President Nicolas Sarkozy

[August1991]

France is not a Lutheran country:

Parti lundi se reposer trois jours à Malte, le président élu sera de retour à Paris jeudi matin, selon son ancien directeur de campagne Claude Guéant • D'ici là, il poursuit sa croisière à bord d'un yacht luxueux qui appartiendrait à l'industriel français Vincent Bolloré.

Libération

[sharkman]

Drudge had a report up that two Montreal (I think from there) DJ's punked Sarkozy by pretending to be Harper and asked if he would like to come to dinner and he will bring Bush.....it will be a dinner of fools.

Sarkozy hung up.

I hope that's not the typical response from Quebecers, that would be pretty narrow minded.

[geoffrey]

defeating the Socialist opposition

I have never been to France but I know people who have.

Defeating socialism in France sounds like a joke.

Overall yes, but there is a little evidence of some resistance. Le Pen was the run off losing candidate in the previous election...

[Charles Anthony]

Le Pen was the run off losing candidate in the previous election...

Socialism permeates throughout France. If you think you can defeat socialism in France, you may as well send M. Sine-Folia over there to tell them to stop speaking French while you are at it.

[geoffrey]

I'd love to send him over there...

I still think there is some real French non-socialists... you might have to leave Paris to find them though. That's like going to Toronto or Montreal and saying that it must mean Albertans are socialist leftists.

France is bigger than any one voting block or even one super region. Are most French socialist types, likely, but there is a huge group that are not.

[Higgly]

Le Pen was the run off losing candidate in the previous election...

Socialism permeates throughout France. If you think you can defeat socialism in France, you may as well send M. Sine-Folia over there to tell them to stop speaking French while you are at it.

What's this? We have a facilitator targeting a member? Anthony, your credentials have always looked a little fishy to me. Just what exactly is it that you are supposed to be facilitating?

France has indeed been socialist to the core since the end of the second world war, but it is that very socialism that is at the heart of its troubles. This is the essential French problem. Provided Sarkozy can provide a stable, productive France that pulls as a team member in the EU harness, what he may do internally is not as important as what his foreign policy may be. His professed admiration for Blair, and by implication, Bush, is worrisome. We do not need another polarizer on the world scene.

Now that America's foreign policy presence is weakened, peace is possible. If it regains its former strength before the most difficult problems have been solved, we can look forward to more polarization and conflict. This is a window of opportunity.

[Charles Anthony]

Just what exactly is it that you are supposed to be facilitating?

Eliminating spam/advertizing and helping members with the quoting functions of the forum software.

I will put an end to everything else including my nasty sense of humor.

[jbg]

No, I believe Chirac was a Gaullist, having formed the Rassemblement pour la République (RPR) in the 1970's. But the party morphed over the years, adopting liberal causes to get centered.

I agree with B. Max on this one. I consider the term "socialist" to be an updated form of "mercantalism" as practiced in the days of kings, dukes, duchies and restrictive guilds. Whereas Britain and its offspring always had a liberalizing influence, a la Locke and John Stuart Mill, the Continent was generally built on economic and political restriction.

One reason that Marx proved wrong in predicting that England would be fertile ground for socialism is the relative lack of restrictions on inter-class mobility. As far as Europe went, its people who were not interested in living under medieval style restrictions had an alternative starting during the 1800's; America.

Bringing us around, full circle, to Chirac and the Gaullists, a mercantalist is a mercantalist is a mercantalist, whatever label you apply, whether the old one, or Marxist. Old wine in new bottles.