Adding to the cafe culture
DSK incident causes young French voters to reflect on the importance of politicians’ private lives
May 22, 2011 1 Comment
RENNES, France — Many French people say the political career of Dominique Strauss-Kahn is history, yet talk about the New York-based sex scandal of the former International Monetary Fund director and top candidate in the 2012 French presidential elections continues to bubble in his home country. Strauss-Kahn’s situation has raised questions in France about the [...]
The Embassy Cables: Violence in the French housing projects
Dec. 15, 2010 Leave a Comment
PARIS — A partial Wikileaks-leaked cable written in November 2005 by the American Embassy in Paris, most likely to the Secretary of State’s office sheds light on violence in France and the government’s reaction to violence in the suburbs of Paris. The memo recounts the analysis of the situation in the cités, or projects, by [...]
The Embassy Cables: French support for Brazil high
Dec. 15, 2010 1 Comment
PARIS — A 2009 memo from the US Embassy in Paris to the Secretary of State’s office released in the latest batch of Wikileaks documents, details French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s efforts to cultivate the rapport between Brazil and France by providing political, diplomatic, economic and military support to South America’s largest country. Wikileaks cable 09Paris1526, [...]
The Embassy Cables: The relationship between France and Africa
Dec. 14, 2010 1 Comment
PARIS — A 2008 cable sent from the American Embassy in Paris to the Secretary of State and other U.S. embassies around the world outlines the history of the diplomatic relationship between France and Africa, as President Nicholas Sarkozy has tried to reshape. The memo, recently released by Wikileaks, outlines Sarkozy’s efforts to reform the [...]
Feminism: A Profile in France
Dec. 9, 2010 2 Comments
LAVAL, France — “When the rights of some women progress, the rights of others take on a new light and then all of humanity starts to move.” These words hung in the center of an exhibit entitled Rendons nos droits universels, or Let’s Make Our Rights Universal, which was on display this month in Laval. [...]
Few surprises over Chirac’s second round of corruption charges
Nov. 9, 2010 1 Comment
LAVAL, France — Former French President Jacques Chirac now faces two sets of corruption charges after a French judge signed an ordinance Monday summoning him to appear before a criminal court in Paris. Many French people, when asked their opinion on the matter, said they were not surprised by the charges. “If he did something [...]
French protests yield smelly results
Oct. 30, 2010 3 Comments
MARSEILLE, France — Imagine the result if Fenway Park went uncleaned for 15 Red Sox home games in a row. This might give you a faint idea of what Marseille, France’s second largest city and most important sea port, looked like this week, 15 days into a garbage workers strike. The Mediterranean sun cooked the [...]
