Utter secrecy is a necessity

I spoke here about a special new French police record identified by the letter S. For obvious reasons, mayors of French municipalities might like to be informed about the presence of citizens with S records.

 

Click here to access an article in which the minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve repeats that such information will never be divulged. The general idea is that the police need to follow such individuals, to find out whether they're a security risk. Such police pursuits would be hindered by the public disclosure of S records.

Will Jeanne be a champion forever?

The French lady Jeanne Calment [1875-1997], who lived in Arles, holds the current world record for longevity : 122 years. But old age records are not exactly rocket science, and older contenders may have existed, or continue to exist, for this record.

Jean-Louis Serre, a French professor of genetics, wonders here whether it might be impossible for humans to live any longer than that.

Past can be better than future

                         [photo THOMAS SAMSON / AFP]

In an interview yesterday, Alain Juppé said that, in the legal domain, it can be preferable to have a past rather than a future. What a superb summary! When asked whether he might be thinking of anybody in particular, the candidate replied: “No, it’s a general remark.” That’s tact… but I’m still convinced Juppé was thinking of his principal right-wing opponent.

BREAKING NEWS: This morning, the candidate Bruno Le Maire thought he might be smart in jumping onto the bandwaggon. « C'est encore mieux de n'avoir ni passé ni avenir judiciaire. » (It's better still to have neither a judiciary past nor future.) Dull Bruno's remark reminded me of words from Forrest Gump. Of course, you silly bugger, we all know that it's better to have no problems whatsoever with the law. Le Maire was simply demonstrating (unnecessarily) that he doesn't cogitate as brilliantly as Juppé. His brain operates at least a notch or two below that of Juppé, both in speed and in intelligence.

International New-York Times leaving Paris

The international version of the great US newspaper settled in Paris 129 years ago. It has decided to leave. The paper-based product will move to Hong Kong; the web-based, to London.

In the early ‘60s, in Paris, Jean Seberg’s innocent question was a milestone in my understanding of colloquial French.

Click to enlarge and link to YouTube

Qu’est-ce que c’est : dégueulasse ? Before dying, her Paris friend (played by Jean-Paul Belmondo) didn’t have time to tell her that it means “disgusting”.

Last love of a French president

Most people thought that all the words of François Mitterrand [1916-1996] had in fact been published. They failed to imagine his words of love. His beloved Anne (mother of Mazarine) has never forgotten two texts that will be published next Thursday.

 Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, François Mitterrand and Anne Pingeot

(in red) at the opening of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris,

December 1, 1986. [DERRICK CEYRAC / AFP]

Addressing his lover, François Mitterrand seemed
to have borrowed the words of Roland Barthes :

Je n'ai rien à te dire, sinon que ce rien,
c'est à toi que je le dis.
 
[I have nothing to say to you.
But that nothing is meant solely for you.]

Omar to kill me

 

The sentence “Omar m’a tuer” is unintelligible French, as if it had been written by an illiterate person. At first sight, Mme Ghislaine Marchal—the author of those words in blood—seems to be saying that she had been killed by Omar in her villa at Mougins (Alpes-Maritimes). But why would that dying French lady have used such poor grammar?

On that flimsy evidence, in 1991, the Moroccan gardener Omar Raddad was condemned and jailed. But he persisted non-stop upon his innocence. In 1998, he was liberated, and now lives in Morocco.

A recent analysis of DNA specimens from the scene of the crime provides new facts. Four males, none of whom was Omar Raddad, have left traces of their presence. Will the real murderer be identified at last?