(Important memo: Don't let anybody forget to mark their calendars, now;it's Friday, May 7, everybody.)
Behind the Façades in France: What expats and the mainstream media (French and American alike) fail to notice (or fail to tell you) about French attitudes, principles, values, and official positions…
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Ils sont fous, ces Américains !
...Yes, we admit it, Americans are crazy, and we solemnly promise to no longer deny it...
(Important memo: Don't let anybody forget to mark their calendars, now;
it's Friday, May 7, everybody.)
(Important memo: Don't let anybody forget to mark their calendars, now;it's Friday, May 7, everybody.)
Arnold Gets High Marks from The Economist
A special survey on California in the May 1 edition of The Economist starts thus:
What a short, strange and surprisingly pleasurable trip it's been … Six months into his term, the idea of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger no longer seems so weird.The issue also includes an article which states that
it is hard to find anyone in Californian politics who has a bad word to say for Mr Schwarzenegger in public. He has charmed people, bringing a touch of glamour to a town that has not seemed cool since Jerry Brown's days; he has a first-rate team of advisers; and, just as in Hollywood, where he remains as much admired for his business sense as for his acting, nobody makes jokes about dumb action heroes any more.It adds that
momentum will surely be the key to Mr Schwarzenegger's success. In much the same way that a good action movie seldom leaves you much time to watch the details, a successful Schwarzenegger governorship will rely on pushing forward—and solving problems.I'm just offering this to all those wise people, French or otherwise, who castigated Americans for being so silly and retarded to vote for somebody not hailing from the ENA (France's École Nationale d'Administration) or its equivalent abroad.
To the West of Allah?
Paris police have arrested Turkish imam and 28-year resident of France Midhat Guler in order to expel him. The Interior ministry accuse him of leading an extremist group that advocates terrorism. In a statement on their Web site, the Interior ministry say that there had been a standing arrest and deportation order for imam Guler since April 30 and that Guler was apprehended during a routine traffic stop and placed in administrative detention. Guler has since applied for political asylum in France and the Ministry say they will seek to prolong his detention pending his application.
Reuters reports that Gulat's son Abdulrahman says his father didn't even preach at the mosque and was just its caretaker. They report that he says his father doesn't understand why authorities are holding him and Abdulrahman as saying, "My father has presided over this mosque since 1984, there have never been problems, not an anti-Semitic word or anything, never."
The Guardian reports that there have been five such expulsions in the past four months, adding that the Interior ministry say that just 10% of France's 1,000 to 1,500 imams are French citizens, that many of the rest are undocumented, and that less than half speak French.
On April 20, French authorities arrested Imam Abd al-kader Bouziane of Vénissieux, who preached wife-beating, and then expelled him from France only to watch him be readmitted, to their frustration and embarassment.
Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris head of the French Council on the Islamic Faith (CFCM), gave an interview to Libération on April 29th. Boubakeur has sought to include the council in expulsion decisions but was not consulted in the case of imam Bouziane. He commented, "the handling of this case was distressing. The authorities came away flouted and embarrassed. And, among the Muslim community, this purely law-enforcement handling of events may cause the opposite of the pacification they seek."
However, the next day, Boubakeur claimed his words had been misinterpreted and that he never said that "in the handling of [the case of Abdelkader Bouziane, imam of Vénissieux] the authorities came away flouted and embarrassed." He said that he intended to criticize "the media portrayal and not the authorities' actions," which Boubakeur says he approves of "because it is consistent with public order." Those who read the full interview can see, however, that unless Boubakeur denies practically all of the statements he gave Libé, his intention was clearly to damn the government's actions. He did not mention the press at all. Libé say the stand by the entire interview.
Reuters reports that Gulat's son Abdulrahman says his father didn't even preach at the mosque and was just its caretaker. They report that he says his father doesn't understand why authorities are holding him and Abdulrahman as saying, "My father has presided over this mosque since 1984, there have never been problems, not an anti-Semitic word or anything, never."
The Guardian reports that there have been five such expulsions in the past four months, adding that the Interior ministry say that just 10% of France's 1,000 to 1,500 imams are French citizens, that many of the rest are undocumented, and that less than half speak French.
On April 20, French authorities arrested Imam Abd al-kader Bouziane of Vénissieux, who preached wife-beating, and then expelled him from France only to watch him be readmitted, to their frustration and embarassment.
Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris head of the French Council on the Islamic Faith (CFCM), gave an interview to Libération on April 29th. Boubakeur has sought to include the council in expulsion decisions but was not consulted in the case of imam Bouziane. He commented, "the handling of this case was distressing. The authorities came away flouted and embarrassed. And, among the Muslim community, this purely law-enforcement handling of events may cause the opposite of the pacification they seek."
However, the next day, Boubakeur claimed his words had been misinterpreted and that he never said that "in the handling of [the case of Abdelkader Bouziane, imam of Vénissieux] the authorities came away flouted and embarrassed." He said that he intended to criticize "the media portrayal and not the authorities' actions," which Boubakeur says he approves of "because it is consistent with public order." Those who read the full interview can see, however, that unless Boubakeur denies practically all of the statements he gave Libé, his intention was clearly to damn the government's actions. He did not mention the press at all. Libé say the stand by the entire interview.
Rebuke
Le Monde editorial
Torture in Iraq
LE MONDE | 03.05.04 | 12h49
The accusations of torture of Iraqi prisoners couldn't have come at a worse time for the US-American coalition, the end of the bloodiest month since the — official — end of the war. The accounts and photographs of brutal and degrading acts have traveled round the world, and their impact in the Arab street cannot be denied. Even if doubt persists as to the authenticity of the photos implicating the British.
The stone must not be cast at the coalition alone. With their blind attacks, the Iraqi opposition are not to be excluded. And torture is, alas, a damndable but common byproduct of situations of conflict and repression. No country can escape this, including France, for those who have not forgotten the black hours of the Algerian war.
Nevertheless, these unacceptable acts were part of worsening relations between Americans and Iraqis since the "liberation" of their country. And may they serve to contradict the Bush administration in its notion that it need not be bound by the relevant international conventions.
Since its arrival in Iraq, the American army has been heavy-handed and has, at the very least, been clumsy in its psychological war. At the same time, the Pentagon seriously underestimated the troop levels necessary to achieve peace. Still, it is true that even a quick reaction by Washington against the guilty parties may be insufficient, so general is the hostility of Iraqis, Shia and Sunna alike.
At least as serious is the dammage to president George W. Bush's prestige that this matter involves: a lessong-giving administration caught in its own trap. And, as the Washington Post points out, " There is an important and deadly serious lesson here, for American politicians as well as military commanders: The rule of law matters, even where America's worst enemies are concerned."
How, for example, can one justify "out-sourcing" the interrogation of prisoners or of others to civilian "consultants," mercenaries recruited from specialized outfits? it is crucial, as much to the coalition's image as to its efficiency, that it respect the Geneva conventions, in the field and in that zone of non-law that is Guantánamo.
It is not certain that this will be enough to right the situation on the ground. Despite this, the honor of the United States, former leader of the "free world" and sole super-power, depends on assuring that the guilty are punished, the such atrocities do not reccur and that international law prevails.
If not, how will they convince the Iraqis and Muslims — if this stil possible — of Washington's good faith? And how will they persuade other countries — European ones in particular — to participate in ther Iraqi peace process under American command?
— ARTICLE PUBLISHED INTHE 04.05.04 EDITION
Monday, May 03, 2004
No Zapo, He
News from Poland.
The new prime minister, Marek Belka, promised to push ahead with tough reforms and keep supporting the United States in Iraq as he took office a day after Poland joined the European Union. …
Belka, who recently completed a term as director for economic policy for the U.S.-led provisional authority in Baghdad, has said he will continue Miller's support of the U.S. mission in Iraq, where Poland has some 2,400 soldiers and leads the multinational force.
He said Sunday his foreign policy priorities continue to be "a successful fulfillment of our mission in Iraq" and overcoming obstacles to a new EU constitution. The constitution was stalled last year by Polish and Spanish opposition to the draft document, which would have reduced their voting powers. "Both those issues must be solved in accordance with the national interest of Poland," said Belka, a member of Miller's Democratic Left Alliance.
Do Questions Reveal Journalists' Curiosity, Or Their Hidden Agenda?
When interview subjects respond to anti-American diatribes with a ready answer (or if they simply fail to take the bait), French journalists... quickly change the subject.
In an interview with three reporters from Le Monde and El País (Enrico Franceschini, Jean-Pierre Langellier, and Walter Oppenheimer), Ralf Dahrendorf — German sociologist and pundit, British Lord, and a self-described European and Atlantist — states that
For what matters here is not that the German-British national responds, and does so accurately, but the extent to which the Frenchmen (and Spaniards) he is speaking to do not hear him. The extent to which they do not hear him, or hear those who are like-minded. All that seems to fit their agenda is recarping the official mantra (Le Monde's? France's? Europe's?), and pooh-poohing or minimizing anything that goes against it.
At one point they softly criticize Dahrendorf for not having always been part of the élite that knew, for a fact, that monetary union was an inestimable good for Europe — "You did not use to be very enthusiastic about the Euro" was the way one question (rather, a sly type of criticism) — is formulated. (Which means, of course, that no doubts, however small, must be harbored, when following the all-wise majority in what is undoubtedly for the common good.) When discussing the European Constitution and Tony Blair's decision to call for a (British) referendum thereupon, they ask him "Is it possible that Great Britain still isn't decided to be wholly part of Europe?" (Which means, of course, that democracy is not something that should be resorted to, if the result risks going against our common wishful thinking.)
To return to the Iraq war questions: when Dahrendorf starts speaking in a way that starts dilluting the charge against Bush (showing how the lie charge is exagerrated and how the outcome, in any case, was positive), the Europeans drop the matter. It's too bad that such an intelligent person as he, they seem to be thinking, does not realize what the élite — people such as themselves — knows, that the U.S. is a terrible country, with an inhumane system, and deserves to be unreservedly opposed.
In an interview with three reporters from Le Monde and El País (Enrico Franceschini, Jean-Pierre Langellier, and Walter Oppenheimer), Ralf Dahrendorf — German sociologist and pundit, British Lord, and a self-described European and Atlantist — states that
Europe must understand that the United States is its partner, its ally, a brother country with whom it forms the free world. And that without the United States, it would assuredly be less free.This obviously ignorant and horrific statement is too much for one of the journalists, who immediately responds:
Even without George Bush's America, which invades Iraq on the basis of lies?But Dahrendorf won't be baited, and he won't let that stand.
The debate on the war in Iraq is as just as animated in the United States as in Europe. One would be wrong to reduce the United States to their president or their current administration. Having said that, I remain favorable to the intervention in Iraq, for personal reasons. Saddam Hussein once owned weapons of mass destruction, and he used them. Maybe he no longer had them in 2003. But if, instead of closing their eyes, the allies had intervened against Hitler in 1938, we could have avoided the Holocaust.One good point for Dahrendorf. And what do his interlocuteurs do at this point? They change the subject!
For what matters here is not that the German-British national responds, and does so accurately, but the extent to which the Frenchmen (and Spaniards) he is speaking to do not hear him. The extent to which they do not hear him, or hear those who are like-minded. All that seems to fit their agenda is recarping the official mantra (Le Monde's? France's? Europe's?), and pooh-poohing or minimizing anything that goes against it.
At one point they softly criticize Dahrendorf for not having always been part of the élite that knew, for a fact, that monetary union was an inestimable good for Europe — "You did not use to be very enthusiastic about the Euro" was the way one question (rather, a sly type of criticism) — is formulated. (Which means, of course, that no doubts, however small, must be harbored, when following the all-wise majority in what is undoubtedly for the common good.) When discussing the European Constitution and Tony Blair's decision to call for a (British) referendum thereupon, they ask him "Is it possible that Great Britain still isn't decided to be wholly part of Europe?" (Which means, of course, that democracy is not something that should be resorted to, if the result risks going against our common wishful thinking.)
To return to the Iraq war questions: when Dahrendorf starts speaking in a way that starts dilluting the charge against Bush (showing how the lie charge is exagerrated and how the outcome, in any case, was positive), the Europeans drop the matter. It's too bad that such an intelligent person as he, they seem to be thinking, does not realize what the élite — people such as themselves — knows, that the U.S. is a terrible country, with an inhumane system, and deserves to be unreservedly opposed.
Lire la version française sur Le Monde Watch
Sunday, May 02, 2004
Don't play him cheap 'cause you know he ain't shy
Dauntless and indefatigable, Erik has started a NEW BLOG! Please go check it out (and make sure to extract promises that he won't be leaving NP any time soon. We need him around here).
| Culturally enlightened French celebrities show simplistic Americans what human relations are all about | Vedettes françaises culturellement évoluées montrent aux américains simplistes de quoi il retourne en matière de relations humaines |
| Douglas beat me to it... Trailer trash gone wild. The guy can't have a child with his wife so he bangs his step-daughter and has a kid with her. Later on, he bangs his step-son's wife. So who else in the family got nailed? Is this an episode from the Jerry Springer show? Not at all, it's a chapter from the life of French cycling champion and number one degenerate Jacques Anquetil.
| Douglas a tiré le premier... De petits blancs de souche qui pédalent dans la déchéance tout autour du |
| Shithouse yes, but not a brick one | Un chalet d'aisances oui, et en plus pas très solide |
| Zeropa displays its weakness for all to see. If you thought that diplomacy with 15 countries was a mess just wait for the pig sty to come with 25 countries.
| La Zéropa fait l'étalage de ses faiblesses. Si vous croyiez que la diplomatie à 15 était un foutoir, attendez un peu le bazar à venir avec 25 pays.
|
um...
"Unable to have a child with his wife, he had one with her daughter from a previous marriage, and lived with them for 15 years before the arrangement collapsed in unhappiness and betrayal." — The weirdness of Jacques Anquetil.
Wrong Cemetery, Dumbass
Reuters reports the following:
Vandals desecrated around 20 graves with Nazi slogans in a Roman Catholic cemetery near the French border with Germany, police said on Sunday, two days after a similar incident at a nearby Jewish cemetery.
The two incidents appeared unrelated. Nazi swastikas daubed around the Catholic cemetery in the village of Niederhaslach, west of Strasbourg, were the wrong way around -- unlike those at the Jewish cemetery, where 127 graves were desecrated.
"It doesn't look at all like we're dealing with the same sort of context," one policeman said, adding that the Niederhaslach incident could have been a copy-cat act.
Let's Hand the Prisoners on America's Cuban Base to Europe...
It's obvious that the situation in Guantánamo is a shameful scandal and that the common-law courts championed by the EU represent a much more practical way of dealing with terrorism and creating a peaceful world…
10 More Countries, 9 More Languages: The Babel Union?
Alan Riding has a piece on EU languages in his weekly Entr'acte column in the IHT, in which he notes that the "number of language combinations for interpretation will … jump to 420 from 110, although in practice 'relay languages' like English and French will serve as a bridge between less-spoken languages."
By Alan Riding, International Herald Tribune, Thursday, April 29, 2004)
The problem of managing a cacophony of tongues is thought far less daunting than having to silence any individual language. After all, if Dutch, Greek and Danish are used, why not also Estonian, Hungarian and Maltese? The 191-member United Nations may tick along just fine with six languages, but in Europe the right of officials and legislators to work in their own language is now enshrined as a democratic imperative. …(Alan Riding: With 9 more languages, EU's Babel grows louder
[But] having a voice in Europe — tiny like Latvia or powerful like Germany — does not automatically mean that a country's language will be more widely studied or spoken. A language's use in Brussels may improve public perceptions of the European Union, but this acceptance is more likely to influence how a country sees itself than how it is viewed by others. In fact, since no Union language is actually threatened, the issue is really one of political pride.
By Alan Riding, International Herald Tribune, Thursday, April 29, 2004)
Round-up
***
The day after news broke of the attack in Herrlisheim, the Interior ministry reported that the number of anti-Semitic attacks in France rose during the first three months of 2004. This comes not too long after the National Advisory Council on Human Rights submitted its annual report which found that seven of 10 incidences of racially motived crimes were against Jews in 2003 (though 8 of ten violent acts were committed against Muslims).
Foreign Minister Barnier says there can be "no mercy."
***
Chirac and Raffarin continue their slide in the polls toward positively Shroederian levels. A survey of 1,003 adults found that Chirac's approval rating now stands at 32%, a drop of three points from March. Poor, long-suffering Raffarin is down to 26%.
However, Finance minister Sarkozy, transferred from his lionizing role in the Interior ministry to his current booby-prize of an appointment (likely in order to frustrate him in his declared intentions) to run for Prime Minister and who may run against Chirac for president in 2007), is currently the most popular politician in France, with a 55% approval rating.
***
France's Olympic team will require special police protection when it travels to Athens this summer. It's not just us, it seems.
The day after news broke of the attack in Herrlisheim, the Interior ministry reported that the number of anti-Semitic attacks in France rose during the first three months of 2004. This comes not too long after the National Advisory Council on Human Rights submitted its annual report which found that seven of 10 incidences of racially motived crimes were against Jews in 2003 (though 8 of ten violent acts were committed against Muslims).
Foreign Minister Barnier says there can be "no mercy."
***
Chirac and Raffarin continue their slide in the polls toward positively Shroederian levels. A survey of 1,003 adults found that Chirac's approval rating now stands at 32%, a drop of three points from March. Poor, long-suffering Raffarin is down to 26%.
However, Finance minister Sarkozy, transferred from his lionizing role in the Interior ministry to his current booby-prize of an appointment (likely in order to frustrate him in his declared intentions) to run for Prime Minister and who may run against Chirac for president in 2007), is currently the most popular politician in France, with a 55% approval rating.
***
France's Olympic team will require special police protection when it travels to Athens this summer. It's not just us, it seems.
Saturday, May 01, 2004
Again and again and again
MIF informs us of latest outrage. In the Alsatian village of Herrlisheim, vandals painted swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti on 127 headstones in the town's Hattstatt-Herrlisheim Israelite Cemetery in the night of Thursday to Friday, April 29th - 30th.
Chirac immeidately said that anti-Semitism is really, really against the rules; or rather that it is "contrary to the all the values, principles and ideas of the Republic." Prime minister Raffarin wrote to a Jewish group to express the embarrassment, awkwardness and difficulty he feels in having to denounce something that is now so routine, common and banal the country he represents. Interior minister Dominique de Villepin cancelled his appointments and headed to the scene of the crimes — which he has the luxury of doing, now that he's no longer required to look the other way before such acts since he is no longer cozying up to anti-Semitic Arab regimes as minister of Foreign Affairs.
 |
Herrlisheim had a strong Jewish community in 1784 (389 people) but all that remains today is the cemetery. Situated in the middle of a vinyard, it has been sacked and defaced several times since the Holocaust but each time it has been restored and it requires constant attention and continual restoration, given its age. Some of the tombs and stelas have crumbled and most are made from a porous and soft stone which will be difficult to clean. For more information about Alsatian Jews, you can visit this site.
According to local prosecutor Pascal Schultz, the "investigation is making good progress," reports the AFP. "There appear to have been several writers," he said, adding that graphologists would be assigned to determine their number scientifically. Other experts will be appointed to determine the kind of paint used and origin of the two German flags found on two of the cemetery's stela. The flags bore slogans exalting the Nazi regime. Schultz says the investigation may require collaboration with German police.
The legalese for the crime is "defacement of a place of burial aggravated due to membership in an ethnic group, religion or race" and is punishable by three years in prison and a fine of €45,000. This is in addition to charges for incitation to racial hatred.
Daniel Bernard 1941-2004
French ambassador to Algeria Daniel Bernard died Wednesday night in a Paris hospital, aged 62.
While ambassador to London, Daniel Bernard achieved notoriety when Barbara Amiel, wife of the "fat crook" (a.k.a. Conrad Black) reported that Bernard had referred to Israel as "that shitty little country." She writes that he added, "Why should the world be in danger of World War Three because of those people?" (Bernard denied ever making such remarks.)
Say things like that and "those people" will still be talking about it the day you die.
Bernard was anything but marginal. A graduate of the National School for Administration (a factory that produces France's political elite), he started out as vice-consul in Dublin before moving on to Brussels where he represented France at various multilateral organizations. In 1984, he became diplomatic advisor to Socialist prime minister Laurent Fabius. From 1990 to 1993, he was director of foreign minister Roland Dumas' cabinet. Following this, he became ambassador to the Hague, then to the UN (in Geneva), and then to London. He became French ambassador to Algeria in 2002 (his final posting) and was still in office when Chirac visited that country last April — the first official visit by a French president since the Algerian war of Independence. Chirac visited Algeria again this April.
On Thursday, Algerian president Abd al-'Aziz Abu Tifliqa expressed his "most friendly condolances" to Chirac. "The news of his death (...) fills me with sadness," said Bouteflika. "The few years he spent with us taught us to appreciate his indisputable qualities as a informed diplomat but also, and above all, for all that was human in his conduct and amicable in his relations with us." Bouteflika was also very cordial with one of Iraq's great butchers, Ali Hassan ibn al-Majid.
UPDATE: Le Monde appears almost charmed by Bernard's indiscretion. Daniel Vernet writes in passing:
In his diplomatic postings, he maintained his frank (*) way of speaking and this earned him a few moments of discomfort; particularly in London, where, over the course of a diner, he used an incisive expression with regard to Israel that, even though uttered in private at the home of a press baron, could never have remained a secret.That's it. Tut, tut; hee, hee! When the representative of France calls Israel a pile of excrement in polite company, this ammounts to no more than a comedy of manners. Oh, that zany Daniel! "Those people" and "shit," how incisive! Does Vernet share this view of Israel as shit? Does he consider it worth criticising? Can this be so unimportant as to go unexamined as it does here?
(* nb: the word "frank" comes from the French word franc, which itself comes from the Latin Francus, a name for the Frankish people. Le Robert (the standard-bearing French dictionary) says this name may come from the Germanic frëka, meaning "eager for battle." Weird.)
Friday, April 30, 2004
How Best to Explain the Iraq Conflict to Your French Kid?
By calling it "the War for Oil", bien sûr. (Vous êtes cons, ou quoi?)
Better yet: let a twice-monthly magazine for kids do the work for you.
That's part of what is called education in France (l'éducation nationale).
In its Discovery of the World section, Okapi number 744 (thanks to Gabriel Gonzalez for bringing this to my attention and for providing me with that particular issue of the magazine "100% ado") has a double-spread photo of an American soldier standing on a tank and brandishing an automatic rifle while on the horizon, (sabotaged?) oil wells rise in flames.
Entitled "La guerre du pétrole", the article's subhead reads as follows: "Every year, 3,5 billion tons of oil are used on Earth. That makes it the most-used commodity in the world... and also the most coveted. To gain control over this black gold, certain countries fight each other in battles without mercy. Explanations follow."
Oh, c'est génial, Okapi, merci beaucoup! Good thing the all-knowing Jean-Yves Dana will provide the explanations for this war, and inform us French kids that "certain countries" (unlike us peace-loving French) are so cruel and crazy and greedy as to kill each other, while we Frenchmen are the epitome of humanity, generosity, and the ability to reason. Everybody else in the world is base and stupid, only we are "lucides". Good thing we start getting taught these self-serving truths right away, while we are young. Good to know that we French are above all that. And what about the French government kowtowing to a mass-murdering dictator, you ask? And how about the UN graft scandal? Any articles about that? Ça va pas, non?! Nooooon, ça ce sont des situations beaucoup plus compliquées, comprenez-vous. Zose are very complicated situations, somesing that ees far too complicated for our young kids to understand.
Turning the page of the Bayard Presse publication, we come to another double spread, illustrated by a "Monsieur Mérou": "Iraq's oil at the heart of the conflict" rings the title, with this subhead speaking directly to the kids: "During the war in Iraq, one image may have shocked you: while the museums were abandoned to the looters, oil wells were protected by the soldiers. Here is why." Three reasons follow (entitled "The United States need Iraq's oil", "In the Middle East, Iraq is an important country", and "Iraq also holds large reserves still unused"), each of them followed by matter-of-fact-tone castigations of Uncle Sam in what is nearly baby talk.
Elsewhere in the magazine dated September 15, 2003, we have more information abut l'Amérique. François Descombe provides us with a view of ER, as well as the paramedics and emergency rooms that provide the TV show's content. It goes without saying that the article compares the U.S. with the French equivalents, and that the comparison (quelle surprise, les enfants!) comes out in favor of la République française.
Isn't it chouette that French kids are taught the intricacies of the world, and that in such a straightforward manner? Isn't it génial that they are made to understand how the world works? Isn't it merveilleux how they start getting, this early, a view of the legendary objectivity of their country's journalists?
Better yet: let a twice-monthly magazine for kids do the work for you.
That's part of what is called education in France (l'éducation nationale).
In its Discovery of the World section, Okapi number 744 (thanks to Gabriel Gonzalez for bringing this to my attention and for providing me with that particular issue of the magazine "100% ado") has a double-spread photo of an American soldier standing on a tank and brandishing an automatic rifle while on the horizon, (sabotaged?) oil wells rise in flames.
Entitled "La guerre du pétrole", the article's subhead reads as follows: "Every year, 3,5 billion tons of oil are used on Earth. That makes it the most-used commodity in the world... and also the most coveted. To gain control over this black gold, certain countries fight each other in battles without mercy. Explanations follow."
Oh, c'est génial, Okapi, merci beaucoup! Good thing the all-knowing Jean-Yves Dana will provide the explanations for this war, and inform us French kids that "certain countries" (unlike us peace-loving French) are so cruel and crazy and greedy as to kill each other, while we Frenchmen are the epitome of humanity, generosity, and the ability to reason. Everybody else in the world is base and stupid, only we are "lucides". Good thing we start getting taught these self-serving truths right away, while we are young. Good to know that we French are above all that. And what about the French government kowtowing to a mass-murdering dictator, you ask? And how about the UN graft scandal? Any articles about that? Ça va pas, non?! Nooooon, ça ce sont des situations beaucoup plus compliquées, comprenez-vous. Zose are very complicated situations, somesing that ees far too complicated for our young kids to understand.
Turning the page of the Bayard Presse publication, we come to another double spread, illustrated by a "Monsieur Mérou": "Iraq's oil at the heart of the conflict" rings the title, with this subhead speaking directly to the kids: "During the war in Iraq, one image may have shocked you: while the museums were abandoned to the looters, oil wells were protected by the soldiers. Here is why." Three reasons follow (entitled "The United States need Iraq's oil", "In the Middle East, Iraq is an important country", and "Iraq also holds large reserves still unused"), each of them followed by matter-of-fact-tone castigations of Uncle Sam in what is nearly baby talk.
Elsewhere in the magazine dated September 15, 2003, we have more information abut l'Amérique. François Descombe provides us with a view of ER, as well as the paramedics and emergency rooms that provide the TV show's content. It goes without saying that the article compares the U.S. with the French equivalents, and that the comparison (quelle surprise, les enfants!) comes out in favor of la République française.
Isn't it chouette that French kids are taught the intricacies of the world, and that in such a straightforward manner? Isn't it génial that they are made to understand how the world works? Isn't it merveilleux how they start getting, this early, a view of the legendary objectivity of their country's journalists?
And the Dinner Winner Is...
When results came in for the 50 best restaurants in the world, French restaurants, not surprisingly, dominated the top 10 (four of them, five if you include Monaco). But none of those was among the top three eateries, in this event run by Restaurant magazine and decided by an international panel of restaurateurs, chefs, critics, and journalists.
And first prize went to a — choke — Yankee. While second place went to — oh Seigneur! — a Limey. In fact, London restaurants dominated this year's list of top 50 restaurants. Finally, no French-speaking country won in the individual award category. (I got what follows in an email without attribution, so all I know is it's from British magazine; if any reader has any clues, kindly forward them to me.)
And first prize went to a — choke — Yankee. While second place went to — oh Seigneur! — a Limey. In fact, London restaurants dominated this year's list of top 50 restaurants. Finally, no French-speaking country won in the individual award category. (I got what follows in an email without attribution, so all I know is it's from British magazine; if any reader has any clues, kindly forward them to me.)
British cuisine is celebrated as Fat Duck
brings home the bacon (and egg ice-cream)
By Cahal Milmo and Andrew Johnson (21 April 2004)When it comes to finding the best cuisine in Europe, many gourmets will head for the hills of Tuscany or the boulevards of Paris. But, as of today, the correct route is to turn off the M4 at junction eight and seek out a 450-year-old former pub run by a chef named after a motorway service station.
Heston Blumenthal, the proprietor of the Fat Duck restaurant in the Berkshire village of Bray, which has become synonymous with such gustatory delights as bacon and egg ice-cream and cauliflower with chocolate, is now the owner of the best eaterie on the continent.
The restaurant, which is already the holder of the most rapidly achieved three Michelin stars in British history, saw off competition from such temples to gastronomy as El Bulli in Spain and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Paris to collect the award at a ceremony in London last night. It was only beaten to the title of the world's best restaurant by the American incumbent, French Laundry, in California's Napa Valley.
The top 10 for the award, run by Restaurant magazine and decided by an international panel of restaurateurs, chefs, critics and journalists, contains two other UK restaurants — Gordon Ramsay (8th) and Nobu (7th), both in London. These make Britain second only to France, which has four listed. …
Commentators will draw parallels between the philosophy of Blumenthal and that of his rival for the number one spot in global gastronomy, Thomas Keller, who opened the French Laundry in the Californian countryside in 1993. Just as his British counterpart pays obsessive attention to the constituent parts of his ingredients and the physics of cooking, so too does Keller. …
Thom Hetherington, the marketing director for Restaurant magazine, said yesterday: "It's great to see that such a variety of British restaurants made the list." Experts also pointed to the nation's growing strength in depth. Eleven of the top 50 restaurants are in Britain.
TOP TEN RESTAURANTS
1: French Laundry, Yountville, California
2. The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire
3. El Bulli, Montjoi, Spain
4. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Paris
5. Pierre Gagnaire, Paris
6. Guy Savoy, Paris
7. Nobu, London
8. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London
9. Michel Bras, Laguiole, France
10. Louis XV, Monaco
Denmark: Standin' Tall and Walkin' Right
Secretary of State Colin Powell made a six-hour stopover in Denmark, a steadfast U.S. ally in military operations.
[During a news conference in Copenhagen] Powell's insistence that the United States and its allies must remain and steer Iraq toward Democracy drew an instant endorsement from Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller. "We reiterated our intention to stay until the job is done," Møller said. …A week earlier, Rasmussen flew into Houston to receive the Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Award on behalf of his country.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen … said "we owe it to the Iraqi people to assist them ... to protect them from the terrorists."
Denmark's decision to keep some 500 troops in Iraq countered somewhat the defection of Spain, Honduras and the Dominican Republic.
Gratitude and remembrance resonated through the ballroom of the Hilton Americas-Houston Wednesday night as Holocaust Museum Houston honored Denmark. … After Rasmussen received the award, Benjamin Warren presented him with a pair of custom-made cowboy boots emblazoned with the flags of Texas and Denmark. "Texans are particularly proud of their boots and count on them to help them to stand tall and walk right," Warren said, adding, "The Kingdom of Denmark clearly understands the importance of standing tall and walking right."
Le Monde Special on Enlarged European Union
Le Monde's issue of April 29 features a special 20-page section on the European Union's taking in of 10 new members on Sunday. Three articles, in particular, concern Uncle Sam's relation, direct or indirect, to the enlarged union:
- America hopes that the Union of 25 will lean towards "New Europe" (Patrick Jarreau)
- "Between us and Europe, a political Rubicon has been crossed"
(Francis Fukuyama interviewed by Alain Frachon and Daniel Vernet) - France's influence in Brussels has eroded through the years (Laurent Zecchini)
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