The prestigious British journal The Economist has endorsed UMP candidate Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidency of France. Although it acknowledges that Sarkozy has several weaknesses, notably recent statements reflecting economic populism, his nativism on immigration and national identity, and perhaps most importantly for a globally oriented readership, "his fierce hostility to letting Turkey join the EU," The Economist concludes that Sarkozy offers France "the best hope of reform."
The two most reform-minded big candidates in the election are Nicolas Sarkozy and Jean-Marie Le Pen.
Obviously their ideas of “reform” are a bit different.
It will be interesting to see how well Le Pen polls. A little bird tells me that people are absolutely fed up with the criminality and the rioting and the property damage, moreso than ever before.
I will not be a bit surprised to see a runoff between Sarkozy and Le Pen.
Please let me know if you want to be on or off teh FRENCH ELECTION (((PING))) LIST
“Although it acknowledges that Sarkozy has several weaknesses, notably recent statements reflecting economic populism, his nativism on immigration and national identity,..”
LOL, those aren’t weaknesses, they are merely deviations from the Economists’ own Globalist shibboleths (all while the Economist correctly diagnoses the rest of France’s ills).
“Sarkozy offers France “the best hope of reform.” “
Thin hopes, France needs a revolution not an evolution, but I’ll take a leader who at least doesnt make America-bashing part of his rhetoric.
On the contrary, this is the best reason to vote for Sarkozy. Go Sarko!
Thanks. The French need a good wallop of anti-immigrant if they intend to survive.
http://galliawatch.blogspot.com/
The death of the policeman at the theme park in Paris is a reminder of the many acts of violence committed against those entrusted with the protection of French citizens. A long article in Le Monde, here abridged, gives a summary of some recent attacks:
The contrast is striking. In September 2006, a series of violent attacks committed against policemen provoked angry reactions from the police unions and a heated political debate, all covered by the media. Since then the attacks have hardly diminished but the coverage is much more low-key than in 2006.
According to INVU (National Indicator of Urban Violence) there have been 1400 attacks on security, emergency and health services during the first trimester of 2007. The last few weeks, in particular, have been marked by spectacular assaults, sometimes premeditated, against the police.
On March 20 the police fell into a trap in a housing project in Etampes (Essonne). In an act of vengeance because of an arrest made two days earlier, a group of young people organized an automobile chase with a stolen car, then set the car on fire to attract the firemen and police. When they arrived, they were the target of 20 to 30 shots fired with a 22 carabine rifle equipped with a sight. The sight, fortunately, was not properly adjusted and one person was wounded in the leg.
In Cergy (Val-d'Oise), on Sunday April 1, policemen were attacked by a group of 30 to 50 young people who doused them with fire extinguishers and threw stones. To break them up, the police twice used their firearms, aiming above their heads. A young man in a near-by park was wounded, possibly by a bullet that ricocheted.
Serious violence was also committed on April 4 in a housing project of Bassens (Gironde), near Bordeaux. After an identity check, 9 officers were wounded, one seriously, by stones and bottles thrown by about 15 young people. Sixty police officers were mobilized to restore order.
These events are not exceptional. They confirm a marked tendency, observed by both Right and Left. Violence against persons representing authority (gendarmes, police, firemen, health workers, teachers) has more than doubled since 1996.
In 2006, 24,851 crimes against authority figures were recorded, or 6.3% more than in 2005. The first half of 2006 was particularly difficult due to the after effects of the anti-CPE demonstrations. (...)
According to INVU 5,660 collective acts of urban violence against security personnel were recorded in 2006, as well as 8,500 projectiles thrown. Seine-Saint-Denis, Yvelines, le Nord, and les Bouches-du-Rhône are the departments most affected.
The extremely violent nature of the attacks is what is without precedent. Incendiary devices, man-hole lids, iron bars, blocks of cement, bowling balls: everything can be recycled into a weapon against the police. One arrest or an identity check gone wrong, can become a pretext, as at the Gare du Nord, in Paris, on March 27.
These attacks provoked a momentary eruption of the debate on crime in the presidential campaign. And yet, the other acts of violence that occur almost every day in the ghettoes no longer make news. How do we explain this shift? Are the unions, one of the major sources for journalists, unwilling to talk? Are the media reluctant to discuss this topic as the first round approaches?
"There is a general discouragement, even among the police. People get used to everything, and especially to violence, when it becomes a daily event, " explains Dominique Achispon, general secretary of the SNOP (National Union of Police Officers). "But beware: one day, if the pot boils over, the police will take to the streets to vent their frustration."
Jean-Claude Delage, general secretary of Alliance, denounces the "trivialization of violence against the police. "The police are considered to be agents of the Sarkozy Method, which means occupying the territory in all the bad neighborhoods. So, in a way, they are seen as getting what they deserve."
Other union leaders blame the changing moods of the media. "Today, it is fashionable to be anti-cop. The discussions following the Gare du Nord incident were caricatures. And besides, in the papers there is a reluctance to talk for fear of being accused of acting like the extreme-right," said Bruno Besichezza, general secretary of Synergie-officiers.
But the trauma of April 21, 2002, where Jean-Marie Le Pen beat Lionel Jospin in the first round of the presidential election is not just a concern of journalists. "We are very uncomfortable reporting these incidents. As an independent union, we always react when our colleagues are attacked. But we too remember the 2002 campaign, in which security became an issue: we don't want to make too much of it," admits Yves Louis, regional secretary of Alliance for Ile-de-France. The police fear the reactions of some of these young people in the projects in the event of a Sarkozy victory. "Things will explode if he wins. All those who want to get even with Sarkozy will take it out on his cops," he warns. (...)
The article makes some startling admissions regarding the media. First, if they tell the truth about urban violence, they automatically give credibility to the extreme-right, i.e. Le Pen. (It's tantamount to saying that Le Pen is right, but they can't say he's right, so they just don't report the crimes!)
Second, the ghettoes regard Sarkozy as their enemy merely because he sends cops to guard the neighborhoods. Sarkozy has been notoriously easy on criminals, and has subjected his own police to serious dangers. This has been discussed in many articles since the November 2005 riots. And yet, the media, like the ghettoes, regard him as some kind of enforcer.
Finally, the police are afraid of a Sarkozy victory because of the dangers they will have to face. Tantamount to saying that they don't trust Sarko to defend them when the explosions occur after May 6.
If there is a face-off between Sarko and Le Pen on May 6, there may be violence no matter who wins, since both are perceived as enemies of the "young people".