The decision Tuesday by France’s constitutional watch-dog striking down a pending law criminalizing the denial of the Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turks produced reactions one might have anticipated: applause from Turkey, …
France
Must-Reads from Around the World: February 29, 2012
Weight of History – Following a backbench revolt in the German parliament Monday over the Greek bailout that’s left Angela Merkel’s coalition government weakened, Der Spiegel reports former Chancellor Helmut Kohl has stepped into …
Oscar Favorite The Artist Faces Formidable Rival In France’s César Awards
Update: The Césars are over in Paris, and the winners are:
The Artist, to the tune of six awards, including Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius, Best Lead Actress for Bérénice Bejo, and Best Film.
Omar Sy, for Best …
The Endless Pathos and Hubris of L’Affaire DSK
When Dominique Strauss-Kahn awoke in a French detention cell Wednesday morning, he probably wasn’t experiencing the sort of déjà vu one might expect. Because in contrast to his incarceration last May in New York on suspicion of …
Entering French Presidential Race, Sarkozy Gets Lift From Unexpected Economic Growth
French President Nicolas Sarkozy made his long-anticipated re-election bid announcement Wednesday night and has some good news to jump-start his campaign. On Wednesday morning, figures for the fourth quarter of 2011 showed that …
The Anti-Sarkozy: How French Socialist Presidential Candidate François Hollande Would Lead
The Socialist front runner in France’s current presidential campaign promises big changes if he wins elections a bit over two months away. Yet not only does François Hollande remain rather vague about just how he’d do things …
Europe’s Deadly Cold Spell: A Slight Thaw, But Winter Misery Continues
The western edge of Europe looked set on Monday to get some relief from the extreme cold spell that has frozen the continent and left over 500 people dead over the past two weeks. But as temperatures began to rise on the north …
Renault’s Morocco Factory: When Globalization and Politics Collide
It’s often said that in both business and politics (not to mention humor), timing is everything. And it was probably that critical element of delivery and context that caused the big news Thursday from French carmaker Renault …
Why Did Merkel Endorse Sarkozy’s French Presidential Re-Election Bid?
How odd is this picture? The leader of one country visits the head of state of a neighboring nation to explicitly support the host’s uphill re-election plans — despite the political and diplomatic problems that may arise if …
Europe’s Soccer Clubs: The Continent’s Other Looming Debt Crisis
Euro zone governments aren’t the only entities seriously needing to get their debt levels down these days. Information revealed this past week showed Europe’s leading soccer clubs are similarly spending their way into a …
Sarkozy Unexpectedly Calls Earlier French Troop Exit From Afghanistan
So it turns out France is indeed leaving Afghanistan earlier than planned, and will seek to bring the last of its current 3,900 troops home by the end of 2013. Despite signs earlier in the week from French government officials …
France Not Quitting Afghan Campaign After All
Okay, so not leaving Afghanistan—yet, anyway.
Despite suggestions-cum-threats by French President Nicolas Sarkozy last week that he’d consider pulling France’s nearly 3,900 forces out of Afghanistan in response to the …
Human Rights Under Threat: Five Not-So-Usual Suspects
Human Rights Watch this week released its 2012 World Report. The 676-page write-up covers some of the biggest stories of the year, including China’s crackdown on dissent, ongoing attacks on civilians in the Democratic Republic …