Sarko l'Americain addresses US Congress. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has told the US Congress it can count on France's support against terrorism in Afghanistan and Iran's nuclear plan. [Full Text here PDF]. Here also, is a recent take on Franco-American relations [more inside]
posted by psmealey on Nov 7, 2007 - 32 comments

sarkozy, sarkozy, sarkozy.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Oct 23, 2007 - 25 comments

Lessons from Past Western Incursions in the Middle East. A speech by Juan Cole at the New America Foundation in which he discusses his new book, Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East, and the relevance and lessons of Napoleon's expedition in Egypt to the current American occupation of Iraq. A shorter version, covering many of the same points, is in this article: Pitching the Imperial Republic.
posted by homunculus on Aug 26, 2007 - 17 comments

Joblessness is a major motivating force of these riots, which is why the politicians and the press turn endlessly around the question of job creation in the banlieues. [...] An injection of vigorous enterprise, a big deregulating kick, and racial discrimination would evaporate in the tremendous, creative release of market forces. No race riots in an untrammelled market economy: that’s what Sarkozy really means. It’s an ingenious, high-pressure sales pitch for the ‘Anglo-Saxon model’ – indeed, it’s bordering on blackmail. Jeremy Harding in the London Review of Books goes among the arsonists in Paris and offers some insights on the economic factors and political consequences of the riots.
posted by funambulist on Dec 3, 2005 - 6 comments

Solutions For Grandeur Nicolas Sarkozy has become the most popular French politician by diving headfirst into the country’s most explosive political issues. If he has his way, this hyperactive, pro-American, Gaullist, free marketer will transform French politics for good. via
posted by Kwantsar on Sep 9, 2005 - 18 comments

Red State/Blue state France. Les résultats département par département. Remarkable that the U.S. isn't the only country that's split down the geographic middle. No translation, but the picture speaks for itself.
posted by jfuller on May 30, 2005 - 22 comments

In france, neo-nazis and extremist jews unite against arabs -- so says left-leaning anti-racist group MRAP (view machine-translated page) in a new report. Yeah, the conspiracy theorists sure need more ammo...
posted by Tlogmer on Jul 17, 2003 - 17 comments

French Muslims Influence Government Policy on Iraq This piece from an on-line Arab source helps us to understand the French reluctance to want a war with Iraq. And you thought it was only about French oil interests, but non.
posted by Postroad on Feb 18, 2003 - 62 comments

"They missed a good opportunity to keep quiet." Is it wise for France to make opposition to war against Saddam such a central tenet of their foreign policy? Opposing the war may be politically sound today, but this seems a bit heavy-handed, and perhaps short-sighted. Is "European solidarity" just a code phrase for "France and Germany get to call the shots"?
posted by Mark Doner on Feb 17, 2003 - 76 comments

Failed assasination attempt on Chirac at Bastille Day parade. According to police reports, the man who fired a rifle as President Jacques Chirac passed by in the parade celebrating the French revolution is a neo-Nazi with a history of emotional problems. Chirac was unhurt.
posted by me3dia on Jul 14, 2002 - 10 comments

There is no far-right Vichyite renaissance in France, no Pieds Noirs uprising, nor, really, is there any antiSemitic rampage (Le Pen is spasmodically anti-Semitic but systematically anti-immigrant; i.e., anti-Arab.), but it's a safe bet that Jean-Marie Le Pen can never peacefully become President of the French Republic. It used to be said that for evil to triumph it was necessary only for good men to do nothing; in France, historically, for evil to enter it is necessary for good men to tell other good men that nothing is the best thing a good man can do. As the French are now being reminded, it is better to muddle through with your pants around your ankles than to die lucidly with your nose in the air. How relevent these words and events are here in the US?
posted by semmi on May 5, 2002 - 32 comments

Sacre Bleu! The French presidential election run-off will be between the conservative Chirac and the extreme-right Le Pen. What's a French liberal to do?
posted by liam on Apr 21, 2002 - 40 comments

A conservative applauds high taxes and socialized French medicine We are often subjected to comparisons (often false one) of medical coverage between the U.S and Canada or the U.S. and Great Britain. Here is a happy Frenchman who loves his medical coverage.
posted by Postroad on Mar 9, 2001 - 10 comments