Posted on 01/14/2007 2:08:08 PM PST by FairOpinion
Improbable as it sounds today, by the time President Bush is rounding out his final term in office, his closest European ally and new best friend could be the president of France.
Nicolas Sarkozy, who on Sunday will clinch the ruling center-right party's nomination for the presidency, is an unabashed admirer of America. If Sarkozy can hold off Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal in what is expected to be a tight contest this spring, the sour relations between the U.S. and France will undoubtedly sweeten.
"I see a lot of American diplomats, politicians and journalists these days and I am telling them, yes, Nicolas Sarkozy is a friend of America. He admires American culture. He has no problem with money or success or working hard," Martinon said.
According to Sarkozy, the old way of doing business in France, aimed mainly at protecting its well-cushioned social welfare state, has left the country with a sclerotic economy, high unemployment and bleak prospects for the future.
Eric Besson, a member of the National Assembly from the Socialist Party, last month characterized Sarkozy as "an American neo-conservative with a French passport."
Sarkozy says there is nothing wrong with wanting to trim welfare benefits or encouraging people to work longer hours. He says he admires the flexibility of the American and British economic models, and wants to import some of their ideas.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
his constituents wil make plenty sure he doesn't show too much favor of America for too long I'm sure.
The following link does not relate to this thread http://sacredscoop.com
I hate the French. I don't believe I owe them anything as to my freedom from the Brits. We would have fought on and continued to fight, we wouldn't have bent our knee and served Vichy if offered.
F
the
French
(Insert belly girl here).
Dang ! I know what Clinton is saying, and I am finding it hard to disagree with him.
Not a chance. These socialists are going to go down with the ship blaming America all the while.
Sarkozy might take the steps necessary to help France save ITSELF, which could and should be his first order of business/ More events like the riots, car burnings, and random bullying violence the housing project Islamic hooligans engaged in, and he WILL deport them. France needs to undo this downward spiral it's in, and face what it has become, and even though it will take a few generations, I think it can happen. And while it's happening in France, it should happen in rest of Europe.
Maybe this is where the real change will occur first, rather than in the plans we've made for the slowly modernizing and democratizing Middle East.
Wait until she runs ads tying Sarkozy to President Bush.
The photo has already been on the front page of every French newspaper.
That would be a change for France, wouldn't it? We don't get many Lafayettes anymore.
And that would be totally fair.
Impressive. He is too good to win.
Bully for you.
I don't believe I owe them anything as to my freedom from the Brits.
You can believe anything you'd like, but you happen to be wrong. You owe your independence to de Grasse, to Rochambeau and to de Lafayette as much as you do to Greene, Washington and Gates.
As Sarkozy Surges, Royal Falters
Playfuls.com | 1/19/2007 | Siegfried Mortkowitz
Posted on 01/19/2007 3:11:13 PM EST by Dark Skies
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1770355/posts
France: Sarkozy wins presidential nomination: In bold speech, stresses values of 'republican right'
International Herald Tribune | January 14, 2007 | Elaine Sciolino
Posted on 01/14/2007 5:35:30 PM EST by Cincinna
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1767578/posts
Segolene Royal -- Photo: AP
Only in France, a Scandal for Policy Wonks [ Segolene Royal vs teachers union ]
TIME Magazine | Wednesday, November 15, 2006 | James Graff
Posted on 11/16/2006 12:35:29 AM EST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1739424/posts
French Socialists in torment as rebel Royal steals the limelightThe French Socialist party was struggling to finalise its manifesto for next year's presidential and national elections... Expected to propose a longer working week, the manifesto was due to be adopted last night before being debated and put to the vote by 200,000 party members on 22 June... Last week, Ms Royal's suggestions that national service be reintroduced and that young delinquents be "placed within a military framework" for their first offence triggered accusations from within her own party that she was copying the rhetoric of the hardline interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, her likely challenger on the centre-right. On Monday, Ms Royal dared to attack the pillar of modern French Socialist doctrine - the 35-hour working week, saying on her website it had created too much flexibility and blaming it for worsening the situation of the poorest workers... Ms Royal remains the strong favourite among Socialist supporters, with 68 per cent saying they want her to stand as their party's candidate for president in 2007.
Susan Bell in Paris
June 6, 2006
French unease about wealth rises to fore in presidential campaign
By Angela Charlton
Associated Press
11:17 a.m. January 18, 2007
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070118-1117-france-money.html
"France's best-known rock star, Johnny Hallyday, recently incurred both sympathy and ire when he announced he was moving to Switzerland to avoid punishing French taxes."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
