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Cambronne
Wonder Wit
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 3551
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 Posted:
Mar 02, 2008 - 10:27 PM |
 
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| Post subject: Ridiculing France more each day: "president" Sarko |
Nicolas Sarkozy is due to start a state visit to Britain in four weeks, and already he has managed to cause upset. On Tuesday, in an act of supreme discourtesy, he announced that he would be cutting it down from two nights to one, as he preferred to spend the night in his own bed.
But if that raised murmurs of disquiet at Buckingham Palace, then it is as nothing compared to the feelings for President Sarkozy at home. Indeed, it is fair to say that by the time he sits down to dine with the Queen, he is likely to be the most unpopular President of France for the past 35 years.
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President Bling Bling: Nicolas Sarkozy has been ridiculed in France.
You can get away with a lot as President of the French Republic. You can keep a secret mistress at public expense; you can kidnap and beat up journalists who threaten to expose the existence of your illegitimate daughter; you can salt away a fortune in illegal Swiss bank accounts. You can do all this and you will be buried, like Francois Mitterrand, with full national honours.
But one thing is absolutely out of the question. You cannot make the entire nation feel foolish. And yet that is how millions of French voters feel after weeks of watching their President cavorting around the world with his new bride, the former model Carla Bruni, while simultaneously insulting a host of political allies and the public alike.
Already his behaviour has become so unpredictable that one Spanish newspaper has described the French President as "sick", while the media coverage at home has accused Sarkozy of "turning the country into a magnificent toy for a child" or of "staging Desperate Housewives at the Elysee Palace".
For a man who promised to drag France into a new era of mature prosperity, it is an extraordinary decline.
Sarkozy was elected on a manifesto that was bound to be controversial since he promised "la rupture", a programme of economic and social reform that would mark a clean break with state intervention and over-centralised government.
But the President's recent unpopularity has little to do with his politics.
His ratings have fallen 27 points in eight months, whereas prime minister Francois Fillon, who is in charge of day-to-day government, has lost only five points over the same period. Instead, the popularity plunge has to do with Sarkozy's personal behaviour.
Last week, while officially opening the annual Nation Farmers' Show, Sarkozy was insulted by a man in the crowd who rejected his handshake and shouted: 'Don't touch me, you will make me dirty.' Instead of ignoring him and moving on, the President replied: 'Drop dead, you little cretin.'
This was merely the latest in a long line of gaffes which give the impression that the President of France is simply not up to the job.
The traditional role of the President of the Republic is to be a calm figure above the political battle, someone who can unite the nation, act as a final arbiter and take the long view, a role invented and brilliantly executed by General de Gaulle.
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Whirlwind romance: The president has married Italian supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni.
The President is expected to act as a sort of elected constitutional monarch whose responsibility is in defence and foreign policy and who takes a solemn vow to protect France and to be its dignified representative.
But since coming to power Sarkozy has violated almost all of these traditions. Instead of remaining above the battle and resigning as leader of his own political party, the UMP, he remains the party's chief and even holds a weekly meeting of its steering committee at the Elysee Palace.
And he has personally intervened in the forthcoming local elections in his old constituency of Neuilly, a Paris suburb, in favour of his 22-year-old son.
Furthermore, instead of letting his government get on with the job, he interferes, frequently overruling ministers and making policy on the hoof.
Criticised for his policy statements about the importance of Christian traditions, Sarkozy attempted to please the Jewish community and announced that every ten-year-old child in France would have to "adopt" the identity of one of the 11,400 Jewish children who died in Nazi camps after being deported by France's Vichy government during the war.
Much to his surprise, this idea caused outrage even within the Jewish community. Simone Veil, a political veteran and sage, who was herself a childhood victim of deportation, said it 'made her blood run cold'. And the President's idea was dropped.
In another ill-judged attempt at populism, on the eve of local elections that are likely to prove disastrous for the Right, Sarkozy announced that criminals serving long sentences for murder and rape would in future be held indefinitely in mental asylums when their sentences ended, until they were certified as safe.
When France's supreme court, the Constitutional Council, ruled that this measure was unconstitutional, Sarkozy reacted by saying he would find a way round the ruling, so defying the very institution whose independence he is supposed to guarantee.
But the most serious damage Sarkozy has inflicted on himself lies much closer to home. Quite simply, his private life has intruded on his public role to the extent that it resembles the plot of a soap opera.
The saga began before last year's presidential elections, when Sarkozy was humiliated after his glamorous wife Cecilia left him and set up with an American businessman. He managed to patch up the marriage before the poll, and then tried to keep his wife happy by giving her a Hillary Clintonstyle role in government.
But Cecilia's brief period as France's 'First Lady' was marked by a series of disasters. She wrecked her husband's inauguration ceremony by ignoring most of the guests, walked out of two international conferences and then snubbed President Bush during an official visit to Washington.
Worse was to come. Last summer, in attempt to bolster her public role, she flew to Libya where she was said to have personally persuaded Colonel Gaddafi to release an East European medical team who had been held hostage for several years.
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Coffee break: The couple have been pictured in lots of loving clinches.
In fact, it soon transpired that the French government had secretly ransomed the hostages, and Cecilia played no part in the negotiations.
Shortly afterwards, the Sarkozys were divorced, with the President's pride suffering a further blow when - two weeks after Cecilia's departure - he was obliged to welcome Colonel Gaddafi on a state visit.
His chosen method of consolation - an affair with a younger woman - was perfectly acceptable to French voters, other than the fact that it was conducted with all the dignity and decorum of a love-struck teenager. In France there is a traditional respect for the privacy of politicians. But instead of being discreet about his love for Carla Bruni, Sarkozy decided to advertise it to the world.
The pair were seen canoodling on official visits the Vatican and Egypt.
In response, the French Press took Sarkozy's violation of his own privacy as an invitation for open day on the presidency. He was christened 'President Bling Bling', in reference to his love of expensive trinkets.
A savage campaign of ridicule culminated on February 7, when a magazine published a text message allegedly sent by Sarkozy to ex-wife Cecilia, just one week before he married Carla Bruni: the text supposedly read: "Return home and I will cancel everything."
But perhaps the most serious evidence that Sarkozy has "lost it", is in his handling of Franco-German relations. For the past 50 years, the combined weight of France and Germany has enabled the two countries to run the European union almost as a private club, but the arrangement has now broken down for two reasons.
The first is that Sarkozy has decided to replace the Franco-German axis with a new closer relationship between France, Washington and London. The second reason is German Chancellor Angela Merkel's intense dislike of Nicolas Sarkozy.
Only yesterday it was announced that Sarkozy had postponed a meeting with Merkel for three months. The immediate disagreement is over the French President's determination to form a "Club Med", a formal union of all the countries bordering the Mediterranean. Germany regards this as a threat to European unity and a potential complication in its delicate relationship with Turkey.
The final straw came when Merkel refused to sign a joint newspaper article welcoming the "Club Med". Sarkozy then cancelled his visit.
This characteristically impulsive behaviour confirmed Merkel's low opinion of the President, whom she considers to be disrespectful, overfamiliar, hyperactive and boastful.
When she heard about his passion for Carla Bruni she even nicknamed him "President Duracell", after the long-life battery.
Every day, it seems, there is some fresh embarrassment, or some new Presidential gaffe that erodes his public standing yet further. Yesterday it was even rumoured in Paris that his three-week-old marriage to Carla Bruni was actually illegal because the ceremony took place in a private room in the Elysee Palace and not, as the law requires, in a public place.
The result of this ignominy? The man who promised to be France's Mrs Thatcher has instead turned into its Alan Clark - an arrogant playboy who appears to believe the normal rules of office do not apply to him.
Far from counting it as in insult, the Queen may consider herself fortunate that her forthcoming guest has opted to cut his visit short. |
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julianna
Reacher
Joined: Mar 02, 2008
Posts: 224
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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Mar 02, 2008 - 11:25 PM |
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I guess you are a British.....British and French ...... hmmm ...... have relationship like Cat and Dog.  |
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Cambronne
Wonder Wit
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 3551
Status: Offline
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Mar 02, 2008 - 11:52 PM |
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Very good guess. |
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leidelaohu
Board Lord
Joined: June 11, 2007
Posts: 5745
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Mar 03, 2008 - 12:48 AM |
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^^ At least your nitwit doesn't embroil the entire world in vipers'-nest wars like our nitwit. And gotta give the French people credit, they appear to recognize a fool when they see one. France 1, US 0. |
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Cambronne
Wonder Wit
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 3551
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Mar 03, 2008 - 12:50 AM |
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france (not capitalized) has become a vassal state of the US. The vassal of a vassal. Sad (capitalized). |
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jzzzzzzz
Veejay
Joined: July 07, 2006
Posts: 2037
Status: Offline
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Mar 03, 2008 - 05:54 AM |
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What is the use of this thread? France is pointless. |
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Cambronne
Wonder Wit
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 3551
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Mar 03, 2008 - 09:00 AM |
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Let me correct that: Sarkozy's regime is "nul et non avenu". |
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p1atl10
Shanghai Royalty
Joined: Mar 18, 2005
Posts: 8585
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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Mar 03, 2008 - 09:12 AM |
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^ does that mean "irrelevant" |
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Cambronne
Wonder Wit
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 3551
Status: Offline
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Mar 03, 2008 - 09:16 AM |
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Thats how De Gaulle defined the collaborationist Vichy regime, which was never really France, a bit like Sarkozy's "france". |
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Cambronne
Wonder Wit
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 3551
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Mar 03, 2008 - 09:18 AM |
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Isnt it like "null and void". Some sort of legal term. Sarkozy's regime has no legal or moral legitimacy. And it clearly doesnt represent France or the interest of the French people. |
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CoffeeHawk_0
Board Deity
Joined: July 14, 2005
Posts: 17952
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Mar 03, 2008 - 09:43 AM |
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"let them eat Freedom Fries" |
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hc
Post Roaster
Joined: Apr 04, 2007
Posts: 4545
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Mar 03, 2008 - 12:21 PM |
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p1atl10
Shanghai Royalty
Joined: Mar 18, 2005
Posts: 8585
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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Mar 03, 2008 - 01:15 PM |
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Washington in 76 a chance of winning against the English.
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Darn near everyone....the French (the largest conributors to the effort), the Dutch, the Germans.....Almost any European power at the time was interested in helping the colonies gain independance ...thereby reducing the British empire and influence in the world.
Most from the US do not realize how truly global were the efforts at helping us battle the Brits. |
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hc
Post Roaster
Joined: Apr 04, 2007
Posts: 4545
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Mar 03, 2008 - 01:40 PM |
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Cambronne
Wonder Wit
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 3551
Status: Offline
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Mar 03, 2008 - 01:53 PM |
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I think the plural is ignoramice. |
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p1atl10
Shanghai Royalty
Joined: Mar 18, 2005
Posts: 8585
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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Mar 03, 2008 - 01:57 PM |
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^ nope
He was correct
igˇnoˇraˇmus Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ig-nuh-rey-muhs, -ram-uhs] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
noun, plural -musˇes. |
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Cambronne
Wonder Wit
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 3551
Status: Offline
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Mar 03, 2008 - 02:02 PM |
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Ah ah ah |
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Buzzd
PopStar
Joined: Jan 30, 2008
Posts: 1114
Status: Offline
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Mar 03, 2008 - 03:28 PM |
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Quote:
Washington in 76 a chance of winning against the English.
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I'm confused. You mean we had a president who actually fought in a war? No National Guard back then I guess. No daddy pulling strings to get him in to pilot school, in spite of the fact that he tested on par with a paper bag.
About 10,000 of them camped out on Staten Island, I believe. Hessian's hired by the Brits. Washington took them to school too. |
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CoffeeHawk_0
Board Deity
Joined: July 14, 2005
Posts: 17952
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Mar 03, 2008 - 04:03 PM |
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| hc wrote: |
^ The usual thick american pulling the "Freedom Fries" think without having a clue of who gave Washington in 76 a chance of winning against the English.
Oh wait, it's CoffeeHawk, our village idiot.
Hey Coffee, shouldnt you be throwing a gay fit with all these people chastising siena lately?
Hypocrisy anyone?
Yes, I am a cnt. So what? |
What's the matter hc, is someone doubling, or halving your meds lately? Usually you can at least jump on the popular opinion bandwagon to get a sense of feeling knowledgable, but we're all sad to see your skills falling into nothing better than teenage girl bashing and gay comments, but some men do claim that makes them feel powerful. I'm sure all that psycho-babble about that sort of thing being used to compensate for something else is all rubbish.
The 'cake' expression is an example of aristocracy being arrogantly aloof to the plight of the common people, and implies the tendency of those in power to bask too much in their own luxury. My comment was quite fitting.
Some people don't mind that you're a cnt, but some of us are dissappointed when you act like a dumb cnt. You are by far the most vocal one here of the people from your continent and as such you become it's spokesperson. We have higher expectations from such a learned reader as yourself. |
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hc
Post Roaster
Joined: Apr 04, 2007
Posts: 4545
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Mar 03, 2008 - 05:06 PM |
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| Buzzd wrote: |
| Quote: |
Quote:
Washington in 76 a chance of winning against the English.
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I'm confused. You mean we had a president who actually fought in a war? No National Guard back then I guess. No daddy pulling strings to get him in to pilot school, in spite of the fact that he tested on par with a paper bag.
About 10,000 of them camped out on Staten Island, I believe. Hessian's hired by the Brits. Washington took them to school too. |
Hehehhe.
In reality I think GWB is pretty good at faking being dumb, mostly because dumbness has a certain appeal to the middle class ordinary Joe kind of guy. That's clever marketing actually. I mean, he graduated from Princeton, got his MBA from Harvard and all the other crap that is supposed to mean something. He appears to be good at faking being dumb, but at the same time being mediocre.
He will go down in history as a pretty clever guy 30 years from now. He was the dude that bought 30+ years of cheap gas and irresponsible consumerism to the land of god...
But I guess we will find this out much later... |
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leidelaohu
Board Lord
Joined: June 11, 2007
Posts: 5745
Status: Offline
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Mar 03, 2008 - 05:41 PM |
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| Buzzd wrote: |
| About 10,000 of them camped out on Staten Island, I believe. Hessians hired by the Brits. Washington took them to school too. |
You remember Washington Crossing the Delaware ? Funny, when George attacked on Christmas morning it was the height of cleverness. When the Vietnamese did the same thing it was disgraceful treachery.
Truth is, France won the American revolution and the Americans played a secondary role. The battle of Yorktown was Rochambeau's idea, the food, weapons and clothing the Americans wore was from France (Washington hadn't fought in over four months due to lack of supplies and ammunition), the fleet that cut Cornwallis off from escape or reinforcement was French, there were seven or eight thousand Americans and about the same number of French on land but thousands more Frenchies at sea surrounding Cornwallis, there were about 500 British casualties to America's 80 and France's 200 ... if it were not for Benjamin Franklin and France the US would not have had a chance.
babebibobu, would the French nobility still have supported the US if they'd known that the cost of that war plus the bad example of liberté, égalité, fraternité overseas would cause their own cut throats a few years later ? |
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Buzzd
PopStar
Joined: Jan 30, 2008
Posts: 1114
Status: Offline
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Mar 03, 2008 - 06:28 PM |
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In reality I think GWB is pretty good at faking being dumb
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Easy to fake it when you don't have far to go! He's as dumb as a post! I'd love to hear what daddy was throwing in to the kitty over at Yale. Georgie boy couldn't spell endowment even if Lara was readin' it reeaaallll sloooow to him, but daddy can sure supplement one. |
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hc
Post Roaster
Joined: Apr 04, 2007
Posts: 4545
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Mar 03, 2008 - 06:49 PM |
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| leidelaohu wrote: |
| Buzzd wrote: |
| About 10,000 of them camped out on Staten Island, I believe. Hessians hired by the Brits. Washington took them to school too. |
You remember Washington Crossing the Delaware ? Funny, when George attacked on Christmas morning it was the height of cleverness. When the Vietnamese did the same thing it was disgraceful treachery.
Truth is, France won the American revolution and the Americans played a secondary role. The battle of Yorktown was Rochambeau's idea, the food, weapons and clothing the Americans wore was from France (Washington hadn't fought in over four months due to lack of supplies and ammunition), the fleet that cut Cornwallis off from escape or reinforcement was French, there were seven or eight thousand Americans and about the same number of French on land but thousands more Frenchies at sea surrounding Cornwallis, there were about 500 British casualties to America's 80 and France's 200 ... if it were not for Benjamin Franklin and France the US would not have had a chance.
babebibobu, would the French nobility still have supported the US if they'd known that the cost of that war plus the bad example of liberté, égalité, fraternité overseas would cause their own cut throats a few years later ? |
Ah. Tiger, Buzzd and p1atl10 living proof that not all americans are as dumb as you know who.
Wasnt the trainer of Washington's army a Prussian officer? Von Steuben?
Interesting Tet Offensive remark, the kind of hypocrisy our "fliend" Coffeehawk sports.
Sigh. |
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Cambronne
Wonder Wit
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 3551
Status: Offline
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| Posted:
Mar 03, 2008 - 10:28 PM |
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About the President of the Unites States being dumb: how stupid can YOU be?
Oh, and I guess the US military is just so bad that they could not stop those hijackers on 9/11. And the CIA could not know that Saddam did not have WMDs. |
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ShanghaiUnderground
StreetBeater
Joined: July 15, 2004
Posts: 2413
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted:
Mar 03, 2008 - 11:12 PM |
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| jzzzzzzz wrote: |
| What is the use of this thread? France is pointless. |
I disagree. At the Presidential level at least, France now, finally, has direction and purpose.
If the majority of lazy French fuqs despise their President and his policies, then He's doing a GREAT job!
Vive la Tzar Nicolas! |
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