I wonder if France’s relatively new President, Nicolas Sarkozy, isn’t a little bit out of control. He married the model-singer Carla Bruni a very short time after his divorce from his wife Cecilia (click on the links to check out the uncomfortable resemblance). Ms. Bruni’s reputation isn’t exactly, ah, pure: She’s posed for numerous nude photos, and she dated Mick Jagger (forgivable) and Donald Trump (eeewwwww, gross). Still, she’s attractive, […]
My wife and I watched most of the French Presidential debate between Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal last week, and although I can’t say we understood all (or even most) of it, we were struck by how different the Sarkozy/Royal debate was to the Presidential debates here in the U.S. Seated across from each other at a table, with a running clock to ensure both had the opportunity to speak […]
France has a unique 2-stage Presidential electoral process. All candidates from all political parties participate in the first stage, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the second stage. In 2002, this system resulted in a second-stage meeting between the popular, centrist candidate (Jacque Chirac) and the far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen, with the the large Socialist Party unrepresented. This year a similar possibility exists. Although the two main candidates […]
Following an effective appearance on national television last week, the Socialist Party candidate, Segolene Royal, has pulled even in the polls with the center-right (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, or UMP) candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy, according to this article in Le Figaro. Sarkozy had previously held a solid 8% to 10% lead before the appearance. Royal came across on TV as more likable than Sarkozy according to this article, although Sarkozy […]
The first stage of the French presidential election is in April, and so far the moderate-right candidate Nicholas Sarokzy has a growing lead over the Socialist candidate Segolene Royal. Although Ms. Royal is perhaps the most photogenic politician in the history of the world, she has stumbled in her campaign several times by making ill-considered remarks that mark her as, perhaps, not-ready-for-prime-time. Mr. Sarokzy, surprisingly, seems to be doing well […]
From IOL. (Local Sonoma County angle: Bullfrogs are one of the preditors of the California tiger salamander, an endangered species whose habitat is the Santa Rosa Plain. Perhaps someday we can form a local bullfrog militia.) Le Haillan, France – Picture this: French hunters stealing out at night in pairs, one with a torch to light up the eyes of their prey, the other armed with a .22 calibre rifle […]
My French friend Laurence loaned me some contemporary French music from her library, and I’ve been listening to it in the car this past week. I finally decided to go on line to see if I could find lyrics, only some of which (very little, in truth) I could make out. I found a few lyric sites, and to get an overview of the gist of them, I ran them […]