well well well…
thankyou ever so much for this enlightenment,awesome!
well well well…
thankyou ever so much for this enlightenment,awesome!
Anyone who has ever seen me will back up the statement that I know a lot about food. haha
Now, answer the question. There must either be some Bordeaux connection or you hang around with people from Bordeaux, one of my favorite cities not only in France but in all of Europe. There is simply no other explanation.
well,I’m sorry to disappoint you,my fellow gastronome,
but i grew up on the Belgian border,off a spanish father and a belgian mother,so i’m not deeply rooted anywhere really,but proud to be french,extremely proud to be a chef,and having the opportunity to showcase the goodness of those 2 assets wherever i live.
Indeed, this year election is thrilling. Not only because of the personnality of the two candidates running and their age (to have a “young” president born after WWII is new), but because 5 years ago we didn t really have any choice of “society” and no debate and Chirac got a landslide win with 82 % of the votes . It was not a vote for Chirac but against Le Pen.
This explains, last sunday, there has been a huge turnout. And that is a first real good sign of change. Before that, less and less people were going to the polls. Democracy was having a hard time. Now everyone is talking about this election.
Between Sarkozy and Royal, I think many undecided voters will wait to see the TV debates between the two of them next week. This is going to be crucial.
It is not going to be that easy for Sarkozy either, he has got to win the “center” votes.
Sarkozy is a brilliant talker (charming everyone, he got many votes from Le Pen sending him to retirement now. He even charmed Bush ) . He did some good achievements while at the head of the Ministère de l Intérieur (head of Police). No death during the riots, it could have been much much worse. He is tackling every society problem. He has got so much energy that I sometimes think he is going to suffer a breakdown .
He also has a very good team behind him. Very clever people like Borloo or Coppe
Royal is softer and it is not clear which team she will have around her. Still she will get the votes of all the extreme left (communists, trotskists and probably many from the center)
Thus the secound round is very undecided. But we have a much more important election just after, the Parliament. This is the real test.
Also I m very much worried about possible threats of bombing before the second round. Spanish secret intelligence just warned the DGSE about this. And more riots if Sarkozy is elected. It is not going to be a peaceful year I m afraid.
What I really don t like in the image that is given by Sarkozy and the medias is that they think french are not working enough.
Many in the private sectors are working much more than the 35 hours, 50 to 60 hours without extra hours being paid.
The 35 hours week is not reality for everyone.
Sharlee:
Who are you going to vote for?
ahah I still don t know
I voted for Bayrou
I don t like Royal.
I m afraid that if socialists win, they are going to use same old methods as before, although she said she admires Blair economics methods and she might want to use some of them.
I m not sure she has the shoulder to be president or maybe it will be her partner F. Holland head of the socialist party. Her team is very poor. All the others socialists pretenders don t like her.
But I admire her for one thing. To have achieved to be there as a female in a very macho country .
I like Sarkozy when he talks. Things he s saying are true. He managed to defeat this real threat that was Le Pen.
I think he (and his team) is the most able to change France at least when he talks. After the election, it will be different and whenever he will want to reform he is going to face huge demonstrations. Will he be able to hold on to his ideas ? I hope
Also even though I like his talks and ideas, these are talks and promises made before an election to please and gather the maximum of votes. Then we will see the real Sarkozy
But be sure that you are going to have a much tougher negociator during international meetings.
So I might vote for Sarkozy . I will decide after the TV debates between the two. Either I vote for him or cast an empty enveloppe.
Not a problem as far as I am concerned. I would welcome a tough-minded but committed leader of any allied nation. I would not characterize Chirac that way.
sharlee,are you in france right now?
if in taiwan,where did you vote?
DBF -
SharLee is in France. I think she is in the metropolitan Paris area.
Dablindfrog, I live in the immediate suburbs of Paris.
I think you can vote at the french embassy or at a consulat but you needed to register before last year 31st dec
More french abroad than ever did vote last sunday
Excellent memory TC … or am I that unforgettable ? just kidding
i’ll be in france to put my vote in at the 2nd round
Have you received your carte d electeur back home ?
yup,weirdly enough we never asked for it because it was just a stroke of luck that i will be there for the 2nd round,but the card was sent to my dad’s address…
i think this is because of what happened in 2002,somehow the govt might have put a measure in place to be sure anyone above 18 got their cards,because most young peoples can’t be bothered applying for it…
sharlee,what do you make of my comments about the voting age at 25-30???
A good French friend of mine was excoriating Sarkozy to me just this noon. He seemed to think that he will be EXACTLY like Chirac, saying whatever is needed to get elected and then pandering to everyone to stay in power. I hope not. Anyone else?
Of course, he was even more contemptuous of Royal, but then I imagine just about any sentient being would find her brand of nonsensical American Ad Message politicking contemptuously vacuous. Ironic that the French tend to imagine that their candidates are somehow more sophisticated, more intelligent than American ones. I think Royal is about the dumbest thing I have ever seen. I would not even compare her to Carter. John Kerry might be the closest fit. Jesus! I suddenly realized something. I actually dislike some people more than Jimmy Carter. Increible! And Royal and Kerry are two of them! A new and startling revelation.
[quote=“fred smith”]A good French friend of mine was excoriating Sarkozy to me just this noon. He seemed to think that he will be EXACTLY like Chirac, saying whatever is needed to get elected and then pandering to everyone to stay in power. I hope not. Anyone else?
[/quote]
I think he will implement the economics reform. He always did what he said in the past . He is a man of action, he is restless. He is, as Segolene Royal qualified him, Mr Knows it all.
On international level, dear Fred Smith, I m pretty sure Sarkozy is going to disappoint you …Yes he shook hands with Bush and told him how the french had been arrogant re Iraq war. But he is a talker and he might act quite the opposite just after shaking hands.
Already yesterday he said he will withdraw troops from Afghanistan
He wants higher duties on imported goods manufactured in countries which did not sign the Kyoto treaty (hello…)
I think he is the only chance to get this country on the move again. If he does not reform the country, then we will have a real problem in the 2012 election and the french might go extreme (left or right)
But if he achieves the economical reform, then you will see the real arrogance of France.
Dablinfrog, sorry I don t agree re voter s age. Already when lyceens are not even 18 and not allowed to vote , they manage to get the government withdraw a reform, like the withdrawel of the CPE last year. So it is not about voting age but about who will be brave enough to implement the reforms.