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Five women and 365 days

DOUG SAUNDERS

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 3:34 PM EDT 10/05/08

Twelve months after his election as a vigorous reformer, many supporters feel let down by his descent, they say, into vulgarity ...Read the full article

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  1. Ed Long from white Rock, Canada writes: Remember Pepe Le Pew on the old Bugs Bunny Show?

    Say no more.

    Thank hevon for liddle gurls ....

    With apologies to Maurice Chevalier.
  2. Steve Not an Alberta Redneck from Calgary, Canada writes: At least Dubya likes him!
  3. Antonio San from Canada writes: This week I read an interview with Richard Serra the great American sculptor who just opened a monumental installation in the Grand Palais. He was commenting about the fact that the presidential Sarkozy couple would honor the opening of this art exhibit. Richard Serra also pointed out that no US president would be seen in this kind of occasion highlighting the importance of culture in France. Well it is really funny to once again get the biased -from before the election as only when it was clear 2 days before the second ballot that he would win over Royal, did the globe and mail post a photo of Sarkozy- account by Doug Saunders who seemed at the time only to find Royal supporters despite the clear score of Sarkozy. Next it is funny because the New York Times also did a piece in exactly the same style on the French president about a month ago: I guess now where this reporter gets his ideas... Tertio, it is a very superficial analysis to castigate Mr Sarkozy based on polls and former socialist militant. Sure it sells paper but does it reveal the reality? Of course not. Here is the conundrum that Mr Saunders could have expanded upon; Isn't paradoxal that the French who voted for a clear rupture, wanted reforms, what other EU country such as UK or Germany or Norway have, a strong economy creating jobs with minimal bureaucracy, freedom of entrepreneurs and less civil service and media wooden tongue, isn't that paradoxal that the very electorate who wanted this always thought that it would apply to their next door neighbors not them? With a significant debt, budget chronical deficit but the threat of civil service strikes -well out maneuvered so far by Fillon- those who wanted change are the ones stalling it as much as they can! No instead and forgoting Rachida Dati, Mr Saunders plays 'Jour de France' and 'Paris Match'! De Gaulle said it best: how do you hope to manage a country with over 300 kind of cheese? It is the French people contradiction that Sarkozy pays!
  4. Antonio San from Canada writes: So who is descending into vulgarity? Sarkozy who goes to the opening of Richard Serra's Monumenta or the Globe and Mail reporter biased daily mirror style coverage?
  5. Ed Long from white Rock, Canada writes: Uh ..... I cannot see any North American politician attending and knowledgeably discussing any art exhibit, certainly not in Canada where the number of great galleries is ...?

    And what does a person's interest in art have to do with neediness for strong women in his/her life.

    Ever read the biographies of artists, patrons and social figures in the salons of Paris, the palaces of Florence ...

    Likes art, must be good .... talk about reverse puritanism.
  6. L Y from France writes: First of all, I don't understand how multiculturism reflects the 'new' France. Sure, Marseille is diverse, but that's a millenia-old phenomenon. The other cities of France seem to contain their multiculturism in one 'maghreb' area filled with kebab shops that is shunned by the white population for being too dangerous.

    Maybe it's just the people I know (and bathroom walls I read) but I don't understand who voted in Sarkozy. Old people think he's too radical, the young find him too capitalist. I have never met one person who admitted to voting for Sarkozy.

    Personally, I'm sick to death of him. The country is as inefficient as ever (actually, more so, because people spend a lot of there time on strike against Sarko-reforms) and his face is plastered across every newspaper and tabloid published. The French are obsessed with him (or, at least, the media is) and he seems to have turned into a scapegoat for any sort of French political/economic/educational/cultural/etc discontentment.

    The one Sarko thing that has been praised in the last few months were Carla Bruni's outfits on the visit to the Queen.
  7. Globe Insider subscriber content
    Mr. Justice from Canada writes: John McCain is giving speeches touting Mr. S as 'pro-American'.

    Do the voters in France know this, yet ?
  8. L Y from France writes: Also, on the homepage, above the link to the article, you spelled his name wrong. No h in Nicolas.
  9. john shantz from Canada writes: ........ poorly written piece....... seems like the writer was looking for a vessel to place a bunch of his disconnected opinions about Euro politics.
  10. Raymond Durrani from Ajax, Canada writes: Why Globe and mail want to waste time and talent on this issue which is not our concern. French people has history of such scandals.
  11. Zando Lee from Vancouver, Canada writes: ....reminds us of the squandered political capital of the Bush administration....the similarities are astounding...c'est la vie...
  12. joseph Cheng from Toronto, Canada writes: France is no different from any other country. With a new leader who looked different and behaved different, most French people thought they had found a new political 'Messiah' for their country. But soon, they found out once assuming power, Sarkozy was no different from other previous presidents that France had. Then the disappointment became more acute in proportion. I can bet that if Obama is elected president of the U.S. this fall, his populartiy will go down the drain even before the 12 month period is up.
  13. Ed Long from white Rock, Canada writes: Excellent point, joseph cheng.

    The politics of personality is usually attractive to those wanting immediate gratification.

    Beware Obama, Ignatieff ...
  14. pierre lefebvre from Brossard, Canada writes: Julie Couillard and Michaelle Jean, both unelected citizens, influence and make news on Canada`s Foreign Affairs. What happened of this ministry`s prestige that was the pride of Canada under Lester B. Pearson? Shame and nothing else for this mediocre vision of an important role in international matters. This Bernier must go. Lately he has shown himself friendly with Michael Chamas, a shady character dealing with mafia like criminal elements. Is it possible Bernier gets financial benefits from Hell Angels, Rockers and mafia shady characters?
  15. steve allan from Welland, Ontario, Canada writes: Sarkozy - the man looks like a rat (he really does), he acts like a rat, he is a rat! The Fifth Republic's most despised politician.
  16. Antonio San from Canada writes: French people are claiming they wanted reforms but still want to continue the borrowed lifestyle with over one trillion euro in debt and chronic deficits. This is the bottom line. Bring the envy factor in, a punitive tax system, favored regimes and still high unemployment and you end up with a society that pretends to be dynamic but cannot reform itself. It's easy to envy and blame foreigners who buy villages and castles and renovate them. It's much more difficult to acknowledge that french politicians overtax those french citizens who could do the same and can't because of ISF. In a bout of envy, the people prefer to see the real estate go to others rather than other frenchs! Of course the globe reporter won't expand but Sarkozy's reforms are barely extremes or american, just no different than successful ones implemented in European countries! Those who find him capitalist are the same who want to play with other people's money: again the borrowed lifestyle. And the Gauche Caviar is not the last in this hypocrit game. The socialists suggested they would abrogate the fiscal shield... imagine, giving over 70% of what you make to CRA! Who would want to invest his life efforts in this and create jobs? French people indeed should be grateful there is a Sarkozy to blame since they are too complacent and coward to look in the mirror and assume their responsibility for the state of France.
  17. Tobin Manley from The Bronx, NYC, United States writes: 'Eurotrash' is not exactly trenchant analysis. London's Boris may be a lot of things, but eurotrash he's not. More like an affable oaf with a propensity for charming verbal gaffes.
    The French knew Sarko well enough on election day; there's no cure for their malaise. Le Monde was scandalized most of all by Sarko's munching on hot dogs with Bush in Kennebunkport. That's an impeachable offense.
  18. steve allan from Welland, Ontario, Canada writes: Doug Saunders is a poor journalist. He must be enjoying life in France too much to bother doing a bit of research before he writes his columns.

    His statement that France has the highest public debt in Western Europe is ridiculous and well off the mark. Anyone who knows anything about Europe knows that honour belongs to Italy. Belgium also has a much higher level of public debt, and Germany's public debt is the same as France.

    Please post facts, not silly nonsense!
  19. Comments closed, censored, deleted or made to disappear from Mini Bushland, Canada writes: With Nicolas-le-Petit, France has lost its grandeur, personified by General de Gaulle: « Toute ma vie, je me suis fait une certaine idee(accent) de la France ». ('Me(accent)moires de guerre'). Nicolas-le-Petit does not have the 'envergure' (the stature) to entertain only the shadow of the idea of greatness. He has the soul of a cheap entertainer, not that of the President of the French Republic. Therefore, not only did he have to mend his ways with the Chinese recently (the Chinese ultimatum delivered to him personally could not have been made clearer), he even has hed to change his tune in Tunisia since then. Nicolas-le-Petit is the wrong man for such a crucial period in history, where a new world political and economic order is being born. De Gaulle, the father of EU (one of the three leading blocs in the 21st century), definitely was!
  20. Gerry O'Brien from Ottawa, Canada writes: Traditionally, U.S. presidents experience a 'honey moon' period of 100 days after an election, then they have to deal with reality issues ... the economy, etc. While Sarkozy seems to be behaving as if the 'honey moon' is still going on even after one year in the post, the economy is in need of more attention than ever. France is waiting for the Sarkozy government to deliver on his promises for change. From the Revolution to the present, France has often cut its own path, often to the frustration or aggravation of other countries. But it is a country of rich culture, a great civilization with many contributions to many areas of human development, for example, art, science, etc. But it is not the power it once was. It is now burdened with a bloated system of subsidies, government deficits and a debt that the country can no longer afford. The Sarkozy government may surprise everyone … but we are all waiting … and I hope we are not waiting for Godot !
  21. ward benedict from Canada writes: Sarkozy is not a left wing politician so look for the Globe to run smear peices on him. Paul Wells was sent to cover French politics for this very reason.
  22. Gary Thomson from Surrey, BC, Canada writes: This is a particularly bad, contrived bit of journalism.
  23. Globe Insider subscriber content
    L.B. MURRAY from !! from Canada writes: -
    Oh well... Here's my voltairian-vitriolic grain of salt for today...

    PresidentBush lost his favourite poodle, and now finds himself with three (3) of them: Sarkozy-Harper-Brown.... LOL One from France, the other from Canada and the third, a dour Scotsman now UK's PM....

    According to YouTube, among others, we saw plenty of videos of our dear leader dropping his dog Barney while running to get in or out of his helicopter....

    With three (yes, 3) poodles on his lap, how will he manage??? LOL

    -
  24. Globe Insider subscriber content
    L.B. MURRAY from !! from Canada writes: -
    People! Before any of you comment.... let me remind you that former French President Jacques Chirac was ''right wing'' and so is President Sarkozy.... Please... Read some history, forget your Wiki and read some serious editorials and newspapers, magazines.... but please, spare us the ''SrakozyCommunist'' pap I saw recently on some comments lost in cyberspace.

    Thank you.

    -
  25. none of your business from leningrad, Russian Federation writes: democracy at work.
  26. Raymond Durrani from Ajax, Canada writes: Ignatieff will never see that day - I mean he will never be in that position - private life - he can be his own boss - how about that folks?
  27. Globe Insider subscriber content
    Vic Hotte from Kettleby, Canada writes: Sarkozy told the British that capitalim needs regulations to discourage speculative chaos? He might be on to something ... regulations on business and finance might have spared us the Asset-Backed Commercial Paper debacle, which is now costing ALL investors as the central banks continue to bail out the greedy financial advisers and institutions that oversold this nonsense, all the while raking in their bonuses. It sounds like he appointed ministers to handle their positions, not line up behind him and vote as told, like we see in ... oh, say ... Canada. It doesn't sound very peaceful, but the French Assembly must be percolating like never before. Interesting experiment ... even if the man himself has managed to pulverize his own public image.
  28. Globe Insider subscriber content
    Doris Wrench Eisler from St. Albert. AB, Canada writes: I could never figure out, either, how Sarkozy got elected. I thought the French insisted on separating entertainment and politics. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Queen and Prince Philip put on an annual pantomine show - everyone's getting into show biz. But is finance minister Christine Lagarde really an administrative genius? Unregulated capitalism isn't exactly an innovative idea, nor an unqualified success.
    Seems Sarkozy is playing both sides. Cutting back on nuclear submarines
    and Mirage jets seems an excellent way to balance the budget though.
    He might be more progressive than he likes to let on.
  29. E. Biggs from Canada writes: Does anybody really know this guy?

    I have the same feeling about O'Bama, who the hell knows what he is or where we will end up with him as President. I say we as how they go so do we, except we don't get a vote.

    Change to what?
  30. Marcus T from Toronto, Canada writes: Sarkozy is a volatile, may even be temparmental, President with an artistic appreciation. However, his political skill is left much to be desired. Most French people now wish that he has as much tact in dealing with his political colleagues as he has with women!! This character of his may turn out to be the one that would subvert his ability to transform the French society.
  31. Hiram Feu Follet from Toronto, Canada writes: Quelle misère! What could you expect from a decider who has absolutly no vision. Yes he shows up wherever cameras are (funerals, exhibits, monuments, dignitaries...). That's gymnastic or show biz. Lack of vision reveals itself as an evidence of meiocrity. After all French assert we have the leaders we deserve. So let them enjoy their new found presidentialvulgarity.
  32. runner danchuk from Saskatoon, Canada writes: Sakary is a 'Cochon' or however you spell 'pig' in French.

    He did his first wife a favor; thank God there is a God.
  33. Craig Cooper from Toronto, writes: Has anyone else noticed that Carla Bruni ia a barker?
  34. * Lozange from Toronto, Canada writes:
    Sarkozy is France's comeuppance. They have to suffer him, we are entertained by him.. Will he be back? I don't think so. He'll hopefully be their reminder of what awaits them if France doesn't shake itself up. Leaders with double lives, a haughtiness culturally that gives them illusions of long ago grandeur they unleash on real political events. Sarkozy is their delirium run wild.
  35. J Cavin from NB, Canada writes: Sarkozy is just what France needs. Whether the French can figure that out is another thing. A coddled, bankrupt country whose citizens strike anytime a needed form is attempted is never going to admit liking the guy that straightens them out. Face it folks, SOMEBODY voted him in.
  36. Albin Forone from Canada writes: For whatever reason, the G&M has fallen behind TStar in noting that the French press is swooning over our hot GG Jean. As Nietzsche wrote, 'Beauty is the highest form of power, because it dominates without violence.'
  37. runner danchuk from Saskatoon, Canada writes: Hmmm, sounds like Sakoswzy sure likes strong women and is willing to bet on them bringing him success.

    Seems like it's working. Isn't this an assault on women in general?

    Use em and screw em diagnosis!
  38. Bert Russell Paradox, BC from Canada writes:
    Another bit of tabloid journalism by GM ... remember the picture of Allan Rock taken with the Tamil Tigers? No wonder no one in France will admit voting for him .. those hauteur sophisticated impulsive French were conned by image and charming words .. so much for substance.

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