The French government's love for European affairs

Guess how many ministers France has had for European affairs over the past decade.

Go on guess.

Give up?

The magic figure is 11 after the appointment on Monday of Thierry Repentin to the job.

Thierry Repentin
(screenshot TSI TV interview, February 2012)

All right so he had to step into the shoes of his predecessor Bernard Cazeneuve who was promoted to the post of budget minister in a mini-reshuffle following Jérôme Cahuzac's resignation after being placed under formal investigation for tax fraud and money laundering (now there's a suprise, a government minister accused of alleged financial impropriety, but that's another story)

But Repentin's er..."elevation" to the job, is surely very telling of consecutive French governments' attitude to the position.

Just look at the list of those who've been where Repentin is about "to boldly go" and how long they've spent in a post which, given the  nature and complexity of "Brussels" cannot be an easy one to grasp.

Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres - just over one month in 2002, Noëlle Lenoir - almost two years, Claudie Haigneré - 15 months, Catherine Colonna - just under two years, Jean-Pierre Jouyet - just over one-and-a-half years, Bruno Le Maire - six months, Pierre Lellouche - just under one-and-a-half years, Laurent Wauquiez - seven months, Jean Leonetti - 11 months, Bernard Cazeneuve - 10 months and Thierry Repentin - ?

Crikey, not even Britain with its somewhat ambivalent approach to European affairs has had such a high turnover rate in the same period - eight in the past decade.

It surely indicates one of two things (or both at the same time perhaps); firstly that the ministry doesn't really count for much and the job isn't really important and secondly France doesn't give European affairs much priority.

The best that can perhaps be said is the it's "only" a junior ministry and the top job (under whose umbrella it comes) of foreign minister over the same period has been slightly less...er...volatile.

There again given the nature of French politics and the tendency of successive presidents to take over the reins when necessary, the job of foreign minister has also been something of a musical chairs with seven politicians, including the incumbent Laurent Fabius, holding the post.

So how long will Repentin last as minister for European affairs? Well on past form around 13 months - but don't hold your breath.

Rachida Dati hits out at François Fillon - surprise, surprise

The former justice minister Rachida Dati has never exactly been best buddies with the now ex-prime minister François Fillon.

In fact it probably wouldn't be too far off the mark to say they share a mutual dislike for each other - and they aren't afraid to show it.

So Dati's attack on her former boss over his statement that after the defeat (and apparent departure from political life) of Nicolas Sarkozy there was no natural leader in their centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) party hardly comes as a surprise.

Rachida Dati (screenshot BFMTV-RMC radio)

Fillon's comment was without doubt a salvo fired in the direction of the party's secretary general Jean-François Copé and a means for him to set himself up as a potential successor.

But it was too much for Dati who, not mincing her words, was more than willing to give her take on what he had said when she interviewed by Jean-Jacques Bourdin.

"Unpleasant", "disloyal", "ungrateful" and "bad-mannered" were just a few of the choice terms she used to describe Fillon's statement.

"He (François Fillon) appears to be a little ungrateful vis-à-vis Nicolas Sarkozy who made him what he is today," she said.

"I don't think it's very chic (an attribute which is of course very important to Dati - in all senses of the word)," she continued.

"We tell our children to be well mannered and to get a good eduction. This is simply rude in relation to Nicolas Sarkozy. He's not dead is he?"



Of course this isn't the first time the two have locked political horns - so to speak.

Even though she has thrown in the towel after the UMP parachuted in Fillon to stand for a safe for Parisian seat (and one she coveted) in the upcoming National Assembly elections, Dati is clearly still smarting.

And this is a woman who, love her or loathe her, you just can't and probably shouldn't ignore.

There's denying that she knows how to make and impact - and not necessarily for the right reasons.

During her time as justice minister she came in from opposition criticism for her inability to handle her portfolio and the reports of her ministry haemorrhaging staff were seen as an indication of a woman who was difficult to work with.

Glossy magazines had a field day, regularly featuring photographs of an elegant and stylish Dati only too happy to pose for the camera and of course the weekly satirical magazine Le Canard enchaîné was unrelenting in lampooning her.

The polemic (good word that - the French love it) surrounding her return to work just days after giving birth to a baby whose paternity of course was the subject of endless speculation.

Even when she was fired - whoops sorry, left the government to take up her seat in the European parliament in 2009, she didn't quite disappear from the domestic political scene especially as she had been elected mayor of the seventh arrondissement of Paris in 2008,.

From apparent exile in Brussels and Strasbourg  Dati has continued to make to make a splash, appearing on an M6 "fly on the wall" documentary in which she was less than complimentary about her new job.

She has popped up regularly on television - be it to explain the economics behind "fellation"  or later throwing a  "dildo" into a discussion on French secularism.

Both were bloopers of course, which she was able to smile about after the videos went viral and put down to the speed at which she speaks.

Always an ardent supporter of Nicolas Sarkozy, Dati was a brought back from duty in Brussels to accompany him during part of his campaigning, adding her own personal fashion statement late in the day by appearing on the early morning news magazine La Matinale on Canal + sporting a sweater with a design emblazoned on the back which to all the world (except Dati) looked to be that of a giant cannabis plant leaf.

Ah yes.

In what is likely to become a struggle for control of the party (after the elections), Dati knows exactly how to position herself and make the most of her undoubted media-friendly talent - albeit sometimes to her cost.

Expect more fun and games to follow.

No more French music on the Brussels metro

There'll be no more Jacques Brel on the metro in Brussels because French music has been banned.

Instead passengers will be fed a diet of English, Italian and Spanish songs.

Brussels metro train at station Rogier (from Wikipedia, author - Platte C)

There's that rather tedious and certainly chauvinistic game among some sectors of the English-speaking world to "name 10 famous Belgians" or even just a couple come to that.

Of course there are plenty - past and present - who have made their mark on the world in one way or another: Hergé, Audrey Hepburn, Eddy Merckx, Kim Clijsters, Rubens to name just a few.

And right now the president of the European Council is a Belgian, Herman Van Rompuy - although ask anyone on the street who the heck he is and the chances are most wouldn't have a clue.

There's even a website dedicated to the country's most famous sons and daughters, Famousbelgians.net - proof that Belgium is more than just chocolate, beer, waffles, French fries and mussels (not all at the same time of course).

On the music side there are plenty of names, foremost among them probably in the French-speaking world (and also known to a fair number of English speakers) is the late Jacques Brel, arguably one of the outstanding songwriters in French of his generation.

Who doesn't know the haunting but beautiful "Ne me quitte pas" - perhaps not his original recording but others' interpretations?



Born in the suburbs of Brussels in 1929, Brel was, and probably remains, one of the city's most famous sons, even if much of his adult life was spent in Paris.

All of which surely makes the decision by the operator of the city's metro to stop playing French music at its stations something of a shame.

Granted Brel might not have appeared on the playlist of international hits piped into the metro system's 69 stops by the metro operator Société des transports intercommunaux de Bruxelles (STIB) or (for the sake of linguistic correctness) Maatschappij voor het Intercommunaal Vervoer te Brussel (MIVB), but he made the odd appearance along with other French language singers.

Unfortunately this apparently upset Dutch-speakers among the capital's travellers, as An Van Hamme, a spokesperson for STIB/MIVB spokesman explained.

"In February we decided to try playing songs from an international hit list and although that meant predominantly English-language artists there was the occasional song in French but virtually none in Dutch," said Van Hamme.

"We received dozens of complaints from Dutch-speakers asking why we weren't playing the same number of Dutch-language songs as those in French."

Ah yes, that linguistic divide in a city which is very officially bilingual.

Street sign in Brussels - in French and Dutch of course

Not a very difficult question to answer - honestly. But a tricky one to deal with.

So STIB/MIVB has done the only thing it could under the circumstances.

It has dropped French songs (and the occasional Dutch one) entirely from a playlist which will now consist of those in English (70 per cent) Spanish and Italian (both 15 per cent).

Perhaps it should have simply stuck to classical music as it does after nine o'clock in the evening.

That would have kept everyone happy - or at least not have upset anyone.

Le Toutou bar in Brussels - a restaurant for dogs

Belgium might not have had a fully elected government for over a year now, but it can boast a first - and something that has nothing whatsoever to do with politics;

A restaurant with a menu for dogs.

screenshot from Le Toutou bar website

Le Toutou bar (the doggie bar) in Brussels is serving up dishes destined to delight the palate of even the most discerning dog.

The idea is the brainchild of Bernard Schol and his wife Houria Agalam, who have the licence to run the Pavillon Louis XV, a splendid building dating from 1745, owned by the local authority and which can be found in the Wolvendael park in the Belgian capital.

And its setting is what gave the couple the idea not only to cater for their regular clientele but to open it up to man's best friend.

"We noticed that a number of people who had been in the park walking their dogs were dropping in for a drink," he said.

"But there was absolutely no provision made for their dogs."

And it was with that thought in mind that they drew up a menu comprising not just specially concocted drinks but also food for hungry hounds.

Just take a look at what's on offer.

There's a choice of dishes from pasta or rice to vegetables, beef or chicken. All of them are high in fibre and low in salt.

Just the ticket for panting pooches and their owners who've returned from a brisk walk or run around the park's 18 hectares.

If that's left you feeling hungry you can also tuck in because according to the website, "All dishes are also suitable for human consumption."

Mind you, perhaps it would be wise to give the beer a miss.

"Red Dog" energy beer as it names implies, has been specifically brewed for pooches of all sizes with what is described as the "subtle taste of bone marrow".

Delicious.

screenshot from local television report

Le Toutou bar will remain open throughout the summer serving drinks and snacks to panting pooches and their equally owners.

Bone appetit.

Woof!

Map of Belgium redrawn by French TV

Hands up those of you who can pinpoint Belgium on a map of Europe...without cheating.

All right there might be excuses for those far away who aren't too au fait with the geography of the "Old Continent".

And maybe Brits should be let off to as many there view the country as "small, boring and flat", with the only reference made to it a negative one as Brussels, the capital and "home" to the European Union often portrayed and perceived as attempting to take over all aspects of daily life.

But how about neighbours France? The French should be able to understand the place after all they share a common language with a certain number of folk living there.

But earlier this week one prime time news broadcast got things very wrong.

Belgium is in the news at the moment after the fall of yet another government. An election has been called for June.

It's a country of almost 11 million with a Dutch-speaking majority and a French-speaking minority separated into Flanders and Wallonia respectively.

There's also another, much smaller, German-speaking minority.

The differences between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities have often been at the heart of the political divide in Belgium, and it was in attempting to shed some light on the ins and out during Monday's prime time news that France's main private TV station TF1, treated its viewers - and those able to watch across the border - to a rather distorted map of its smaller neighbour.

In what was surely a faux pas of monumentally embarrassing proportions, the channel showed a map of Belgium with the regions clearly marked.

Except where Flanders should have been there was the name of Wallonia and vice versa of course.


Whoops.

A solution to the problem of the bilingual capital Brussels perhaps as far as French-speakers would be concerned.

The city is actually surrounded by Dutch-speaking suburbs (you really do need to know your geography to understand completely) but TF1's map appeared to resolve that issue neatly by plonking it in Wallonia (are you following?).

It was of course all a mistake, and one anchor Harry Roselmack put right the following evening.

"Turning to Belgium, and first of all apologies to our viewers there who tune in every evening," he began.

"Last night we showed a map of Belgium in which Wallonia was where Flanders should have been and vice versa," he continued.

"It was a serious mistake, which we've corrected this evening," he motioned to his left, before once again launching into another report on the problems the country is facing with the split between the two communities, a general election planned in June and Belgium due to take over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union at the beginning of July.

So there you have it. A geography lesson, French style, if you will.

Rachida Dati counter-attacks

The former French justice minister, Rachida Dati, has given her side of the story to the recently televised clip in which, during a personal 'phone call, she appears to be expressing her frustrations about her job as a European parliamentarian and how she's convinced she won't see it through to the end of her mandate.

Interviewed on national radio on Tuesday, Dati counter-attacked, saying that the private telephone conversation should not have been included in the programme, and she found it regrettable that it had been used.

M6 : Dati contre-attaque
par Europe1fr

"I find it a little lamentable that a recorded conversation with a friend was transmitted," she said, adding that it had been at the end of a session and that the idea (of her participation in the documentary) had been not to reveal aspects of her private life.

"The clip only reflected one side of the conversation and was disconnected from the responses of my friend on the other end of the line," she continued.

As for the impression that might have been made that she was not necessarily taking the job seriously, Dati was adamant that since the recording (in September) she had attended every session of the parliament and had every right to be angry at the polemic that had surrounded the airing of the clip.

"What I said in no way reflected a lack of enthusiasm for the European parliament or the work I do here," she said.

"At no moment did I express any reservations or a lack of keenness for the European parliament.'

And just to make matters clear, Dati put the whole conversation into context; a return just after the summer break, her beginning to organise her daily schedule at the parliament and how to balance her private life with her professional one.

"The same thing wouldn't have happened to a man," she said.

"When I arrived here, my routine was followed and journalists were interested to see whether I was really present.

"I can also feel some irritation. I am also human," she added.

Ah well the polemic continues and one thing's for sure: Dati is capable of making headlines in France even if she's far away from what's happening on the domestic political front and has, as she claimed "never sought to attract the attention of the media."

Ahem.

High speed birth on Paris-Brussels Thalys train

Taking the high-speed train that links Paris and Brussels isn't usually a dramatic affair, but on Monday the Thalys service experienced a "first" since it started operating in 1996 as a baby girl was born on board shortly before the train reached its destination.

As Thalys (the equivalent of the Eurostar service only it connects the French and Belgian Belgian capitals) leaves Gare du Nord in Paris, it doesn’t waste much time in picking up speed and zapping through the notoriously flat northern French countryside.

In fact the landscape passes in such a giddy blur that it's just as well passengers can fit in a spot of work during the journey. That's made easier by the wifi Internet connection (free in first class, a small supplement in second) which is a must-have for a service that has become the usual way for businessmen and politicians to travel - almost "commute" between the two cities.

In peak hours, trains leave from Paris every 30 minutes - and it has become an even more important link between the two cities since Air France stopped flying the route because it simply couldn't compete.

The train reaches a maximum speed of 300 kilometres per hour, and that apparently was how fast it was travelling when a woman went into labour on Monday.

Luckily for both the expectant mother and the baby there was a doctor on board, and as the train manager Michel Pauly said, the birth really was a maximum velocity one.

"The birth went very smoothly, I didn't realise it could happen so quickly," he said.

"After the woman contacted me I made an announcement and we were lucky enough to have two nurses and a doctor on board who helped in the delivery," he added.

"The little girl was born without any complications...she was clearly in a hurry to discover the country."

It was all over by the time the train pulled into Brussels, where the mother and baby were transferred to hospital - both in fine fettle according to reports.

And should the as yet unnamed girl wish to take the train again, she won't have to dig deep into her pockets as the boss of Thalys, Olivier Poitrenaud, has offered her a life-time pass to travel free with the company.