France General Discussion

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Segolene Royal wants to be in charge of the DOM-TOMs in the PS, in the wake of the massive strikes in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Her reason: She lived three years in Martinique. 1960-1963, or from age 7 to 10. Now, that's some real experience!

No, no, that's not her reason, and you probably knows that the reason is surely before in your post (underlined).

No. She actually boasted her 3 years in Martinique as a reason she should get it.

Yeah, but we both know that's just the official reason. Right?

That said, she dared claiming it for the reason you quoted!

(Luckily it has not a big media noise, otherwise, I wonder how people in French Antilles would appreciate it, those who are in genuine problems).

She wants a job. Poitou-Charentes must be too boring.

[PGSable]

Not exactly related to French politics, but still interesting...

Singer-songwriter Charles Aznavour has accepted to serve as Armenian ambassador to Switzerland. Aznavour was born in France in 1924 to Armenian parents. He strongly identified with Armenia, and obtained Armenian citizenship two months ago.

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Not exactly related to French politics, but still interesting...

Singer-songwriter Charles Aznavour has accepted to serve as Armenian ambassador to Switzerland. Aznavour was born in France in 1924 to Armenian parents. He strongly identified with Armenia, and obtained Armenian citizenship two months ago.

Euh... Cool. In Switzerland?? Sounds a prestigious retirement pension. I hope he suits to the job and that this is not just this and for the media.

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Segolene Royal wants to be in charge of the DOM-TOMs in the PS, in the wake of the massive strikes in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Her reason: She lived three years in Martinique. 1960-1963, or from age 7 to 10. Now, that's some real experience!

No, no, that's not her reason, and you probably knows that the reason is surely before in your post (underlined).

No. She actually boasted her 3 years in Martinique as a reason she should get it.

Yeah, but we both know that's just the official reason. Right?

That said, she dared claiming it for the reason you quoted!

(Luckily it has not a big media noise, otherwise, I wonder how people in French Antilles would appreciate it, those who are in genuine problems).

She wants a job. Poitou-Charentes must be too boring.

Hehehe. Maybe. I think she likes to be at Poitou-Charentes, it makes her being close of the "down France", the "France which works and suffers", this "traditional lovely France". Poitou-Charentes is a perfect place for her for this.

Antilles? Well, she might also have felt that they are maybe more receptive to her televangelist side.

Speaking about Antilles. Reunion (not in Antilles but an other DOM) decided of a day of general strike on March 5th. Guadeloupe radicalized the movement and continue the strike with Martinique. They call to general strike on all territories of France, home-country included.

Frankly, if the govt doesn't well manage the thing, it could spread because in home-country and DOM-TOM they all have a common strong claim: increasing of salaries.

Yves Jego, who doesn't really seem to be the right man at the right place, said force could intervene if the movement was more radical, which of course appealed a radical reaction of the leader of the protest, Elie Domota, all of this with the old passions of the former colonial background of these areas. This plus the anger in the home-country, the govt will have to be really smart in negotiations, in DOM-TOMs and in those of the 18th of February.

[PGSable]

BTW, GREAT NEWS!

The MoI gnomes have decided to keep the departmental number on the new license plates!

The owner will be free to choose the departmental number he wishes, though. The freedom haters wanted to remove the numbers from license plates.

35!

Great news!

Though it seems that the departmental number won't be a part of the license plate number; it will be shown separately on the right with the regional flag/logo (like the F and the EU logo on the left).

Final map of the regional logos:



Apparently there was some resistance to putting the gwenn ha du on the Breton licence plates.

[Hash]

BTW, GREAT NEWS!

The MoI gnomes have decided to keep the departmental number on the new license plates!

The owner will be free to choose the departmental number he wishes, though. The freedom haters wanted to remove the numbers from license plates.

35!

Great news!

Though it seems that the departmental number won't be a part of the license plate number; it will be shown separately on the right with the regional flag/logo (like the F and the EU logo on the left).

Final map of the regional logos:



Apparently there was some resistance to putting the gwenn ha du on the Breton licence plates.

Which Breton-haters were opposed to the Gwenn ha du on our license plates?

Anyways.

It's good to see that Bretagne is, along with Corse, the only region not to use the awful regional logos (however, they're better than the older ones, which were truly awful). It is also excellent news that Breton license plates will not only be free of the logo, but will also be bilingual French-Breton. I'm surprised that went through.

Here are the schemas for the new license plates by region.

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The Balladur Commission on institutional reforms has published its report today.

Firstly, it calls for 15 regions in metro France instead of the current 22. Unite the Normandies (good, very good); merge Rhône-Alpes and Auvergne; Franche-Comté and Bourgogne; divide Poitou-Charentes and Picardie between various regions, and "redistrict" Ile-de-France. As if French regions weren't awful already.

However, no department-region mergers, but they want the creation of a "territorial councillor". They also want to create mass confusion for cantonal voting, to imitate the municipal system, by keeping the current two-round system in rural cantons, but list PR in urban areas, which probably means destroying inner city cantons.

Metropolitan areas would have even greater powers, taking some departmental powers.

Controversially, the creation of a Grand Paris, or Greater Paris, similar to the GLA in London. Greater Paris would merge the 75, 92, 93, and 94 departments into one department/commune. It would be administered by a 135 member council, whose members would be elected in the same way that the current Council of Paris is elected (arrondissements).

If adopted, it would enter into force by 2014, so after the 2010 regional elections. The terms of the regional legislatures elected in 2010 could potentially be shortened to 4 years instead of 6 years.

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The new map.



A mixed bag. Firstly, one excellent thing: the "Pays de la Loire" atrocity disappears and Loire-Atlantique rightfully rejoins its real historical region, Breizh. Also nice to see, the reunified Normandie.

Some not so good stuff. The extended Champagne, the Auvergne-Limousin merger.

And truly awful stuff. The new Alsace-Lorraine, which kills our dear Elsass! The awful new Ile-de-France. The disappearance of Picardie, the Poitou-Aquitaine atrocity, the huge Val de Loire thing, and the Nord-Picardie region.

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A word from the xenophobic drunkard, Jacques Auxiette had this to say about the tragic disappearance of Loire-Atlantique and his trash can region is saying that it's "modern-day annexation, almost colonization".

This guy is a joke.

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

The new map.



A mixed bag. Firstly, one excellent thing: the "Pays de la Loire" atrocity disappears and Loire-Atlantique rightfully rejoins its real historical region, Breizh. Also nice to see, the reunified Normandie.

Some not so good stuff. The extended Champagne, the Auvergne-Limousin merger.

And truly awful stuff. The new Alsace-Lorraine, which kills our dear Elsass! The awful new Ile-de-France. The disappearance of Picardie, the Poitou-Aquitaine atrocity, the huge Val de Loire thing, and the Nord-Picardie region.

Well, nothing is done yet. That's just the result of the commission. Now the govt will have to deal with the reality of the ground.

Yes, some stuff seem awful, like that huge Poitou-Aquitaine. I like Limousin-Auvergne, that's homogeneous, they could call it "Massif Central".

I find the new Ile-de-France more logical. Val de Loire too. Concerning this map, IIRC, I heard on France Info that Aisne were going to be in Champagne unlike on the map. Concerning Alsace-Lorraine, if the project is confirmed, I would be curious to see the score of "separatists" at the next regional elections. Concerning Bretagne, I note there would be 2 big cities Rennes and Nantes, which one to lead?

I also like the new status of the 8 biggest cities outside of Paris, and also the status of Great Paris.

One problem, I heard still on France Info that they decided to keep the scale of the "département" and the "conseils généraux". So we keep that level of decision which might be too much, especially for costs.

[MaxQue]

A word from the xenophobic drunkard, Jacques Auxiette had this to say about the tragic disappearance of Loire-Atlantique and his trash can region is saying that it's "modern-day annexation, almost colonization".

This guy is a joke.

That is understandable. He would loses his power in his region, Poitou-Aquitaine.

[Hash]

A word from the xenophobic drunkard, Jacques Auxiette had this to say about the tragic disappearance of Loire-Atlantique and his trash can region is saying that it's "modern-day annexation, almost colonization".

This guy is a joke.

That is understandable. He would loses his power in his region, Poitou-Aquitaine.

Let's all cry for a drunk Bretonphobe. Oh noes. One less incompetent leftie.

Well, nothing is done yet. That's just the result of the commission. Now the govt will have to deal with the reality of the ground.

Regional legislatures will apparently vote on this. I think.

Concerning Alsace-Lorraine, if the project is confirmed, I would be curious to see the score of "separatists" at the next regional elections. Concerning Bretagne, I note there would be 2 big cities Rennes and Nantes, which one to lead?

I think there would be an important current in a new Alsace-Lorraine region calling for a purely Alsatian region, similar to the current 44=BZH current in Brittany currently. The general councils of the Alsatian departments would probably support separation, just like the Loire-Atlantique council supports reunification.

The Rennes-Nantes thing will be a source of debate. Some people are proposing doing it like in the Canaries, which has two capitals Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

I also like the new status of the 8 biggest cities outside of Paris, and also the status of Great Paris.

The new status for large urban centres sounds good, yes.

[PGSable]

Overall, a pretty horrible map (especially the Poitou-Aquitaine, Val de Loire, and Alsace-Lorraine regions). The only good that could come from this would be a very interesting regional election between Ségolène Royal, François Bayrou, and Philippe de Villiers (hmm... could the Poitou-Aquitaine region be a swipe at Royal?), but, if I understand it correctly, there wouldn't be any regional elections. (The regional council would instead be made up of all the general council members of the region.)

Concerning Bretagne, I note there would be 2 big cities Rennes and Nantes, which one to lead?

Nantes, I would hope. Note that the rivalry between Nantes and Rennes was the reason for creation the Pays de la Loire region in the first place.

It will also be interesting to see what the capitals of Normandie (another region that was divided because of a rivalry between its two major cities) and Alsace-Lorraine would be.

Regional legislatures will apparently vote on this. I think.

If that's the case, then there will definitely be changes to the proposal. Quite a few regions would vote against it (Pays de la Loire, Poitou-Charentes, and Alsace, to name a few.)

[Hash]

Overall, a pretty horrible map (especially the Poitou-Aquitaine, Val de Loire, and Alsace-Lorraine regions). The only good that could come from this would be a very interesting regional election between Ségolène Royal, François Bayrou, and Philippe de Villiers (hmm... could the Poitou-Aquitaine region be a swipe at Royal?), but, if I understand it correctly, there wouldn't be any regional elections. (The regional council would instead be made up of all the general council members of the region.)

No, I think. There'd be regional elections in 2014 for these new atrocities. But I think general councils would get a spot in the regional legislatures.

Regional legislatures will apparently vote on this. I think.

If that's the case, then there will definitely be changes to the proposal. Quite a few regions would vote against it (Pays de la Loire, Poitou-Charentes, and Alsace, to name a few.)

Yes, sadly. The Vichyist Pays de la Loire councillors will vote against a rightful reunification.

On a side note, I should be posting my proposals for regional reform soon.

[PGSable]

The French Regions Associations, led by Alain Rousset (the PS president of Aquitaine), launched a new website SauvonsLesRegions.fr.

In unrelated news, Le Monde has a page up tracking Sarkozy's approval ratings in eastern France: Nord-Pas-de-Calais, the "Grand Est" (Picardie, Champagne-Ardenne, Bourgogne), the Interior East (Lorraine, Alsace, Franche-Comté), and the Mediterranean (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Languedoc-Roussillon).

[Math]

Yes, sadly. The Vichyist Pays de la Loire councillors will vote against a rightful reunification.

Please stop it. It's a terrifying vision to all my fellow Angevins to be merge with the Centre which is nothing more than a desert...

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Yes, sadly. The Vichyist Pays de la Loire councillors will vote against a rightful reunification.

Please stop it. It's a terrifying vision to all my fellow Angevins to be merge with the Centre which is nothing more than a desert...

People of Tours, Orléans, Blois, Chartres, Bourges, etc, would certainly love the statement. Frankly, Pays de la Loire was as a desert as Centre, look Mayenne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, Vendée!

Anyway, outside of Paris, Lyon and Marseille's areas, France is not a dense country as much for the repartition of population as for the repartition of the economical activities.

[Hash]

Yes, sadly. The Vichyist Pays de la Loire councillors will vote against a rightful reunification.

Please stop it. It's a terrifying vision to all my fellow Angevins to be merge with the Centre which is nothing more than a desert...

What is Vendée if not a flat desert?

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Yes, sadly. The Vichyist Pays de la Loire councillors will vote against a rightful reunification.

Please stop it. It's a terrifying vision to all my fellow Angevins to be merge with the Centre which is nothing more than a desert...

What is Vendée if not a flat desert?

The kingdom of Philippe de Villiers. His army is based at Puy-du-Fou.

[MaxQue]

Yes, sadly. The Vichyist Pays de la Loire councillors will vote against a rightful reunification.

Please stop it. It's a terrifying vision to all my fellow Angevins to be merge with the Centre which is nothing more than a desert...

What is Vendée if not a flat desert?

The kingdom of Philippe de Villiers. His army is based at Puy-du-Fou.

And the Fou is Philippe de Villiers.

[Math]

Yes, sadly. The Vichyist Pays de la Loire councillors will vote against a rightful reunification.

Please stop it. It's a terrifying vision to all my fellow Angevins to be merge with the Centre which is nothing more than a desert...

What is Vendée if not a flat desert?

Flat? You probably don't know the Mont des Alouettes which rises to about 240 m IIRC...

[Hash]

Yes, sadly. The Vichyist Pays de la Loire councillors will vote against a rightful reunification.

Please stop it. It's a terrifying vision to all my fellow Angevins to be merge with the Centre which is nothing more than a desert...

What is Vendée if not a flat desert?

Flat? You probably don't know the Mont des Alouettes which rises to about 240 m IIRC...

Excuse me if I'm not impressed by the Vendéen summits.

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Olivier Besancenot part of the 50 people who would be "the most influential in shaping the world debate", according to the Financial Times.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7f6f08da-0d7d-11de-8914-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

[PGSable]

We don't have a thread for the regionals, but the UMP held its primary today. The results are available on the party website.

Turnout in brackets.


Basse Normandie [57.04%]: Lambert 54.59%, , Améline 45.41%

Bourgogne [46.50%]: Suguenot 57.50%, Anciaux 42.50%

Centre [45.81%]: Novelli 72.60%, Lepeltier 27.40%

Ile-de-France [48.08%]: Pécresse 59.87%, Karoutchi 40.13%

Languedoc Roussillon [53.25%]: Couderc 35.43%, Castex 32.95%, Jeanjean 21.54%, Rivenq 10.08%

Midi-Pyrénées [45.50%]: Barèges 54.63%, Trémège 45.37%

Nord-Pas-de-Calais [36.92%]: Lazaro 77.55%, Pick 22.45%

Rhône-Alpes [32.65%]: Grossetête 46.92%, Carle 28.28%, Blanc 24.81%

Aquitaine: Darcos unopposed

Bretagne: Le Guen unopposed

Champagne-Ardenne: Warsmann unopposed

Franche-Comté: Joyandet unopposed

Haute Normandie: Le Maire unopposed

Limousin: Archer unopposed

Lorraine: Hénart unopposed

Pays de la Loire: Bachelot unopposed

Picardie: Cayeux unopposed

Poitou-Charentes: De Richemont unopposed


No results available for Auvergne, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, or the overseas regions.

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There has been talk in Bretagne against Le Guen, with some proposing the candidacy of the former prefect Bernadette Malgorn (which BRTD would probably hate very, very, very much). But the local UMP has united behind Le Guen (a Villepeniste).