U.S. President Barack Obama soon won’t be alone in taking flack about the legality of certain moves he’s made on Libya. On Wednesday, French military officials confirmed press reports that France has dropped arms and ammunition to Libyan rebels in what will doubtless spark protests that such action violates limitations the United …
France
France’s Marathon Presidential Campaign Set To Finally Begin–Sort Of
French Socialists hoping to win their party’s presidential primary and qualify for France’s 2012 general election are lined up, throwing elbows, and ready to sprint when the gun for that nomination contest is fired Tuesday. And if that starting line jostling weren’t proof enough that race for the Elysée is about to begin, …
New Film About Old Murder Mystery Rekindles French Debate On Racism and Justice
One of France’s most gripping real life whodunits is now the subject of a new feature film. But in addition to suspense and drama “Omar M’a Tuer” (“Omar Killed Me”, see trailer here) creates, its recounting of a Moroccan gardener’s conviction for the 1991 murder of a rich French widow is also generating renewed debate …
Following U.S. Lead, France Announces Afghan Troop Withdrawal
Just hours after U.S. President Barack Obama announced his timetable for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, his French opposite Nicolas Sarkozy followed suit by revealing Paris’ plan to also gradually bring soldiers in its Afghan contingent home. The swiftness of Sarkozy’s decision—which clearly followed consultation with …
In Libya, the Clock Is Ticking Toward NATO Failure
Western leaders may insist that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is weakened, isolated, irrelevant, and about to bow out, but their words hide hide a growing anxiety in Western capitals about the implications of his tenacity. Three months and counting into a bombing campaign that has yet to force out the regime, there’s growing …
Why Greek Tumult Signals the Coming of Europe’s Own ‘Arab Spring’
Are the youth-led protests rocking Greece and other European countries a sign Arab Spring uprisings have jumped the Mediterranean? Kinda-sorta, say experts watching these movements. They warn that even if democratic systems in Europe can’t be compared with the brutally authoritarian regimes under fire in the Arab world, the angry …
“Atomic Anne” Lauvergeon Replaced As Head Of Nuclear Giant Areva
Anne Lauvergeon–longed ranked by international publications as one of the most influential and powerful women in global business—will be replaced as chairman of Areva, the one-stop nuclear giant she created in 2001. Thursday’s announcement by France’s conservative government to part with Lauvergeon when her current contract …
Et Tu, Jacques? Chirac Backs Socialist Over Sarkozy For 2012 Presidential Election
It’s certainly not a kill shot, but the re-election hopes of French President Nicolas Sarkozy have taken another groan-eliciting body check—this time from Elysée predecessor Jacques Chirac, who said he’d vote for a leading Socialist rival François Hollande over his fellow conservative. However, given Chirac’s previous status as …
Despite His Dire Legal Problems, Could DSK Return To Politics?
Please read the entire story before putting the vats of tar to boil and splitting the pillows for their feathery content.
My current piece on time.com isn’t making the argument that Dominique Strauss-Kahn should return to politics once his current legal battle is over (which at any rate, if things go badly for him, could be several, …
Jacques Chirac’s Presidential Memoir: A Sarkozy Smack-Down
So much for locking his lips and throwing away the key. Just four years after leaving the Elysée with a pledge to never, ever comment on his successor and erstwhile foe Nicolas Sarkozy, former French President Jacques Chirac is now dishing some less than flattering views on France’s current head of state—and only 11 months ahead of …
The DSK Effect: French Media Starts Reporting the Peccadilloes (and Pedophilia) of Politicos
The after-shocks of the rape charges against ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the U.S. seem to be eroding France’s unwritten media rule against publicly delving into the private sexual affairs of national politicians. This week, the press has paid rapt attention to allegations of criminal sexual behavior by two French political …
Paris Reacts To Strauss-Kahn: Do French Elites Deserve Different Laws?
There wasn’t anything particularly French about the enormous attention focused on the New York courtroom hearing Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s successful request for release on bail from Rikers Island imprisonment awaiting trial on charges of attempted rape. But given Strauss-Kahn’s origins and enormous (and now apparently finished) …
Conservative France Celebrates a Socialist President
If it’s May 10 in France, it must be François Mitterrand Day. Not officially, of course (while the nation has named a library, an embankment of the Seine, and other venues after the late president, it hasn’t gone so far as to honor him with an actual public holiday. Yet…). But anyone passing through France or perusing its national …