I totally agree
people get offended but, wth? we need to be respectful and so on! we have to teach it to our children (lol I sound old :p ) and media are like making excuses to justify that the guy didn't deserve that ... ok he may not deserved the violent part but he deserved to be arrested
there's a huge problem with cops' attitude lately and sometimes it's "normal" but this event is, for me, a perfect example which says "you can do whatever you want because media will always 'protect' you and blame the politics"

Haku, I was about to answer but you did it before and in expressing in a great way what I think.

I absolutely agree with you.

And I personally think that France as a big big problem these last times.
Because "in the name of Freedom", a lot of people feel themselves oblige to caution such acts which are just criminal acts and against Law.

And I'm very worry about this fact that to fight the French Police , to spit to the face of Police becomes "a kind of heroic act, for the name of Freedom".....

I'm absolutely sad and upset about this very state of mind which is against the bases of our society: laws were thought and are made to be respected for the good of each one.
If something seems unfair or seems to be not conformed to the Human rights, we have in our country: trials and a powerful free press to try to make improve the situation.

But Violence in such situations......it always finishes by broken shop windows and steals...is just manifestation of criminal people which is "used" ...(and that 's the worse, from my point of view,) by associations or politicians as the testimony of "racism", bad treatment of strangers in France ...and so on...

It's just disgusting.

Just this morning, i've heard in "France-Info" the speach of a guy who is a kind of director in a center for the rehabilitation of young delinquants:
"We receive a lot of young delinquants who arrive in our establishment with the label of "guilty"....and indeed they are just "victims" of the society"....

Okay, okay......so i'm going to break cars just for my own pleasure of getting free money easely, and I hope that I will be considered after as a "Victim of the society"....:blabla:

How could think evoluate in a correct way , with a such state of mind?....

Okay , they've made bad actions....it would be a great thing that they could continue their live after that...but they have to realize that they've made bad actions....
But no....the fashion is to say...."it isn't your fault..."....

That's just simply CRAZY!

nath, I totally agree with you! when you're an adult you have to deal with the consequences
I can understand that sometimes you make bad things as a kid just to follow the leaders you know
but breaking the laws and getting arrested is completely different ;)
people are pissing me off, they're searching excuses where there's none

574,8 km/h guys !

Just remember that !

Champagne ! :coctail:

Arnaudfrenchy, what are you talking about? Offtop:
éclaire ma lanterne stp
I so don't get it why are you posting that everywhere? lol

The world record of biggest speed with a TGV on the New East Line of France. :)

:coctail:

Here's the BBC article with pictures. I've read that they got close to 600km/h in preliminary tests so i think they have some room to beat the record again in a few years. :D

Two men who disappeared in the jungle of Guiana almost a month ago and were thought dead, have reappeared yesterday.
That's quite a hike they got there. :laugh:
Seriously though, either they're very lucky or they have great survival instincts.

That's why i stay in Normandy, you can't get lost in the jungle. :p

omg! that's amazing ... I mean for them, it's a happy ending
they're survivors, seriously it's really impressive
their valentine's date turned out wrong lol

lmao! at least you can get lost in a bush *lame joke*

LOL, i prefer mowed areas. :gigi:


Anyway, back to elections, i've just received my voting card, i was starting to wonder if they had forgotten me, lol. :p

Latest polls, except for Bayrou who's made a spectacular rise in the last 3 months, things are pretty stable. Only 2 weeks left to go now.

May be Bayrou will be a surprise in the results because, around me, each time I've asked to my socialist friends for who they will vote...without exception, they were all answering Bayrou...just because they have "big problems" to bear Ségolène Royal.

It's a fact that we are still an enough machist country so...to get a woman as a President...not for fun, but for real, is already a big...shock....changement...but...it's true that Ségolène Royal isn't just a woman....she is a special woman...who can seduce some by her "spontaneous" attitude....but who can irritate others by her kind of ...."empty program" behind her declarations which try to be close to the French daily life...
I mean, she doesn't seem very powerful when precise questions about economy are asked to her...

And even if , we, French, are a little bit tired about the usual traditional political language, we can't say she is the best about diplomacy sometimes...

So it will be interesting because the results could be very tight.

I've always liked Bayrou and the UDF party. First of all they've always supported the reunification of Normandy, which is very important for me locally (i always vote UDF in regional and local elections just for that). UDF is also a pro-European party and that's also very important for me, an autonomous Normandy in a federal Europe is my political ideal and UDF is the closest thing i can find (among major parties) to my ideas.
So yeah, i'll probably vote Bayrou in the first round, and hopefully he'll make it to the second round (though i don't have much hopes for that).

And even if Bayrou doesn't make it, i hope UDF will be able to secure a good percentage in the next National Assembly, i think it would be a good thing to have an important centrist party that forces the main party in power (PS or UMP) to compromise to get majority votes in the Assembly.


As for Ségolène Royal, she's special indeed, her ideas are way too vague for my taste, there are many areas where we still don't really know what she thinks, she's very conservative for a socialist, and her latest "ultra-nationalist" speeches about the flag and anthem have completely annoyed me (some old socialists must have been rolling in their graves).
I so wish the PS had chosen Dominique Strauss-Khan instead of her.

me too I've received it yesterday, with a brand new design and a nice "ministère de l'intérieur *coughsvoteforSarkocoughs*" on it lol <--- another lame joke

in my opinion, Bayrou is a "condorcet" (I don't know if it's the same word in english) and if he manages to get into the second round I think he will win
let's imagine a Sarko-Bayrou I guess every socialists, or most of them, will vote for Bayrou
and a Royal-Bayrou I guess that the UMP supporters will vote Bayrou

it's not that I don't like Ségolène but I find her annoying in the way she talks, she seems to have a hole between her 2 ears
no offence but sometimes I wonder if she realises that she's not credible
I fear she might not be strong enough to run a country, especially in the international way
it's confusing for me

same here
I think Europe is very important and it's a shame that people don't really get that

btw, it would be my first vote for a president, hehe I'm exciting :p
and it's always hard because I'm still young and I don't have any politic conviction yet you know, I mean I don't have any attached party and sometimes it's difficult to make a good choice
the only thing I'm sure about is that I prefer dying (ok maybe not ... but losing my 2 legs for sure) than vote for the FN, which is a pretty good thing

my post is pretty long hehe! bisous to all of you who read that to the end :kwink:

I absolutely agree...
I'm not so sure that she really knows it , herself: she seems to have "vague general ideas" but nothing seems serious and built behind..
Not only, the Old Socialist in their graves were shocked...I have firends from the Right Side who were laughing during 2 months , just in imagining each French singing "La Marseillaise" , each morning, face to its mirror, just after having brused its teeth!!:rolleyes:
Morever, I think that the lyrics of this song should be modifyed....because, when you have to little kiddies who have 6, 7 years old: "Qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons......soutiens nos bras vengeurs...."...it a little bloodie, bloodie.....
Yep, it would have given a more serious and convaincing image of this party.

I don't have my card, yet....because I'm still voting in another area, where is my mum living...so papers are in her mail box...

I'll vote Nicolas Sarkozy....hihi....*runs away*;)

I don't like Bayrou as a person.
Now he plays the Union guy, with very good intentions but I remind him when he was Nationa Education Ministry.
He was Horrible: just Pure Authority without any negociations, just I've decided that , you have just to obey.
He was arrogant and very pretencious.
I don't believe to miracles and that a such charactere could change suddendly.

But indeed, all our main leaders were with a "over-dimentioned" ego....
French love such characteres that they assimilate to strengh...

and they can't bear, people, who, instead of their own/personal Glory, prefer the Love, the Good FOR their Country ...
I 'm thinking here about such persons as Bérégovoy, Delors, Barre or Balladur...

Haku, what is this story about Independency of Normandy?...
I've been in Normandy, spending there fullmonths , since I'm a kiddie and I've never heard about it before to meet you...
Monday, I come back in Normandy....so I'll try to ask to the paysans around what they think about the next independency of Normandy....;)

I wasn't aware of that
few months ago, I've read that he was one of the few who managed not to be kicked off from his ministry etc etc, implying that he was a good minister
but I'm sure you know better about the educationnal situation than a journalist
according to what I've read, Bayrou was the chatting type and took well-thought decisions
and you're saying that he was a kind of despot ... amazing how media can change the facts
omg! it's confusing

I can't wait to receive every electoral programs in my mailbox
because the more I try to read on the web, newspapers and watch the news the more I get confused and it's kind of frustrating grr grr

Oh i didn't say "independant", i said "autonomous", like Catalonia, Scotland, or any German lander for example, and i don't support that for only Normandy but for all French regions, i wouldn't want Normandy to have a special status or anything, all French regions should have the same status.

My model is German landers really, i think each French region should have a regional parliament and government (departements would be abolished) that would be in charge of everything close to people's lives (transports, education, health, etc). I think regions would be a much more efficient scale to deal with local issues than a centralized administration in Paris.
My general idea is a federal France in a federal Europe, as supported by the federalist party.

I actually think that both the PS and UMP intend to give much more powers to regions in the near future. Sarkozy himself tried to create an autonomous Corsica a few years ago, the project planned to abolish Corsican departements and to create a single executive and legislative body for the island (exactly what i suppport for all French regions), the project failed but i think Sarkozy was testing his ideas for what he wants for the future of regions.


Anyway, the most urgent thing for Normandy is reunification because the more powers regions get and the most difficult reunification will be. The current division between Haute and Basse is ridiculous and has no historical basis, and a very large majority of Normans support reunification.
Une Seule Normandie, great site.
Association pour la Reunification de la Normandie, Pierre Albertini (UDF), mayor of Rouen, is a member. :kawai:
Reunification Normandie, petition.

Interestingly, Basse and Haute Normandy have a single tourism commity website, and that's how everything should be. :yes:

Haku,...here no provocation from my part...but if I understand well, ...would it be a kind of mini United-States about the structure?

Anaïs, No...I don't say Press lies.
Perhaps, I was a little hard in using these words: "Authority without any negotiations, just I've decided that , you have just to obey."...
Indeed, I began to be teacher in 93, when he was ministry and it's true that we got a lot of meetings between teachers to answer to several "questionnaires" to built the new programs of National Education....
But as usual, it was just a lost of time...because it hasn't changed anything...I think all those documents went to the bin....
And it's better that I don't begin to speak about National Education Programs...because...it's crazy....:(

But, I remember very well the interview I was speaking about and I still think that bayrou isn't the negotiation guy, very peaceful, when he is faced to contestation...
I was very shocked by his tone and the expression of his face, at this time...

Here an interview of the singer Diam's:
http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/p.../246190.FR.php

I love absolutely this reason to not vote for Sarkozy:
"Enfin, la redevance télé. Le truc con qu'on a essayé de magouiller toute notre vie, et maintenant on n'a plus le choix. Franchement, payer pour la télé, c'est comme si je payais un impôt pour aller à Euro Disney... Toutes ces petites choses font que Sarkozy, je l'ai détesté avec le temps."
I really wonder if the word "citizen" shouldn't be erased from the dictionary to fit to the new generation of Frenchs...
Still the same problem: I just want the advantages from the Society,not the duties..

This morning, as I live face to a school,I saw the posters of all the candidates on panels....:)

nath, thanks for the explanation
I will dig on this part of Bayrou that I really don't know about (in 1993 I was 6 lol)

anyway, Diam's omg! I really don't like her tssk tssk

"En province, c'est complètement différent, ils n'ont pas de gare du Nord. Alors ils voient sur les écrans une immense gare avec des gens qui se bagarrent, ça leur fait peur, ils n'ont pas envie que ça arrive chez eux. Je comprends que ça puisse fausser leur jugement."
few lines after : "C'est voyager qui m'a fait ouvrir les yeux."
*applauses*
she's full of stereotype about "la province" and she dares to say that she understands people from their... she really needs to travel to open her eyes, maybe not to the same places lol

seriously, this woman is pissing me off
my town used to be a "dangerous" place and we still have a violent area, I know that every young is not bad even if he/she's dressing like a "racaille" but some of them attack people just for fun and after that they're saying that they are the victims because the society doesn't help them!
I know that there's discrimination and so on, but people who deny their responsabilities are hypocrit and a bunch of cowards
what Diam's say is a great illustation of "vouloir le beurre et l'argent du beurre"

It's no provocation, i admire the federal structure of the US, it's one thing i do like. But the US federalism is more my model for the European Union than France itself.

I support the creation of a European federation with a federal government in charge of foreign policy, defense, global commerce, etc, pretty much like the US government, i also support the creation of European public services like a European electricity company, a European mail service, a European rail company, etc, because i don't think the rule of capitalism and competition is a good thing in all areas.

So if you compare to the US, it's France that would be more or less the equivalent of a US state, not French regions, regions would have much less power than a US state, regions would be in charge of what matters to people's everyday life, like roads, public transports, schools, hospitals, waste management, environment…
We're not so far from it today actually, the first step would be to abolish departements and to transfer their powers to the regions, second step would be to create a regional executive council separate from the regional assembly (to have a seperation of powers and democratic control), pretty much like what Corsica already has today.

For me regional autonomy goes hand in hand with European integration, reinforced regional powers must be balanced by reinforced European powers, each with distinct and complementary responsibilities.

Offtop:
Guys how about translating those french setences for us less fortunate non vulgaric latin speaking folks, who're also interested in french politics? Babblefish makes a complete hash of it. :p

Offtop:
European public services? Yeiks. That reminds me of Soviet style People's Steel factories. I think mail delivery and railroad companies in particular are much too developed in a private sector to enforce a continental reign over it (huge US corporate players in the package delivery service who'd surely file a complaint with the WTO.) I still firmly believe there's nothing wrong with competition since it's been know to lower prices and raise quality of service. Otherwise I agree in principle with the European federation idea, eventhough it'll be extremely hard to maintain in practice. For one thing I can never imagine countries like France or Britain going along with it.