Thursday, December 31, 2009
Reacting to the Constitutional Council
Perhaps I'm unduly influenced by having just read Larry Kramer's excellent book on popular constitutionalism, and perhaps I was unduly impressed by Sarkozy's political courage in daring to impose a carbon tax. I'm not persuaded that it would have been effective in achieving its goal, so I will grant that premise of the CC's reasoning, but "probable ineffectiveness" seems to me a weak reason for overturning a statute. The tax in question was a first step toward an end approved by a duly elected legislature and sponsored by a duly elected executive, and not a law without a "rational basis," to use the jargon of American "higher lawmaking." As for the argument pertaining to the unequal impact of the law, it would be possible to invalidate almost any tax on such grounds, and I don't believe that the carbon tax was particularly egregious in this respect. Moreover, remedies short of invalidation were available for its defects. Nor am I persuaded that the motives of the CC were pure, influenced neither by special interests nor political considerations, whereas Sarko's were, according to his critics, ipso facto impure--as if anything is ever done in government without impure motives.
In short, I am not applauding this move by the CC. It will be interesting to see how the government responds, but I think that there are issues of principle here that go much deeper than what happens in this particular case, and I am astonished that no one in France seems to be raising them.
This will be the last post of the year. Happy New Year to all.
For a contrary argument from Bernard Girard, see here.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Daniel Cordier's Memoir
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Carbon Tax Tossed Out
Dans une décision rendue mardi 29 décembre, le Conseil juge que la loi prévoit trop d'exonérations "contraires à l'objectif de lutte contre le réchauffement climatique et [qui] créent une rupture d'égalité devant les charges publiques". - (AFP)
Back to the drawing board. And maybe Sarko will think twice before giving lessons to Obama: the U.S. Congress isn't the only unpredictable institution in politics.
Monday, December 28, 2009
The Marseille Mosque
“Today in Europe the fear of Islam crystallizes all other fears,” Mr. Geisser said. “In Switzerland, it’s minarets. In France, it’s the veil, the burqa and the beard.”
The large new mosque, which its builders call “the symbol of Marseillais Islam,” is a source of pride here in France’s second-largest city, which is at least 25 percent Muslim. But it is also cause for alarm, Mr. Geisser said, embodying the paradox that visible signs of integration set off xenophobic anxiety. “All these symbols reveal a deeper, more lasting presence of Islam,” he said. “It’s the passage of something temporary to something that is implanted and takes root.”
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Encore du sulfure à la culture
Dans un style voisin de celui de Frédéric Mitterrand - la mélancolie et le remord en moins -, Baudot y narre sa jeunesse dissolue, son aventure au sein du Palace, la boîte de nuit branchée des années 1980, et diverses expériences intimes. Ce livre licencieux circule depuis deux mois dans les allées du pouvoir où l'on s'attendait à un recasage de François Baudot soit au Palais de la découverte soit ailleurs...
"The Choice of the Old"
La poussée à droite de 2007, à la suite des émeutes de banlieue de 2005, n'était pas une confrontation sur l'immigration, mais davantage un ressentiment anti-jeunes exprimé par une population qui vieillit. N'oublions pas que Sarkozy est l'élu des vieux.
The Capitalists Are Restless
Dans son bulletin Actualité de décembre, l'Union des industries et métiers de la métallurgie (UIMM) critique "la spécificité française d'un Etat interventionniste, toujours méfiant vis-à-vis de la société civile". S'en prenant sans la nommer à la méthode de Nicolas Sarkozy, l'UIMM dénonce ce "jacobinisme centralisateur" qui "a pris une ampleur particulière sous l'effet de trois facteurs cumulatifs : d'abord les engagements électoraux présidentiels incitant à une vague ininterrompue de réformes, puis la crise plaçant les pouvoirs publics au coeur de l'action économique et sociale, enfin une inclination marquée pour des affichages médiatiques répondant aux élans compassionnels de l'opinion". Halte à la "boulimie législative"...
So the capitalists are restless, there's been too much reform, and at some point the concessions have to stop, say the capitalists. Meanwhile, Bernard Thibault says that this is the year that the workers have to dig in their heels:
"L'avenir des retraites sera au coeur de l'affrontement social en 2010", a affirmé M. Thibault pour qui ce sera "le marqueur de la volonté de résistance des salariés".
It sounds almost like the good old days. But of course that is not to reckon with what the UIMM delicately terms le jacobinisme centralisateur of the current regime.
Weil on the Burqa
Friday, December 25, 2009
The Social Policy of the Right
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Happy Holidays
Party Names
Finger in the Dike vs. Finger in the Wind
Meanwhile, the ever-ambitious Jean-François Copé, as always finger in the wind rather than in the dike, has attempted to steal a march on his president by scheduling a vote on the burqa ban before the parliamentary commission "investigating" the matter has completed its report. This has upset the Elysée, which would prefer that the debate "remain serene, tranquil, and non-stigmatizing for Muslims," as reported by no less than the head of CFCM himself after a meeting with the president. Evidently Copé's haste in interpreting the president's earlier "pedagogy"--"there is no place for the burqa on French soil"--is considered unseemly. And Henri Guaino, who prefers the "democracy of debate" to the "democracy of polls," is also for patience, pedagogy, due process, etc. etc. But then, when all that folderol is out of the way, it will be high time to get on with the foregone conclusion:
Le groupe UMP va déposer mercredi une proposition de loi pour l'interdiction totale de la Burqa. Y êtes-vous favorable ?
Il ne faut rien accepter qui viole nos valeurs les plus fondamentales. Mais il ne faut blesser personne. Attendons les conclusions de la mission parlementaire pour voir jusqu'où doit aller l'interdiction.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Guaino Aims High
He also said that to define French identity as « la liberté, l'égalité, la fraternité et la laïcité, c'est un peu court ». Indeed. One would have to add l'hypocrisie to the list.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Polls
Mitterrand's Book in English
As the soon-to-be publisher of Frédéric Mitterrand's memoir in the United States we have been following closely the current discussion concerning Mr. Mitterrand in the press. We'd just like to say that what is most surprising to us regarding the situation is that Mr. Mitterrand's story has for quite some time been public knowledge to the French people, and in the most high-profile fashion. The Bad Life was published four years ago and became a bestseller in France. The controversial passages have been known to us all along and, among other things, it was the frankness and thoughtfulness with which Mr. Mitterand discussed his life that drew us to the project. Whether you agree with Mr. Mitterrand’s story or habits, he approaches them with a compelling and thought-provoking honesty and we continue to stand behind this elegant and brave book in the same way we have since undertaking to publish it here. As a publisher, Soft Skull has always embraced controversial conversations. That which makes us uncomfortable certainly warrants further rather than less scrutiny.
We look forward to releasing The Bad Life quite soon.
Post Turns Populists Into Patriots
Some legislators from Sarkozy's coalition, the Union for a Patriotic Movement, have proposed a law to forbid foreign flags during immigrant weddings in city halls. And a small-town mayor from the Sarkozy coalition, André Valentin, warned during a government-sponsored national identity debate last week that "we are going to be gobbled up" unless something is done to halt the influx of immigrants, who he said "are paid to do nothing."
Le Point noticed the error, but the Post has not yet seen fit to correct it.
Can't Leave It Alone
The Swiss--in a panic over their four, count them, FOUR minarets--have apparently ignited a fire in France as well, and Marine Le Pen must be rubbing her hands in glee.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Debate on University Reform
Regularizations
Et tu, et tu, et tu Brute?
This is a losing strategy. Why the Socialists never seem to learn this lesson is a continuing puzzle.
"Flopenhagen"
To be sure, countries elsewhere were clear about changes they wanted others to make: that's always the easy part of reform. But European leaders, especially Sarkozy and Merkel, seemed prepared to impose costly and unpopular changes on themselves. It will now be difficult to sustain any momentum toward further change. Domestic opponents, who had kept a fairly low profile, will now be energized, and they have been handed a powerful argument: Why should Europe penalize itself when others won't, and when the competitive disadvantage is unlikely to be compensated by environmental improvement? It was a Prisoner's Dilemma, the other players have defected, and the only remaining response after choosing a losing strategy is to attempt a jailbreak.
Of course there are other responses that make more sense from a long-run perspective. If a global accord is out for the foreseeable future, bilateral and regional accords are not. There is actually room here for Sarkozy to demonstrate some leadership on an important issue as well as to make political headway against his opponents. It will therefore be interesting to see if he remains interested in the issue or decides that he has done enough already, if not too much. I'm also curious to see if he will now emphasize a less political tack: putting more money into environmental technologies. With the international arena now closed, there are more immediate rewards to be had from promoting research--but this is slow, boring, and mostly barren of headlines.
Michel Serres: «Copenhague est à la géopolitique ce que les accords de Munich, en septembre 1938, ont été à la politique : un compromis lâche et dilatoire. Mais la comparaison s'arrête là. Si le sommet sur le climat a été un échec, c'est d'abord parce que mettre 192 personnes autour d'une table relève de la grand-messe plus que de négociations véritables. Le problème vient surtout de ce que ces 192 personnes sont des hommes d'Etat, dont la mission première est de défendre les intérêts de leur gouvernement et de leur pays. La politique, c'est son rôle, examine les relations humaines, fussent-elles conflictuelles.»
Think Tanked
Interview with Schmid here.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Dray Returns
Eurostar Meets Eurodeputy
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Yglesias Reads Weber
However, there is an abysmal contrast between conduct that follows the maxim of an ethic of ultimate ends–that is, in religious terms, ‘The Christian does rightly and leaves the results with the Lord’–and conduct that follows the maxim of an ethic of responsibility, in which case one has to give an account of the foreseeable results of one’s action.
I would add just one point to Yglesias' reflections on this contrast. It is possible to harbor considerable doubt about the "foreseeable results of one's action." This uncertainty greatly complicates the commitment to an ethic of responsibility. Pascal's wager weighs the scale too heavily in favor of ultimate ends by positing an infinite reward for preferring the ultimate over the here and now. But the scales can be tipped in the same direction by attaching too low a probability to imminent (or immanent) success. As Tocqueville recognized, it is rather too easy to dissuade oneself from attempting that which is merely difficult but not necessarily impossible.
He's paid to write this stuff?
Diam's and Islam
Les stars médiatiques devenues baptistes ou Témoins de Jéhovah sont pléthore. Ces conversions font souvent sourire, sans provoquer une telle bronca. "On n'en aurait pas parlé si elle s'était convertie à une autre religion, assure Meriem, une fan de Diam's, Française de 27 ans d'origine marocaine aux allures de cadre supérieur, présente au Transbordeur de Lyon. Ici, une femme voilée est une femme soumise, alors que c'est un choix personnel, un dialogue avec Dieu." Surfant sur l'idée que les signes chrétiens sont mieux acceptés en France, Diam's a placé sur son nouvel album, une chanson, Lili, qui plaide pour l'autorisation du voile à l'école en mettant en scène le mal-être d'une lycéenne convertie : "Elle n'est pas laïque cette nation/Elle craint juste la contagion."
Neglect pop culture at your peril. It's often where social ferment first appears.
"Des immigrés parfaits"
"Immense déception"
And then there's this from Laurent Joffrin:
"Quelle chienlit ! ... Il est manifestement plus facile de sauver la finance que de sauver la planète."
But The New York Times plays it cool. After highlighting Obama's characterization of the "agreement" as an "historic breakthrough," John Broder writes: "The agreement addresses many of the issues that leaders came here to settle. But it has left many of the participants in the climate talks unhappy, from the Europeans, who now have the only binding carbon control regime in the world, to the delegates from the poorest nations, who objected to being left out of the critical negotiations."
Perhaps it's just differences of tone and house style, but I think it goes deeper (cf. the Washington Post). Climate change just doesn't have salience as an issue in the United States, even in the columns of a liberal newspaper, let alone in the country at large. The failure of the negotiations means that we will now be spared the spectacle of a ratification debate in the Senate, but it's not hard to imagine the rhetoric that would have been forthcoming.
In the meantime, Obama's reputation in Europe, hitherto almost inoxydable, has, I think, taken a severe hit. There was open dismay at the tenor of his speech, and his decision to negotiate separately with China, India, Brazil, and South Africa may have made pragmatic sense but alienated Europe, whose friendship he needs. Obama's political instincts are sometimes puzzling. Man does not live by charisma alone, and charisma, in any case, is not a renewable resource.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Oy!
Télézapping : C'est la cata... la catastrophe
by lemondefr
UPDATE: OK, maybe not a catastrophe, just a wet squib.
Lamont and Laurent on Discrimination
Study after study after study shows that discrimination against minorities is massive in the labor market, in the workplace, in dealing with the police, in gaining access to nightclubs, etc. French anti-segregation and anti-discrimination policies are simply not working, and no amount of grand rhetoric about “national identity” can change that.
The felicity of the French model, so often contrasted with the American one, has always been the inclusion of the downtrodden through active state intervention. It’s time for this grand nation to revisit its social contract.
Compassionate Conservatism Comes to France
Copé's operative word is fraternité. This is just a variation on the theme of "politics of presence." See my previous post, with its reference to Pierre Rosanvallon's discussion.
Chirac Mis en Examen
En France, la mise en examen (terme juridique remplaçant inculpation depuis 1993) est une compétence exclusive du juge d'instruction. Elle vise la personne contre laquelle il existe des indices graves ou[1] concordants rendant vraisemblable qu'elle ait pu participer, comme auteur ou complice, à la commission d'une infraction (article 80-1 du code de procédure pénale[2]). Si tel n'est pas le cas, une personne peut être placée sous le statut de témoin assisté.
Fair Play
"When you have lived and played abroad, you can never come back to France," he said. "France has a problem with money...
"In Spain and in England, people have big cars and do not hide them. The French hide what they own... That's not my mentality. When you're a football player and you have dreamed of buying a beautiful car, a beautiful house, you do it."
He was asked if he missed anything about France. "Nothing. You can't do what you like in France. I don't want to play football and pay 50 percent tax on what I earn. If some people are shocked, too bad. France is a hypocrite country."
The Litigious French
Eric Besson a décidé de porter plainte contre Jean-Christophe Cambadélis, membre de la direction du PS, et Gérard Mordillat, romancier et cinéaste.
If only Obama could sue all the Republicans who have compared him to Hitler and Stalin for advocating health care reform. Camba merely likened Besson to Pierre Laval
* True, William Westmoreland sued CBS for libel, but he wasn't elected.
No Insider Trading at EADS
“It’s a major failure, and it puts the AMF in a difficult spot” said Stéphane Bonifassi, a lawyer in Paris who specializes in financial crimes, referring to the regulator by its French initials. “It raises the question whether, when it comes to insider trading, we are not very efficient in Europe about sanctions.”
Sarkozy of the North
If Sarkozy has anything to offer on this score, he has kept it to himself. But by presenting himself as the Green Paladin, he "triangulates" the Socialists, caught between the UMP, which under Sarko has wrapped itself in the ecological mantle, and Europe Écologie, which has emerged as the environmental party to be reckoned with on the left. Needling Obama adds icing to the cake, and if the Copenhagen talks fail, Sarkozy has already designated his scapegoat. It's all working out rather nicely, even the joint arrival of Sarkozy and Merkel, who walked down the ecological aisle together, letting bygones be bygones.
As the neocons used to say, America is Mars, Europe is Venus, and apparently green politics is just a continuation of war and peace by other means. China, meanwhile, insists on remaining inscrutable--and jealous of its sovereignty. In post-sovereign Europe this smacks of archaism, whereas in imperial America it is perceived as a threat.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Ads
And in This Corner ...
Friends in High Places
Politics can end up being subsumed by representation. In a democracy of presence, the procedural and therefore programmatic aspect of democracy recedes into the background, and there is a tendency for “democratic representation” to be whittled down to little more than a way in which people can express their concerns to their leaders. ... It is not simply “identity politics” in the usual sense: giving minorities a chance to make their voices heard or to promote their own projects and demands. At a deeper level, what is involved is the construction of a vast mirror of civil society. It is as if the only purpose of government were to eliminate everything that is harsh or oppressive in daily life. In this sense, the politics of presence serves as a kind of social exorcism. It has a cathartic dimension. By inducing leaders to take notice of misfortune, it seeks implicitly to make misfortune more tolerable.
As François-Xavier Ajavon says, "On reste pantois devant cette orgie miniature de communication élyséenne, bien plus glaçante, en vérité, que l’actuelle vague de froid."
Laurent on Growth and the Environment
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Raoult Distinguishes Himself Yet Again
Microsoft Surrenders, EU Accepts
Political theorists may want to chew over the paradox of users being forced to exercise their freedom by the nanny (super)state. As an old techie, however, I want to register a complaint. For years, my first move in acquiring a new computer was to download Firefox. But the latest version of Firefox has a massive memory leak: I have to shut it down every few days as it slowly gobbles up all of my computer's memory. Has anyone told the EU? It's so annoying, I may even revert to IE or capitulate to one of the other empires (really, I ask you, is the greater good served by paying obeisance to Google or Apple
Pince-sans-rire
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Cohen Makes Sense
A very astute comment by Élie Cohen, which puts in perspective Sarkozy's claims to have outwitted the Brits and taken over the EU.
Maurice Allais Pleads for ... Protectionism
As for the dogma itself, I am reminded that Paul Samuelson
About Those Baseball Caps ...
La secrétaire d'Etat chargée de la famille et de la solidarité, Nadine Morano, a déclaré, lundi soir 14 décembre, vouloir du jeune musulman français "qu'il ne parle pas verlan", lors d'un débat sur l'identité nationale à Charmes (Vosges). "Moi, ce que je veux du jeune musulman, quand il est français, c'est qu'il aime son pays, c'est qu'il trouve un travail, c'est qu'il ne parle pas le verlan, qu'il ne mette pas sa casquette à l'envers", a expliqué la secrétaire d'Etat à un jeune homme qui l'interrogeait sur la compatibilité de l'islam avec la République.
Yeah, Nadine, I hear where you're coming from. It annoys me, too, when I see young guys wearing baseball caps backwards. Of course most of them, in this part of the world, are native-born Americans who can probably trace their ancestors back to the Mayflower, for all I know, so I'm not sure what this has to do with le jeune musulman français, but I can assure you that even if all the young Muslim men in France started wearing berets tomorrow, you'd still have a problem with high unemployment in the banlieues, crime, deteriorating housing, high dropout rates, etc. You see, that cap is a sign, the verlan is a sign, the lack of a job is a sign--and signs are not causes. For causes, you have to look a little deeper. I would nominate you for the political connerie of the year prize, but I know that you've taken to suing people who make negative comments about your intelligence on the Web, so I've got to be careful.
A Billion Here, a Billion There
That's a lot of money for education and culture, but in my view it's money well spent. In fact, it's absolutely the right thing to do. The university move will be controversial, because it means that Sarko is now putting money where his mouth was, calling for the creation of four "national champion" universities, to become "the best in the world," as the president modestly put it. To be sure, such virile language is more appropriate to the soccer field than to the campus, but Sarkozy is right to conclude that equality among universities is a fiction that not only cannot be sustained but has never been more than a thin veil over a squalid reality. Concentrating resources is, alas, a bitter necessity, and Sarkozy has made the right choice. Good consequences are sure to follow. So are protests and complaints. But as he has done in every other policy domain, Sarkozy has here made a strategic choice that will divide the opposition, win over some of its most ambitious members, and leave the losers scattered in helpless disarray. To bow to reality while at the same time routing the enemy is the essence of realpolitik, a game at which Sarkozy has proven to be very good indeed.
Of course in tinkering with the universities, there is always the possibility of setting off some uncontrollable student reaction. My guess, however, is that the failure of the resistance thus far to deflect Sarkozy from his course has left much of the rank-and-file dispirited and resigned to getting on with it.
Join the Resistance ...
Monday, December 14, 2009
Fronde!
Le Sénat a adopté lundi, à la surprise générale, un amendement communiste supprimant l'article unique du projet de loi sur le redécoupage électoral. Le gouvernement a immédiatement demandé une seconde délibération sur ce texte. (AFP)
Trouble in the NPA
What Copé Meant
Press Conference
Mon Dieu! What got into Laurent Joffrin? After getting the back of Sarko's hand for asking an impertinent question at the president's first press conference, he plays the role of lackey in the second--and doesn't even play it very well, mumbling and bumbling his way through to a whimpering finish.
As for Sarko's good humor, maybe Joffrin is looking good compared to Marc-Olivier Fogiel, the current journalistic object of the president's wrath.
Political Humor Prize
Pour la première sélection du Prix 2010 (les deux prochaines auront lieu en mars et en juin), le jury a retenu les meilleures petites phrase collectées depuis le 1er juillet dernier:
- Patrick Balkany, député-maire de Levallois-Perret: "Je suis l'homme le plus honnête du monde".
- Rachida Dati, députée UMP européenne: "Je n'ai jamais cherché à attirer l'attention des médias".
- Laurent Fabius, député PS: "Je ne suis pas une pom-pom girl de DSK".
- Claude Goasguen, député-maire UMP du XVIe arrondissement de Paris: "Une chose est sûre, ce ne sont pas nos suppléants qui vont nous pousser à nous faire vacciner contre la grippe A".
- Philippe Séguin, premier président de la Cour des comptes: "Ce n'est pas parce que les caisses sont vides qu'elles sont inépuisables".
Une mention spéciale a été attribuée par le jury à François Goulard, député-maire UMP de Vannes pour sa déclaration: "François Fillon a tellement de qualités qu'il mériterait d'être Premier ministre".
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Death of Paul Samuelson
MIT announcement. And Paul Krugman, on "a truly great man."
And from the Times obituary:
His speeches and his voluminous writing had a lucidity and bite not usually found in academic technicians. He tried to give his economic pronouncements a “snap at the end,” he said, “like Mark Twain.” When women began complaining about career and salary inequities, for example, he said in their defense, “Women are men without money.”
The Progressive Right?
A Second Score for Copé
The legislation will not be based on from France's law of laicité, or secularism, he said. It will draw on two arguments: the protection of women's equality and public safety. The burqa, as it is popularly called in France, has nothing to do with religion, said Copé. "It is about extremists who are testing the limits of the Republic," he said on Europe1 radio.
The point on public safety, Copé said, springs from the fact that society requires people to show their faces. Schools, for example, should not be expected to hand children over after classes to people whose faces they cannot see.
Quote of the Day
(h/t Kirk; for more on the reception of Miss France, see here.)
Profundity of the Day
Saturday, December 12, 2009
JJSS-VGE Debate
Here's another historical clip. Since the name of Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber came up yesterday, this caught my eye. Once again, one is struck by the tone and quality of the debate, which it would be difficult to match today.
Mitterrand on Socialism
Thanks to Laurent Bouvet for pointing out this clip. Laurent notes the degradation of political language that separates now from then. Whatever you think of Mitterrand's record in office, you have to credit his rhetorical skill.
The State Will Support Private Universities
I am curious about the rationale for this decision, which is not discussed in the article cited. There is not enough money to run the public universities. Is the funding of private competitors intended to alleviate pressure on the public system or to increase it by siphoning off not only funds but students? Is there a strategy here, or merely a provocation? Or is it just that the government would rather appear to be doing something than doing nothing? "Starve the beast?" Is that the strategy?
Guaino Defends History
Here is material for some French Bob Woodward's next book. The momentous clash of titans at the very highest level of government--this is the stuff of stirring journalistic best-sellers. And what divides our titans? Not whether to stimulate the economy or restrain the deficit. Not whether to increase the French contingent in Afghanistan or sell assault vessels to the Russians. But whether to teach France's best and brightest history in their last year of high school.
The General must be turning over in his grave.
Défense de l'identité nationale
Friday, December 11, 2009
Diversity and the PS
Pivot Slices Through the Gordian Knot
"The Gorbachev of the CGT"
I've never met Thibault, only seen him on TV. But I did meet one of his predecessors, Henri Krasucki, who came to Harvard once and told such thrilling tales of deportation, resistance, les 75,000 fusillés, et toute la ribambelle that one never got down to the brass tacks of union politics as practiced by the pre-Thibault CGT and whether le bilan était globalement positif or not. Which was probably just fine with M. Krasucki.
UPDATE: For Eric Dupin's analysis of the changes in the CGT under Thibault, see here.
My Contribution to the Counter-Debate on Identity
As I mentioned yesterday, a "counter-debate" on French national identity will be held today at the University of Nantes. Contributions have been solicited from various people outside of France. Here is mine:
De quoi a-t-on peur? C'est la première question qui se pose quand on regarde le tohu-bohu qui passe pour le grand débat sur l'identité nationale lancé par le ministre Eric Besson, dont le portefeuille démesuré confond l'identité, l'intégration, et l'immigration. Car en règle général on ne s'interroge pas sur son identité quand on est sûr d'en avoir une. La crise de l'identité n'afflige que l'adolescent ou la nation qui font face à un avenir incertain, donc effrayant, et qui ne savent pas se résoudre à un certain nombre d'adaptations nécessaires.
À lire la contribution à ce débat du président de la République (Le Monde, tribune, 9 déc.), on pourrait penser que, contrairement à ce que je viens d'affirmer, le peuple français, tout comme le peuple suisse, sait exactement où il veut aller. La peur de l'avenir se situerait, selon le président, entièrement du côté de l'élite, qui ne fait pas confiance au bon peuple. Cette élite souffre, dit-il, « d'une méfiance viscérale de tout ce qui vient du peuple […] ce mépris du peuple […] finit toujours mal ». Étrange raisonnement que celui du président, qui, tout en affirmant que le bon peuple a bien saisi les contours de l'identité nationale en rejetant toute expression trop voyante ou ostentatoire de l'appartenance religieuse, exclut du soi-disant consensus identitaire tous ceux qui justement ne partagent pas ce jugement. Étrange procédure, qui consiste à construire une identité à partir d'une série de dichotomies : peuple/élite, accueillants/accueillis, France du oui/France du non, etc.
Il faut dire que tout n'est pas à rejeter dans ce texte. Il parle, par exemple, de respect de l'autre. Mais il y a, me semble-t-il, une certaine asymétrie dans l'idée de respect telle qu'elle se trouve déployée ici. « Respecter ceux qui arrivent, dit le président, c'est leur permettre de prier […] Respecter ceux qui accueillent, c'est s'efforcer de ne pas les heurter, de ne pas les choquer, c'est en respecter les valeurs, les convictions, les lois, les traditions, et les faire – au moins en partie – siennes ». D'un côté donc on permet, on a le bon vouloir d'accorder, de grâce. De l'autre on a le devoir d'accepter, de subir, de se soumettre, de ne pas choquer, de se montrer humble et discret.
En fait, l'idée force de ce texte, c'est la discrétion, c'est la non-ostentation, pour employer un mot qui figure déjà dans la décision sur le port du voile à l'école. Tout se passe comme si la minorité déjà trop visible pour certains serait contrainte à réparer cette visibilité offensante, provocante, ou agressive par un effort de discrétion, de dissimulation, de dénégation de soi-même. À ce prix, et à ce prix seulement, le peuple accueillant lui permettra de se survivre à elle-même, comme une sorte de fantôme, en prenant désormais « les valeurs, les convictions, les lois, et les traditions » de ses hôtes pour siennes propres. Mais ce n'est pas là la tolérance, c'est la conquête. Et l'idée que la coexistence passe par la conquête bafoue justement l'un des héritages les plus chers de l'âge des Lumières et donc des valeurs, convictions, et traditions de la France : la tolérance. « Rien ne serait pire que le déni », dit le président, en se référant à ce qu'il prend, lui, pour les vœux de la majorité. Mais cela vaut autant, sinon plus, pour les aspirations de la minorité. Il ne faut pas les nier, les bafouer, les reléguer à se cacher derrière une humilité imposée.
Two Presidents on "Identity"
And yet somehow, given the dizzying pace of globalization, the cultural leveling of modernity, it perhaps comes as no surprise that people fear the loss of what they cherish in their particular identities -- their race, their tribe, and perhaps most powerfully their religion. In some places, this fear has led to conflict. At times, it even feels like we're moving backwards. We see it in the Middle East, as the conflict between Arabs and Jews seems to harden. We see it in nations that are torn asunder by tribal lines.Sarkozy (Le Monde, tribune, Dec. 9):
...But we do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected. We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The non-violence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached -- their fundamental faith in human progress -- that must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey.
For if we lose that faith -- if we dismiss it as silly or naïve; if we divorce it from the decisions that we make on issues of war and peace -- then we lose what's best about humanity. We lose our sense of possibility. We lose our moral compass.
Les peuples d'Europe sont accueillants, sont tolérants, c'est dans leur nature et dans leur culture. Mais ils ne veulent pas que leur cadre de vie, leur mode de pensée et de relations sociales soient dénaturés. Et le sentiment de perdre son identité peut être une cause de profonde souffrance. La mondialisation contribue à aviver ce sentiment
La mondialisation rend l'identité problématique parce que tout en elle concourt à l'ébranler, et elle en renforce en même temps le besoin parce que plus le monde est ouvert, plus la circulation et le brassage des idées, des hommes, des capitaux, des marchandises sont intenses, et plus on a besoin d'ancrage et de repères, plus on a besoin de sentir que l'on n'est pas seul au monde. Ce besoin d'appartenance, on peut y répondre par la tribu ou par la nation, par le communautarisme ou par la République.
L'identité nationale c'est l'antidote au tribalisme et au communautarisme. C'est pour cela que j'ai souhaité un grand débat sur l'identité nationale. Cette sourde menace que tant de gens dans nos vieilles nations européennes sentent, à tort ou à raison, peser sur leur identité, nous devons en parler tous ensemble de peur qu'à force d'être refoulé ce sentiment ne finisse par nourrir une terrible rancœur.
"The Debate" Comes to le 93
The Political Variety Show Continues
To follow up yesterday's smash hit by the UMP, here's Europe-Ecologie. What's next? Aubry and Hamon as Rogers and Astaire? Besancenot, Royal, and Bayrou as The Rainbow Coalition? Estrosi, Vanneste, and Besson as Les Trois Mages?
Unfriendly Skies
In an attempt to "shed light" on the crash of Flight AF447, which went missing while flying over the Atlantic, the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA) said it was looking into what triggered Flight AF445 to issue a mayday signal flying the same route on 29 November. "We cannot ignore such a coincidence," said a spokesman.
The A330 airbus – the same model as the aeroplane which went down on 1 June – was four hours into its flight to the French capital when it hit heavy turbulence, an Air France statement said. "[The aircraft] performed a standard descent in order to avoid a zone of severe turbulence and get back to a less turbulent level of flight."
The airline insists the emergency signal was not sent because the pilots believed they were in danger.
But, according to French media reports, the jet descended by far more than 300 metres – which is the standard procedure for avoiding turbulence – causing panic on board. Le Figaro reported that the plane plunged from 11,000 metres to 9,300 metres and quoted one passenger as writing afterwards that the aircraft appeared to be "no longer under control".
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Contre-Débat
Le Défi Américain
Speechless
Bonus Tax
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Winock contra Sarkozy
Ce qui déconcerte, c’est que toute la première partie du propos présidentiel porte sur la votation helvétique sur les minarets. Il fustige ceux qui ont critiqué ce verdict des urnes : « Réactions excessives » et « méfiance viscérale pour tout ce qui vient du peuple. La référence au peuple, c’est déjà, pour certains, le commencement du populisme. Mais c’est en devenant sourd aux cris du peuple, indifférent à ses difficultés, à ses sentiments, à ses aspirations, que l’on nourrit le populisme. Ce mépris du peuple, car c’est une forme de mépris, finit toujours mal. »
Un pareil discours aurait pu sortir, il est déjà sorti,de la bouche du général Boulanger en 1888-1889. Les adversaires du populisme, n’en déplaise à Nicolas Sarkozy, n’ont aucun mépris du peuple ; ils méprisent les démagogues qui jouent avec les « sentiments », les émotions, la peur répandue dans les couches populaires, qu’ils attisent de leur mieux en dénonçant les boucs émissaires. Qui a vu ces affiches du parti populiste helvétique représentant des minarets sous la forme d’une batterie de missiles plantés sur le drapeau suisse a compris la manière de la xénophobie agissante. Ce peuple, cette majorité électorale aurait-elle forcément raison, toujours raison ? Le « peuple » n’a-t-il pas acclamé Mussolini, chéri Hitler, pleuré à la mort de Staline ? Ce n’est avoir du mépris ni pour le peuple ni pour le suffrage universel que de s’opposer aux prophètes de malheur, aux tribuns racistes, aux ennemis de la démocratie.
Money Matters
Seuil
The History Question
Universities
Low-income students are increasingly forced to attend inexpensive but under-resourced, non-selective universities and community colleges, where student results are often astoundingly bad. The average graduation rate at four-year colleges in the bottom half of the Barron’s taxonomy of admissions selectivity is only 45 percent. And that’s just the average–at scores of colleges, graduation rates are below 30 percent, and wide disparities persist for students of color. Along with community colleges, where only one in three students earns a degree, these low-performing institutions educate the large majority of Pell Grant recipients. Less than 40 percent of low-income students who start college get a degree of any kind within six years.
...
Why is the quality question so obscure, when the cost question is so well-known? In part because it has been masked by the American higher education system’s unchallenged reputation as the best in the world. Unfortunately for the average collegian, this notion is entirely driven by the top 10 percent of institutions and the students who attend them–Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and the like. Much of the rest is a sea of mediocrity, or worse.
Since French universities must admit more than 60 percent of each age cohort, their pool includes many students who fit the profile of community college students in the US. Sarkozy and Pécresse should bear this in mind the next time they ogle the Shanghai rankings.
Bottoms Up!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Inside the Elysée
Sarkobilan
Modern and Contemporary France has just published a special issue on the The Sarkozy Presidency... I believe this is the first collection of articles to offer a mid-term 'bilan' of the presidency and I hope it will be of interest for both research and teaching purposes. Guest edited by Philippe Marličre and Joseph Szarka, it contains articles on ideology, political strategy, economics, media and European policy and can be consulted at:
www.informaworld.com/cmcf
The introduction is also available to non-subscribers as a free download.
Rebirth of the UDF
«Quand je vois qu’on en est à l’extrémité de se passionner pour cette affaire des minarets, j’ai honte», a-t-il dit. Selon lui, «on ne peut pas refuser de laisser leur place et leur libre-choix à ceux qui ont une religion, même si elle n’est pas la mienne ou la vôtre».
This comes on the same day that Sarkozy declared that instead of condemning the Swiss vote on minarets, one ought to try to understand what the Swiss people meant by voting as they did. His answer: they were rejecting "ostentation" in the display of difference and refusing a "denaturing" of their way of life by alien influences. Ostentation and denaturing: those are arguments that apply not only to minarets but also to McDonald's, Toyota, and Lady Gaga. Of course couscous-merguez, le canard laqué, and presidential appearances before the joint chambers of the legislature are as French as Obélix and Astérix. If nothing else, the Sarkozy presidency has made us accustomed to l'arbitraire in all domains.
Here is Sarkozy's full essay.
Pantheon Controversy: Camus's Daughter Speaks Out
Here:
« Se lancer sur l'idée de récupération et pouvoir déverser toute cette haine contre le président, j'ai vu ça, ça a été extrêmement violent. J'ai vu mon père transformé en missile anti-Sarkozy, ce qui est aussi une forme de récupération finalement.
D'abord, moi, je suis une citoyenne républicaine, et le président de la République a été élu démocratiquement. Pour moi, il représente mon pays. Je respecte le président de la République en tant que représentant de mon pays. Je tiens à la démocratie.
Après tout, qu'un homme d'Etat ait l'idée de se tourner vers Camus, c'est déjà étonnant. Les hommes de pouvoir n'aiment pas Camus habituellement.Je préfère pour le moment ne pas dire ce que j'en pense, parce que je trouve, une fois de plus, peut-être parce que je suis la fille de mon père, que les choses ne sont pas si simples.»
Monday, December 7, 2009
Trashissime
Part of the reason is nostalgia. Miss France symbolises a stable, rural golden age that figures in the collective imagination -- and which President Sarkozy sees as the key to French national identity. Miss France is supposed to carry French elegance to the four corners of the world but much of her job consists of travelling the country awarding prizes at agriculture shows and village fêtes.
The boss lady, Geneviève de Fontenay, is outspoken:
She does not mince her words, drawing a contrast between her wholesome pageant and the sexual exhibitionism of the age. "I have never shown off my fesses (bottom) and I will never do so," she said recently. (Her contestants' swimsuit parades are presumably for showing off character). Last summer, she took a swipe at Carla Bruni over her celebrated former love life and changing politics. Bruni, she said "sleeps left at home and on the right at the Elysée Palace, and embodies a 180 degree turn from former first ladies."
But there is also high-level commercial intrigue:
In the Saturday extravaganza, Fontenay denounced "Secret Story", a popular TV reality show, as "trashissime" -- ultra-trashy, and warned the new Miss France to stay away from it. The show in question is produced by Endemol France -- the same company which now owns Miss France. Her tension with Endemol explains why Fontenay was only allowed brief remarks in the ceremony.
Indeed, it seems that le banalissime and le trashissime have now merged to produce le dégueulassissime. And for the icing on the cake, there are allegations that the new MF was chosen for her Arab-sounding first name, Malika, even though she is actually une Française de souche.
Today there are claims on the internet that the contest was loaded in favour of Miss Normandy, partly because she has an Arab first name. Fontenay said before the contest that she hoped that a woman of Arab background would win one day. Miss Menard is, it turns out, pure Norman. Her parents just liked the foreign name.
The best of both worlds, quoi!