If the dramatic advances in recent days that have taken opponents of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi toward — then into — Tripoli have thus far elicited only the most careful responses from tight-lipped Western leaders, there’s a good chance those officials are showing more emotion over the conflict, which is apparently nearing …
Nicolas Sarkozy
The Merkel-Sarkozy Summit: Fiddling While Europe Burns
Politicians are notorious cynics, but French President Nicolas Sarkozy may be in a league of his own when it comes to exploiting collective crises in the hopes of creating personal gain. That is precisely what he was up to Tuesday during his joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, where he sought extend a …
The Merkel-Sarkozy Summit: A Minimalist Affair
It says a lot about the dramatic crisis facing the euro zone when the leaders of its two biggest economies go into a highly scrutinized summit amid promises, assurances, and even a form of hype stressing that nothing much will come from it. But that’s precisely the buzz surrounding this afternoon’s Paris meeting between German …
Could French Doubts On Afghanistan Influence Future Foreign Policy?
It may wind up proving to be nothing more than mere politics, but if the re-thinking now being expressed by French Socialists about the country’s engagement in Afghanistan is in earnest, it could have some serious consequences for the military operations Paris is already involved in—and any more than might be looming.
On …
London Rioters Vs. Stock Market Traders: Who’s More Destructive?
Spreading chaos stokes rising fear. People rush to secure or otherwise protect valuables suddenly exposed to threat. Every 24 hours or so, mobs of faceless people converge anew to form an unpredictable, menacingly amorphous force whose destructive power strikes terror throughout society. Distraught citizens look on at the frenzy with the …
Why The French Inquiry Of Christine Lagarde Is Unlikely To Threaten Her IMF Job
Does Friday’s decision by French justice officials to open a legal investigation into abuse of power allegations against Christine Lagarde mean the International Monetary Fund head risks losing her job less than a month after succeeding the disgraced Dominique Strauss-Kahn? The short answer is no, and for many reasons. Still, that …
France’s Counter-Terrorism Ace Finds Himself Under Scrutiny
For the past three decades he’s been known as “The Sheriff”, “The Admiral”, and more generally as the world-famous icon of French counter-terrorism. The pipe-smoking, Magnum-packing judge became counter-terrorism’s international celebrity through exploits that included (but were far from limited to) tracking down and …
Strauss-Kahn Still Casting Shadows Over French Socialist Presidential Primaries
With expectations high that New York prosecutors may drop their sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn prior to their looming Aug. 1 court date, the former International Monetary Fund chief is apparently trying to resume something closer to the normal life he led before his May 14 arrest. On July 15, Strauss-Kahn and wife …
Envious Of U.S. Debt Ceiling Conflict, France Considers One Of Its Own
Were Paul Krugman to be inhabited by the not-so-kindred soul of Ronald Reagan, the Nobel prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist might be looking towards Europe airing the disapproving lament, “Well, there you go again”. And just who would the culpable “you” up to something iffy again be? French President Nicolas …
Is France Changing Its Tune as the Libya War Drags On?
There’s currently a lot of activity, a good measure of confusion, but no real sign of progress in France towards an eventual resolution to the NATO-led intervention in Libya that Paris was instrumental in launching. And it’s against that backdrop of somewhat chaotic operation slog that the French parliament is being asked Tuesday …
What Tristane Banon’s Novels Tell Us About DSK’s French Accuser
As the battle between New York prosecutors and Dominique Strauss-Kahn continues to disintegrate into what increasingly looks like a legal paintball war using bazookas and rotten fruit (seemingly paralyzing hits of semi-gelatinous melon and fungoid kumquat being regularly scored by both sides), the French are taking closer look at the …
IMF Confirms Christine Lagarde as Replacement for Dominique Strauss-Kahn
The selection of French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde to succeed disgraced compatriot Dominique Strauss-Kahn as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) hardly took anyone by surprise. Even before Tuesday’s IMF board meeting naming her managing director, Lagarde’s appointment had become a foregone conclusion for most …
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, …