In these pages - and elsewhere - the French government and police are seen as decisive, fast-acting and vigorous/vicious ( that would be the CRS ).
Generally this seems inappropriate to me as I read plenty of stories about gypsies invading football pitches/farmers' fields, illegal immigrants demonstrating for residence rights and homes with impunity as well as low-level criminals getting numerous cautions etc.
The story below demonstrates a different side where two religious leaders were decided to be unwelcome one day and flown out to Algeria and Mali the next. Three others - two Algerian and one Turkish - are being processed for the same enforced exit.
The fact that the presidential election is only 20 days away and the murders in Toulouse/Montauban are only two weeks old undoubtedly had a big effect on this, but shows it can be done ( although I don't know if they will be petitioning French justice from their homelands ).
My personal viewpoint is that it shows it can be done and I would like the weak , ineffective UK Home Secretary to take (lots of ) similar decisions instead of refusing to answer direct questions on the matter.
Last edited by AlpineSkier; 3rd Apr 2012 at 07:09.
He was elected on a promise (one among many) to improve the conditions for businesses and the world of work. In five years, with a government majority behind him, he has done nothing to make it easier to start, run or expand a business. Sure, it's dead easy to get rid of your islamic neighbour, but try shedding even one employee when your turnover drops by 50% ... (well, you shed 'em, but you've still got to pay 'em).
He's in his element right now because of these "security" matters, milking his publicity advantage as head of state and conveniently ignoring the dire economic reality that is France.
He was elected on a promise (one among many) to improve the conditions for businesses and the world of work.
It's been that way for years with French administration. They give with one hand and take back (more) with the other. The reason that so many businesses fail in France is that they offer incentives to startups for the first 2 years and in the third year they ask for it all back. It's all documented but many people fail to make the necessary contingency plans and find themselves in trouble in Y3.
George W Bush reputedly said 'the French have no word for entrepreneur'. Whether he really said it or not is irrelevant, but there's some wisdom in that statement. Few people have the tenacity to successfully fight through and conform with the plethora of badly drafted and often contradictory legislation.
Many EU countries seem to have this "Blind eye" Attitude.When I was in Spain there was a plethera of cars parked by the kerb in a town,obviously in use,with windscreen wipers missing,light glasses broken and bald tyres.
If you did that here you wouldn't go very long before you got a ticket.It must just be part of the culture I assume.
In spite of the pro-Sarkozy comments above, I think he represents the absolute worst-imaginable type of politician. His period of office has only one major achievement - raising the full pension-age by two years: many, many other commitments from 2007 have faded away or were never attempted.
The thing that surprises me most is the hail of new measures he is now proposing more or less every day. If I had the chance , I would ask him : "Why now ? You've had five years to do this and you've done nothing . You are nothing but an opportunistic little shit ".
This when I am obviously not a supporter of the Socialists.
When I was in Spain there was a plethera of cars parked by the kerb in a town,obviously in use,with windscreen wipers missing,light glasses broken and bald tyres.
I wonder (a) when that was and (b) where it was. There are so many roadside checks here in Catalunia by the Mossas and Guardia Civil that you wouldn't last long. Punishments are draconian and you can go to prison on a first offence (speeding, alcohol, accident). Even not having the bank receipt for your last car insurance payment in the carat all times costs you an €80 fine and confiscation of the car (happened to my brother-in-law so not hearsay).
Wasn't it the French who referred to the British capital as Londonistan, thanks to the too tolerant attitude shown to Islamic radicals and other undesirables?
The French saw these men as a danger so they got rid of them. Simple as that. They should count themselves lucky the Bastille is no longer a prison. In the old days they would have ended up there with the key thrown away.
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I was just thinking about this European Court of Human Rights. Is France in the same EU as us?
Britain take many of these rules far too seriously. Remember the rumour about straight EU bananas? There was furore in Britain about it. Because if it was real it would only have been enforced in Britain. Everywhere else in Europe would probably have ignored it.
Another example the law about displaying weights in metric. Some diehards refused. So were threatened with criminal charges. Most countries would have simply ignored them. Of course it's only the British who are desperately clinging onto the the imperial system for some reason.
When it comes to certain things the French are more pragmatic.
In spite of the pro-Sarkozy comments above, I think he represents the absolute worst-imaginable type of politician. His period of office has only one major achievement - raising the full pension-age by two years: many, many other commitments from 2007 have faded away or were never attempted.
It's true about clinging onto the imperial system. In spite of 20 plus years of buying petrol in litres, I'd wager hardly any Brits would express their car's fuel consumption in anything other than miles per gallon. I also noticed when I was teaching, if you asked children who had never learned anything other than the metric system how tall they were, they would inevitably reply "Four foot ten", or whatever. Is it the same in Ireland, Corsair, or have you really gone entirely metric over there?
Sarkozy is between a rock and a hard place. Like him or otherwise, at least had the cajones to initiate some positive actions, and by some reports they were not asleep at the wheel, even prior to to the Toulouse murders. I hope the populace will support him.
By shaking the trees, who knows what will fall out, and hopefully the actions will give some other country the incentive to take similar actions.
I was just thinking about this European Court of Human Rights. Is France in the same EU as us?
it is.
however the difference is that if the UK thumbed its nose at the ECHR, the UK government would get a letter from them telling them how dissapointed they were with us.
That would lead to all kinds of interest groups and the comfy shoe wearers and thier MP's demanding a public inquiry lasting at least two years, at taxpayers expense of course. the meedja would erupt into indigant rage about how the government were engaging in 'ethnic cleansing' and behaving like the third reich etc ect..
the French, just respond with the gallic shrug and carry on regardless.
the incentive to take similar actions.
