She's won hearts but is she able to win enough minds?

The Times ^ | September 30, 2006 | Charles Bremner

[goldstategop]

Royal appears to be committed to traditional Socialist policies. I think the source of her appeal is she's a woman in a country where all the political figures on both sides of the political divide are men - and elderly men at that.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

[goldstategop]

They're a cohabiting couple. In a more traditional era, Royal would never even be considered. But it is in France were families have evolved more than in the rest of Europe and I dare say, America.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

[hoagy62]

Still, I would buy one in a heartbeat. The dealership who is going to be selling them in our area had 3 of them here for the Western Washington Fair ("The Puyallup") just last week. I got to sit in one, take a good look at it, check out the engine...everything except drive it. It's got enough room for a big guy like me, and it gets FANTASTIC gas mileage. It'd be a perfect car for me and my 28-mile-each-way commute.

And if an American car maker can make a car...a PRODUCTION CAR, not a concept..that gets 60 MPG plus, and is LESS than $25,000 then I'll look into it.

[Loud Mime]

I've been waiting for super-light minimal sized cars that amount to little more than a covered go-kart. Add a small trailer for the other needs and we see the future of Los Angeles traffic.

[stripes1776]

Four kids. And the fact that they all have the same father may qualify for monogamy in France.

She sounds like someone with all the morals of a character from a story by Kate Chopin. Royal sounds treacherous to me--in the sense of faithless. Her partner is not necessarily the father of her children.

[Tenniel]

The Smart cars are already here (at Benz dealerships in northern California and Nevada), with a price tag of about $25K.

Cut that number in half and Benz would sell a million of'em. As-is, they come under the heading of Overpriced Fashion Accessory.

[Spktyr]

No, I prefer this:

I notice that you didn't say they were reliable. My cousin bought a C1 last year, IIRC. He lives in London, and he reports that it's broken down more than his former 1977 Jaguar XJS ever did.

[Republicain]

The Smart cars are already here (at Benz dealerships in northern California and Nevada), with a price tag of about $25K.

In Europe the start price is €9000 ($11500). €10600 for a "forfour" model.

[Zeppelin]

haha yep

[MarkL]

But why should we care, the article is in English, but how does it relate to us?

I don't know if you realize this, but a very possible reason that we're actually fighting a war in Iraq right now is the fact that France (and Russia, and Germany) all opposed us every step of the way in the UN, and that Hussien had very good reason to believe that the US would NEVER invade without strong UN support, given past US initiatives under Clinton. Hussien probably figured that the US would fire a few missiles, or possibly even run a strategic bombing campaign, but not put US boots on the ground.

And thanks to France (and others) opposition in other matters (like with Iran), we're seeing more and more tension coming from them as well.

Mark