Category "Tombé pour la France"
More than thirty years after his death, French singing legend Claude François' disappearance is still a mystery. The official version claims he electrocuted himself by repairing a bulb while taking a bath, but there's still doubt, as some think this explanation is too stupid. Thus, La Mauvaise Langue claimed:
Indeed, Claude François wasn't openly GAY which explains the lack of understanding from some people. However, it's also been said that late Claude Français, R.I.P., had been wildly receiving anal sex from a Senegalese, which would have cause inner bleeding then death. Which raises some doubts regarding the deceased's very intelligence. Was he stupid enough to change a light bulb naked in his bath...
To what I replied:
I heard he had electrocuted himself with a vibrator. But I have always wondered: in those days, did you have to plug vibrators?! Because it's not really practical, or you need one, or even several extensions. But it's still not very credible, you're not gonna put on a 5000V dildo and then dive into your bathtub... unless you're trying to make a statement to posterity. Claude François's death is even stronger than thse Da Vinci Code.
I searched Internet quickly but I have only found teenagers claiming that their teachers supported the vibrator theory to them. Like what, we really need to reform the Education Nationale in France, if teachers don't even respect the official version! I also found the hypothesis of the one-litre glass bottle which would have exploded Cloclo's arse (after this one, I guess, inserted it in himself, or let someone else insert it, or even unfortunately fell on it), causing internal bleeding, which meets La Mauvaise Langue's idea.
Some other people claim he's not even dead, that he left for a desert island with Elvis, Marylin and huge champagne boxes...
But the best one is Maxim's, from Agoravox, who claims Cloclo was a secret agent whose songs contained hidden messages (thinking of it, singing "If I had a hammer", in the middle of the Cold War, was it some kind of praise to the communist regime?!) and was killed by one of his dancers (the "clodettes"), who was also a secret agent and knew that the light bulb in the bathroom was bugged and linked to secret services in South Balouchistan! She would then have modified the small machine in order that it electrocutes the French 70ies' idol. Really, congratulations to Maxim, I would never have thought of it, and this is probably the most credible theory.
I'm glad I can vote in the UK, where the choice is rather simple. If I had to vote in France at the european elections, I would stab myself in the eye. I would hesitate between the Socialist Party and the Left Front, for many reasons.
First of all, we are in the middle of a crisis for neoliberal capitalism. We need MEPs capable of imposing an alternative or at least, of objecting to the destruction of public services, social rights, and so on. From that point of view, the Left Front is much more credible than the Socialist Party, which supports or used to support free-market initiatives. Nevertheless, the Socialist Party seems, under Martine Aubry's influence, to slide more to the left. Unfortunately, Aubry uniting pro-free-market and anti-free-market politicians, she seems pretty shy on the subject. It was clear when she introduced the economic recovery plan the socialists would have implemented, had they been at power: the plan lacked ambition and innovation. Besides, a number of economists, including the eminent Jacques Sapir, called for the French to vote for the Left Front.
However, on the left, the Socialist Party seems to be the only one to send some of its members to the European Parliament. The european elections' ballot system is intricate and, according to me, not really representative. The Left Front is a new initiative, moreover it is competing with Besancenot's New Anticapitalist Party, and the points they will score may cost the Left some precious seats. Also, I'm pro-european and the Socialist Party seems to be mroe encline to build Europe than the radical Left. Likewise, Mélenchon's positions seem to me too radical sometimes, i.e., his total lack of empathy for the people of Tibet against China. Finally, the Socialist Party managed to agree with the other left-wing parties of europe on a common policy platform, which is a very good initiative.
Now, there's one thing, which is not serious but still a bit important, and it is the personalities of the leaders. Martine Aubry, the Socialist Party's leader and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, one of the main leaders of the Left Front, look, at first sights, like old farts, they even look a bit like yokels, but that's actually why I like them! When Martine goes to the market with french cook Jean-Pierre Coffe, prepares some little dish and concludes with "and now, let's have a drink!", you'd feel like spending all your Sunday afternoons with her! Same thing with Mélenchon, when he says "My name is Mélenchon, and is not subject to jokes" ("-chon" sounds indeed a bit like "con", which means "idiot" or "cunt") or when he tells his stories with a subtle smile, I really enjoy it. Likewise, in their positions, both Aubry and Mélenchon are devouted to diverging but pious approaches. Aubry seeks to ressuscitate the first opposition party, which is gonna be far from easy, "an impossible mission" said health minister Roselyne Bachelot. Whereas Mélenchon wants to create a movement at the left of the Left to turn it into the majority in the opposition.
Can't they just ally?!
This morning, in free newspaper Metro:
A nauseating video in which Carla Bruni calls French president Nicolas Sarkozy 'my little darling' and pats him on the bottom has emerged on the web.
The embarrassing clip - the first intimate portrait of the couple captured in their Elysée Palace home - was filmed by journalists and even seems to have been choreographed.
In it, 54-year-old Mr Sarkozy suddenly 'appears' while his wife is being interviewed, claiming he has just been working out and feels hot and sweaty.
Ms Bruni, 41, kisses him and, as the interview continues, continually strokes her husband's hand before calling him 'chou chou' and pawing his bottom.
The president is seen perching on the edge of an armchair, his diminutive stature ensuring his feet dangle in the air.
The couple invited readers of a French magazine into their official Paris home last week for a filmed interview with Ms Bruni, a singer and former model.
Since appearing on the web, it has been viewed by millions and caused a sensation.
But commentators are split as to whether it has improved the publicity-hungry couple's image or made a mockery of the president.
So now, the video:
Le moment-clé de la vidéo:
- Nicolas Sarkozy. I'm gonna meet the Prime Minister of Iraq...
- Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Great...
Our President is terrible.
The Parti of European Socialists (PES) launched the campaign for the european parliamentary elections last week. It's quite nice to see all these politicians from different countries united, and stuff. Ah, if only citizens were more interested in these elections... Anyway, the campaign also started on the web:
And this is what I have to say: I love the socialist guy's shirt. Shame it is that... "baggy".
The flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil can set off a tornado in Texas.
Yeah, let's kill all these motherfucking butterflies!
It's just like these youngsters gathering in crowds, they have to be jailed before they mess up!
Today, in France, far-right activists attacked green, communist and Act Up activists who were pacifically protesting against the pope's irresponsible words about the condom outside Nôtre-Dame.
When I look at reactions on Internet, it's 50-50: those who support Act-Up and those who support the pope (and some in between). There are again, disgusting words saying for example that the "gay community" should be "cleaned up", and so on.
When I compare with the UK, it's blatant: the British evolved on the matter and most of them accept gay people. However, in France, not at all. In France, homosexuality has been legally allowed only in 1981, and the fight for the PaCS (some civil union without parenting rights) has been very harsh. French gay people still remember anti-PaCS protests and their people chanting "burn the gays". They also remember that during the first vote for this law in the National Assembly, many left-wing MPs didn't come to support the law and it got rejected, a big slap in the face of LGBT rights activists. Homosexuality still unleashes strong feelings in France. What happened today, which originally was about the condom, proves it once more.
But I think there is even more to worry about. For example, racism, on which France improved a lot, is back. I'm not breaking news. We've known that since 2002 when far-right Le Pen made it into the second ballot of the presidential election, which had been a real disgrace to France. Sarkozy's election and his "Ministry of Immigration and National Identity" follows the same line. Sarkozy may appoint Rachida Dati and Rama Yade in his cabinet, we know he got the votes of the far-right with these campaign promises. When I meet here French people with african roots, they all say the same: there is racism in France, and not a little. That France, the country of the Human Rights, regresses on such a matter worries me.
Anyway, I just meant to say that France's got aids! And that one of the first symptoms of aids is the sarcoma of Kaposi, which is ironic when you compare with the name of our head of State...
Lately, in France, PR expert Jacques Séguéla created a row by saying this sentence, while trying to defend Rolex-watches-loving President Sarkozy:
A 50-year-old man who doesn't have a Rolex can count himself a failure.
Famous French columnist Stéphane Guillon talked about it this morning (sorry, this is all in French, shame because he talks about Victoria Beckham):
Still, I'm glad to see so many people disagree with Séguéla.
Massive strike in France today. This is the best present!!
Update: the strike on a webcam!!
It surprised me to learn that Eric Besson, who used to be a top level member of the Socialist Party, is going to be promoted to the position of Minister of Immigration and National Identity. This is the ministry that has been criticised by the left the most. We can wonder whether Eric Besson ever was a socialist and what he was doing at the "national office" of the party (sort of "shadow cabinet"). This kind of action validates the idea that the Socialist Party doesn't believe in what it says, or does not say what it actually believes.
Yeah, not very inspired for the title but I didn't know how to call an article in which I would talk of lefty Clémentine Autain. She's really on the left side of politics, somewhere between the communists, the anti-capitalists, etc. I'm gonna talk about her in a good way. Yeah, I like Clémentine Autain. There is a lot you can say about her, the first thing being that she spends a lot of time criticising but not suggesting. But I find her interesting.
Today, she posted this on her blog:
To be fair, from time to time, it can even annoy me, like these front pages of Rouge or L'Humanité (French communist newspapers) that are always giving the feeling that the Revolution is coming tomorrow... And let's keep that in mind : the neverending list of reasons for discontent or even the worsening of the social situation is not enough to trigger a popular burst.
I've got nothing to add, I totally agree.
(And then, the Revolution happens tomorrow.)
![[Icon] Open my Twitter page](/img/open.gif){kind=small}
![[Icon] My Twitter feed](/img/feed.gif){kind=small}
