France General Discussion II: Living under Marxism

[Hash]

The government!

PM: Valls
Foreign Affairs and International Development: Laurent Fabius
Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy: Ségolène Royal
Justice: Christine Taubira
National education, higher education and research: Benoit Hamon
Finance and budget: Michel Sapin
Economy: Arnaud Montebourg
Social affairs: Marisol Touraine
Labour, employment and social dialogue: François Rebsamen
Defense: Jean-Yves Le Drian
Interior: Bernard Cazeneuve
Womens' rights, city, youth and sports: Najat Vallaud-Belkacem
Decentralization and state reform: Marylise Lebranchu
Culture and communication: Aurélie Filippetti
Housing and territorial equality: Sylvia Pinel
Agriculture, agrifood and spokesperson: Stéphane Le Foll
Overseas: George Pau-Langevin

[MaxQue]

Montebourg at Economy? It's April 1st late?

[Zanas]

A bit off-topic, but was the 2002 shock result in the presidential put down in the media to Jospin alone or the fact that a combined radical left that had split from PS would've given him an easy victory?

Because the more i look at that and how well all the left-wing groupuscules did, the more you realise this was probably a missed opportunity for Jospin to become President.

This has been discussed over and over. Just one thing : Taubira, running with supoprt from the PRG, polled 2.34% in that election. More than enough to overtake Le Pen for the runoff. The PRG was basically defending the exact same program, whereas Chevènement, Laguiller, Besancenot or Hue not. (Less so for the latter, but still)

So no, it's not the radical left's fault. Jospin was just not good enough to gather his own side.


On the government, it's pretty much the same. The two "new" comers are old monkeys. Royal and Sapin occupied the exact same posts 22 years ago under Bérégovoy FFS !

Montebourg in Economy is clear trolling, Sapin getting a promotion is outrageous, Royal in Ecology shows the importance given to this post after having had 4 holders in two years... Just glad Taubira sticks to it.

I'm also waiting to see what Cazeneuve, who has been pretty much transparent in Bercy, will do in Bauveau...

[StateBoiler]

So basically, Hollande is probably the French version of Bill Clinton, with all the serial womanizing...

Hollande would be Bill Clinton if Hillary got the Democratic Party's nomination for President in 1988, she failed which privately delighted Bill. Bill got the nod in '92 and won the presidency off the back of some serious cheerleading done by top-notch CNN journalist Monica Lewinsky that during her relationship with Bill skewered Hillary in the press without fail during her presidential run...

[windjammer]

Montebourg at Economy? It's April 1st late?

No!

[Antonio the Sixth]

Jesus F**king Christ. Bringing Ségogo back. Seriously. And Montebourg... God, this is beyond horrible.

[windjammer]

Sego isn't really terrible.

[RodPresident]

Who's the favourite to become French European Comissioner after June? Maybe this will be a position for who got out in Cabinet reshuffle, like Ayrault and Moscovici.

[Zanas]

French are Putin's poodles  name Moscovici for EU comission.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/02/us-eu-france-moscovici-idUSBREA311D620140402

Why Putin's poodles ? I don't get it. But yeah Moscovici aimed at this for a while.

[windjammer]

DISGUSTING.

[Dereich]

DISGUSTING.

What happened? The non-French speakers want to know too!

[You kip if you want to...]

DISGUSTING.

What happened? The non-French speakers want to know too!

Panzer's said that the new FN mayors won't let schools serve menus with religious considerations. Basically taking away halal and kosher.

All in the name of laïcité, of course.

[RodPresident]

DISGUSTING.

What happened? The non-French speakers want to know too!

Vive le pork!

Panzer's said that the new FN mayors won't let schools serve menus with religious considerations. Basically taking away halal and kosher.

All in the name of laïcité, of course.

[swl]

She came back on that topic.
Now she says she only wants 'to forbid to forbid pork' in school menus. But pork is not forbidden anywhere despite what she says, and all canteens serve two menus.

http://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2014/04/07/porc-a-la-cantine-l-arnaque-de-marine-le-pen_4396864_4355770.html

[Zanas]

Anyway, collective restauration urgently needs to become less and less carnivorous, as anyone living on this planet.

[windjammer]

http://www.leparisien.fr/politique/le-maire-fn-de-henin-beaumont-deloge-la-ligue-des-droits-de-l-homme-de-son-local-08-04-2014-3750789.php
Lol fascism

[Hash]

Valls wants to abolish the departmental councils (which he effectively recreated himself!), reduce by half the number of regions (which remain, in the eyes of these horrible mofos, nothing else than Wal-Mart outlets which can be closed down at will) and abolish the clause de compétence générale for local governments (abolished by Sarko... recreated by Flanby/Valls). What a horrible joke.

http://www.liberation.fr/politiques/2014/04/08/valls-veut-reduire-de-moitie-le-nombre-de-regions_994078

[Zanas]

What a vast joke. Halving the number of regions won't have any positive effect whatsoever on the lives of the people, and won't achieve anything regarding public finance. At best it will save a few dozen millions euros, which is obviously peanuts.

The other parts of his commitments are as much of a joke, but way more nefarious for the people.

[Antonio the Sixth]

What's the point of even having regions if you have only 10 of them for a country with 60M inhabitants?

[politicus]

If you make them about even you get administrative units with a population like Denmark or Norway and thats a pretty efficient administrative size. From a democratic POV it makes less sense. Thirty would be about right for France IMO.

[Antonio the Sixth]

If you make them about even you get administrative units with a population like Denmark or Norway and thats a pretty efficient administrative size. From a democratic POV it makes less sense. Thirty would be about right for France IMO.

Well, we have 22 right now, halving them would make the average region more populous than Denmark as a whole.

Anyway, here's an alternative regions map I once drew, trying to both reduce variation in population and correct a few historical aberrations. That ends up with 20 regions for metropolitan France.


1. Île-de-France
2. Grand Paris
3. Lyonnais

I wasn't entirely sure about a few names, so if some have alternative proposals I'd be glad to hear them.

[politicus]

If you make them about even you get administrative units with a population like Denmark or Norway and thats a pretty efficient administrative size. From a democratic POV it makes less sense. Thirty would be about right for France IMO.

Well, we have 22 right now, halving them would make the average region more populous than Denmark as a whole.
Anyway, here's an alternative regions map I once drew, trying to both reduce variation in population and correct a few historical aberrations. That ends up with 20 regions for metropolitan France.


1. Île-de-France
2. Grand Paris
3. Lyonnais

I wasn't entirely sure about a few names, so if some have alternative proposals I'd be glad to hear them.

Not by much (less than 10% difference, so doesnt matter) - which was my point. Having regions the size of small nation states is a pretty efficient size.

Nice map. Also looks OK identity wise (from what I know of France).

[Hash]

The government was completed by secretaries of state:

Parliamentary relations: Jean-Marie Le Guen
International trade, tourism development and French citizens abroad: Fleur Pellerin (under Fabius, finally)
European affairs: Harlem Désir (PS leader)
International development and Francophonie: Annick Girardin (PRG/Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon!)
Transport, sea and fisheries: Frédéric Cuvillier (under Ségo, best of luck dude)
Higher education and research: Geneviève Fioraso
Budget: Christian Eckert
Digital technologies: Axelle Lemaire (PS deputy for the UK/Scandinavia/Baltics, born in Ottawa!)
Commerce, artisanat, consumption, 'économie sociale et solidaire': Valérie Fourneyron
Family and seniors: Laurence Rossignol
Handicapped persons and fight against exclusion: Ségolène Neuville
Veterans and remembrance (lol!): Kader Arif
Sports: Thierry Braillard (PRG deputy, ally of Lyon mayor Gérard Collomb, elected with Collomb's support against an EELV-PS candidate in 2012)
Territorial reform: André Vallini

Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon REPRESENT (first ever cabinet minister from there?)

[Zanas]

If you make them about even you get administrative units with a population like Denmark or Norway and thats a pretty efficient administrative size. From a democratic POV it makes less sense. Thirty would be about right for France IMO.

Well, we have 22 right now, halving them would make the average region more populous than Denmark as a whole.

Anyway, here's an alternative regions map I once drew, trying to both reduce variation in population and correct a few historical aberrations. That ends up with 20 regions for metropolitan France.


1. Île-de-France
2. Grand Paris
3. Lyonnais

I wasn't entirely sure about a few names, so if some have alternative proposals I'd be glad to hear them.

Not bad. Not really sure why you would put Seine-et-Marne in Picardie. Picardie should be dissolved anyway. Give Somme to NPDC, Aisne to Champagne-Ardenne, and Oise to a greater Île-de-France. Not ok with your Seine and Seine-et-Oise thingy.

[RogueBeaver]

LOL Flanby. 83% disapproval, wouldn't even make the runoff with Sarko and Panzergirl. 29% Sarko, 23% Panzergirl, 19% Flanby in Round 1. 67/33 Sarko/Panzergirl in the runoff, 54/46 Flanby/Panzergirl.