PARIS — Some weeks ago, an amendment to an immigration bill proposed the use of genetic (DNA) testing to verify the bloodlines of would-be immigrants in the framework of « family regrouping » (immigrants joining their family members already living in France). This disposition triggered a vivid and national debate … Continue Reading…
PARIS — Echoing debates of the mid-90’s, the issue of France’s comeback into NATO’s integrated military structures (left in 1966) seems to be officially on the table again. We will have to wait for the French White Paper on defence to be issued few months from now to get a … Continue Reading…
PARIS — Although there is some consistency in French answers to the Transatlantic Trends questionnaire compared to 2006, the French distinguish themselves on two major issues.
The first one is Turkey: 49% of French respondents say that Turkey’s accession to the European Union … Continue Reading…
PARIS — According to a poll by TNS Sofres released by Le Figaro on August 27, 2007, French President Nicolas Sarkozy received a 71% favorable opinion, and 69% said they believed that there was a real change in the way politics were handled in the Elysée. The most significant approval … Continue Reading…
PARIS — “France, like every other nation, has no given right when it comes to its international status; its message to the world won’t be heard unless it comes from a confident and ambitious society.”
This is how Nicolas Sarkozy chose to revitalize French foreign policy in a speech delivered August … Continue Reading…
French Prime Minister François Fillon gave his “policy declaration” in front of the National Assembly yesterday afternoon. This is a classical exercise in the French system: at the beginning of their mandate, French Prime Ministers have to expose their plans to the national representation and explain the main policy directions.
Few … Continue Reading…
The new French government has been announced this morning, after the results of the second round of parliamentary elections. It is now composed of 15 Ministers and 16 Secretaries of state, among which 11 women and 3 representatives of “visible minorities” (and these last 3 are women by the way). … Continue Reading…
It is a measure of how low expectations have sunk that France’s Socialist Party (PS) is celebrating after winning scarcely more than a third of the seats in the country’s newly elected National Assembly. Pollsters had been forecasting electoral oblivion; instead, the PS merely received a drubbing at the hands … Continue Reading…
The second and final round of French parliamentary elections took place yesterday, and results are interesting : if, as expected, Sarkozy’s party (UMP) got a clear majority within the Parliament, the Socialists got a rather good result compared to the gloomy projections of one week ago.
The President Party got 314 seats, … Continue Reading…
The first round of French parliamentary elections took place yesterday: