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?

Once they were friends

Click here to see how one of these two former friends seems to be moving away clearly from the other. I don't want to mention names, for fear my readers might imagine that I'm behaving unfairly. All I have to say is: Continue to move in that direction!

PS As you can see, there's no way in the world that I would ever allow myself to be as outspoken as Robert De Niro. Besides, that would be needless overkill. Even the worst politicians in France are angelic when compared with the vulgar Trump "punk".

Robert De Niro on Trump

For "Monsieur Cinéma", it's The End

Pierre Tchernia, 88, has died.

French passporters not allowed to say cheese

A French civil servant was upset when local authorities refused to renew his passport because he had submitted an identity photo in which he was smiling. He even took the affair to court, without success.

In France, smiling photos are illegal on documents such as passports.

Vast offensive being planned to take Mosul

In Iraq, military elements are being assembled for a gigantic attack upon Mosul. Let us hope that this onslaught takes place rapidly, and that it succeeds.

Nobel Prize for Peace awarded to Colombian president

Juan Manuel Santos has done an admirable job in persuading the Farc guérilleros to throw away their arms.

Weird and nasty accident Down Under

An out-of-control car slammed into a Queensland house where mourners were gathering for a funeral. One of the mourners was killed, while a dozen others were seriously injured. Some were transported by Australia's celebrated Royal Flying Doctor Service. They may have been terrified to find themselves being placed aboard a small aircraft...

France can produce both very good political TV and very bad political TV

Last night’s L’Emission politique was a calamity. My personal opinion is that both journalists—David Pujadas and Léa Salamé—should be invited to take a break of a month or so, giving France 2 the possibility of halting this show and replacing it, if possible, by something more coherent, more friendly and peaceful. The current style has simply veered into nasty absurdity. Last night, to greet a smart French statesman, Alain Juppé, who'll probably become president of France, that pair of tired little nincompoops decided to hurl at him two fellows who seemed to emerge from a low-quality movie. One was a dubious specimen from the field of finance. The other, a brain-damaged extremist-right-wing politician. I was so disgusted that I almost turned off the TV… but I persevered in order to appreciate the skill with which the candidate might succeed (he did) in trudging through all the smelly slime thrown in his face.

Australian sporting journalist leaves the field

The popular journalist Rebecca Wilson, 54, has lost her battle against breast cancer. This loss must be unbearable, not only for her husband and two boys, but for countless Down Under followers of TV sporting events. At times, all too often, the premature departure of a seemingly energetic and youthful individual seems to be simply wrong. A kind of monstrous mistake.

Juppé to be interviewed on TV

This evening, presidential candidate Alain Juppé will be interviewed on France 2 by David Pujadas and Léa Salamé.

It should be an important encounter, because this is the major political talk show. If everything were to go over well, as it should, then Juppé would be closer than ever to his goal of becoming the next president of France. The only thing that surprises me is Juppé's claim to have never watched one of the previous interviews between the Pujadas/Salamé journalists and a presidential candidate. In other words, he should be perfectly spontaneous. A lot will depend, too, on the emotional state of the female journalist. Will Léa snarl at Juppé (as with Sarkozy) or will she smile (as with Montbourg)?

Hurricane Matthew about to hammer Florida

Since its initial publication,

this blog post has been updated several times,

making it a little incoherent.

In Haïti, Hurricane Matthew has caused at least 400 deaths [latest news : Friday, 20 h 45 in France].

On Thursday 6 October, 1.5 million inhabitants were asked by the State Governor of Florida to abandon the coastal region.





Click a chart to enlarge it

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Click here to access the bulletin from which
the above charts were extracted.

French factories and businesses often have to move from one place to another

People in France have been following the case of the Alstom organization in Belfort, which was about to be either closed down or relocated in another place. The French government finally intervened, and made it possible for the manufacturer to remain in Belfort. To do so, the SNCF (state-owned French railroad system) agreed to order a huge volume of rolling stock from Alstom. But do they really need all this new equipment? The cartoonist Xavier Gorce imagines that French bakeries might take the hint.

Unpleasant aspect of a top job

An observer might imagine that a prime minister spends most of his time prancing around in nice places. Manuel Vals has been obliged to face up to the poor state of French prisons. The situation has become all the more urgent in that France is starting to imprison, not only authentic terrorists, but also (as little as possible, of course) mere suspects of terrorism. The PM announced today that, during the next decade, over 30 new penitentiary establishments are to be built.

Le Premier ministre Manuel Valls et

le ministre de la Justice Jean-Jacques Urvoas
visitent une prison à Caen (Calvados), le 13 juin 2016.
(CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

South-western USA threatened with megadroughts throughout this century

 

                                                                      [photo David McNew AFP]

Click here to see the US magazine Science Advances. Click here to access the full article that warns Americans of the risk of prolonged droughts throughout this century.

No happy marriage in Melbourne

Kylie Minogue and her British fiancé Joshua Sasse have decided not to get married in Melbourne. They are protesting against Australia’s refusal to marry homosexual couples.

Come on, Australia, take Kylie's advice.

Get your country up to date with the world!

Paris Agreement on climate change

The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in December 1997, only went into force 7 years later. Things have been far more rapid for the Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015. It will go into action in a month.

For the ratification of the Paris Agreement, December 2015 :
Jean-Claude Junker, Ségolène Royal, Ban Ki-Moon and Martin Schulz
[left to right, photo Jean-Francois Badias/AP/SIPA]

Winter vaccination in France

The annual flu vaccination campaign will be starting in France next Friday, and will concern 10 million patients. The health system spotted me well in advance. For the last month or so, I’ve been carrying around the pharmacy paper that I received.