France General Discussion II: Living under Marxism

[MaxQue]

Yeah, French media are all out on this. Actually, it's been numerous years since most of the Party's federations were not using the hammer and sickle on any of their activist material.  And Emmanuel Dang Tran is only secretary of one of Paris' 20 sections, one of the most reactionary ones.

But I find it a pity. The hammer and sickle is an international recognition symbol, plus a historical landmark. Oh well, no big deal.

How many workers today use hammers or sickles, especially in a country like France?

Face it Seatown, the laptop and photocopier just don't have the same pizazz as the hammer and sickle.

A laptop and a photocopier? We are talking of the PCF here, so no office workers.
An assembly line would be more apt.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

More like a queue inside a post officer, or wherever it is that French pensioners go...

[LastVoter]

More like a queue inside a post officer, or wherever it is that French pensioners go...

[Tender Branson]

France’s National Assembly Votes in Favor of Gay Marriage

France’s National Assembly voted in favor of legalizing gay marriage, after weeks of debates and demonstrations both against and for the proposed law.

The lower house of the French parliament voted the bill in 329 versus 229, with a debate on the issue in the upper house, or Senate, slated to start from April 2. Agence France-Presse reported.

The bill, which sailed through the National Assembly owing to the large majority held by President Francois Hollande’s Socialist Party and its allies, marks the first major social plan he has pushed through since his election in May and would fulfill a campaign promise.

It mirrors the passage this month in the House of Commons of a bill to legalize gay marriage in England and Wales, bringing them into line with countries such as Spain and South Africa.

The French bill -- known by its slogan “marriage for all” -- gives same-sex partnerships equal status with heterosexual unions and allows gays to adopt children.

The bill divided France, a predominantly Catholic country. Opinion polls show that a majority of French voters favor giving same-sex couples the right to marry, though they oppose giving such couples rights to adoption or medically-assisted procreation.

Pollster BVA found that 58 percent of voters favor gay marriage, while 53 percent oppose adoption for gay couples, according to a survey published last month. CSA, another polling company, found that 52 percent favor gay marriage and the same proportion oppose adoption by same-sex couples.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-12/france-s-national-assembly-votes-in-favor-of-gay-marriage.html

[Hash]

Analysis of the vote:

568 votes
In favour: 329
Against: 229
Abstentions: 10

SRC 283 vs 4 vs 5
votes against: Bernadette Laclais (Savoie), Jérôme Lambert (Charente), Patrick Lebreton (Réunion), Gabrielle Louis-Carabin (Guadeloupe)
abstentions: Ibrahim Aboubacar (Mayotte), Marie-Françoise Bechtel (Aisne), Jean-Luc Laurent (Val-de-Marne), Jean-Philippe Mallé (Yvelines), Dominique Potier (Meurthe-et-Moselle)

Note: Laclais and Lambert opposed gay adoption and had openly criticized the law. Lambert, one of Mitterrand's nephews, announced he would vote no a while ago. Gabrielle Louis-Carabin is ex-UMP. Bechtel and Laurent are members of the MRC. Mallé opposed everything, probably didn't vote against because of party loyalty.
Jalton (Guadeloupe), Vainqueur-Christophe (Guadeloupe) were absent - 7 others were also absent apparently. All other SRC members from Martinique, Réunion, Guyane, Mayotte voted in favour.

UMP 187 vs 2 vs 5
votes in favour: Benoist Apparu (Marne), Franck Riester (Seine-et-Marne). Dominique Tian (Bouches-du-Rhône) is recorded as being in favour, but he corrected the official record saying he wanted to vote against.
abstentions: Nicole Ameline (Calvados), Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet (Essonne), Pierre Lellouche (Paris), Bruno Le Maire (Eure), Édouard Philippe (Seine-Maritime)

Note: Riester is a loyal Copéiste but he's also openly gay. Apparu, Ameline, NKM, Lellouche and Le Maire have reputations as social liberals within the party.

UDI 24 vs 5
votes in favour: Philippe Gomès (New Caledonia), Yves Jégo (Seine-et-Marne), Sonia Lagarde (New Caledonia), Jean-Christophe Lagarde (Seine-Saint-Denis). Jean-Louis Borloo (Nord) is recorded as being against, but he corrected the official record saying he wanted to vote in favour.

Note: Jégo is a close ally of Borloo and is socially liberal as well. Gomès and Lagarde are members of Calédonie ensemble, a local centrist party in New Caledonia. Jean-Christophe Lagarde is also not surprising, he's always been to the left of the old NC.

Ecolo 17

RRDP 13 vs 2
votes against: Ary Chalus (Guadeloupe), Thierry Robert (Réunion)

GDR 9 vs 4
votes against: Bruno Nestor Azérot (Martinique), Patrice Carvalho (Oise), Alfred Marie-Jeanne (Martinique), Jean-Philippe Nilor (Martinique)

NI 7
all against, including Jean Lassalle (MoDem)

[Antonio the Sixth]

Good.

Why does it take so long before going to the Senate, though?

[MaxQue]

Good.

Why does it take so long before going to the Senate, though?

If I understand well, things have to pass into a Senate committee, which needs to write a report on it. The original plan was to make that in mid-March, but government decided to leave more time for preparing the report and to put the banking law in the mid-March slot.

[Antonio the Sixth]

"Cumul" reform delayed indefinitely... This government is officially a joke.

[Simfan34]

"Cumul" reform delayed indefinitely... This government is officially a joke.

Great news! Sarkozy 2017.

[Antonio the Sixth]

"Cumul" reform delayed indefinitely... This government is officially a joke.

Great news! Sarkozy 2017.

I don't know why you have such a crush on Sarkozy. He's not really your kind of rightist.

[Hash]

"Cumul" reform delayed indefinitely... This government is officially a joke.

Shocked. I certainly never expected a party of power-hungry career politicians would do that.

[MaxQue]

"Cumul" reform delayed indefinitely... This government is officially a joke.

Shocked. I certainly never expected a party of power-hungry career politicians would do that.

It's not like if the other party would do anything else, on that question.

[Hash]

In today's edition of Pollsters are Morons, we have CSA (obviously) releasing a national poll for local elections (with a sample of 1000).

[Antonio the Sixth]

Yeah, there's really no point in these kinds of stuff.

[Kitteh]

Well, it serves the purpose of generic party support polling sort of, which is kinda nice.

Fwiw, comparison btw the 1st round of the legislatives in 2012 and these numbers, rounded to the nearest half-percent:

PS, PRG, DVG -7.5%
EELV +.5%
Total Presidential Majority: -7%
FdG +2%
Total Gauche Parliamentaire: -5%

Far-left +1%

MoDem +2%

UMP, NC, DVD +3.5%

FN -1.5%

I don't think these numbers are all that meaningful, tho.

[Antonio the Sixth]

MoDem +2%

LOL

Probably doesn't mean much, simply people who might like the MoDem "branch" but would probably never vote for the actual candidate the MoDem could put up (ie a total nobody).

[Hash]

I guess I should put this here: anybody interested in me beginning to write up some complete guide (like the incomplete one I attempted before the legislatives in June) for the municipal elections next year, covering all major cities and other issues of local government in France? I figure if I get an early start, I might put together something which isn't horrible.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I guess I should put this here: anybody interested in me beginning to write up some complete guide (like the incomplete one I attempted before the legislatives in June) for the municipal elections next year, covering all major cities and other issues of local government in France? I figure if I get an early start, I might put together something which isn't horrible.

Absolutely! Though I think you should start a new thread in the International Elections board.

[Jens]

I guess I should put this here: anybody interested in me beginning to write up some complete guide (like the incomplete one I attempted before the legislatives in June) for the municipal elections next year, covering all major cities and other issues of local government in France? I figure if I get an early start, I might put together something which isn't horrible.

Please do it. I'd love to know more about the major cities and local government in Paris

[Tender Branson]

Hollande's approval rating drops below Marine Le Pen's:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/17/us-france-poll-idUSBRE92G0F720130317

[You kip if you want to...]

The bigger question for me is of the kind've country where the leader of the racist right has an approval rating in the 30s.

[Tender Branson]

The bigger question for me is of the kind've country where the leader of the racist right has an approval rating in the 30s.

Until the "New Jews"-saying, HC Strache (FPÖ) also had approvals in the 30s.

Now more like mid-20s.

[Keystone Phil]

I believe a wise man once said, "Sarkozy will be re-elected."

He just never specified when.

[You kip if you want to...]

With the new PS primary system from 2012, will Hollande have to be renominated by said system?

[Hash]

The bigger question for me is of the kind've country where the leader of the racist right has an approval rating in the 30s.

Face it, she's been great at downplaying the whole racist aspect and has never had the appearance of a senile old Holocaust denying fart like Daddy had. Besides, she's a very good (by that I mean skilled + good at what she does; rather than subjectively good) politician.

With the new PS primary system from 2012, will Hollande have to be renominated by said system?

The new PS statutes have entrenched the idea of the 'primaire citoyenne' (open primary) like in 2011.

Reiterating my offer for a guide about the 2014 municipal elections, unless people prefer to panic about Panzergirl's latest poll rating.