Letters to the Editor
-
Forgot to give the cite
Oops. Forgot to tell you that the article I refer to above about Sarkozy repeating the word "racaille" over and over again is from Le Monde, 11/11/05.
Le Monde also published an article about Kassovitz's blog and his comparison of Sarko to Bush on 11/16/05.
-
Sarkozy and the knee jerk reactions
As an American living in Paris I can speak with a little knowledge on this subject. What divides the right and left in the US and France are opposites. In France, it is all about the economy stupid. Issues such as abortion and gay rights would never see the light of day here and if they did, would cause great embarrassment to the people in general. In the US most people (to a large extent) agree on the economic direction of the country but battle to the death over "moral issues".
In my opinion the conservatives in the US and the left wing socialists in France are cut from the same cloth. Their politics might be at polar opposites but both groups look backwards to what was and not forward to the future. Both seek to protect their priveledge at all costs and both are afraid of the change which comes from contact with the outside world.
-
Americans are not the issue here.
Reading the letters to Greg's accurate analysis of Sarkozy and the French attitude to the US, it strikes me as if people are just writing in for the sake of it.
Yes, Americans laid down their lives for Europe (including France), but that does not give them unlimited rights to run roughshod over anything and anyone. One would have thought that Vietnam would've been a good lesson – but then we don’t seem to take our history lessons very seriously.
This attitude is what Sarkozy and the French see first and foremost, especially with Bush still at the helm. Friends? Well hopefully. Perhaps.
The real problem for Sarkozy is not how friendly America is, but how historic and antiquated values can be updated to suit the 21st century. France has always been proud of its social policies (aquis sociaux) and despite strong economic evidence to suggest that the high unemployment and low productivity in the country is due to outdated socio-economic practices doesn’t seem to occur to the masses ready to strike and demonstrate their anger at every opportunity.
The fact that Sarkozy was elected on a (for France) draconian manifesto is irrelevant, as can be shown by the hasty backtracking and watering down of the policies post election night.
France’s transformation – if it happens at all – will be slow and stately – not à la Margaret Thatcher in the late 1970s like many believe.
A quick word to the French here. Globalization cannot be stopped by wishing it so, in the same way that you cannot wish the rain away. It’s here to stay, so the Darwinian thing to do is adapt. Good luck!
-
Please - enough of "Remember Normandy" already
To whoever posted that old saw - remember Normandy, without us France would be speaking German, etc: two can play that game - remember Lafayette, remember the American revolution. Without France's support, the US as we know it wouldn't exist.
And what does "Remember WW2" mean exactly: because the US helped France out, France must forever renounce its right to think critically and independently? Please!
Enough of the intellectual and analytical laziness. Before parroting back a catchy Fox news slogan, do your homework and make sure you know what you're talking about.