Current events in France (#2)

To better understand a country, it is useful to read its press and watch its TV. You can see what are the main issues for the people, what are the current controversies (the French are very good at that...). In this section, I try to register, month after month, the main topics for the French.  WARNING ! The comments below do NOT reflect MY own opinion but are a tentative synthesis of what comes out from the French press and TV in a given month ! I do express my own opinions on page Editorial !

This page concerns 2008 and 2007 : for previous years, click here. December, November, October, August-September, July, June, May, April, March, February, January 2008 2007 December, November, October, September, June, May, April, March, February, January More in Harriet's diary...

Webmaster Philippe Rochefort and wife Harriet discussing current world affairs in a French bistrot.

What was making the headlines this month in 2008....		2008 was a great year for French culture !
December : Since the French are so good at demonstrating in the streets, a demonstration is planneds on the evening of December 31. Its theme : "2008 was bad : we refuse to enter 2009". Every day brings additional bad news about the economy ; the French are more and more depressed.... November : The annual convention of the Socialist Party illustrates the deep conflict inside the party between modernity (and capacity to make alliances on its Right, like all other European social-democrat parties) and tradition (attachment to the Marxist wording and the strategy "no adversaries on our Left"). Sofar, the only winner is Sarkozy... Two topics make most bof the head lines : the disastrous financial crisis and its consequences and the US elections ; 84% of the French declare they are happy with the election of Obama and the image of America shows an impressive surge! October : The impact of the financial crisis resulting from the subprime credit defaults in the USA is now very serious all over Europe and newspapers report bad news every day. August-September : The press covers extensively the financial crash resulting from the sub-prime crisis and its very serious effects in Europe. The blame is put on the US and it certainly feeds anti-Americanism worldwide. See my last-year's column "Sub-prime, Selfishness and Stupidity". In France, the Left Wing is likely to be the sole beneficiary of what is considered " a failure of the American model ". French media follow closely the American presidential campaign and predict a victory for Obama, who is very popular in France (if I were him, I'd be worried : they anticipated a victory for Kerry). July : By succeeding in having voted a substantial number of amendments to the Constitution, Sarkozy puts once again the Left , who voted against, in an akward situation since most of them (if not all ) have been demanded by the Left for decades (the increase of the power of the Parliament versus the President's) The Franco-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt is freed after more than six years in the jungle June : A French court voids a marriage between two Muslims because the bride was not a virgin and had not told the groom. The whole country is horrified. Read more. Protesting the price of gas and demanding the State to fix it half-price, fishermen block harbors, truck drivers block refineries, taxicabs block train stations, etc... Typically French movements... May : The French love anniversaries : this month, they celebrate the pseudo-revolution of May 1968 April : Blunders and discrepancies : every day Sarkozy and his government offer something new to the press, which comments them endlessly... Amazing success of a film "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis" (17 million viewers in 6 weeks) restoring the pride of the North of France. Read more.		According to Le Monde (Jan.11, 2009), in spite of the devastating economic crisis, 2008 was a great year for culture. A record year for spectators in theaters, cinemas (+6,2%), concert halls, museum (>10%), exhibitions, ... Publishers also report a record year for books : number of new books and sales Best year for films sold to foreign countries All indicators are positive for songs and rock music A good year for theater, particularly for subsidized theaters which are cheaper, but private theaters did relatively well Among the major successes : a film "Les Chti's", a book (Millenium by S. Larsson), an exhibition (Picasso at the Grand Palais) For the future : of course a strong decline of sponsoring is feared.   June : A French court voids a marriage between two Muslims because the bride was not a virgin and had not told the groom. The whole country is horrified. Read more. Protesting the price of gas and demanding the State to fix it half-price, fishermen block harbors, truck drivers block refineries, taxicabs block train stations, etc... Typically French movements... May : The French love anniversaries : this month, they celebrate the pseudo-revolution of May 1968 April : Blunders and discrepancies : every day Sarkozy and his government offer something new to the press, which comments them endlessly... Amazing success of a film "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis" (17 million viewers in 6 weeks) restoring the pride of the North of France. Read more. March : As expected, the local elections are lost by Sarkozy's majority and most cities, "départements" and regions are now run by the Left-Wing. February : In country where the opinion is always quasi-evenly split 49/51 on every issue, it is remarkable to note that 82% of the French strongly disagree with the way Sarkozy exhibits his private life (OpinionWay/Le Figaro 15/2/2008) ; all newpapers and magazine make their cover-story and headlines about it. The popularity level of the president sinks... January : Société Générale, one of the major French banks is ridiculed by a "lone trader" and looses more than $7bn Sarkozy has appointed Jacques Attali (a Socialist), advisor to former president Mitterand, to identify the main obstacles to economic growth in the French society ; he submitted his report Jan.23 with 316 propositions ; as always lazy, prejudiced and incompetent, the French press mentions only the most anecdotic ones (like suppressing the obligation of a license for hairdressers) or the 3 of them President Sarkozy does not agree with (like suppressing the "departement", one of the SEVEN layers of local authorities). See "the French and change". On January 2, all cafés and restaurants in France became "non smoking" : the whole country wonders what will happen, given the well-established tradition of a lack of discipline, but apparently it works... More to come
What was making the headlines in 2007...
December : After the very controversial visit to Paris of Col.Khadafi, Sarkozy is happy to have the whole press covering the day he spent at EuroDisney with glamorous singer Carla Bruni, apparently his new lover girl... The cover story of Time (European edition) ("The Death of the French Culture") angered the whole country with its patronizing tone... November : Sarkozy had promised that when elected he would launch an ambitious process to include environmental concerns into all public policies ; called the "Grenelle de l'Environnement", it took several weeks of meetings and was concluded by the President, with Manuel Baroso (president of the European Commision) and Al Gore ; it is largely considered a big success and once again Sarkozy's opponents are embarassed : he does what they say the government should do (and they did not do when in power)... October : the first big strike of the Sarkozy era (Oct.18) is to protest against the reform of the situation of 500,000 civil servants and bus and trains employees who can retire at age 50 with full pension (read more about their amazing provileges). the question is : where is Cecilia ? The wife of President Sarkozy does not act as a typical First Lady (euphemism...). Will they divorce ? The answer came Oct.19 : yes, they divorce ! everyday, newspapers make their healines about financial scandals insider dealing by top management (EADS), bribes to workers' unions by employers' association (MEDEF), blackmail of politicians by government agents (Clearstream), etc... The fact that the Nobel Prize of Physics was awarded to a French physicist is hardly mentionned. Who says that the French are chauvinists ? September : of course : the Rugby World Cup which takes place in France ! the communication strategy of President Sarkozy freaks out the medias : every day a different field and by the time (one day) they're ready to react, comment and analyze, he is adressing something completely different. Wen elected, he said "I'll start full speed and then I'll accelerate"... June/July/August : in July and August, people talk about vacation and, this year, about the terrible weather, cold and rainy all over the country the country is fascinated by the way the new president is beginning his mandate : hyperactive, appointing opponents to major positions, etc.. ; the Socialist party does not know what to do or say and is in total panic... May : A new type of presidential family at the Elysée Palace : with Sarkozy (brilliantly) elected president of France, it is the first time that a second-generation Frenchman is elected and it is also the first time that the president's family, like so many families, has two children on her side, two on his and one they have in common.		Newsmap is a very interesting site which gives the repartition of the most frequently treated information by category (world, nation, business, techno, sports, entertainment, health) for 11 countries, including France and the US. It is permanently updated and it is fascinating to compare what is considered the most important at the same moment in different countries. Presidential elections : most recent poll (first round)    Sarkozy  Royal  Le Pen  Bayrou  Others  Jan.15  33%  28%  10%  12%  17%  Feb.15  33%  26%  13%  14%  14%  Mar 8  26%  25%  14%  24%  11%  Mar 23  26%  25%  14,5%  22%  12,5%  Apr 13  28,5%  24%  13%  18%  16,5%  Actual  31%  25%  11%  19%  14% % of voters : 85% (first round), 86% (second round) : traditionnally high (over 75%), voter participation was particularly high, after a very interesting campaign. More to come... April : All the comments about the Blacksburg shooting at Virginia Tech (33 killed) are "why are the Americans so surprised : it is the only country where anybody can buy a gun over the counter" Everything turns around the presidential campaign and it is, indeed, quite interesting ; the old split Left/Right resists but is challenged, with the excellent campaign of Bayrou.... March : March 26 : the presidential campaign is becoming funnier every day : the Socialist candidate declared that every family should have a French flag. For most of the Lelft, this is a typical extreme Right Wing statement. The Right wing cracks up... March 24 : the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which started the building of Europe is celebrated in Berlin with humility and nostalgia, given the current poor situation of the European project Airbus, the European champion, is facing very challenging cost cuts : it is becoming an important issue in the presidential campaign. February : Presidential campaign every day.... The French Christian Democrat François Bayrou is doing surprisingly well in the polls. January : The death of Abbé Pierre, the most popular figure for the French, ranking #1 for 20 years. Now and for the coming 4 months, most headlines refer to the next Presidential elections (April 22) ; as of today, polls give Sarkozy and Royal 50/50 ; read about French political issues ; among many controversial news : the Socialist party declares they would increase the income tax on "high" salaries (above Euros 4,000/month ; it is disclosed that the Socialist candidate is "rich" enough to pay ISF (tax on wealth), etc....

To related pages : previous years : 2005&2006 (#1), next year 2009 to 2012 (#3), 2013 (#4), French society, major French issues, strengths and weaknesses of France, etc...
To table of contents To top of the page  Back to home page	Harriet Welty Rochefort writes articles and books about France and the French. Order her books: "Joie de Vivre", Secrets of Wining, Dining and Romancing like the French, St.Martin's Press, New York, 2012 "French Toast, An American in Paris Celebrates The Maddening Mysteries of the French", St.Martin's Press, New York, 1999 "French Fried, The Culinary Capers of An American in Paris", St.Martin's Press, New York, 2001 More on Harriet's books (excerpts, upcoming events, testimonials, etc..)
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