Category: France
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
French Colonial Dreams Linger On In Syria / Politics / France
By: Andrew_McKillop
GREAT POWER PIPEDREAM
The simple question with a lot of answers is why did France boycott the 2003 Iraq war of the US and Britain, but remains heavily committed to a “punitive attack” with the US on Syria, following the shock of Cameron's defeat for his war plan in the British parliament, August 29 ? Syria was a French colony. Why have the British decided to take French leave from Obama's punishment mission? Syria was not a British colony but was the meat and bones of imperial dogfights between the British and French, during the interwar Mandate years. French political leaders, including President Hollande and major figures in his Parti Socialiste, August 30, despite massive public opinion opposition have multiplied their dogged and trenchant support for this “limited military action not designed to topple al Assad”, without the Brits and whether or not (we mean not) the attacks gets UN Security Council approval.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Bankrupting France, On the Edge of Euro-zone Periphery / Economics / France
By: John_Mauldin
"The emotional side of me tends to imagine France, like the princess in the fairy stories or the Madonna in the frescoes, as dedicated to an exalted and exceptional destiny. Instinctively I have the feeling that Providence has created her either for complete successes or for exemplary misfortunes. Our country, as it is, surrounded by the others as they are, must aim high and hold itself straight, on pain of mortal danger. In short, to my mind, France cannot be France without greatness. – Charles de Gaulle, from his memoirs
Wednesday, July 03, 2013
French Politics – More Hypocrite Than Us “Tu Meurs” (You Die) / Politics / France
By: Andrew_McKillop
OOH LA LA!
Anybody viewing the litany of scandals and scams marking French politics, the economy and business, and social issues from a suitable distance away from ground zero can only say “Ooh la la!”.
Rumors that President Francois Hollande has threatened his government with his own personal resignation – and the likely return of Nicholas Sarkozy – if they go on refusing to keep a “tight ship in adverse times” are treated seriously by several reputed political commentators reporting in French media, including 'Le Monde'. The latest proof of that came with the instant sacking of Ecology minister Delphine Batho, this week. She had criticized the budget cuts hitting her ministry more than others. She had not retracted. So she was sacked on the spot.
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Monday, July 01, 2013
France Being Wrecked by Socialism, Nationalism and Germanophobia / Politics / France
By: LewRockwell
Eric Margolis writes: Nice, France – I’m just down to sea level from the 2,600 meter high mountain forts on France’s wild, vertiginous Alpine border with Italy.
The Cote d’Azur, or Riviera, is buzzing with summer activity: packed beaches, traffic jams, crowded restaurants, outrageously priced hotels and an armada of yachts jostling for scarce marina space.
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Saturday, June 22, 2013
France On its Way to Becoming the New Greece / Economics / France
By: John_Mauldin
The France that I see as I look out from the bullet train today is far different from the France I see when I survey the economic data. Going from Marseilles to Paris, the countryside is magnificent. The farms are laid out as if by a landscape artist – this is not the hurly-burly no-nonsense look of the Texas landscape. The mountains and forests that we glide through are glorious. It is a weekend of special music all over France, and last night in Marseilles the stages were alive and the crowds out in force. The French people smile and graciously correct my pidgin attempts at speaking French. I have found it diplomatic not to mention that I think France is in for a very difficult future. Why spoil the party?
Friday, June 14, 2013
France’s Economic Cul-De-Sac / Economics / France
By: David_Howden
Over a year ago, in the midst of an ongoing economic crisis, François Hollande celebrated his victory over Nicolas Sarkozy in France’s presidential elections. Hollande became the leader of a country in economic turmoil. In the past year, he has had relatively free rein to carry out his economic agenda, since the Socialist Party he leads has a majority in the French Parliament.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
France's Youth Wants To Quit / Stock-Markets / France
By: Andrew_McKillop
MAY 1968 WAS 45 YEARS AGO
Widely published in the French press but barely reported on government-friendly audiovisual media, the "generation of '68" which includes President Francois Hollande and ex-president Sarkozy, and their policymakers and spin doctors, got a whiff of what the next generation thinks of the "libertarian and socialist society" that came out of the so-called revolution of 1968.
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
France Stumbles Towards Political Meltdown / Politics / France
By: Andrew_McKillop
THE CAHUZAC CRISIS
France woke up Wednesday 3 April to the image of the country’s former budget minister and tax czar Jerome Cahuzac looking haggard and shaken on the front pages of all the leading dailies, and all TV news stations following his final and forced admission that he had repeatedly lied about secret accounts in Switzerland and Singapore, and his medical sector business dealings also using tax havens, as well as potential grave charges such as imported beyond-date medical products that may have been re-labelled and sold in France.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Illusion of Euro-zone Stability as France Sinks Further Into the Economic Gutter / Economics / France
By: Mike_Shedlock
While laughing at the amusing exchange of letters between the CEO of Titan and Arnaud Montebourg, Minister of Industrial Renewal of France, I awaited the latest PMI report on France, expecting findings to be horrific.
The PMI reports are out today, and inquiring minds will note the Markit Flash France PMI shows the decline in French private sector output accelerates further to reach near four-year record.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
France Is Dead Broke, But At Least Its GDP Came In Positive / Economics / France
By: Raul_I_Meijer
US GDP came out today and it was a stinker: -0.1%. Enter a choir of 10,000 pundits who all figured out that all that bad smell was the result of one thing only: cuts in military spending. That's the sort of thing that tells me - or more correctly: confirms - that the optimism bias has become so strong and infectious it's no longer worth even discussing. And that's before I notice - caveat: I haven't read all the eerily similar comments - that nobody I read bothers to explain by how much military spending has raised US GDP lately. Or to what degree they hope it'll go up again. Soon.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
France's Soupcon Of Economic Austerity - Or Is It A Wall Of Poverty? / Politics / France
By: Andrew_McKillop
THE NUMBERS TALK
France's present and coming economic disaster is relatively well hidden, at least to outsiders who look in the wrong places and read the French official statistics - which are as lively, imaginative and "true to facts" as anyplace else. Above all, France seems for a short while longer to have wriggled out and away from the savage austerity cures which have already steamrolled, and go on crushing the economy and society of Spain, Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and other European countries.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Hollande Goes To War, French War On Terror in Mali / Politics / France
By: Andrew_McKillop
Francois Hollande's surprise decision in the night of January 11 to rush French pilots and troops into war, to counter the southward advance of "islamic terrorists" in Mali, drew predictable 'union sacree' support from all French political parties including the hardline extreme right Front National and hardline extreme left parties led by Jean-Luc Melanchon. Within 24 hours French media consumers also learned that a French DGSE secret service agent held hostage for more than 3 years by an "Al Qaeda related" terror group in Somalia, 3750 miles (6000 kms) to the east, had been murdered by his captors when DGSE secret service operatives and regular military personnel made an unsuccessful rescue bid. Two of the military were killed and one was injured and taken hostage by the Somali "islamic terrorists" who lost 17 of their own fighters in the raid, according to French reports.
Monday, November 26, 2012
France: The U.M.P Crisis Lurches On / Politics / France
By: Andrew_McKillop
AND ON
The actors in this now long-running, seemingly complex farce took another major change in the week ending 25 November. The week ended with a one-day mediation attempt, by The Providential Leader also known as Alain Juppe. Juppe was hailed in the private media as The Man. TV stations like BFM Tele and iTele regurgitated newsreel Juppe footage dating back to 1970 to comfort the middle class masses. The fuzzy images flashed by private TV stations told average couched-potato French that Juppe, who got an 18-month suspended jail term in January 2004, is a natural leader, totally above suspicion and respected by all - The One Man who can put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
French Political Earthquake, The U.M.P Crisis / Politics / France
By: Andrew_McKillop
SERIAL LIARS
The UMP party, with two official definitions of what the "MP" means (either Mouvement Populaire or Majorite Presidentielle) was founded in November 2002 on the initiative of Jacques Chirac, following his vastly humiliating re-election where he was so unpopular that the second round pitched him, the supposed "Regal President", against the clownesque and bizarre-but-fascist Jean-Marie Le Pen of the equally bizarre Front National party. In the first round of voting, Le Pen polled almost as many votes as Chirac. The Parti Socialiste's candidate Lionel Jospin was totally trounced and quit politics.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Sarkozy Won't Survive French Election Rounds, Soclialist Replacement Will Be Worse Renegotiating EU Deal / ElectionOracle / France
By: Mike_Shedlock
French elections are done in two rounds. The top two candidates by popular vote square off in round two. Things do not look good for French president Nicolas Sarkozy, especially for round two. However, he may not make it that far.