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Category "Tombé pour la France"

Erwan is angry

Erwan is revolted.

Quote of the day

My clumsy translation for Ségolène Royal's clumsy words:

Talking of honour, Ségolène Royal attempted to defend Georges Frêche's, excluded from the Socialist Party (...) after controversial words on harkis, that he had called «inferior men».

«There has been a lot of unfairness towards Georges Frêche», Ségolène Royal said on France Inter (French radio), highlighting he had been cleared by «a justice court's decision». «He's an important politician, he's a mayor who transformed Montpellier (town in the South of France), he's cultured, he's clever», she added. Obviously, he said «clumsy words but if you had to exclude from the Party everyone who has been clumsy, especially on the candidate for the presidential election (herself, last year), much more blameworthy (...), well there would be a lot of people to exclude», Royal said. But «I don't want to exclude, I want to unite».

A deux jours du vote, le PS en ébullition [Libération]

Is she saying that saying racist words is not important but criticising her when she's a presidential candidate is?! I hope she's just been "clumsy" again...

Ségolène, candidate for-e-ver

Oh, I didn't see that cover of french satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

Ségolène, candidate forever

Image credits: Riss for Charlie Hebdo

This drawing refer first of all to Ségolène Royal's candidacy for the job of leader of the Socialist Party, which is in a good way after her short but clear victory last week, but also to the rally she organised in Paris and where she insistingly repeated the word Fra-ter-ni-té (brotherhood).

You have to admit the people at Charlie Hebdo are very funny.

The Congress of Reims has been a series of conflicts among the socialists, particularly because of the refusal of many high-ranking members to rally Ségolène Royal. The only one who has been clever enough to admit his defeat and humble enough not to struggle for the competition in the end, is Bertrand Delanoë, who conceded. Martine Aubry and Benoît Hamon are still in the game, the first one thinking she's the only one who can unify the party, the second one thinking he's the only one who can renew it, both of them thinking they can beat Royal. This split is good news for Royal, who coould then be the presidential candidate in 2012.

2012... Beating Sarkozy at the presidential election will not be easy. Everybody knows the President is very skilled. His action as president of the European Union and his behaviour regarding the crisis are increasing his poll ratings big time. I read somewhere, I don't remember where, that some socialists were already pessimistic for the next presidential election and would let Ségolène Royal be the "sacrificial lamb"...

Anyway, nothing is decided yet.

Ségo comes out of the fridge...

Ségolène Royal will be a candidate for the position of leader of the Socialist Party.

I have to moderate what I was saying earlier, when I said I wanted her to win. Actually, I still support Benoît Hamon, it's just that it seems unlikely, his chances are unknown and we don't if other candidates may appear. A anti-Royal coalition would be a bad idea to me, because being against Royal is not a political orientation. If Ségolène Royal wins and manages to lead the party (like it took 2 years for Thatcher to become a credible opposition leader), that will be a good thing, but I frankly doubt Royal's skills (and then, Thatcher had a profile radically different from Royal's), I think she will fail in this position and will then be pushed out FOR GOOD, while still respecting her supporters. However, I remembered they kept supporting her despite her defeat at the presidential election and what she said about the minimum wage in France (she was pledging for a 1500 euros minimum wage during the presidential campaign and then blamed her defeat on it, saying the party forced her to include it in her programme, even though the French didn't believe in it according to her)... In the end, maybe her victory would not bring anything good...

Anyway, her candidacy is good news, because it clarifies things and gives the opportunity to beat her now. If Hamon finds himself the only one to face her, he can win.

Apart from that, I really liked some blog posts about it:

Halloween Weekend (Part 5/5)
Horror movies

On Sunday evening, we watched horror movies at home.

What Lies Beneath with Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford, focuses on a bourgeoise woman who thinks there's a ghost in her house. Boring. Then we watched The Hills Have Eyes, the story of a family lost in the middle of the desert and followed by some kind of mutants eating non-mutant humans. the scene of the attack during which the father is burnt alive, the mother shot, the daughter raped and the baby kidnapped is shocking. Like torture porn. Horrible.

In a nutshell, shit movies who may have predicted the bad news of the week, with Obama's empty speech, the anti-gay wave in the USA and the sort of victory of Ségolène Royal at the french Socialist Party. This is for me, the real Halloween.

About insults in politics

I couldn't stop myself. I insulted Ségolène Royal on my Twitter. Insults are not worth a good political debate and I apologise.

The socialists have made their choice, let's deal with it.

Now, I wish Ségolène Royal's victory. I am being honest. Let's give her the job of leader of the party and let's see what happens. If she manages to be a good leader, which I strongly doubt of course, she will be re-elected. Else...

A frightening prospect

The Obama poster designed by London artist Obey can still be seen a lot. It inspired a poster for the least disturbing of Sarah Palin, the running mate of John McCain.

Sarah Palin, a frightening prospect

Image credits: A frightening prospect

To be honest, this image haunts me since I've seen it. Even though Obama didn't want, and this is honourable, to use the "politics of fear" in this election. His ennemies however used it shamelessly against him (some republican supporters accuse him of being a terrorist, a communist, and so on.). Some Obama supporters are not any better with this poster.

Nevertheless, I think that if this image haunts me, it's because it reflects the violence that I perceive from the religious right. As a gay man, I consider myself as a target of this political trend. And Sarah Palin is today the icon of this trend. Even the French Minister of housing Christine Boutin, a very religious Catholic woman who held the Bible in the French Assembly during talks about same-sex civil partnerships, likes her.

Is Hamon the french Obama?

Benoît Hamon

Image credits: Parti Socialiste

Crisis, crisis... The all free market system is questioned these days and the radical left is strengthened by this global krach. The congress of the french Socialist Party, that will designate the new leader of the french left, is coming up and the crisis is probably going to influence the militants' choice. Among the 4 main motions, here is what I see happening:

  • Bertrand Delanoë, the gay mayor of Paris, is the front-runner and has been honnest when he said he was "a socialist et a liberal" (in french, liberal could mean libertarian but mostly pro-free market) but the crisis is threatening his candidacy, even though his motion, like all the others in the end, mentions regulating the financial system. The support of François Hollande, the current leader, who represents the past and its failures, doesn't make me enthusiastic.
  • Ségolène Royal, the party's presidential candidate last year, is, as always, impossible to define. Is she for the free market like she said during the presidential campaign, or is she against it, like she's saying after Bertrand Delanoë's "coming out"? Is she candidate for the position of leader of the Socialist Party like she's kind of implying with her "Fraternity meeting" (she organised a big event a few weeks ago where she was the star) or did she withdraw her candidacy? All this mess seems to show she hasn't learned anything from her failed presidential bid: she doesn't have any clear position, and she hasn't got any strategy.
  • Martine Aubry is still behind in the polls, she assembled very different people in her motion (pro-free market and against free market). Once again, there is a coalition that looks very much like the current failing political machine.
  • Benoît Hamon, who represents the left of the party, is the surprise of this congress. His anti-free market positions enable him to look more credible than his rivals about the crisis. Besides, as he's not linked in any way to the former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin (Delanoë is Jospin's choice and Ségolène Royal and Martine Aubry have been part of his government), he represents a new generation, just like Obama with Hillary Clinton. However, his tendency to choose young people just because they're young (the 15 spokspersons of his motion are, at most, in their thirties) irritates me a bit. His alliance with the senator Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is very extreme in his positions, worries me.

Nevertheless, voilà, I feel very tempted by the motion called "Un monde d'avance" ("A world ahead") and led by Benoît Hamon. I must say I feel outraged, nearly traumatised by the bank-saving plan. All this money to save the system when it could be used to resolve the problem of world hunger, it disgusts me.

The Ségo Show

Oh, no, I'm not gonna bash Ségo once again here. Once again there would be too much too say, even though I really feel like it. (I will do it in the comments section, if there's any!)

Ségolène Royal organised yesterday a rally in Paris, at the Zénith (a 5,000-seat arena) in order to relaunch her campaign to become leader of the Socialist Party. She changed her clothing style, her haircut and her way of speaking. Many party barons claimed an american-way show, that was more about style than content and that was turning into a celebrity cult.

Personally, I favour anything that can make politics and political debate more attracting to people, but is this type of show the solution? What do you think about it?

EDVIGE is a whore!

EDVIGE is a whore!
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