La Parisienne of Cafébabel.com - TransCulture

A Greater Paris, a great idea?

BabelParis — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:07:00 +02:00

Latest news on the Greater Paris, a concept dear to Nicolas Sarkozy… As Jean Nouvel won the architecture contest for the design of the Signal Tower, a future landmark of the rejuvenated capital, the president gathered architects, sociologists and city planners to precise the main feature of the project. What is actually the Greater Paris? So far it is being debated. Our great cousin London may well be a source of inspiration.

A bit of fresh air for Paris

Nicolas Sarkozy stirred the idea of a Greater Paris for a year or so. Paris is a capital city circled by very tight administrative limits. The majority of its workforce lives in the suburbs in what forms a patchwork of towns of different sizes and whose policies lack coordination. The situation is more than a mere concern when one knows the difficulties of transportation, housing and discrimination faced by inhabitants of the Parisian region.
Given this state of things, different visions of the Greater Paris project are being imagined by left wing and right wing politicians in a vaguely consensual atmosphere. The right wing senator Philippe Dallier suggests that the town neighbouring Paris directly be integrated to it and wishes the different districts around the capital to be merged into one to make it more powerful and give it more attributions. Jean-Paul Planchou, a left wing mayor, advocates the improvement of existing institutions notably at the regional level.
There will be some time before these political plans are transformed into real actions. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Channel, the Greater London model has been long a symbol of attraction and dynamism.

The open city of London and a suffocating Paris

London emerged of an urban structure that differs from Paris’ on all accounts. This open city gathers a collection of villages that ended up forming a vast conurbation. This is why the Greater London authority was imagined in 1965. It gathers 33 boroughs populated with no less than 8 million inhabitants. Administratively speaking, there is no city called London except the borough of the city of London and the function of Mayor of London was only created in 2000 to give the Greater London a political figure.
Paris, on the other hand, is a French city almost like all the others. Apart from its district structure and county status, it does not have an authority governing its urban community. It is only populated with 2 millions inhabitants within the “périphérique”, a ring road acting as a border between the city and its famous “banlieues” where 6 millions proxy-Parisians live.
The Greater London works like a small government vested with large powers in the field of transportation, housing and security. The underground system often stretches as far as 30 kilometres outside the city centre. In Paris, the city hall has to get itself into judicial battles when it seeks to extend its Vélib’ system 2 kilometres away from the city limits.
Paris loses an incredible amount of time and money suffocating within obsolete administrative borders and fragmented governance. London seems to breath better but is it nonetheless the perfect model?

Paris will never be London.

The admiration our president has for Great Britain is well known. The same probably goes for the dynamic London. Paris, in its historical shrine, will remain a city of the past, symbolising luxury and living at slower pace. It will also be less vibrant and less cosmopolitan than London that always attracted people from all over the world and sometimes an eccentric population.
Let us hope that the architects of the Greater Paris will take this into account. The rejuvenation of the capital must not mean that the old fashioned charm of the city must be done away with to copycat London.

Julien De Cruz

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of Mundane life of A Student: A Presentation

BabelParis — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 20:30:00 +02:00

There is nothing more thrilling than a public performance, especially when it is done in French which still, after six months of serious efforts, is not my mother tongue. This week I had my true baptism of fire – my first exposé en oral, a presentation. It also tested how well I had managed to soak up the golden rules of the méthode francaise.

At the University of Sorbonne for every course you have an hour of a cours magistral which is a lecture with a professor and two hours of a travail dirigé which is a course in smaller groups. The idea of the latter is to have more time to go into details and to be more interactive. Well, it would be too good to be true. What actually happens is that every student picks up a subject on which he does a presentation what means another two hours of lectures per course per week. After six moths I have had to struggle through quite a number of them, and the méthode francaise with the constant repeating of the “la première grande partie, la première sous-partie, la deuxième sous-partie, la deuxième grande partie etc etc ” has started to sound like some liturgical verses from Carolingian era.

Lecture 1: Not like this

The quality of the presentations has been varying. Most of the times the exposés are very dull because students just run through their dozens of pages of notes. However, sometimes the performer gives you an impression that there is something rather stimulating coming, he or she introduces the theme still proceeding in a humane pace. And just as you lull yourself into the illusion that the performance might be listenable, the student stretches his hands, grabs his pile of notes and starts lecturing with the speed of light. This is when you have what some people call a near-death experience; names, images, dates flash past you and turn into letters and numbers without logic. But, if after half an hour you are still conscious enough to find your way out of the class, you can survive anything.

Lesson 2: Like this

The fact is when everything is happening in a foreign language and you spend a lot of time just staring at a person and not understanding a word he says, you become very sensitive to other things. For instance, enonciation is my concern number one. Most students settle for muttering monotonously for 30 minutes so that you have hard time trying to make out when one sentence ends and other begins. Thus, when I had my own presentation I made sure E-V-E-R-Y W-O-R-D was well pronounced. As a result, it probably looked liked I’m lecturing to a group of half-deaf pensioners and not showing much respect for the auditory organs of my alert audience.

Secondly, every presentation goes according to a plan and most of the time students would write it on the blackboard. This is the point where you can see the effect of the developed information technology and the constant tapping of the keyboard: the handwriting is impossible to read. Consequently, I had decided to save my fellow students the trouble of deciphering my scribbles, so I had my plan printed and distributed. This way everyone could stare at their paper and look very interested while decorating my grandes parties and sous-parties with flowers.

Conclusion: Why do we assist the lectures?

What is the secret? What keeps us dragging ourselves out of our beds at seven in the morning? It is the reprise, the magical moment when the student finishes and the lecturer takes the stage and fills the gaps. You rediscover the meaning of your scholastic existence and you feel astonishingly motivated. Unfortunately the effect is short-lived, there is always another student waiting for his turn to take you on an intellectual adventure.

To be fair and honest, sometimes presentations are very good, you actually enjoy yourself and you are delighted to observe that our generation is not totally lost and is competent enough to step into our fathers' shoes. However, you feel even more empowered when it is you performing, and you are able complete the mission successfully which means half an hour with no sound of snoring in the room. You know it is over and never again will you be exposing your fellow students to such a torment.

Soili Semkina

Testimony : Paris, 16/03/2008, Salon du Livre.

BabelParis — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:57:00 +02:00

Rain over Paris. The chronicle of a missed attack.

Une heure avec David Grossman, the event I would have like to attend on this 28th Paris Book Fair, was scheduled at 6 p.m.. At 5 p.m. I was still on the RER B to the Cité Universitaire. Fortunately, the tram passing there headed right to Porte de Versailles. It seems that a whole crowd of people had the same idea I had had. Everybody to Paris Expo that these days is hosting many initiatives among which the Salon Du Livre. Once I came through the tram’s throng, I made for the entrance. After a while, I realised I was going against the stream, everybody was going out. Why? I heard somebody saying that it wasn’t possible to get in, that we’d all rather move towards the sortie: “For today, miss, you’ll have to give up your literary walking”, tells me a smiling-eyed policeman. Had it happened in Italy, it would have been a total panic, a mass suicide psychosis, no doubt. A middle-aged lady met my eyes accidentally and told me: “You know, maybe there’s a bomb”, with the same tone of somebody saying: “You know, maybe it’ll rain in Paris today, at least that’s what the weatherman says”. Conscious that something could have actually exploded that very moment beneath my feet, I found myself following patiently and sensibly the police’s directions. The underground had been shut down as a precautionary measure. I preferred not to take the tram because if I had been a terrorist I would have placed the bomb right there, where thousands of people were be crowding to go home after attending, or trying to attend, what was or should simply be a cultural event. So, with the newspaper under my arm and my pastel colour umbrella, that is boldly holding out against these days’ Parisian wind, I left Porte de Versailles very sadly above all. An hour later, the alert was called off, but I was already far away, with a crêpe in one hand and in the other a city map, that has never proved so useful as today over these first 15 days of my Parisian Erasmus. The event will end on March, 19. There are still many initiatives on schedule. And many polemics have been aroused by those criticising the role of Israel or, better (at least I think it is right to say) , of the Israeli literature in this cultural event…I’ve heard that on the next few days the weather will get better and a pale spring sun will warm Parisian roofs, at least that’s what the weatherman says…

F. A.

Way beyond Eurovision

BabelParis — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:48:00 +01:00

At the end of January in Cannes, Southern France. Every year at the same time takes place the MIDEM, the musical international market where contracts are signed dime a dozen and where producers from around the world are looking for the musical rarity.

But what most of us ignore, is that for ten years, the European commission in collaboration with the musical industry has been organising the European border breakers awards in order to promote European artists beyond their national borders. After bringing to light the Tokio Hotel band in 2007, the singer Corneille in 2005 or the one who is now known as France first Lady, Carla Bruni, in 2004, this year the German singer Ayo won the ultimate price. Indeed this singer originally from Africa, represents a genuine melting-pot.

From Nigeria to Germany through Paris

Born in the 1970s near Cologne, living now in London and produced by Polydor France, Ayo personnifies the 21st century Europe, this artist doesn’t know what the word “border” means and wants her music to be heard all around the world. “My mother is a gipsy and my father emigrated from Nigeria to Germany so that gives pins and needles in my legs”, declares Ayo to the website Le Mague. “I hope to see the biggest number of countries in the world. I love to travel and discover foreign cultures.” Doesn’t we usually say that music make the world’s people come together? Watch out Eurovision !

Crédit photo : Alain DELPEY/FlickR

European border breakers awards

-Johara BOUKABOUS

Cars and the city: the end of an era?

BabelParis — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:51:00 +01:00

This is the pet hate of every European representative. In the past, it was the symbol of freedom and independence, cars – being our main subject – is from now on in the firing line of any self-respecting politicians. Especially in big cities.

In September 2005, London was the first megalopolis equiped with a Toll gate called London congestion charge. Any vehicle must pay £8 (€10,70) in order to go downtown, from Monday to Friday between 7AM and 6PM.

Car-rejection policy all over Europe

Ken Livingstone, the Labour mayor of the British capital, and instigator of this car hunt, won’t stop there. A £200 tax (€268) is about to be implemented in order to decrease the traffic of the most pollutant trucks. Moreover, 12 ton lorries and above, that don’t respect European environmental norms will pay a £1000 fine (€1340). And that Car-rejection policy is being imitated all over Europe.
Going to Germany where Berlin, Köln, Hanover and now Stuttgart and 20 other cities are restricting the inner urban traffic. Thanks to green, yellow and red stickers depending on the CO2 rejection degree of the car.

At the beginning of 2008, under the impulsion of Milan mayor (Italy), Letizia Moratti, the ECOPASS system has been launched. It allows drivers of the least pollutant cars to get in the downtown area of the Lombard capital at certain hours (Monday to Friday, 7AM to 7:30 PM). The whole system being under traffic patrols and video cameras control.

What about Paris?

On the eve of city elections in France, candidates for the position of the Parisian mayor, reveal their assets. The present town team leading by Bertrand Delanoë (Socialist party) won’t satisfy with the Velib’. Besides the multiplication of public transportation, the present mayor has revealed one of his main projects: autolib. Self service electrical car stocks.

Françoise de Panafieu (UMP) supports the RATP Metropherique project. In order to make easier the Paris-suburban area traffic, an underground ring road is being studied to link each subway terminuses. The left-wing candidate declared that she would agree with a Iles de France highway but wished for “a consultation of the regional population on the urban toll gates.”

On the Verts (ecological party), we can hear a much radical speech. Denis Baupin, candidate and present deputy mayor for transportation, commits himself to “make the access to the ring road and the Iles de France highways paid for.”
One thing is for sure: cars have become unanimously politically incorrect.

-Johara BOUKABOUS

Is Henri Guaino eurosceptical?

BabelParis — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:16:00 +01:00

Henri Guaino, special adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy will not object to his reputation for being eurosceptical. Such a situation scares European leaders who do not forget that France will be in command of the EU for a new rotating presidency of the European Council within three months.

Some will say the special adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy is the “No-vote” guarantee of a president who “voted Yes to the Constitutional treaty”, elected by “a country that voted No”

Henri Guaino’s stated doubts on Europe are nothing new. The ardent opponent of the Maastricht Treaty has already made them clear in 1999 in a conversation with Daniel Cohn Bendit, “Can France melt away within Europe? / The distillation of France in Europe?” and in an essay published a year later, “L’Étrange renoncement” (The Strange Renunciation)

However, since Nicolas Sarkozy has come to power, his attacks against the European Central Bank and the European competition policy, expressed in an interview to the Financial Times, sparked off the crisis.

What’s wrong with Europe?

During a European summit in June 2007, Henri Guaino singled out the headquarters of the European Commission and flung: “don’t you understand that this whadyacallit will one day collapse.”

In deed, in “can France melt away within Europe?” he keeps saying that he does not believe in the European project as it is now. He thinks that “the Great political project gave birth to a bureaucratic monster that only serves its own interests.”

Pointing out a lack of political dimension in Europe, he adds: “we have built a system that only creates a game of power between bureaucracies that do not have to account for their actions”. Those are the reproaches he has often voiced. But what makes Henri Guaino different is the fact that he sees nothing good in the EU as such and everything should be started all over again.

The EU as a threat to the Nation.

Republican convictions and souverainisme explain his positions. He stands for the Nation and sees Europe as a threat, “a lever for demolishing the Republican model”. He is convinced that “nothing will be built on forced expropriation of the peoples from their fate and culture”.

This is the reason why he clashes over the independence of the ECB. Neither does he feel that France has any obligations to honor the European commitments going with its adoption of the Euro. He actually explained to the Financial Times that France had no intention of slashing its public spending in the short term. Alright, so there is no budget discipline to be respected, is there?

German barrage

“The Euro-Mediterranean dialogue does not solve anything. On the contrary, it digs a fracture line with North and South”, Henri Guaino explains in “Can France melt away within Europe / The distillation of France in Europe?” Henri Guaino? The ardent defender with Nicolas Sarkozy of the Euromediterranean zone? Yes, that’s him. But in his defense, the content of this project of a Euromediterranean Union has changed… We now speak of a Mediterranean Union… The German angry reaction on this subject seems to have caused an inflection in France, even within Euroscepticals…

In France, (not) only French is spoken

BabelParis — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:26:00 +01:00

In spite of the bad reputation sticking to the French, some try to become multilingual… To avoid the painful setting of classrooms, evenings are organised in bars for cultural exchanges between the many foreigners who wish in turn to learn French.

Any evening of the week, conversations in Spanish, English, German and even in Russian can be heard around the tables. The cosmopolitan atmosphere is very relaxed. Outside by the doorstep, there are a few smokers now forced to migrate in the cold to light a cigarette.

A –confirmed- reputation of being bad pupils at languages has convinced some Parisians to reverse this trend. Everywhere in France, this kind of evenings is more and more frequent; the concept: sharing a drink with complete strangers. It has now become a weekly ritual. “I have been coming every week since last September” says Laetitia an intern in a hospital. “I can speak a bit of German but I’m coming mainly to improve my English” It is true that the bar is very often populated with Anglo-Saxons, especially Americans.

As to Nadia, she comes from Moscow. Arrived a few months ago in France to finish her master in international trade, this young woman is coming for the third time in this bar close to the Centre Pompidou in Paris. “I am currently working for a large international company where communication is made in English…” she explains. “But I would also like to improve my French. I have heard about this kind of evenings and I started to look for information about them.”

This is where the magic of Internet comes into play. “It is very simple” says Romain, originally from Dijon. “One just need to log on the website, sign up and precise which languages one wishes to practice.” Say goodbye to classrooms and boring grammar exercises. Indeed if you are going to practice the language of Shakespeare or Cervantes, why not make the best of it and have a glass of wine on the side ?

My Paris is rich now !

« Polyplot»

-Johara BOUKABOUS

The Parisian show of Kadhafi

BabelParis — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 15:13:00 +01:00

12-10-07, Orly airport – Dark spectacles, waxed hair, and a figure suddenly gets out from the private jet that has just landed. Behind this ballet of bodyguards, one can hardly see the man diving into a long white limo. A face that has no age, swollen with botox injections, dark hair; however, it is not an old and tired singer but Mouammar Kadhafi, Chief of the Libyan revolution, coming for an official visit to Paris.

Kadhafi, surfing on the political and media storm

Not only had he set his tent in the gardens of the Marigny palace that Colonel Kadhafi had already blown a wind of panic within the French government.

The statements made by the young Secretary of State for human rights, Rama Yade, to the press to welcome his arrival, were sensational as she said that France was not “a doormat on which a leader, terrorist or not, could wipe his feet clean of the blood of his crimes”. Just like the Ministry of foreign affairs, Bernard Kouchner, who thanked the “happy chance” that had kept him in Brussels the evening of the welcome reception organized for the Chief.

Such statements feed the polemic and transcend the right/left division of the French political landscape. A polemic that reflects quite well the uncomfortable feeling of French people (80% of the population declares it shares Rama Yade’s opinion) in front of such debauchery, pomp and honours addressed by the Republic to a leader who, yesterday, was public enemy number one.

During his journey to Paris, Kadhafi terrorises the protocol keeper of the Elysée with his 1001 whims, accuses France to ill treat his immigrants in front of a flabbergasted UNESCO audience, and denies having ever spoken with Nicolas Sarkozy about Human Rights, implying that the President would have lied. Contrary to Libyan jails, incoherence and ridicule don’t kill. He is France’s guest and intends to extend the pleasure : fly boat, visit of the Louvre and of the Glass Gallery in Versailles. The government seems to count the days left until his departure.

About France’s realpolitik…

Should we have received Colonel Kadhafi? This visit, snatched during the negotiation process for the release of the Bulgarian nurses last summer, raises hundreds of indignations in the “land of Human rights”. However, acting like a repented dictator absolved by his peers is always the same old refrain. President Mitterrand, who had, himself, met Kadhafi in 1984 in Crete, used to say, “If we only received democrats and people we liked, we would be very lonely”.

The policy of friendly cooperation firmly defended by Sarkozy, towards someone who “finally takes the lead of democracy”, is laudable. Michel Charasse, senior counsellor under François Mitterrand argued in favour of President Sarkozy’s behaviour, declaring that “the most important things in foreign policy are the small steps towards liberty”.

Would France have more difficulties than the others to accept the rules of diplomacy? Kadhafi’s visit to Spain this week didn’t provoke any wave of protestation. Why should French people find it a bitter pill to swallow then?

First, because the fairness of the so-called democratic step taken by the Guide in a country where there is no political party, no election, and where violence against immigrants have been denounced by Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International for years (Libya has not signed the Geneva convention of 1951 on refugees), is hard to trust. The checks signed to the victims of the DC10 and the Lockerbie attacks won’t be sufficient to convince.

Moreover, the French reactions are characteristic of an instinct of self-defence towards N. Sarkozy’s great reversal to implement a pragmatic foreign policy in which results are more important than means (the release of the Bulgarian nurses, the billons of euros of trade contract signed, the construction of a Mediterranean Union, ect.). The concept is not new, but Nicolas Sarkozy’s Realpolitik is so natural that it becomes embarrassing. Welcoming Kadhafi is ok, but we certainly should have left the red carpet aside. Between handling a friendly hand and welcoming a dictator like a friend with all the honours of a Republic, there is a difference which is not only symbolic.

… and of Libya’s !

If we look closer, the European journey of Kadhafi has been the occasion to highlight the Libyan Guide’s willingness to get closer to occidental democracies, without giving the impression to band over. Since the attacks of 9/11, Kadhafi has understood that the first danger he would have to face on his own land was the rise of Islamism. He opted for a real change in strategy, collaborating in the fight against terrorism and stopping its program of weapons of mass destruction.

Good resolutions that should not get free of tangible proofs. The coming months will be crucial to determine weather France was right or not to “bet” on the positive evolution of the Libyan regime, as B. Kouchner said.

If not, the French will have to live for a very long time with a bitter taste.

Laura Sevenier

Translation : Sophie Helbert

French rock … in English !

BabelParis — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 23:18:00 +01:00

From the very first notes, influences are obviously familiar to your ears. David Bowie, The Who, The Cure, U2 or even the Smiths. They play a light ant stirring rock. Some manage to add this touch of rage or sadness that is the only way to bring deepness to the music. Most of them are followed by a tiny bunch of fans whose addiction for slim cut jeans and fringed haircuts can only be excused because of their young age. They sing in English. But they are French.

For a long time, French have been renowned for their ability to play English music and to be listened to abroad. But, too often, this phenomenon has been limited to electronic music, with this well-known “French touch” and artists like Air, Daft Punk or, more recently, Justice. And what about French rock then ?

Well, the problem is that today, French rock is still sung in French language. In front of the national tradition of rock-poetry, squashed by the monumental Noir Désir, many actual French rock singers, who mainly have English speaking references, can hardly find their place. Slightly audible in their own country, they don’t have the credibility triggered by the simple fact of being a British citizen elsewhere. Great exceptions like Phoenix and Tahiti 80 could only give credit to the rule.

In the records’ store departments, French rock with English lyrics, is labelled under the prestigious title of “rock indé” (like “independent”). But contrary to what it means for bands like Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys or the late Libertines, that is musical freedom, in France “indé” mostly goes together with marginality. You bet, but they play ! Confronted to a moribund record market industry, the only solution left is to go touring, to come up with show dates, again and again. At least, it pays ! French rock stage does exist, and it is ready to conquer the world! Here is a little selection, totally subjective.

Rhesus

Let’s start with those who can’t be ignored anymore, Rhesus and Stuck in the Sound. Pop, folk and even a little of soul, everything can be found in it. But they can’t be more brilliant than when exerting themselves in direct rock, free of any complex. Just to laugh for a while, there are the funny Sly and Gayz or even the Hey Hey My My who will delight your ears. Sensitive souls will prefer the sweeter and more subtle register of Syd Matters. I also like Pull, with its simple and short songs.

Staircase

Finally, my favourite, the outsider Staircase Paradox. Pretty rock and pop at the same time, it has, above all, this darker sound that could only attract the 90’s child that I am !

Hurry to discover them !

P.S. : Every link gets to the Myspace pages of these groups, enjoy the listening !

Myspace websites:

Rhesus : http://www.myspace.com/rhesusmusic

Stuck in the sound : http://www.myspace.com/stuckinthesound

Sly and the Gayz: myspace.com/slyandthegayz

Hey Hey My My: http://www.myspace.com/heyheymymyband

Syd Matters: http://www.myspace.com/sydmatters

Pull : http://www.myspace.com/pullorchestra

Staircase Paradox : http://www.myspace.com/staircaseparadox

Alexis Brunelle

Translation : Sophie Helbert

La Parisienne’s Grand Game

BabelParis — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:22:00 +01:00

To celebrate Colonel Kadhafi’s departure, Café Babel-La Parisienne organize a grand game and would love its beloved readers to chip in!

As you all know, Muhammar Kadhafi, it’s a self-declared leader of the Arabic world, it’s a 10 billions euros visit, it’s an erratic respect for human rights. But Kadhafi is more, it is a cult of personality that would make Mick Jagger dead jealous, it’s a certain idea of housing and a certain conception of interior decoration and it’s surely a genuine flair for choosing bodyguards… all in all, Khadafi is the rock star in international relations.

La Parisienne is then asking you this question: on the following picture, who is the celeb the Colonel makes you think of?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2298/2103469603_539e04ac37.jpg?v=0

In the editorial staff we all have our own ideas on that matter, but we are waiting for yours. The best comments, the funniest and the most original will gain our everlasting respects.

The International club of Young Parisians

BabelParis — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 10:29:00 +01:00

The International club of Young Parisians is an association dedicated to youngsters coming from all around the world and living in Paris. Intended to encourage exchanges and to form new friendships in the capital, the Club allows newcomers to discover Paris through many activities and outings.

Each month, the activities are detailed on the Internet website, http://www.club-international.org, on the program: visits of districts, excursions, gastronomic discoveries, conversation and linguistic exchange workshops, visits of monuments, exhibitions and shows, nights out…

Entertained by volunteers, the club is the ideal place to cross all nationalities in an open space of discussions, and to enrich one’s stay in Paris while sharing a maximum of experiences.

Guillaume de Pauw /Translation : Sophie Helbert

“You don’t have anything against the youth, do you ?”

BabelParis — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:25:00 +01:00

Do you know this South Park episode where Cartman decides to prove that 9/11 was a US government conspiracy ? In the end, everybody realises that there is no conspiracy but rather a government plan to make people believe that there is one in order to maintain the illusion that it still have control over things when it has not.

The situation is not dissimilar with the French right wing party in power since 2002. They would rather have us believing that they are mean greedy capitalists walking hand in hand with corporate tycoons than to reveal the awful truth : they just do not have clue about what they are doing ...

Let us look at the strikes for instance. Everyone pretty much agrees that the law on autonomy (granting more independence for universities and allowing partnerships with the private sector) is yet another reason for student’s unions to try and strike again CPE-style (the controversial single employment contract that caused major student strikes in 2005).

Well, it works ! Why ? The students are still very anxious about their future and see jobseeking as a losing battle. At the time of the CPE, the government talked about helping the youth to get jobs, facilitate their insertion and so on and so forth. Some of this was true, unless they did it like amateurs.

Let us sum this up, what exactly happened before the CPE ? Trainees demonstrations ! Right when the focus was on unstable jobs, the government proposes a measure that undermines n the stability of the job market for young people ! Well done ...

So, what should they have done ? Kill two birds with the same stone, make a joint announcement with CPE, meant to bring flexibility to the job market, created on the one side and a reinforcement of the status of trainees on the other. That’s where one should be precise.

A minimum wage is imposed, 50% of the SMIC (the usual minimal wage in France) from the first month of the internship onwards. Traineeships certificates then are duly registered at the Inspection du Travail (an administrative body regulating working relations) which in turn checks that the same position is not constantly occupied by trainees. As a compensation, wages on traineeships are free of tax for the employers.

These measures are particularly proposed by the UNEF, one of the main French student’s unions that every now and then does not talk rubbish...

What do CPE and reinforcement of traineeship’s status amount to ? They reduce the gap between studies and employment, in other words between training and paid work.

Olivier Blanchard, who happens to be an economist, has very well analysed the European job market and specifically the French one. He demonstrated that it was “dual” in the sense that it opposes very protected jobs on the one hand (especially “the unfixed term contract” very specific of french labour law) and very precarious ones on the other such as internships and short term contracts (See for reference : L’Europe déclassée ?, Blanchard, Pisani-Ferry, Wiplosz, Flammarion 2005).

Thanks to this array of measures, the duality of the job market would have been reduced, traineeships would have become a real gateway to paid employment and graduates would have been a lot more valued than they are now. This was not done and the reform agenda was sent to the circular file cabinet. Some might say that economic circles were not keen on the CPE and that the right wing has played music to their ears. This may be possible but I personally think that they are sell outs. They lacked creativity and imagination which is a lot more serious.

Alexis Brunelle / Translation : Julien De Cruz

Europe still divides the Socialist party : Act II

BabelParis — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:00:00 +01:00

On Tuesday November 6th, we will know the position of the Socialist party regarding the Reformed Treaty adopted in Lisbon. If the party keeps its answer secret, it is because for two years and since the failure of the referendum about the European Constitution, the European Union has become taboo. Today, it is no longer the content that poses problem to some members of the Socialist Party but the form. Nicolas Sarkozy has indeed decided to ratify the Lisbon Treaty through parliament route. Only Jean-Luc Mélenchon could vote no, when others like Laurent Fabius are indignant about the fact that the new text will not be submitted to the vote of the French people.

Is the French Socialist party going to play again the tragicomedy, showing them fighting about the European issue in 2005? Nothing is less sure. François Hollande has understood this and for lack of compromise during the National Desk he decided to put off the decision for November 6^th . First, the future former First Secretary had considered the abstention. But then, with the pressure of the yes supporters and by the shift of Vincent Peillon, who defended fervently the no two years ago, François Hollande has declared he will vote yes. He considered that “even if the text is not the one we would have negotiated”, it enables “to break Europe out of the impasse”.

The Socialist party faces a dilemma: How can they ratify the Treaty, without lining up with Nicolas Sarkozy who had succeeded, together with Angela Merkel, in making sure that everyone agrees? Today, members of the direction of the party, hostile to the ratification of the European Constitution in 2005, are aware that it would be problematic to maintain the same position. It would be difficult indeed to explain to the French people that the hard negotiations that led the countries and States leaders to adopt the Lisbon Treaty are still not going the right way.

Some people criticize the form only but no longer the content of the text. To that end, they use the engagement taken by Ségolène Royal during the presidential campaign to submit the new treaty to a referendum. This is the case of Laurent Fabius, leader of the no two years ago. He is now considering refusing to participate to the vote “in the current state of things”. The vote will take place in the parliament. By then, Laurent Fabius hopes to convince the socialist members to demand a new referendum to Nicolas Sarkozy. Nevertheless, he admits that some improvements have been made in the content of the treaty. For example, the creation of “a President of the European Union for two years and a half, and of a High Representative of Foreign Affairs”. However he regrets that the treaty does not mention anything “on the recovering of the social and fiscal situation of Europe (…) nothing concerning the monetary issue”.

Unlike Laurent Fabius, Vincent Peillon, another ex-leader of the no, has declared he will vote yes. He explains it in a text he publishes together with about fifteen deputies and senators from the New Socialist Party (NPS): “In 2005 we had called to vote no. We hoped to end up resuming the negotiations on the constitutional treaty in better conditions, what did not happen. Should the treaty fail this time, there won’t be another negotiation.” However, he intends to ask for the organisation of a new referendum. But what would be his decision if the Socialist Party called to vote yes, or if the President -what is likely to happen-refuses to give in?

Eventually, only those who were already partisans of the Constitution have not changed their mind. According to the former Minister of the European Affairs, Pierre Moscovici: “the treaty does not contain all the improvements for the citizens”. He also regrets that this text “does not allow a qualified majority voting concerning the fiscal and social issues, does not offer new energy or environmental competences.” But for him, “a steady President of the European Council, an assertive role of the National Parliaments, a President of the Commission elected during the European elections, a High representative of Foreign Affairs, a reference to the Charter of Fundamental Rights (…) are deciding improvements” leading to adopt the treaty.

As usual, nothing is simple in the Socialist party. François Hollande has declared he has taken note of Nicolas Sarkozy’s decision not to organise a new referendum, though he regrets it. But what if the President had decided the contrary? Would Laurent Fabius, Vincent Peillon and the others still be in favour of a new referendum?

All the ingredients are ready for Tuesday evening. With the rue de Solférino as stage, we will attend the second act of the division regarding the future of Europe, with François Hollande as producer. With all this entertainment, we could nearly forget that it is an important issue…

Elie Levaï / Translation : Manon Bertrand

NO! to Pecresse: a democratic(?) occupation of Toulouse's largest university

BabelParis — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:55:00 +01:00

On 6 November an Action Committee ('Comité de lutte') composed of militant students from the Université de Toulouse II Le Mirail blocked the suburban campus in protest against the education reforms proposed by president Nicolas Sarkozy. Improvised barricades of tables and chairs prevented access to offices, classsrooms and departmental libraries.

The occupation of the campus, paralleled in several other French cities, follows through on the slim majority decision of a general assembly of students held on 30 October: 195 for and 181 against. Another, louder and much more crowded (approximately 1200 students), assembly took place today to debate the blocking of the campus and its aims.

Amid debate over the new 'Pecresse' laws, which Sarkozy claims will 'modernise' French universities, accusations of undemocratic behaviour were levelled at assembly organisers and students union representativess. 'Opponents of the occupation are lumped in politically with Sarkozists and fascists' by proponents, said one angry student.

Others such as Agathe Cilia, who spoke in the assembly against the blocking of the campus, pointed to votes being 'stalled' until the militants were sure of a majority – today's meeting did not come to any resolutions until 4:00 pm. 'The decision to block was taken by a militant minority, without consulting the rest of the students,' said Cilia, 'and the votes, which I took part in counting, were falsified, pure and simple'.

Other opponents of the occupation, exasperated with the assembly, regrouped at the entrance of the campus and circulated a petition calling for an immediate return to class.

The final decision of the students' assembly was to continue to block the campus, a result which led to a massive walk-out among 'no' voters and to several isolated incidents of violence as opponents tried to demolish the barricades. Another mass meeting, scheduled for Thursday 8 November, promises to be a hot one

Daniel Ross: Canadian from Toronto who teaches English and is studying a Masters in history at the uni in Toulouse

Café Babel Special

Will the French Government be obliged to review the Law concerning the freedom of Universities, the so-called Pécresse Law for Liberties and Responsibilities of the Universities – LRU ?

BabelParis — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 12:16:00 +01:00

Many General Assemblies (GA) have taken place since the start of the new academic year in order to have people debate and get mobilized against this law which was voted this summer, when students and a large majority of universities’ staff were in holidays.

Many GAs resulted in strikes and the blockade of some universities. The universities presently on strike are Paris I-Tolbiac, Paris VIII-Vincennes, Rouen, Toulouse le Mirail etc. According to the National Union of French Students (UNEF) GAs should go on.

Nevertheless, some conflicts exist upon the demands. A majority of the students belonging to the previous universities are asking for nothing more than the simple repeal of the law, whereas the UNEF thinks that this demand is not “reachable”.

As one can understand from its title, this law intends to give more autonomy to universities in terms of budget and human resources’ management, and it may also be unable them to get access to real estate property by 2011. It increases their presidents’power, shrinks the universities’ staff as well as the students’ representation, and gives an important role to external people (like chiefs of firms for instance) in the decision making process.

Besides, it supports “professional orientation and integration” and considers the “spreading of culture and of scientific and technical information”, as well as “international cooperation”, of secondary importance. According to many students and to the teaching staff, professional orientation and integration should not prevail upon “initial training and block-release training”, “scientific and technical research, and the enhancement of good results”.

Some similar reforms have taken place in other European member states (in Italy for example); the results were not brilliant, on the contrary. Let’s see, now, if these demonstrations which are, indeed, occurring in a social environment rather hostile to the Government, will reach the scale of the CPE (Contrat Première Embauche) that led to the retaliation of the Government.

Renald LUBERICE / Translation : Sophie HELBERT

Café Babel Special

Trans-mediterranean cinema festival

Jean-Séb 2.0 — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 20:24:00 +02:00

In partnership with the Paris cinema Festival, the Institute of the Arabic World will welcome Les Nuits de la Caravane of the Euro-Arabic Cinema from July 4 to July 14.

This initiative, which is also supported by the European Commission through its Euromed Audiovisual II program, is meant to bring people to discover the Southern Europe Mediterranean culture through the ''Septième art.'' This will be a good opportunity to trespass usual thinking and to look deeper into the issue of the Euro-North African dialogue, when a certain president is speaking about a Mediterranean Union.

The first movie is scheduled for July 4, 10.00 p.m. with DUNIA (Kiss me not on the eyes), dealing with the difficulties encountered by a young Arts student in Egypt to find her way in a changing society.

THE NUITS DE LA CARAVANE OF THE EURO-ARABIC CINEMA

At the Institute of the Arabic World Single price : 4 € - Under 12 years old : 3 € - Ciné Pass Paris Cinéma accepted. Information : 01 40 51 38 38