France General Discussion II: Living under Marxism

[RogueBeaver]

Rightward turns from Fillon.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Rightward turns from Fillon.

Indeed, as the article says, Séguin must be rolling in his grave.

[RogueBeaver]

Panzerdaddy is running for the EP again.

[Hash]

Senate adopted an amendment banning beauty pageants for children under 16. On a party-line vote, the UMP, UDI, RDSE, Greenies and NI voted in favour, the SRC and Commies voted against.

[RogueBeaver]

Good news.

[RogueBeaver]

Sarko is considering returning next year instead of 2015.

[Hash]

Sarko is considering returning next year instead of 2015.

I say he runs for mayor of Neuilly in 2014.

[Hash]

Senators in a last-ditch fight to save their local jobs...

http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2013/09/19/les-senateurs-refusent-de-se-voir-appliquer-le-non-cumul-des-mandats_3480203_823448.html
http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2013/09/18/l-ultime-bataille-des-senateurs-pour-le-cumul-des-mandats_3479757_823448.html

They adopted an amendment allowing them to still hold one local executive office. The UMP, UDI, RDSE and 4 NI voted in favour, and 26 Socialist senators also voted in favour including the group's president (François Rebsamen). 51 Socialists, all Greenies and all Commies were the only ones who weren't grubby little dicks.

[Hash]

Senators in a last-ditch fight to save their local jobs...

http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2013/09/19/les-senateurs-refusent-de-se-voir-appliquer-le-non-cumul-des-mandats_3480203_823448.html
http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2013/09/18/l-ultime-bataille-des-senateurs-pour-le-cumul-des-mandats_3479757_823448.html

They adopted an amendment allowing them to still hold one local executive office. The UMP, UDI, RDSE and 4 NI voted in favour, and 26 Socialist senators also voted in favour including the group's president (François Rebsamen). 51 Socialists, all Greenies and all Commies were the only ones who weren't grubby little dicks.

For laughs (in French): http://www.topito.com/top-justification-senat-cumul-mandats

[RogueBeaver]

ROFLMAO. Yeah, they should definitely hold one office at a time. Any chance of a similar law for MNAs?

[RogueBeaver]

Sikhs seeking an exemption from the religious symbols law.

[RogueBeaver]

Government floating the possibility of a "pre-majority", thereby possibly enfranchising 16-18 year olds in local elections. Personally I'm not in favour, and any bets that it wouldn't take long before clamouring started for the voting age to be universally lowered? Either do it across the board or don't do it IMO.

[Hash]

How about voting rights for resident foreigner in all local elections, eh Flanby?

Nobody cares about the voting age, I think, and I don't want 16 year olds voting because it would probably be terrible (I VOTE FN BKOZ DEY R KEWL). I suppose the FN might like to lower it, because Panzergirl seems to be big on promoting "young talents" (read: 18-year old idiots who parrot the FN party line).

[Hash]

ROFLMAO. Yeah, they should definitely hold one office at a time. Any chance of a similar law for MNAs?

This whole debate is part of a government bill which would bar deputies, senators and MEPs from holding any local executive office. It's nothing too radical, because they could still be regional/departmental/municipal councillors (like many are). The National Assembly adopted the bill in July, 300 votes to 228.

For the record, the National Assembly vote was as follows:
SRC: 269 for, 4 against (3 MRC, and one PS dissident from the Nord who is a big cumulard), 10 abstentions (didn't look them up, but I think a few are cumulards too)
UMP: 189 against, 3 abstentions
UDI: 20 against, 10 abstentions
Ecolo: 17 for
RRDP: 4 for (Falorni, the Reunion Modemite, Giacobbi, some Lot PRG person), 10 against, 1 abstention (iirc, the PS suppleant for Sylvia Pinel, PRG deputy-turned-cabinet minister, who sits in the RRDP group as part of some deal)
GDR: 7 for, 3 against (2 DOM, and Patrice Carvalho, who seems like a paleocommunist from his general voting [anti-SSM])
NI: 3 for (Andrieux, FN), 2 against (MPF, NDA)

The government is using a 'procédure accélérée' here, so there will be only one reading by both houses, it will now go to a CMP which will likely find no compromise, so the National Assembly will just adopt its own version and tell the Senate to go f- itself.

I'll still hand it to Flanby and co for acting on this one. I, for one, had little hope that the RadSocs-reincarnated would actually act on this, and do so that quickly. Sure, it took a lot of confusing wheeling-and-dealing and public prodding, but they did it - there's at least one thing which this government has done which the right hadn't and wouldn't.

[Zanas]

I will be entirely sure this has been done when the Assembly actually votes it in its terms and without including any of the Senate's bullsh**t. But if they actually do, I'll also grant it to the PS among the things I'd never have believed they would indeed do.

[RogueBeaver]

Kudos to the PS for doing this.

[Hash]

One aspect of the new bill/law which escaped me at first: the law will only apply beginning after the 2017 elections. I knew that this was all too good to be true, we couldn't afford to let these poor, tormented souls go hungry and unemployed like that!

In other news, EELV keeps going down the sh**tter: Noël Mamère has left the party, saying that the party has become power-hungry, self-interested and run by Cecile Duflot and her clan. The leader of the party, Pascal Durand, is retiring; his 'ultimatum' to Flanby and his tough line against the government isn't appreciated by Duflot and co. He'll likely be replaced in November by Emmanuelle Cosse, an ally of Duflot and generally more pro-government.

[Hash]

More anti-Roma racist horsesh**t from Oberst-Gruppenführer Manuel Valls
http://www.lemonde.fr/a-la-une/article/2013/09/25/roms-la-faute-de-manuel-valls_3484159_3208.html

'Le changement c'est maintenant' (whites-only)

[Peter the Lefty]

God, why won't Flanby get the f[inks] rid of that racist monster?

[Hash]

God, why won't Flanby get the f[inks] rid of that racist monster?

Because Manuel Valls is the most popular cabinet minister in the entire government (although it's dropped some lately, I would suppose as a result of UMP/FN voters being less positive about him after the UMP started criticizing him for various kinds of stuff), and certainly the most popular of the more 'visible' ministers (most people probably approve of the likes of Le Drian, Filippetti because their portfolios are low-profile in the media and they're uncontroversial). Furthermore, as disgustingly racist (and downright retarded and illegal) the Oberst-Gruppenführer's comments are, they're quite popular with the wider electorate (and a lot of mayors, who have problems with the resettlement of Romas) and only a fairly small niche circle of bobos and far-leftists actually take issue with his comments (according to a poll, only 21% condemn his comments). Tellingly, the most common response to Duflot's comments (even on Le Monde.fr, not even talking about Le Figaro here) seems to be the usual "why are the greenies annoying us"/"who does she think she is"/"why hasn't she been fired yet".

Sad as it may be, the Oberst-Gruppenführer is one of the few guys who is actually an asset for Flanby/the PS, most notably by neutralizing a common criticism of the left as being 'soft on crime' (which is often cited as one thing which sunk the PS in 2002). Flanby (and Ayrault, who might or might not still be alive) might personally find him a bit too extreme and a pain in the ass, but he's smart enough to know that firing the Oberst-Gruppenführer over this would be a PR disaster for the government and would work against the government since Valls could probably be even more of a maverick pain in the ass outside the government (besides his tough-on-crime/browns-suck image, his whole annoying 'I'M A MAVERICK I CRITICIZE THE LEFT ON KEY ISSUES LOOK AT ME' shtick works out quite well with an electorate which just *loves* politicians of his kind).

tl;dr: politics isn't about what's morally right, so let's stop being naive, kids, and take up drinking

re: http://www.leparisien.fr/politique/sondage-les-francais-soutiennent-valls-sur-les-roms-27-09-2013-3175463.php

[RogueBeaver]

In other news, what does everyone think of Sunday shopping? Personally I support the idea.

[Leftbehind]

Furthermore, as disgustingly racist (and downright retarded and illegal) the Oberst-Gruppenführer's comments are, they're quite popular with the wider electorate (and a lot of mayors, who have problems with the resettlement of Romas) and only a fairly small niche circle of bobos and far-leftists actually take issue with his comments (according to a poll, only 21% condemn his comments). Tellingly, the most common response to Duflot's comments (even on Le Monde.fr, not even talking about Le Figaro here) seems to be the usual "why are the greenies annoying us"/"who does she think she is"/"why hasn't she been fired yet".

Ugh. Is there a more effective way to cement a belief than letting it go unopposed/forming a consensus? The long succession of 'tough on benefits' Labour ministers has worked wonders for public perceptions about both Labour and benefit receivers(!).

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Generally opposed to Sunday shopping.  Certainly the idea that it will increase overall consumer spending is laughable.

[Zanas]

In other news, what does everyone think of Sunday shopping? Personally I support the idea.

Yeah I'm pretty sur you won't have to work every Sunday of the year not being able to see your kids and family in your life, so shut up on this.

[Hash]

Fun news of the day: some obscure article in a law passed by Poison Dwarf in 2010 allows me to vote for the European Parliament... in the Ile-de-France constituency