Shut Up and Vote Yes

Last night I downloaded 13 articles, mostly from the blog of Yves Daoudal, on the Irish re-vote, set for Friday October 2. It is of course impossible to bring all this material together in a meaningful post, at this late date. It is also impossible to know how they will vote, but the most recent indicators are not very optimistic. Here is Daoudal's September 25 news:

According to the latest poll from the TNS Institute published today by the Irish Times, 48% of the Irish intend to vote yes, 33% intend to vote no, and 19% are undecided. This amounts to 2 more points for the yes vote, and 4 more for the no, compared to the same poll from the same institute, earlier in the month.

Not counting the undecided, that makes 59% for a yes and 41% for a no. At the beginning of the month it was 61% vs 39%.

True, the no vote is increasing, but less so than last year, and it remains far from the yes vote.

Check out the very funny site Fianna Fool, a parody of the Fianna Fail party. Below is one of their photos. And below that, their poster showing good cause for voting yes.




Other polls are even more somber than the one from TNS cited above:

A poll published yesterday (September 27) by the Independent gives 68% for a yes, 17% for a no, and 15% undecided.

A poll from the Sunday Business Post gives 55% yes, 27% no, and 18% undecided.

The European Commission had a 16-page supplement inserted into the Sunday papers, entitled "Your Guide to the Lisbon Treaty". The opponents of the Treaty rose up against this propaganda, pointing out that a decree from the Irish Supreme Court forbids using taxpayers' money to promote only one side of an issue in referendum campaigns, and that the European Commission has no authority in the ratification of treaties.

Some of you might want to read a very long interview with Declan Ganley in the WSJ. Ganley, who has made a temporary comeback for the referendum, reiterates his opposition to the treaty.

French readers can click here for all of Yves Daoudal's posts on the Irish referendum.

And last but far from least, for English-language readers, check out Craig Connolly's blog - the homepage has several articles and videos that may be of interest to you.

The poster at the top was rigged. The words in the top left corner were added on, but they are so well done they appear to be part of the poster.

Tear Down the Wall

The Bloc Identitaire, of which I spoke in my recent post on the meeting in Bordeaux, has been busy during the month of September fighting the Socialist mayor of the town of Bilière, Jean-Yves Lalanne. Bilière, 14,000 inhabitants, on the outskirts of Pau, department of Pyrénées-Atlantique, was the scene of the inauguration of a so-called "wall of the expelled" - a large outdoor mural expressing solidarity with illegal immigrants and opposition to the practice of expulsion. The mayor supported the wall, which is situated on a location once occupied by public toilets, and opened the inauguration ceremony. Novopress reports:

(...) He had not counted on the arrival of fifteen identitarians from the Béarn region, led by the coordinator of the Bloc Identitaire of Aquitaine, Christophe Pacotte. Shouting, "Shame!", "Lalanne, the same old song, you're not a good mason" (obviously something is lost in the translation), "Illegals, get out", they disrupted the ceremony from the outset.

After some tense moments, the members of the Bloc, facing the media and the public, denounced the "complicity between the immigrationists and the business leaders/thugs who exploit the illegals to the detriment of French and European workers." Christophe Pacotte was critical of the "ethnomasochism" of the organizers of "this illegal act". And while the Socialist officials of the city continued their speeches, three of the seven municipal councillors from the UMP party of Bilière, also outraged by the "wall of the expelled", congratulated the identitarians for their action.

Note: It is unusual for UMP elected officials to side with identitarians. Will Sarkozy mete out any punishment to them? Not likely, unless he wants to really show his hand.

But the story didn't stop there. The prefect of Pyrénées-Atlantique also stood opposed to the wall. Reminder: a prefect is a government official whose job it is to enforce government policy in the provinces. (Recently, amidst much furor, Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux had a prefect fired from his post for so-called "racist" comments.) Another article from Novopress picks up the thread:

(...) The prefect, Philippe Rey, took the case to the administrative tribunal of Pau, on grounds of three possible illegalities: failure to report the deliberations relative to the wall project, failure to declare the construction of the wall, and (most importantly) "using the wall of a public building for motives outside the common interest... and instead for the expression of ideas having a political connotation."

Moreover, the wall, situated on the former public toilets, has been covered by new graffiti - hostile graffiti at the very least.

Below the new slogans "For a safe France, without immigrants", "Immigrants, out!" are visible on top of the original work of art.

It will be interesting to see if Hortefeux forces Philippe Rey into retirement.

There are several videos relative to this story posted at François Desouche.

Where Is the Life that Late We Lived?

If a Frenchman had fallen into a coma in 1978, only to reawaken in 2008, what would his reactions be? According to writer and philosopher Alain Laurent, author of La Société Ouverte et ses nouveaux ennemis (The Open Society and its new enemies), Rip Van Winkle à la française would face a long list of new realities. François Desouche gives us a glimpse:

- He would now be called a "Gaulois", a term he remembers only vaguely as a folkloric memory from his youngest years in elementary school.

- It would now be impossible for him to go back, except at great risk, into certain suburban neighborhoods that he had known as peaceful and welcoming, and that have metamorphosed into enclaves where hooded gangs impose with impunity the law of the jungle, where even taxis don't dare venture.

- He would be outraged that, in addition to taxes, he would have to pay for the Welfare State's largesse, and for the financial bankruptcy resulting from "urban policies", and for repairs of the damages caused by vandalism - the new "mass sport", and for all the supplementary security measures.

- He would realize that schools and hospitals, formerly regarded as sanctuaries, had become arenas of violence against teachers, doctors, nurses... committed by groups of thugs or religious fanatics.

- He would have to resign himself to the fact that whole areas of his country were part of the Third World.

- He would contemplate ghosts dressed in black from head to foot in the so-called "sensitive" neighborhoods; the burning of cars - so common they are no longer even reported by the press; policemen who shoot in the air in order to escape from ambushes (something unheard-of even during May 1968); downtown areas sacked; buses and subways attacked like stagecoaches in the American Wild West...

- His way of life would be mocked and rejected: he would get called names, such as "dirty Frenchman."

- He would remember that other immigrants had come to France, without the need for permanent aid, without changing the customs of the country, and had made an effort to integrate. And he would wonder: "In what way are today's immigrants different?"

- Painfully, he would realize that France had entered into an era of latent guerilla warfare, the magnitude of which is denied by the authorities, the reality of which is confirmed on a daily basis.

- He would suffer from having to endure, in silence, the insulting behavior, the violence, the sick oversensitivity and the machismo of certain young inhabitants of French territory who spit on anything, near or far, that symbolizes France.

Alain Laurent deduces from this enumeration that "the notions that there are too many immigrants or even the desire to live again in peace and to preserve the cultural identity of the homeland" are not a moral defects, or a sickness or deviant behavior. Rather they are opinions based on "common sense". In conclusion he rises up against the demonization and public humiliation inflicted on all Frenchmen who openly express these opinions.

You can buy the book at Amazon.fr for under 20 euro.

The following videos illustrate to some extent the points made above. They both have as their theme the light-hearted but sincere and VERY French song composed in 1941 by Louiguy and J. Larne, Ça sent si bon la France (France smells so sweet). The first video shows the late Pascal Sevran performing it in a style easily recognizable to our French Rip Van Winkle.

PASCAL SEVRAN CA SENT SI BON LA FRANCE
Uploaded by GALAUTHO. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

The second video is the same song, interpreted by Maurice Chevalier, but set to new images:

"Ça sent si bon la France" - Maurice Chevalier
Uploaded by Chevalier_du_Christ. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

When you've been all 'round the world,
Then on the train ride home, your nose at the window,
You get the urge to open the door and to kiss everything like good bread.

That old church steeple in the setting sun,
The ripened wheat fields filled with country flowers
The little garden with the sign: "Beware of dog!"
At every station-stop you catch the words:
"Paris Express, all aboard"
Oh, the country smells so sweet!

You finally arrive, the journey has ended
An old friend rushes to embrace you
He looks happy, you are even more so
Because, as you leave the station, everything suddenly hits you between the eyes

Along the streets you hear songs of our land,
On the sidewalk that old tramp with kindly eyes,
People who jaywalk,
The sparrows that flit by,
The cheeky little street urchins,
"Paris Midi, latest edition"
Very gently life begins again,
You had promised yourself to gulp it all down quickly
But the dreams, and the grandiose plans
Still parade by for a few more hours,
That brunette with heavenly eyes,
The PMU that closes before noon (note: PMU = betting on the races),
The little neighborhood bar that gives you credit,
It's Saturday, no more worries, relax until Monday,
A game of cards, and ten extra points,
The country smells so sweet,
What country? Our country, of course!

Cavaillon

Le Monde describes the city of Cavaillon, famous for its delicious melons, as it confronts violence in its neighborhoods, in particular the inner-city-style project known as la Cité du Docteur-Ayme. The long article, featured also at François Desouche, had to be abridged:

Graffiti-covered walls, deteriorating public spaces, damaged staircases, repulsive filth, elevators often blocked - and that odor of urine that gets you in the throat as soon as you enter into the apartment buildings. Despite its small size, barely 2,200 residents, the Cité du Docteur-Ayme resembles the most degraded neighborhoods of the Parisian suburbs. In terms of urban violence as well. This is a "veritable cauldron", says the UMP mayor Jean-Claude Bouchet. At the end of August he requested aide from the Interior and Justice Ministries.

The atmosphere is extremely tense. A hundred vehicles have been burned in the city since the beginning of the year. "We're confronted with a return of arson fires," observes Jean-Pierre Sola, director of public security for the department of Vaucluse.

Most of the institutions in the neighborhood have been subjected to heavy damage. The main entrance to the medical center was rammed by a truck that then caught fire. The façade of a bank was partially burned. The center for social action suffered damage. The city police station, set on fire several years ago, was never able to re-open. Of the social center, razed years ago after severe incidents, only the marks on the ground remain.

The never-ending violence is reported on weekly by the local press. Firemen shot at by rifles in October 2008. Several nights of rioting in November 2008 with confrontations between several dozen youth and the police, resulting in property damage and the burning of the French flag. Street cleaners attacked earlier in the year. Violence against the employees of the Low-Income Housing Authority who say that they now come to work with fear in their gut. Stones thrown at the police. A 21% increase in crime during the first half of the year. "We are in a veritable confrontation on the re-appropriation of public spaces, the credibility of the government's actions and the maintaining of law. We are two steps away from seeing the formation of private militia", warns the mayor in his letter to the ministers.

The last sections of the article deal with the assumed causes of the problem: the closing of the social center, the unexplained omission on the part of the government to prioritize the city of Cavaillon in its urban renewal program, the political war between the UMP-run municipality and the Left-run Low-Income Housing Authority, unemployment (some youths accused workers from the Housing Authority of having jobs that really belonged to them), the strained relations between the ghetto and the rest of the city, accusations of discrimination, etc...

The mayor fears greater problems ahead. "Municipal employees had garbage thrown at them from a high-rise. The culprits shouted: 'French whores, keep cleaning our shit!'"

And threats to shoot at the police with rifles were scribbled on the walls.

At the top, a photo of the better side of Cavaillon from Web-Provence. In the center, the cathedral of Notre-Dame-et-Saint Véran.

Below the beautiful sunflowers of Provence.

A quick Google of Cavaillon turned up no photos of the ghetto in question, nor any article other than the ones cited.

Disruption in Bordeaux

Novopress reports on a meeting of the General Council of the department of Gironde that took place ten days ago in the city of Bordeaux:


On Monday September 14, on the initiative of the General Council of Gironde, a discussion on Turkey and its possible entry into the European Union took place. This discussion was to signal the start of the "Saison de la Turquie" in the department. More than 400 events promoting Turkey and its culture are scheduled to be organized all across France. The discussion that night was presided over by Philippe Madrelle, president of the General Council and included among its participants the former socialist Prime Minister Michel Rocard (photo above left), the consul general of Turkey Ozer Aydan and other personalities favorable to the entry into the EU of this country of more than 80 million Muslims. After trying to show why Turkey had an interest in joining Europe and dismissing the different problems relevant to this accession: geographical, cultural and demographic, the participants were noisily interrupted by several dozen activists of the Bloc Identitaire protesting the campaign to impose this country onto a homogenous entity, in both the cultural and religious sense. Crying out "Turkish State: assassins of Armenians", "kebab is harmful to the health", or "If Turkey, why not Zimbabwe?" (a slogan attributed to Jacques Chirac), the activists known for their forceful actions disrupted the meeting, impelling Cengiz Aktar, professor at the University of Istanbul, to admit that "this candidacy certainly does arouse much opposition."

Note: The "Bloc Identitaire" is a militant patriotic movement with branches in most regions of France. Both sovereigntist and regionalist, its members carefully work out strategies for protesting, peacefully but vigorously, the Islamization of the country, the power of Brussels, and the decline of a sense of French identity, hence their name. They are one of the few groups in France to actually take some kind of concrete action. SITA is another. Some identitarians are pro-Le Pen, others have been disenchanted by the leader of the Front National. Novopress is their news service. From what I've read, their actions are rarely reported by the MSM: only the Internet provides updates of their events.

At about three minutes into the following video, you'll see (and definitely hear) the disruption by the Bloc Identitaire. The first part is devoted to Michel Rocard explaining rather pompously why Turkey should join the EU. Then comes the noise. The people in the audience think at first that it's just one person, but they soon see that the militants are scattered throughout the room. In the last part, a member of the Bloc Identitaire explains the reasons for the rebellion. He points out that despite his protests to the contrary, Nicolas Sarkozy wants to impose Turkey on Europe, and he expresses his hope that this year of the celebration of Turkey will incite French citizens to rebellion.

I did not have time to work out a translation, but I feel the images speak for themselves. One of the signs waved by the militants (and superimposed on the video) is a quote from Nicolas Sarkozy: "If Turkey were in Europe, we would know it."

saison de la Turquie en France
Uploaded by ericseguela. - News videos hot off the press.

H/T: François Desouche

Racism Redefined

Note: An update has been added to this post.

The recent journalistic equivalent of a pot-boiler, i.e., L'Affaire Hortefeux, that I summarized several days ago, has elicited comments from several bloggers, who recognize in the incident an example of unfathomable hypocrisy and blatant cynicism on the part of the politicians who govern France. More than that, it represents the predictable consequence of a decades-long effort to form popular opinion through a steady dose of government-generated propaganda based on a new (and spurious) definition of race. The following analysis is from economist Gérard Pince:

Brice Hortefeux's misadventure illustrates how the concept of racism has been denatured in order to turn it into a weapon of pure propaganda. In theory, this ideology consists of a hierarchy of the human races, in terms of physical, moral and intellectual attributes. In no way did the minister proceed to construct such a hierarchy, but it seems that this word encompasses today all those who prefer their own family or who aspire to preserve their cultural identity. In this expanded meaning, all men are more or less racist, since the adjective stigmatizes a feeling that is as natural as the fear of a void or of darkness. Nonetheless, in the minds of the propagandists, only whites are racists and guilty of all the evils that are befalling the planet.

We are therefore witnessing the rise of an authentic anti-white racism in most countries of the world. This phenomenon was born in the heart of Europe in the 1960's when intellectuals attempted to impute responsibility for the genocide committed by the Nazis to the ensemble of Europeans. It then spread to America in the guise of "political correctness", based on the extermination of the Indians, slavery and colonization. Finally, it became almost universal when various groups seeking revenge echoed one another in their designation of the sole guilty party: the European of Christian culture, this Dupont La Joie, this hairless mangy fellow. For example Brice Hortefeux thought he could apologize for his remarks about Arabs by claiming that he was really talking about "les Auvergnats" (the people of the Auvergne)!

Note: Dupont La Joie, a film that came out in 1974, is a polemic against racism towards immigrants. It's interesting that such a movie came out in 1974. That was the year the French changed their immigration laws to allow whole families into France, instead of just men with a work contract. Was anti-racism an idea "whose time had come"?

These accusations do not resist an honest examination. Essentially, Western Europeans and even more so Americans and Russians are neither responsible nor guilty for the genocide perpetuated by the Germans and their collaborators. Moreover, the United Kingdom and France, side by side with the other victors, received the surrender of the Reich. As for the Indians, they were decimated more by European illnesses against which they had not been immunized. In addition, the violence against the serfs and the religious minorities in Europe, exerted at that time with equal vigor by the Spaniards, has to be placed in context. Lastly, while no one would dream of denying the horrors of the black slave trade, the Arabs, Europeans and Africans who exchanged their prisoners for the glassware of the slave traders, have an equal share in the responsibility. On the other hand, I challenge the association of colonization with slavery that is soon going to force us to re-baptize all streets bearing the names Bugeaud, Lyautey and Gallieni.

Note: Marshal Bugeaud (1784 - 1849) subjugated Algeria and became governor-general of that land in 1840. Hubert Lyautey (1854 - 1934) was the first Resident-General in Morocco. Joseph Gallieni (1849 - 1916) was a military commander and administrator of the French colonies. Notably he was governor of French Sudan and served also in Martinique, French Indochina and Madagascar. Later he served in WWI.

From the beginning, these false accusations were initiated to stigmatize opponents of family immigration (i.e., immigrations of persons likely to settle permanently in France). This odious campaign is today reaching its paroxysm with the unprecedented behavior of a minister who refuses to apply a law passed by Parliament. This return of Monsieur Veto does not shock the great adherents of democracy. They are too busy fixing their internal elections and getting caught, with their fingers in the anti-racist cookie jar, in the act of abusing their privileges and blackmailing the people.

Notes: The minister in question is Eric Besson, Minister of Immigration, who has refused to apply the law requiring DNA testing on immigrants. Sarkozy has defended the decision, saying that DNA tests serve no purpose. The original purpose of the tests was to determine family relationship. The article in French is at Le Figaro.

Monsieur Veto was Louis XVI, who acquired the right to veto laws passed by the National Assembly in 1790, after the Revolution had begun. He attempted to make use of the veto, naively imagining that he still had some powers. The result, as we know, was his execution a few years later.

The French people put up with these infamous practices in resigned silence. Current events remind us that when an employee has suicidal tendencies, some of his colleagues may try to push him over the edge. It is the same for peoples. The different affairs of "racism", each one crazier than the one before, represent a climate of hatred and over-zealousness that does not bode well for our unhappy compatriots.

Update - September 28, 2009: In the French text Pince says "They are too busy (...) sticking their fingers into the anti-racist marmalade in order to pull out some watches!" I was not familiar with the expression, so I had to guess its meaning. A reader helped out, and I have made the necessary change in the translation:

"To be found with the fingers in the pot of marmalade" means to be surprised while taking immoral/illegal advantages of one's position.

Julien Dray, a prominent member of the socialist party was the main creator of "SOS Racisme", one of the most important (and noisy) anti-racist associations, and piloted it from the shadows.

Recently it was found he used the money of SOS-racisme and other associations as his personnel wallet, in order to buy expensive goods, amongst them some very expensive watches (40 000 Euros...).

I had heard about the SOS Racism scandal, but had not studied the details of the affair. Thanks to the reader for his/her help.

Le Conservateur also weighed in on the Hortefeux story:

(...) The whites are now condemned, not only to keep their opinions to themselves, but to spend their days polishing the image of immigrants. While we must permanently endure the worst insults against our country, our history, our religion and our people, we must also praise the grandeur and the success of those terrestrial paradises such as the Orient and distant Africa - that everyone is trying to flee - and of Islam, which, as we all know, contributed to this great success. (...)

French readers may enjoy the lengthy discussion that follows the article.

Finally, here are a few excerpts from the blog of Bernard Antony. He begins with a reminder about the fate of Paul Girot de Langlade:

A few weeks ago, scorning all caution, Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux blasted apart the career of prefect Paul Girot de Langlade who was assumed to be guilty of uttering a few words with a racist connotation. Hortefeux, without waiting for an impartial inquiry, without hearing out the prefect, joined in the witch hunt along with the media and organizations subsidized by the anti-racist brew.

First suspended from his functions, the prefect then had to take his retirement. (...)

He closes his post with this thought:

The friends of Hortefeux became indignant. As if it had not been their government that had established the chekists of so-called anti-racism, who most notably had created the HALDE of Jacques Chirac, and who have not ceased to reenforce it under Nicolas Sarkozy. After screaming with the jackals against the prefect, Brice Hortefeux, now looking completely ridiculous, ought to commit hara-kiri. He should at the very least retire and devote his time to musing on the benefits of the manipulations of anti-racism. (...)

Note: The Cheka was a secret police created in 1917 by Lenin for the purpose of tracking and punishing all opposition to the bolsheviks. This is far from the first time I have seen an analogy made by French blogs and/or readers between the tactics of Soviet Russia and those of recent French governments.



To the left, the sword and shield of the Cheka-KGB.

Parliament Approves Islamic Finance

Some English-language Arabic news sources have covered this story. It is certainly not new - discussions about Islamic finance have been making headlines in the world of economics for a long time, but the French are inching closer to a definitive measure that will allow Islamic law to enter into the French legal framework.

Note that the Senate passed the bill on June 9. It was then that they introduced the amendment on Islamic "sukuk" that was to become the source of the Socialist opposition in the Chamber of Deputies three days ago, when the final vote was taken. Without that amendment it is likely that the Socialist deputies would have voted for the bill.

Here is a report from Le Point, dated September 17, that was probably the source for the English-language articles. It should be noted that this story has been largely ignored by the French MSM. It appears primarily at Le Point, but I could not find anything in Le Figaro (although that may have changed by now):

Despite opposition protests from the Left, the French Parliament has passed a law that authorizes the issuing of Islamic bonds, known as "sukuk".

The bill, introduced by UMP deputy Chantal Brunel, has as its main goal the facilitation of access to credit for small and medium-sized businesses. The deputies adopted the same text that the Senate had passed on June 9. Thus the wording of the bill has been definitively adopted by the Parliament. The UMP and Nouveau Centre parties voted for the bill, the Democratic and Republican Left (GDR), the Communist Party (PC) and the Green Party voted against it. The combined socialist parties, known collectively as the SRC, which includes the Socialist Party, the Radical Party and the Diverse Left, also voted against it.

The Socialists were highly critical of an amendment introduced by the Senate, and supported by the government, that proposes to modify the civil code to allow the issuance, from Paris, of financial tools that conform to the principles of Islamic finance.

"They are introducing Islamic law into the framework of the French legal system," said Henri Emmanuelli, of the Socialist Party. "That shocks us deeply. It's unacceptable. It has become 'anything goes'".

Note: Emmanuelli has been an active Socialist since he joined the party in 1971. There is a brief English-language biography at Wikipedia.

Minister of Industry Christian Estrosi denied any willingness to adapt French law to religious rules. "It is out of the question to say that we are negating the principles of our law in order to conform to some religious or cultural principle. Conversely, I cannot see why we would refuse certain types of financing on those grounds," he said.

The measure, which reforms the rules on fiduciary obligations ("fiducie") will permit the issuance of "sukuk" in France.

Unlike classic obligations, the "sukuk" are backed by a tangible asset. They pay no interest; the investors receive coupons corresponding to a part of the profits earned by the underlying asset.

Note: Those who are interested in economics and who understand the jargon, may want to read this Wikipedia article on "sukuk".

To this day, no European enterprise has issued any "sukuk".

In France, the first issuing of an Islamic bond, originally set to take place before October, has been put off due to technical difficulties, announced Mohammed Farroukh Raza, of the Islamic Finance Advisory Assurance Services (IFAAS).

Note: The following paragraph deals with the main provisions of the law - aid to small and medium-sized businesses in France:

The new law obligates banks and insurance companies to justify their disengagement if the enterprise requests it. The enterprise could also solicit from its banking agent explanations concerning the internal ratings of which it is the object. The law provides for the creation of a specific loan for small and medium-sized enterprises that have been in existence for two to five years. The loan would be guaranteed by OSEO, and includes several measures destined to alleviate the procedures to which small and medium-sized enterprises are subject. Among these is the abolition of the obligation on the part of single-person businesses to draw up management reports.

Note: French readers can check out OSEO's website. It is a government agency that supports small and medium-sized businesses in France. I was not able to determine the meaning of the acronym.

Those interested can consult the following English-language articles. The first two links are essentially the same:

Futurespros.

Arabian Business.

Retail Obstacle (from Arabian Business).

One of the first to react to the new law is Marine Le Pen, vice-president of the Front National, who denounces the Left for doing too little too late:

"The Socialist deputies are up in arms over the vote of approval cast by the majority UMP party of a law introducing into the French legal framework the principles of Islamic finance, a consequence of economic globalization," declares a communiqué from Marine Le Pen, for whom "the Socialists have suddenly discovered the perils of ethnic communitarianism."

"The same people who are today shouting loudly and clearly their adherence to the principle of laïcité in order to oppose the new law, have been encouraging for years, as have the followers of Sarkozy, all the communitarian excesses that are undermining the foundations of the French Republic," she proclaimed.

"You can't claim to be republican when you haven't ceased to support massive immigration of populations who then become the breeding ground for demands from ethnic communities.

The introduction into French law of the principles of Islamic finance has led the Socialist deputies to reject a bill on the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises that they had supported in the first vote last March, which was in itself a rare occurrence."

Several blogs posted news of this new law. One reader at Bivouac-Id had this tale to tell:

- Twenty years ago, I belonged to a brainstorming cell in a large Belgian bank. The Belgian government was already in bankruptcy at the time, and so, as usual, had requested a loan from the BundesBank. The loan was refused, in view of the chronic insolvency of Belgium. If this information had been known, it would have meant the immediate free fall of the Belgian franc. We had fallen to the same level as Mexico or Brazil (...)

The information was kept ultra-confidential considering what was at stake. The banks, in a state of panic, were expecting the State to take out a obligatory loan (this is one where the banks are obligated to buy 80% of the shares, the remaining 20% being reserved for private fools who imagine they are making a good investment).

Two weeks later, to the relief of everyone, Prince Philippe had made trips to the Arab countries and had returned with an Islamic loan! Belgium was saved by the skin of its teeth!

The Islamic loan, in accordance with the Koran, can be granted to infidels on one condition: they must strive to Islamize their population. No limits.

I remember feeling a cold sweat down my back when I heard the "good" news! And ever since, the Muslims have had complete power in this country, including the power to impose freely and with impunity the right to kill, rape, and pillage. Ever since, Brussels, the capital of Europe, has become a lawless city, and hyper dangerous for any white person.

Note: We can't know for sure how accurate a comment from a reader is. But I found his story interesting enough to post as a potential reason for being suspicious of Islamic finance.

French readers who are really up on their economics may want to read this page from Reconquista. I did not understand a word, but apparently it is an explanation of the dangers of Islamic finance.

My initial post on Islamic finance goes back to March of this year, when it was announced that the Vatican approved of the introduction of sharia-compliant measures into the European financial systems.

Hortefeux and the Young Arab

Note: The moral of this cautionary tale is that those who profess to be anti-racist are the real racists, and those officially accused of racism, i.e., the patriots who want to take back their nation and their heritage are not real racists, except in the minds of the real racists!!! Get it?

A story that generated a huge controversy, and no small amount of schadenfreude from the French bloggers, centered on Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux who made a trip to the town of Seignosse (department of Landes) on September 5 for the convention of young members of the UMP party. There, surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd who wanted to be photographed with him, he began bantering with UMP leader Jean-François Copé and a young North African man named Amine. His remarks were captured on video, the video was eventually released after having been temporarily suppressed, and all hell broke loose.

What he actually said seems so innocuous compared to the amount of ink that has flowed, that to call it a tempest in a teapot is like taking coals to Newcastle. Except that some anti-racists have leaped on the bandwagon to exploit the incident to the maximum; on the other hand, support for Hortefeux has come from unexpected (not really) sources, turning the whole affair into a good example of the hypocrisy of both Left and "Right". I say "not really" because we know that anti-racism organizations and individuals will often defend racists if it is in their interests to do so. In recent American history we have seen feminists defend Bill Clinton, even more feminists remain silent over the misogynous practices of Islam, we have watched as the vehemently anti-racist Democrats supported the overtly racist and pro-Muslim Barack Obama, and so on... Anti-racism is a gimmick, a deadly game played for the purpose of controlling thought and curtailing freedom. People who espouse anti-racism do not practice what they preach, but they expect everyone else to.

More recently, in America, a Republican congressman named Joe Wilson called Obama a liar, unleashing a flood of chatter from the chattering classes, endangering the career of Mr. Wilson, and prompting well-known socialist, anti-racist and ubiquitous do-gooder Jimmy Carter to call Wilson a "racist". So now, if you call a black man a liar, you are a racist. (I assume that if you call a white male conservative a liar, you will receive the Nobel Peace Prize.)

Anyway, the infamous video in question is not audible. At least not at first, but careful analysis of the sound track revealed that the minister made some remarks that provided reporters with an ample supply of daily bread for at least ten lively days in a row. Here's part of a report (now archived) from the local paper Sud-Ouest, dated September 11:

What do we see? Brice Hortefeux is introduced to a young activist of the UMP party named Amine Benalia-Brouch. The young North African would like to be photographed next to Brice Hortefeux and Jean-François Copé. Then everything goes wrong. Brice Hortefeux imagines that he has a sense of humor and wants to show it off. The ensuing conversation is peppered with a rapid-fire exchange of jokes. Someone points out that the young man eats pork and drinks beer. Hortefeux comments: "He doesn't correspond at all to the prototype", and then adds: "You always have to have one; when there's one it's OK; it's when there is more than one that there are problems." Clearly, the remark falls flat. There is nervous laughter. Hortefeux walks away and calls back to the young man, without the slightest irony, "take heart."


While the author of the newspaper article has no doubt that Hortefeux is a racist, the young "Arab", Amine Benalia-Brouch (who, it turns out, is Algerian by his father and Portuguese by his mother) insists he is not a "token Arab":

"I am NOT their token Arab! If I have something to say, I say it. Jacques Forté chose me to run on his electoral slate because I am a person with convictions and I want to get things done. There is no lack of respect in the UMP party, a popular movement that brings all Frenchmen together!"

As the controversy heated up and more and more analyses of the video were made available, the French online press raised the possibility of Hortefeux resigning, of the UMP party losing the upcoming regional elections, and of Hortefeux being prosecuted by anti-racism organizations. Moreover, some who analyzed the video claimed that Marie Aphatie, secretary of UMP in the department of Landes, had actually said: "He eats pork, he drinks beer, he's our little Arab." She denied having said the last phrase.

At one point, Hortefeux attempted to finesse the issue by insisting that he had not been not talking about Arabs but rather about "les Auvergnats", the people of the region of the Auvergne, since there were some jokes about them as well in the video. The blogs were quick to point out that if he had meant "les Auvergnats", then he was guilty of anti-Auvergnat feelings, and the charge of racism was still valid!

The Interior Minister refused to apologize, Amine continued to appear all over French television in support of Brice Hortefeux, and Sarkozy's special advisor Henri Guaino expressed the opinion that "absolute transparency was the beginning of totalitarianism":

"There's no more privacy, no more discretion (...) A phrase is seized upon haphazardly, and they make a federal case out of it, it's broadcast everywhere, and people talk about it without knowing what they're talking about."

Note: The above comment by Guaino is exceptionally hypocritical, considering that his boss, Nicolas Sarkozy, created the position of "diversity czar" for Yazid Sabeg, and helped establish HALDE, an agency that seeks out and punishes those guilty of the crime of discrimination.

At about this time, a number of anti-racist organizations and personalities came forth in defense of Brice Hortefeux, among them Socialist politician Jack Lang, who served under Mitterand, and the grand mufti of the Paris mosque Dalil Boubakeur who declared:

"I can attest that he has had only words of respect and friendship for the Muslim community of France" (...), adding that he did not attach "much importance to remarks tossed out in jest and not meant to target anyone in particular."

The left-wing Jewish organization CRIF (Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France) that notoriously promotes friendship between Jews and Arabs, that has even advocated "métissage", that rises up in anger against any remark that could be considered anti-Semitic, has nonetheless come to Hortefeux's defense. The head of CRIF, Richard Prasquier posted these words on September 15:

A man in the public eye no longer has to fear the hired killer's dagger, but rather the miniature smartphone and the images it sends round the world. Those who know Brice Hortefeux reject completely the notion that he harbors racist feelings; everything else in this affair is a matter of rushing to judgment on his intentions. (...)

Prasquier then moves on to this fallacious reasoning that illustrates so well the hypocrisy of left-wing moralizing, made even more hypocritical since, as Prasquier must know, one of Islam's goals is to kill Jews wherever they are to be found:

Jews must be as vigilant with respect to anti-Muslim rhetoric as they are to anti-Semitic rhetoric: not because Muslims are Semites, since the overwhelming majority of them are not, but because we are in a good position to know where hatred against a group can lead (...)

But Prasquier is a good friend of the Muslims, of Dalil Boubakeur in particular. And they are all good friends of Nicolas Sarkozy and his government, and they all are sycophants seeking some benefit from the current cultural crisis that is slowly destroying France, a crisis to which all of them have contributed.

We have seen the Left align itself with Muslims in violent anti-Israel demonstrations. Now we see the Jewish Left align itself with Muslims to rescue Brice Hortefeux.

According to Yves Daoudal, writing in his weekly newsletter Daoudal Hebdo, #49, available by subscription, Hortefeux immediately hurried to Clermont-Ferrand to break the Ramadan fast. His ministry sent out this communiqué:

"In this period of Ramadan, that is so important to our fellow citizens of the Muslim faith, the minister wishes to recall the extent to which this month of meditation and compassion is a symbol of peace, tolerance and sharing. He has shown his desire to strive in order to permit each person, whatever his origins or convictions, to find fully his place in our Republic."

Two days later, the Interior Ministry announced, in a similar communiqué, that he would be attending another Ramadan dinner, this time in Paris, organized by the CFCM (French Council of the Muslim Faith).

Thus, to obtain forgiveness, Brice Hortefeux, minister of the Republic of laïcité, promotes Islam. When there's one mosque, that's OK. But when there's more than one, I can atone even more for my sins.


However, I have omitted the best part of this tale. It concerns a prefect named Paul Girot de Langlade (left) who was forced into retirement by Brice Hortefeux for making remarks deemed racist. This part of the story will be dealt with in a separate post. For now, suffice it to say that the prefect, who was posted at Roissy airport, had already been accused in 2008 of racist remarks about nomadic peoples and had been prosecuted by MRAP (Movement against Racism and for Friendship among Peoples). This past August, Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux suspended him after he said that the airport looked like "Africa". Says Yves Daoudal:

(...) There was no racism in (Hortefeux's) remark. Just as there was no racism in the remark attributed to Paul Girot de Langlade, who presumably said: "You would think you're in Africa here" when he saw the number of black employees at Roissy airport.

But Hortefeux eradicated Girot de Langlade from the prefecture, without giving him a chance to defend himself. It follows that he should apply this "justice" to himself also.

For those interested there is a series of articles on this affair at François Desouche.

Below is the video in question. It lasts but a few seconds. The thing I dislike is the way they keep patting the young man on the cheek as if he were a child. That may be exactly how they regard him.

Quand Brice Hortefeux dérape
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Teach Arabic - No Opposition Allowed

Jean François Copé et l'apprentissage de la langue Arabe
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Jean-François Copé, whose position in the UMP party is equivalent to our House majority leader, has openly advocated the teaching of Arabic in French schools for the benefit of immigrant families, whose children (he seems to believe) do not speak Arabic. While the idea itself may not be new, in this television interview, posted at François Desouche among other sites, Copé goes further and accuses those who object to such an idea of being responsible for "marginalizing" the Maghrebin population of France. Copé, it must be noted, is one of a plethora of Frenchmen of North African heritage (and in this case Jewish as well), who cannot live in North Africa because they would either be killed or dispossessed, but who insist on bringing North Africa to France. They preach for unity and integration, but in fact they foster ethnic communitarianism and violence. More importantly they become advocates of the multi-culturalization of France. In the eyes of any patriotic Frenchman, such policy makers are enemies of the French people. Here is a slightly reduced version of what he said in his interview:

- Moderator: English and Arabic, Jean-François Copé, why?

- Copé: Because my experience as mayor of Meaux led me and some of my friends from Generation France (Copé's own political "club") to reflect upon this idea. And the reason is simple: we have in France a sizable population of recent immigrants, notably from North Africa. And it is these people, our fellow citizens, who have Arabic in their blood, in their soul and who have now been in France often for one or two generations, and who have abilities that cannot be exploited because there is no way for them to learn Arabic easily in our middle and high schools since it isn't always offered. I say that if I were in this position, I would find it to be a great idea for my children to learn Arabic, considering their cultural heritage, so that they could have a professional future in the fields of business or economics, in all those regions of the world where there is economic activity - the Arab world, the Near East for example.

At this point the moderator interrupts him to question the advisability of teaching Arabic, reminding him that there has been a huge controversy over this issue since the '80's and '90's. The two men engage in a brief verbal scuffle, and Copé reproaches the moderator for his objection:

- Copé: Your question is terrible. Because it is precisely because of reactions like that that a whole segment of our population finds itself on the margins of everything, when they practice their faith, the Muslim faith (...) From the cultural standpoint they would have the opportunity to preserve a part of their roots and at the same time to learn a second or a third language, no doubt a third language after English, a language that is familiar to them which is the Arabic language.

- Question from another guest: Do you have children who are learning Arabic?

- Copé: But I'm not of the Arabic culture.

- Guest: I ask because you're pleading the case for Arabic.

- Copé: No, I'm only saying that today a family that is of Maghrebin origin, that is French, a family that would like to integrate itself into France, would have in addition the chance , if they so chose, to learn Arabic as a third language. It would be their choice, just as if they were learning Spanish or...

- Guest (a bit ironically): or Chinese?

- Copé: Or Chinese, of course. And it's with this type of idea that we'll have a nation that comes together instead of one that is compartmentalized. One of my challenges is to reflect upon French identity. From this perspective, a nation that comes together can reconcile diversity and unity.

Note: Copé did not seem bothered by the fact that this hypothetical Maghrebin family would be more likely to integrate itself if it learned French rather than Arabic. Nor did he consider the possibility that these families of the first and second generation may already speak Arabic. Furthermore, even if they don't, to teach them Arabic would remind them of their roots and would perhaps ignite a desire on their part for revenge directed at the French population. Teaching Arabic IS different from teaching Spanish or Italian or German, because everyone knows, though no one can say it openly, that the Arabs are bringing with them an ideology hostile to French civilization. This is why Arabic/Muslim immigration is different from European immigration.

Le Conservateur shares his thoughts on Copé, and on the leftward preferences of the UMP party:

This is all very populist and profoundly incoherent, because a "nation that comes together", founded on an exacerbation of communitarianism is an absurd idea. It seems to me rather that the issue at hand is to lead all young "Frenchmen" to a level of mastery of the French language that would permit them to communicate and to work, something that is far from being a fact... But of course that does not win votes or trips to Dubai, all expenses paid.

Where will the slide of the UMP party into left-wingism and imbecilic ideas stop? The intellectual failure of this party is glaring. By renouncing the ideas of the Right, such as the affirmation of a French identity and its corollary - assimilation, the party of business interests finds itself like a dachshund that is too short running behind the most ridiculous ideas without knowing where to stick its head. Perhaps one day we'll experience the paradoxical situation of finding only within the ranks of the Left the last partisans of "republican integration." At that moment, the only argument that has permitted the Right to win elections, the argument according to which "it would be worse with the Left", would collapse, and the UMP party would be reduced to its true electoral figures: 20% of the votes.

Note: This is what happened in the recent European elections. Even though Sarkozy's party won the election in France, it won a plurality not a majority, since about 60% of the voters stayed home.

I don't know if Monsieur Copé is an imbecile, but I would imagine that since he puts forth such ideas, it is because he hopes to reap some benefit without taking too many risks. He knows that it can bring him some Maghrebin votes, while the citizens of French origin don't even react, reduced to an emasculated state by intellectual terrorism, ready to abandon their rich heritage without the lightest resistance.

Well said.

Note: There is another issue here, that several readers from different message boards brought up. That is that Copé is assimilating Maghrebin culture with Arabic culture - two entirely different cultures. Even the languages are different, with many pointing out that North African Arabic is not "pure" or "standard" Arabic, as Egyptian Arabic is. To teach Kabyles Arabic is a thorny issue in itself. First, the Kabyles may be hostile to Arabic/Muslim culture, second, the Kabyles may already know Arabic, or may prefer to learn Egyptian Arabic.

This sounds reminiscent of the problems we have had in America with the teaching of "black English". Do we teach children a language (a dialect really) that we do not want them to use? Or do we teach them the dominant language of the country they are living in, namely standard American English? The controversy here has not been settled, mainly because there is so much chaos in the schools, so many other problems, that no solution to anything can be found. The worst thing is that many whites pick up black English and become, ipso facto, culturally denatured. This is a major social catastrophe, but no one is free to talk about it. English teachers face this dilemma on a daily basis.

H/T: Le Salon Beige

Whose Treat?

This brief from Le Figaro:

On the occasion of the visit to New York by Nicolas Sarkozy for the meeting of the UN General Assembly, the French consulate is organizing a giant reception for the French community on the night of September 23: 3000 - 4000 persons are expected. "The biggest reception in history," an amused French diplomate is quoted as saying by the website French Morning. The event, theoretically, will take place at the Manhattan Center Studios.

Readers' comments stress the injustice of taxpayer money being spent for such a do. However, some readers point out that most likely it will be privately funded, because even Sarkozy isn't dumb enough to take public money for a lavish party of this magnitude. The last word on this question has yet to be spoken.

H/T: Le Salon Beige

Our Probable Future

This short item appeared a few days ago on the homepage of François Desouche. It is a quote from Amirouche Laïdi, president of the Club Averroès, on December 10, 2008. The original post from June 2009, with a short video of Laïdi making his remark, can be found here:

"Diversity also refers to whites. Why do I say that? Because in the United States, by 2050, whites will be in the minority, and they will be very happy to have laws that protect and promote diversity. And so, these questions of diversity are very important, because History is accelerating (...) What is impossible today is probable tomorrow. So it's very important and in your interest..."

We all know the degree to which such laws apply to whites... A secure future indeed awaits our children and grandchildren.

French readers can visit the website of the Club Averroès, an organization founded in 1997, dedicated to promoting, extolling, and propagandizing the virtues of diversity in the media.

Les Tontons Flingueurs

The French are nostalgic for the snows of yesteryear when French cinema was an authentic art form, combining a heritage of artistic achievement and experience with the freshness and spontaneity that satisfied the expectations of a society not yet suffocating on political correctness; when it was still possible to find artists and filmmakers who didn't give a hoot about "official thought", preferring to just be themselves, honestly and raucously, and to depict human beings as... human beings. Remember human beings?

Le Figaro reports on the reissue of a comedy from 1963, entitled in French Les Tontons Flingueurs, called Monsieur Gangster in its USA version. The French title roughly translates as "The Gunslinging Old Boys". Many say that the film itself is not translatable, but others say that doesn't matter, it is still great fun. Most consider it a landmark in French cinematic comedy.

The article in Le Figaro focuses on the refusal of scriptwriter Michel Audiard (1920-1985) to conform to the style of the New Wave cinema. But first we learn that the French title was chosen after they abandoned the unwieldy working title The Last Stop of the Pretentious, often used by director Georges Lautner as a temporary title:

(...) Thus was born the expression "les tontons flingueurs" and perhaps the most famous comedy in French cinema and Lautner's masterpiece.

The film came out in November 1963 during the heyday of New Wave cinema. Between Michel Audiard and the New Wave directors of Les Cahiers du Cinéma, there was no love lost. "Their record is a slim one, and the New Wave for me is the eternal tale of making a mountain out of a molehill," declared the scriptwriter. He was well-versed in nose punches, and Les Tontons is full of them. Rustic adventures are his trademark.

Note: Les Cahiers du Cinéma was a magazine founded in 1951. Its writers and contributors were for the most part New Wave adherents.

The story itself is not very important. What is remarkable is the dialogue uttered by Lino Ventura, Bernard Blier, Francis Blanche, Jean Lefebvre and Robert Dalban. (What a cast!) Audiard's quips have become part of the collective subconscious of French cinema. Michel Audiard always excelled in depicting the everyday. With Les Tontons Flingueurs, he is weightless, almost in a state of grace. (...)

The scene in the kitchen, filmed in a real kitchen in a suburban manor, was not originally part of the script. Today it is considered a model in its genre. Contrary to what some think, there was no improvisation in this scene. "I wanted to make a reference to a passage from John Huston's Key Largo," Lautner declared, a propos of the famous "cooked in vitriol".

Note: I've seen Key Largo, but my memory fails me. There must be a scene where someone makes a comment about vitriol.

It's true that Les Tontons is a parody of the 1950's film noir. Perhaps that is why the film marks the end of an era. Henceforth, the film noir would never be the same. The rough-hewn eccentrics of Lautner would be replaced, little by little, by more clever heros with deeper psychological dimensions. (...) That is probably why Les Tontons has become a cult classic, and why young people regret that they never experienced the days when small bombs, guns with silencers, and Ventura-style explosions took the place of a moral. (...)

Why has this film, and not some other, never ceased to attract addicted spectators? Said Lautner: "When we filmed it, we felt like having fun. Maybe that's all there is to it - fooling around ages better than tragedy." It could not have been better put.

For a look at the trailer you can click the link above to Le Figaro. For an extended excerpt at Daily Motion click here, but if you are not French-speaking, you might not derive any enjoyment. All 73 happy comments are in French. If you are a student of the French language, you will not understand very much, because of the slang, but some of the viewers' comments quoting from the film may be helpful. Judging from this excerpt, the dialogue moves sluggishly, but that may be due to my lack of understanding.

Read the English-language comments at Imdb. Most speak very highly of the film.

Comedy, much more than drama, is nation-specific. Many comedies, like certain wines, do not travel well. Which is why we were all very surprised , many decades ago, to learn that the French were wild about Jerry Lewis, whom we had come to regard as a failure and something of a bore, following his split with Dean Martin. With Martin, he had been a buffoon, a crazy kid with a goofy face adept at pratfalls. On his own he did not seem funny at all. But many years later when I saw The Nutty Professor, The Disorderly Orderly and a few others, I began to understand that the French recognized in his style something of their own style. No one was more surprised than Jerry Lewis himself. It was really an unlikely accident of artistic compatibility that brought Lewis fame in France. (Lewis, by the way, was a great serious actor. Comedians often are. Jackie Gleason was another.)

When I read Molière's comedies I didn't think Americans would find them understandable, but the phenomenal translations by poet Richard Wilbur changed my views on that. A great translation can bring a nation-specific comedy to all nations. The question is: Are all comedies translatable? Most are. Maybe some are not. And look at the American title of Les Tontons Flingueurs. Does "Monsieur Gangster" really have the same degree of originality?

One last thought. Americans tend to think that a comedy is something that induces loud laughter, and when they view a comedy they feel impelled to laugh at everything. Often inappropriately. Other cultures seem to have a greater appreciation of irony and dry humour, without the need for guffaws and knee-slapping hilarity. But again, it depends on many factors. Some British comedies, for example, traveled well, such as those with Alec Guiness. But few Americans could appreciate the British humorous publication Punch. The humor was just too dry for us. And some of our sit-coms must appear vulgar or childish to other cultures.

The drawing of the kitchen scene (top of page) is available at MichelAudiard.com for 20 euro.