French Politiques for an Anglophone Audience
At times I wasn’t sure if I was watching a presidential campaign or a game show. With all due respect to French television, though, the digitalized image of the Palais de l’Élysée adorning the set of the Hollande-Sarkozy debate did seem like something CNN would do in a desperate, gimmicky move for better ratings. François […]
The Paris Constitutional Council ruled Thursday night that the new European Union fiscal treaty does not require a constitutional amendment. This puts the EU one step closer to adopting the budgetary pact. 25 countries signed the treaty in early March, including all 17 Euro Zone countries, and the new laws subject member states to stricter […]
Christiane Taubira, the French Minister of Justice, recently triggered a storm of criticism after she questioned the efficiency of the Centres Educatifs Fermés (CEF), a name for enclosed educational centers for young offenders. The debate created by her comments stirred up the old and traditional opposition between Right and Left regarding security and criminal issues. The […]
On August 1st France became the president of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). France is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, and took the spot from the former president, Colombia. In these troubled times, with crises rising and mandated missions being forced to come to an end, there is a […]
Following the National Assembly, on Tuesday night the Senate voted unanimously in favor of the new law against sexual harassment. The Minister of Women’s Rights, Najat Belkacem-Vallaud, quickly congratulated herself on the passage of this “very clear” law that “not only meets the requirements of precision, but also the demands of organizations and victims.” The […]
The names are Marylise Lebranchu and Anne-Marie Escoffier. The former is Minister of the Reform of the State, Decentralisation and Civil Service, while the latter is her delegate in charge of the Decentralisation. Together, these two women will have to implement one of the deepest and hardest reforms on the platform of the President: the […]
Times have changed since Chirac’s speech. In 1995, the fight was for recognition, now France has accepted this part of its past. The past belongs to the past, and nothing can be changed. However, it is a duty not to forget what happened, to learn from our mistakes, and to try not to make the […]
On Saturday, July 14th, François Hollande announced the creation of a Commission on Moralization and Renewal of Political Life, which will be presided by Lionel Jospin. “I will propose a commission in a very short time which will be presided by a man with uncontested integrity,” said the President of the Republic. Lionel Jospin was […]
