renew their bonds while they commemorate their history and celebrate their culture.
Food retailing: German Rewe sells out to French E.Leclerc
Food Retail: German Rewe sells out to French E.Leclerc
German supermarket network Rewe, which controls the Billa brand, decided to withdraw from its operations in Poland. The company will sell its 25 stores to French E.Leclerc, which already has 20 supermarkets in Poland. Billa employs almost 1,600 people across the country and generates annual revenues amounting to euro 100 million. "I am very happy that E.Leclerc has strengthened its position in Poland by making this purchase, and it will reach the relevant critical mass on the Polish market in order to compete effectively," said Alain Caparros, the head of the Rewe group.
Labels: EU, Food Retailing, France, Germany, Poland
In France, 92 percent of residents use a mobile
The number of mobile users continues to rise in France with 91.8 percent of residents subscribing to wireless services as of end-June, up from 88.1 percent a year ago, the telecoms regulator said on Wednesday. French wireless operators, including Orange, Bouygues Telecom and SFR, together attracted 678,000 customers during the second quarter, raising the total number by 1.2 percent against the same period last year.
As of June 30, France had 58.905 million wireless service subscribers.
Labels: Cellular Phones, EU, France
French farmers refuse to repay €330m - by Esther Bintliff
French farmers have rejected a demand to repay hundreds of millions of euros in state subsidies that have been ruled illegal by the European Commission. François Lafitte, leader of Fédécom, the fruit and vegetable producers’ union, said paying back the €330m given to farmers between 1992 and 2002 would bankrupt them.Between 1992 and 2002, the French state agricultural agency awarded over €330m in grants to help farmers struggling from a crisis of oversupply of French products in the European market. The money was meant to help farmers lower their prices and find temporary storage for surplus harvest.
Bruno Le Maire, France’s new agriculture minister, said the cash would have to be repaid as the subsidies violated European law. “We must act as Europeans,” he said in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper.
Labels: Agriculture Subsidies, EU, France
Sarkozy insists health is 'fine'
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is back at work and has declared his "health is good" after he collapsed while jogging on Sunday. His often frenetic schedule has earned him the nickname the "hyper-president". Following his release from hospital on Monday he admitted he needed to scale down on activities in the coming weeks.
Solar Power - EDFEN & First Solar To Build 100-MW Solar Manufacturing Plant in France
EDF Energies Nouvelles (EDFEN) and First Solar Inc. have announced a venture to build France's largest solar panel manufacturing plant. With an initial annual capacity of more than 100 megawatts (MW), the plant will produce solar panels made with First Solar's advanced, thin-film photovoltaic technology. At full production, projected for the second half of 2011, the plant could employ more than 300 people. Under the terms of the arrangement, First Solar will build and operate the plant in France. The plant represents an expected investment of more than €90 million [US $128 million]. EDFEN has agreed to finance half of the capital expense and plant start-up costs and will benefit from the plant’s entire output for the first 10 years.
First Solar and EDFEN plan to announce their decision on the site location within the next few months. The site will also include a facility for recycling solar panels, France’s first such facility and Europe’s only solar panel recycling plant outside of Germany.
Labels: Alternative Energy, EU, France, Solar Energy
Alberto Contador wins Tour de France
For the complete report from VeloNews click on this link
Contador's win is the 12th Tour win for Spain - by Justin Davis
Alberto Contador took Spain's tally to 12 wins in 96 editions of the Tour de France when he wrapped up his second victory on the race here on Sunday. Reputed climber Federico Bahamontes, nicknamed the 'Eagle of Toledo', broke new ground for his countrymen by winning the race in 1959 after years of domination by the French, the Italians and Belgians.Contador cruised down the Champs-Elysees to win the Tour for a second time Sunday after 2,141 miles over three weeks of racing. He repelled many challenges in the mountains, excelled in the two time-trials -- winning a pivotal race against the clock in the 18th stage -- and won the first Alpine stage.
Wins by country after 96 editions:
36: France
18: Belgium
12: Spain
10: United States
9: Italy
4: Luxembourg
2: Netherlands, Switzerland
1: Germany, Denmark, Ireland
Labels: Alberto Contador, EU, France, Tour de France
Sarkozy collapses while jogging
(AFP) France's President Nicolas Sarkozy collapsed while jogging near his weekend retreat Sunday and was rushed to hospital where officials said he was "doing well" but would remain overnight. The 54-year-old conservative president's wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy raced to his side on the back of a police motorbike after he felt faint while running in the wooded park around the Versailles Palace, a witness said.A presidential aide told AFP that Sarkozy had a problem related to his vagus nerve -- which helps the body regulate its heart rate -- but that doctors considered the problem "minor". A condition known as vasovagal syncope can reduce the heart rate and blood pressure -- particularly if the victim is dehydrated. Patients can faint but normally make a complete recovery, medical experts said. Sarkozy's office said there were no plans to cancel Sarkozy's visit on Tuesday to the Mont Saint Michel abbey in Normandy.
Germany - Russia: The New Ostpolitik
They're Europe's odd couple. At a time when much of the continent is scrambling to find strategies to contain, avoid, and punish a resurgent Russia, Germany is pushing ahead with the most important and surprising post–Cold War alliance in Europe. Once titanic enemies, Germany and Russia are embracing a slew of big business deals that aim for everything from a joint resurgence in the world's nuclear-energy market to taking over a big chunk of GM's European empire. German technology will upgrade Russia's vast railroad network—and while much of Europe seeks to free itself of energy dependence on Russia, Germany's E.On is buying up Russian gas fields.
The stream of agreements reflects the depth of what has become Europe's most powerful new partnership. Based on a history of close ties, a decade long surge in trade and investment, and massive German imports of Russian natural gas, Germany has become not only Russia's most important trading partner, but its principal advocate in the West. Germany has vetoed an EU-wide energy market that would reduce Europe's dependency on Russian supplies, and stayed cool on U.S. plans for missile defense. Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the foreign-affairs committee in the upper house of Russia's Parliament, says Germany was Russia's "biggest helper" in its successful attempt to block the eastward expansion of NATO.
Note EU-Digest: Like the relationship between France and Germany, the relationship between Russia and Germany is pivotal for the stability, prosperity and peace in the EU and will strengthen all partners equally on the worlds political and economic stage.
France marks Bastille Day with traditional pomp - by Deborah Seward
President Nicolas Sarkozy opened the traditional Bastille Day military parade to Indian and German troops today, as France looks to expand its global military influence and strengthen strategic partnerships. French forces marched with precision down the Champs Elysees along with Indian troops in colorful uniforms and German soldiers in sober dress.Attack jets in tight formation roared across blue skies overhead to the delight of thousands of cheering onlookers.
Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, greeted children who were treated in France for wounds received in wars and conflicts overseas, and also paid tribute to French troops serving with other NATO troops in Afghanistan. "I told President Obama that we would help because this country (Afghanistan) must regain the conditions of its freedom. We are not going to let the Taliban cut off the hands of little girls because they put on nail polish," Sarkozy said.
The German troops marching in today's parade, under the review of German President Horst Koehler, were part of a joint brigade deployed in the eastern French city of Strasbourg. As part of France's return to the NATO command structure this year after a 43-year absence, France welcomed the German troops into the Strasbourg brigade
Labels: Bastille Day, EU, France
India is guest of honor at France's Bastille Day parade
The annual Bastille Day military parade, celebrating France's national holiday, began Tuesday on the Champs Elysees in Paris with India as the guest of honor. With Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sitting in the reviewing stand next to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, 400 Indian soldiers in ceremonial uniform marched at the head of the parade. According to the daily Le Figaro, Singh is the first foreign head of government to have been granted the status of "guest of honor" at France's Bastille Day celebrations, which commemorate the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789.
Labels: Bastille Day, EU, France, India
France: Evian Commercial -- the hottest YouTube video at the moment
The Evian mineral water video commercial of babies in nappies performing skating stunts to a hip-hop beat is the hottest commercial at the moment and has been watched some 4 million times on YouTube alone in the past week. The 60-second film was shot at London's Pinewood Studios as part of mineral water brand Evian's Live Young' international TV and web video campaign. So far the US version was watched almost 1.8 million times. The international version has been seen over 1.5 million times and the French clip over 500,000 times.
Click on this link to watch the commercial.
Labels: Advertising, EU, Evian, France
Netherlands: Germany and France jeopardize pact - by Robert Wielaard
The Netherlands charged Tuesday that France and Germany are running their economies so differently that they are threatening the rules that underpin the stability of the euro. Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos said France and Germany "are sending different signals about how they regard the necessity to put public finances in order." He told reporters that it was "worrisome" that neither Berlin not Paris will acknowledge publicly that they are taking vastly different paths to return their slumping economies to growth. That, he added, was eroding confidence in the euro budget rules that require governments to contain debt within certain limits. While the German government has advocated limiting debt and bringing government spending back in line, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said "he sees no reason to commit himself in that sense" and plans to allow the deficit widen to stoke growth, Bos said. "That kind of nonintervention can have devastating effects" on the euro stability rules at a time when most of the 16 euro-zone nations have budget gaps far exceeding the limit of 3 percent of gross national product, he said.While the German government has advocated limiting debt and bringing government spending back in line, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said "he sees no reason to commit himself in that sense" and plans to allow the deficit widen to stoke growth, Bos said.
"That kind of nonintervention can have devastating effects" on the euro stability rules at a time when most of the 16 euro-zone nations have budget gaps far exceeding the limit of 3 percent of gross national product, he said.
Labels: Economy, EU, euro, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sarkozy, Wouter Bos
The Netherlands and France: Healthy examples: Plenty of countries get healthcare right - by Jonathan Cohn
No serious politician is talking about recreating either the British or the Canadian system here. The British have truly “socialized medicine,” in which the government directly employs most doctors. The Canadians have one of the world’s most centralized “single-payer” systems, in which the government insures everybody directly and private insurance has virtually no role. A better understanding for how universal healthcare might work in America would come from other countries - countries whose insurance architecture and medical cultures more closely resemble the framework we’d likely create here.Last year, I had the opportunity to spend time researching two of these countries: France and the Netherlands. Neither country gets the attention that Canada and England do. That might be because English isn’t their language. Or it might be because they don’t fit the negative stereotypes of life in countries where government is more directly involved in medical care.
Labels: EU, France, Health Care Reform, Netherlands, US
Israel says French president Sarkozy advised firing foreign minister with hardline views -- by Amy Teibel
French president Nicolas Sarkozy urged the Israeli prime minister to fire his foreign minister — a hard-liner whose party tried to force Israelis to take a loyalty oath, two senior Israeli officials said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's appointment has been ill-received internationally because of his hard-line positions on peace and Israel's Arab population, among other issues. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing EU ambassadors on Tuesday, expressed "full confidence" in the country's chief diplomat. "He is a man who is fully committed to peace and security for our country," Netanyahu said. "He is part of the democratically elected government of Israel which was elected with a clear mandate from the voters to achieve peace and security."
In May, Lieberman's party unsuccessfully tried to advance a proposal to strip the citizenship of Israelis who do not pledge loyalty to the state — a proposal viewed as aimed at Israel's Arab minority.
Burka sign of subservience, not religion, says French President Sarkozy
Burka sign of subservience, not religion, says French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Full-body gowns that are worn by the most conservative Muslim women have no place in France, President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday. Speaking to a joint session of parliament, the French leader said wearing the burka or the niqab isn't about religion, but the subjugation of women. "In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity," Sarkozy said to extended applause in a speech at the Chateau of Versailles, southwest of Paris. He said the burka — an all-concealing traditional dress, with built-in mesh covering the eyes — is "a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement. I want to say solemnly that it will not be welcome on our territory," he said.
Note EU-Digest: Bravo Mr. Sarkozy. The wearing of a Burka is not required in the Quran. The Burka must therefore be seen as a symbol of women's oppression and radical Islam. As such it should not only be banned in France but on the whole territory of the European Union.
Labels: Burka, EU, France, Nicolas Sarkozy
France's denounces 'brutal repression' in Iran, rejects accusations of interference - by Angela Charlton
France's top diplomat on Sunday condemned the "brutal repression" of dissent by Iranian authorities and rejected accusations of foreign interference in Iran's worst political unrest in 30 years. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Iranian officials had summoned the diplomatic corps in Tehran on Sunday and made "unacceptable statements about several foreign leaders. It is not with such insults that the Iranian government will respond to the aspirations of its people," he said. While the U.S. and some other governments have been cautious in their response to Iran's post election protests, France has been critical of Iran's leadership and supportive of the protesters.
A New Brew - Sarko Black Label - by John Vinocur
The new Nicolas Sarkozy doesn’t wear his Ray-Bans at public appearances anymore. He has upped his cultural aspirations to read Stefan Zweig and Jose Luis Borges. And he has invited over to dinner people like David Lynch, the film director, and Michel Houellebecq, whose novels are hardly associated with beach-books and sun tan oil. There’s something to it, though the actual process looks more like part of a mid-course re-launch by the Élysée Palace of a president with a five-year term. Or Sarko Black Label, a brand extension that would hope to market the original willful and energetic template as more modest, pondered and refined.
What is health care like in France? - by Mark H
Here it comes. How dare I suggest the US could learn anything from France? By most assessments France provides the best health care in the world, with excellent life expectancy, low rates of health-care amenable disease, and again, despite providing excellent universal care, they spend less per capita than the US. Using about 10.7% of GDP and about 2000USD less per capita than the US they are providing the best health care in the world. To top it off, France's system isn't even socialized. That's right. It's yet another system that is a mixture of public and private funding that, if anything, provides the greatest level of physician and patient autonomy in making health care decisions. It is not, I repeat, not a single payer system. Doctors are largely self-employed, there is no big government authority telling doctors and patients what to do, just a progressive tax structure and requirements to pay into the system that fully subsidizes a functional health care system.
Labels: EU, France, Health Care
President Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-Right UMP group and the Greens win
were the two big winners in France's European parliamentary elections, near complete results showed. But with 93 per cent of ballots counted, the opposition Socialists appeared to have suffered serious losses –plunging the already weak party into further disarray. With just under 28 per cent of the vote, the UMP was the first ruling party in France to come out on top in EU elections since 1979, in a major boost to the president, whose approval ratings have been poor in recent months.
Despite the poor turnout, François Fillon, the prime minister, was quick to praise Mr Sarkozy as the biggest winner in Sunday's vote. "This success is the recognition of the work accomplished by the the French presidency of the European Union" under Mr Sarkozy in the second half of 2008, he said.
Labels: EU, European Elections, France
Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni Sarkozy
For the complete report from the Blue Star Chronicles click on this link
Obama Snubs Sarkozy: Obama Refuses Dinner With French President - by Beth
Barack and Michelle Obama are in France this evening, but won’t be spending any quality time with their hosts, the President of France and his wife. It seems that French President Nicholas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy invited the Obamas out to dinner and the Obamas refused the invitation. This isn’t the first time Obama has snubbed Sarkozy, or the first time he’s snubbed other European leaders. In fact, it seems to be becoming a pattern. In fact, he seems to work hard at keeping European leaders at arms length …. à bout de bras. Actually, this seems to happen with anyone he doesn’t view as important to his own political advancement. In Sarkozy’s case, there was tension between the two leaders at the G20 conference. And there was the comments from Sarkozy about Obama’s inexperience. That didn’t go over well with Obama who sent a message to Sarkozy that he’d read up and do his homework next time. Obama has mastered the Chicago politics of ‘payback’ and has now put Sarkozy in the embarrassing position of having extended an invitation to another world leader and been turned down. So is it à bon chat, bon rat?
Note EU-Digest: If this is true - all one can say is that this is somewhat childish ( prima donna) behavior by Mr. Obama. After all he is not in Chicago but in France as a guest. On the other hand, which is more believable, it could also be another piece of evidence that the cash starved media, which believes it needs to revert to using sensationalist reporting to attract more readers and advertising.The fact is that Mr. Obama had a full day in Germany and only arrived back in France after 8.00 pm. He could also have been just tired. He also is facing another full day today in France.
Labels: Barack Obama, EU, France, Nicolas Sarkozy, US
Fears for 228 passengers as Air France jet 'disappears' between Brazil and France
An Air France plane with 228 people on board has disappeared from the radar off the Brazilian coast. Air France flight 447 was on its way from from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil bound for Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. The flight was scheduled to arrive in Paris at 9am British time, according to the airport. Air France spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand said: "Air France regrets to announce that it is without news from Air France flight 447 flying from Rio to Paris." The plane disappeared about 186 miles (300km) northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal.
Air traffic control are reported to have lost contact with the Airbus A330 at O600 GMT after it took off from Rio de Janeiro.
Labels: Air France, Airbus A330, Aircraft disaster, Brazil, France
Sarkozy cancels Sweden visit over Turkey- by Elitsa Vucheva
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has canceled a visit to Sweden scheduled for next Tuesday (2 June) in order to avoid a clash on the question of Turkey's EU membership just days before the European elections and a month before Stockholm takes over the EU's rotating presidency. Officially, Mr Sarkozy's office said the trip was cancelled "for agenda reasons." Sweden favours further EU enlargement, including to Turkey. On Monday this week, Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt told Le Figaro newspaper that the EU had "a strategic interest" in Turkey's EU integration and warned against "closing the door" to Ankara. "If we judge Cyprus to be in Europe, although it is as in island along Syria's shores, it is hard not to consider that Turkey is in Europe," Mr Bildt said, referring to Mr Sarkozy's repeated statements that Turkey is not a European country and does not belong to Europe.
In a reference to aid plans for the car industry - very much promoted by Mr Sarkozy - the Swedish top diplomat said that for him, "spending taxpayers' money to subsidise existing structures is a very good way of wasting money."
Rachida Dati
For the complete report from the Guardian.co.uk click on this link
France - EU elections - Dati draws French into European poll with lashings of glamour - by Angelique Chrisafis
Rachida Dati, the French justice minister, may have been lampooned for wearing catwalk fashion at inappropriate moments, but having been forced against her will to run in the European elections she remains defiant in her footwear. Once Dati was Nicolas Sarkozy's symbol of change, hugely popular with the public as the first woman of North African descent to hold a major government post. Now she is using the European election campaign to fight back from her fall from grace. Sarkozy, who insisted Dati run for European parliament as a graceful way of ejecting her from his cabinet, is also aware of the usefulness of the cameras that follow her everywhere.
"This is more than just an opportunity for me, it's crucial. The power of the European parliament is vast – and it has more and more power . . . Anyone who doubts the importance of Europe in our everyday lives is just putting their own future in danger", says Rachida Dati
Labels: EU, European Elections, France, Rachida Dati
France reports sharp drop in wine, champagne sales - by Scott Sayare
As wallets grew thinner around the world, fans of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne cut back heavily on their purchases of French wine in 2008, according to French government statistics released Tuesday. French households drank almost 10 percent less wine last year than in 2007, and exports by French vintners sank 15 percent by volume and almost 30 percent by value in the first quarter of 2009, the agriculture ministry reported. "It's a phenomenon of the current economic situation, so we need to be prudent and not sound the alarm," said Xavier de Volontat, who heads an association of French vintners. "We'll have to be prudent vis-a-vis our members in the months to come. It's true that they're being patient, but they have to be able to get by economically." France's chateaux and vineyards have voiced concerns for their future after seeing orders plunge since the end of 2008.
In 1960, the average French adult drank almost 175 liters of wine per year — more than four times as much as the average for an entire household in 2008. And wine has been harder hit in recent years than beer or spirits — the French drink only half as much total alcohol today as 50 years ago.
Labels: EU, France, Wine Industry
France Opens First Military Base in the Gulf - by Matthew Saltmersh
President Nicolas Sarkozy opened France’s first military facilities in the Gulf on Tuesday, deepening the government’s alliance with the United Arab Emirates and highlighting its shifting foreign policy priorities. Mr. Sarkozy attended a ceremony to open French naval, air and army facilities in Abu Dhabi. The bases are the first permanent French military installations to be built outside of French territory since the process of decolonization began more than half a century ago. The Gulf is of geopolitical importance both because of its gas and oil resources and because of its proximity to Iran. Abu Dhabi sits just 225 kilometers, or 140 miles, directly across the Gulf from Iran.
Labels: EU, France, Middle East
Art historians claim Van Gogh's ear 'cut off by Gauguin' - by Angelique Chrisafis
Vincent van Gogh's fame may owe as much to a legendary act of self-harm, as it does to his self-portraits. But, 119 years after his death, the tortured post-Impressionist's bloody ear is at the centre of a new controversy, after two historians suggested that the painter did not hack off his own lobe but was attacked by his friend, the French artist Paul Gauguin. According to official versions, the disturbed Dutch painter cut off his ear with a razor after a row with Gauguin in 1888. Bleeding heavily, Van Gogh then walked to a brothel and presented the severed ear to an astonished prostitute called Rachel before going home to sleep in a blood-drenched bed.
But two German art historians, who have spent 10 years reviewing the police investigations, witness accounts and the artists' letters, argue that Gauguin, a fencing ace, most likely sliced off the ear with his sword during a fight, and the two artists agreed to hush up the truth.
Labels: Art, EU, France, Gaugain, Netherlands, Vincent van Gogh
Cannes Film Festival - Life's become one big reality show - by Toby Young
What film is likely to be the next Slumdog Millionaire? There are several British titles vying for this honour at the Cannes Film Festival (which starts on 13 May), but I'm putting my money on Sounds Like Teen Spirit, a documentary about the Eurovision Song Contest, which is released on Friday. To be strictly accurate, it's about the junior version of that competition, which is restricted to those aged 10 to 15. We follow various takes as they jump over a series of hurdles to qualify for the contest, then watch them compete in the final. Needless to say, there are plenty of tears before bedtime. The film that Sounds Like Teen Spirit most closely resembles is Spellbound, the documentary about an American spelling bee that was nominated for an Oscar in 2003. The reason it works so well, apart from the skill of the director Jamie Jay Johnson, is that it has the same structure as a conventional Hollywood film. Like Spellbound, it follows a sequence of events in which all the building blocks of a text-book screenplay are in place: an unlikely hero plucked from obscurity; a cocksure antagonist; a series of increasingly difficult challenges; a dash of romance; and a thrilling climax in which the hero triumphs against all odds.
Labels: Cannes Film Festival, EU, France
French Are No. 1 in Eating and Sleeping - by Maja de la Baume
French people spend more time eating and sleeping than the habitants of any other highly developed country, according to a report published Monday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The French sleep an average of nine hours every night, the report said. That is about 30 minutes longer than the average American and over an hour longer than the Japanese and Koreans. The O.E.C.D. study, based on a survey of 18 member countries, also shows that the French spend more than two hours a day eating, twice the time spent by people in Mexico, Canada and the United States.
France, Italy take top spots with U.S. ranking 37th in WHO world health care ranking
In the above-mentioned WHO-sponsored ranking, France and Italy took top honors for health outcomes, while the United States came in well down the list at 37th. More recently, the highly regarded Commonwealth Fund – a private foundation that promotes a high-performing health care system – issued a report ranking the United States last or next to last compared with Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The report’s parameters included quality, access to care, patient safety, efficiency and equity. The only area where the United States comes out on top is in cost: we pay more for health care per person, with fewer people covered, than any other advanced nation.
The greatest disparity between the United States and these other countries is the lack of universal health insurance coverage. All other major industrialized nations provide such coverage, and most have comprehensive benefits packages with no cost-sharing. Meanwhile, nearly 45 million of America’s citizens have no coverage at any given time and more than 70 million Americans do not have health insurance at least part of the year. Equally troubling is that millions more Americans are under-insured.Perhaps most shocking, America ranks dead last on almost all equity measures because of a huge disparity between quality of care given to richer and poorer citizens. In 2005, two-fifths of adults with below-average incomes went without needed care. They simply couldn’t spend money they didn’t have on doctor visits, tests and pharmaceuticals.
Switzerland and the Netherlands both offer interesting examples of standardized benefits plans combined with tight regulation of insurance markets. In fact, some of these same concepts have been adopted by in the US by the state of Massachusetts and are being considered by other states and federal policymakers.
Leave Turkey’s bid to join EU to us, Nicolas Sarkozy warns Barack Obama - by David Charter
The love-in between Nicolas Sarkozy and Barack Obama proved short-lived after the French President warned his US counterpart yesterday to keep his nose out of the issue of Turkey’s membership of the European Union. President Obama used his first EU-US summit, on the eve of his visit to Turkey, to encourage European leaders to embrace the Muslim country and “anchor it in Europe”. However, Mr Sarkozy, a long-standing opponent of full membership for Turkey, rebuffed the US leader in language that seemed to sour the revival of Franco-US relations. Support for Turkey in joining the EU, a process that it began formally in 2005 and hopes to complete before 2020, has long been an American foreign policy goal.
Mr Sarkozy, who has talked of offering Turkey a privileged partnership rather than membership, did not wait to hit back. “I have been working hand in hand with President Obama but when it comes to the European Union it is up to member states of the European Union to decide [on membership],” Mr Sarkozy said in an interview on French television. “I have always been opposed to this entry and I remain opposed,” he added.
Labels: Barack Obama, EU, EU enlargement, France, Nicolas Sarkozy, Turkey, US
France threatens to curb executive pay
France's government on Wednesday promised to crackdown on bonuses and other executive payments if business leaders fail to curb excesses amid growing public anger over company bosses' pay. Responding to outrage over the exit bonus paid to the former head of Valeo SA, an auto parts maker that received state aid, President Nicolas Sarkozy hit out at "dishonest" executives late Tuesday. He said there should be no more bonuses or stock options at companies that benefit from government help.
Labels: EU, Executive Pay, France
Netherlands, Germany call for tighter regulation of financial markets
Financial markets must be subject to tight supervision and regulation, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Pieter Balkenende and German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrote in an article published on Thursday by Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad and several other European newspapers. Balkenende is supporting the German and French side in the transatlantic debate on how to take on the economic crisis. The United States accuses the European Union of doing too little to stimulate the economy.
"Apart from the discussion on how to bring our economies back onto a robust growth path, the key challenge we face in London is to build a new financial architecture that meets 21st century requirements," Merkel and Balkenende wrote. "The credibility of the process hinges upon whether we deliver on our Washington commitments, e.g. that all financial markets, products and participants must be subject to appropriate oversight or regulation, without exception and regardless of their country of domicile," they said.
Labels: EU, France, G20, Germany, Netherlands, World Economy
France on collision course over NATO -by Jeamy Keaten
France's rejection of a global role for NATO puts Paris on a collision course with the bolder NATO ambitions of other powerful alliance members — most notably the United States and Britain. The debate comes as President Nicolas Sarkozy prepares to formalize France's return to NATO's integrated military command after an absence of 43 years. That will take place before France and Germany host the alliance's 60th anniversary summit April 3-4. French Defense Minister Herve Morin told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that France rejects the idea of a "global NATO" and urged talks with Russia before the Atlantic alliance expands.
"France perceives NATO HQ to be a top heavy institution, with the number of staff operating civilian tasks disproportionately to those available to perform military duties," Alastair Cameron of Britain's Royal United Services Institute wrote in a paper last month.U.S. and British dominance of NATO prompted the late President Charles de Gaulle to vastly trim France's ties to the alliance in 1966.
European Weather - Amsterdam
