Christine Boutin’s latest Twitter gaffe - lacking dignity and class

You know some people (politicians in particular) should not be allowed anywhere near a microphone. It only encourages them to utter the most absurd ideas in the mistaken belief that they’re making sense.

Similarly they should think twice - nay thrice - before allowing themselves to share the benefit of their “thoughts” on social media platforms.

Nadine Morano springs to mind. A classic example of someone who’s “good” for a soundbite although many would probably wish she were less of a buffoon.

And then there’s Christine Boutin.

Sigh.

Another “serial offender”.

(caricature of) Christine Boutin “La vache qui prie” - although there’s none of the “tendrement conne” in her latest Tweet (screenshot from Canal + Le Grand Journal video, February, 2016).

Yes, the ex-housing minister and founder and former president of the Christian Democratic Party, well-known for her opposition to civil partnership (for two men or two women) and same-sex marriage (and currently appealing a fine for having said that homosexuality was an “abomination”) has taken to the Twittersphere with her usual “panache”.

This time around though, there’s none of the eye-rolling “here she goes again” reaction. Rather she has committed what many consider to be a monumentally offensive gaffe.

As you might know the former French president, Jacques Chirac, has been hospitalised.

The 83-year-old reportedly has a lung infection, the most recent in a series of health scares.

His wife, Bernadette, has also been admitted, suffering from exhaustion.

A number of French politicians, including the front runners for Les Républicains primary Alain Juppé and Nicolas Sarkozy, as well as the current French president, François Hollande, have “expressed their support” for Chirac and his wife.

Enter stage right Boutin, finger-twitching presumably to announce in just three words on Twitter the death of Jacques Chirac - remembering to use the hashtag of course!

And how did she react when faced with the obvious truth that she had got it all wrong (yet again).

By defending herself in claiming that the information had come from “ a reliable source” and that she had shared it because, in her words, “I think the French are waiting for it, as shown by the buzz it has generated.”

Nothing like an apology!

And Boutin’s response was nothing like and apology.

What class.

It might not be easy understanding Bernadette Chirac...but

If you've been following French politics recently, it will surely not have escaped your notice that Bernadette Chirac has been making the headlines.

Bernadette Chirac (screenshot Europe 1 January 2014)

Her outspoken (and some would say "fervent") support for Nicolas Sarkozy in his campaign to become leader of the centre-right Union pour un mouvement populaire (Union for a popular movement, UMP) and possible run to be the party's candidate in the 2017 presidential elections has most probably both amused and bemused many French.

Especially as it has been accompanied by unapologetic salvoes fired at Alain Juppé, the man who would most likely present Sarkozy with the strongest challenge in the planned primary to choose the party's candidate for 2017 but of whom Bernadette said, "he's a very unwelcoming person. He doesn't win over people, friends and potential voters."

In a recent piece in Le Figaro entitled "Dans la tête de Bernadette Chirac" writer and journalist, Irina de Chikoff, gives some insight into the behaviour of France's former first lady.

And it certainly seems that Bernadette, wearing her trademark sunglasses whenever she's being interviewed, is far from being the cantankerous old lady set on saying and doing anything and everything to annoy her husband, Jacques Chirac, French president from 1995 to 2007 of course.

The time when Bernadette dutifully (and most often quietly) remained in the shadows of her husband is over and now she feels able to speak freely.

But it's not something that has happened overnight.

Instead, it's a process that began, by Bernadette's own admission,  back in 1997 when Chirac dissolved parliament a year before its term was up thinking the French would support him and return a majority allowing the re-appointment of Juppé as prime minister.

Chirac though had misread the electorate and it was a left-wing coalition of the Socialist party, Communists and Greens which obtained a majority, enabling Lionel Jospin to become prime minister and forcing five years of cohabitation or what Chirac described as "paralysis" as his political influence on domestic policy was "constrained" - to put it mildly.

"I was absolutely against the idea of dissolution and I told him," she admitted to Laurent Delahousse during a recent edition of "Un jour, un destin" on France 2, dedicated to France's former first lady.

Bernadette's  dislike and distrust of Juppé is as deep-rooted as her husband's admiration and support for the man he has described as "the best among us".

And her support for Sarkozy?

Well for Chikoff, it's not a case of Bernadette trying to annoy her husband.

Rather she sees in Sarkozy the same sort of energy and resilience Chirac once had.

"She holds no grudges against him (Sarkozy) - well almost none - for the times when he might have been politically disloyal to her husband," writes Chikoff.

"She would have liked to have had a son like Nicolas and that's why she's prepared to indulge him...as any mother would."

So, if Sarkozy wins November's battle for the leadership of the UMP and decides to take a run for the party's primary, we can probably expect to here more - plenty more - from the lady behind the sunglasses.

Be prepared.



Bernadette Chirac se mobilise pour les... by Europe1fr

Jacques and Bernadette Chirac's political devide

It must be...er...interesting in the Chirac household at the moment.

The former French president, Jacques, and his wife, Bernadette, are apparently at odds over who to support in the primary to choose the candidate for the centre-right Union pour un mouvement populaire (Union for a popular movement, UMP) in the 2017 presidential elections.

Yep. It might seem a long way off, but hey ho, that hasn't stopped the political posturing.

Mind you, it's not exactly Jacques who's saying anything.

Rather it's the former first lady, Bernadette, who's taking potshots at one of the candidates already declared, Alain Juppé.

Bernadette Chirac (screenshot Europe 1 interview, January 2014)

Bernadette is a fervent supporter of Nicolas Sarkozy - both to head the UMP when the party chooses its leader in November and in the race to be its candidate for 2017, even though he hasn't officially declared his interest in running (although only a fool would vote against him doing so).

And the 81-year-old apparently has little or no time for Juppé - widely seen as Sarkozy's main challenger should he actually decide to seek the party's nomination.

"Juppé? What has Juppé got in common with Sarkozy?" she said when interviewed at the weekend.

"Alain Juppé is a very unwelcoming person. He doesn't win over people, friends and potential voters," she continued.

"You know, when important elections are approaching, you need someone with exceptional qualities. There are very few people around like that. I know, because my husband was president twice," she added.

Surely a clear indication that, as far as she's concerned, Juppé lacks the "exceptional qualities" which presumably Sarkozy has.

That might be Bernadette's assessment of Juppé's qualities - or lack thereof. But her husband apparently doesn't share her opinions.

Chirac didn't actually say as much himself.

Instead it was Juppé who revealed that the former president, under whom he served as prime minister from 1995-1997, was as loyal to him now as he had been in the past.

"Bernadette Chirac's remarks don't concern me at all," he said.

"The image of being seen as 'cold' is something that belongs to the past and there are stereotypes that always stay with you. Do you think the people of Bordeaux (the city of which he is mayor) consider me to be 'cold'?" he continued.

"I saw Jacques Chirac recently. We spent a great together and he confirmed his feeling that I was 'probably one of the best among us' (a reference to what Chirac had said of him back in the early 1990s)

And finishing with style and flourish, Juppé added, "You know, Jacques Chirac is loyal. He doesn't change his mind. And besides, I don't really want to get involved in matrimonial differences - whatever they might be."



As a timely aside, Juppé, who received an 18-month suspended sentence and a 10-year ban from running for political office (reduced to 14 months and one year respectively on appeal) in 2004 for abuse of public funds, was awarded the Press Club of France's prize for political humour 2014 on Monday for a comment which just about sums up French politics (and certainly Juppé's political career).

"In politics, it's never over. Look at me!"

Do polls "predicting" François Hollande defeat in first round 2017 French presidential elections make any sense?

Ah political polls. Don't you just love 'em?

The frequency with which they're commissioned and published in France would have you believe the French do...well at least the country's media does when the news schedule is slack or journalists feel like a good old job of "professional" political speculation.

The latest "nonsense" poll to be published is one carried out by OpinionWay for Le Figaro and LCI telling us that if the 2017 presidential election were to take place today (well, you know how these things work) François Hollande would not make it past the first round.

He would only win 18 per cent of the vote in the first round, trailing both the far-right Front National (FN) leader Marine Le Pen (25 per cent) and the (presumed) candidate for the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) Nicolas Sarkozy (29 per cent).

In other words the presidential second round in 2017 would be between Le Pen and Sarkozy.

(screenshot OpinionWay poll of voting intentions)

"Allô ! Non mais allô, quoi," to quote a great modern day French thinker.

What's this all about.

Seriously - forecasting results three years hence, based on a poll taken today is...well, misleading to say the least.

Of course it's probably one of the drawbacks of the "quinquennat" or the five-year presidential mandate passed by Jacques Chirac in 2000 and first used in 2002 to replace the previous seven-year term in office.

No sooner has a president been elected in France, than attention seems to focus on what might or could happen five years down the line.

Of course Hollande is unpopular at the moment. We know that because...well the polls keep telling us and the media delights in repeating it.

But predicting that Hollande might not even make it past the first round in 2017 when he's not even halfway through his term in office is...well surely complete and utter nonsense.

In fact it's a non story and one of pure fiction.

Sure it feeds into the widely-held (according to those very same opinion polls) belief that Hollande is incompetent, lacks clear vision and was the major reason for his Socialist party's defeat in last month's local elections,

But in and of itself, the survey says nothing about the likely outcome in 2017. Rather it's just a snapshot of current opinion and the image those polled have of Hollande.

After all, if a week is proverbially "a long time in politics", what the heck does that make three years?

Not convinced? Then just take a look at what a poll, taken at a similar stage during Sarkozy's term in office, predicted for the first round of the 2012 election - two years before the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair hit the headlines.

Sarkozy followed by Martine Aubry and François Bayrou.



(screenshot La Nouvelle Edition, Canal +)



The actual result (just in case you needed a reminder) Hollande 28.63 per cent, Sarkozy 27.18 per cent and Le Pen 17.90 per cent.

PR blunders and political infighting threaten Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet's Paris mayor bid

Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet's (NKM) campaign to become the next mayor of Paris (that's the whole of the city as opposed to the 20 individual arrondissements that also have their own elected mayors and administrations  - it's what you call efficient use of public funds) has taken some unusual twists and turns in recent months.

There has been a combination of what surely must be PR blunders and the political infighting that has, in recent years, become a trademark of the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) to which NKM belongs.

First up those PR - er - gaffes. Or at least peculiar choices.

There she was in late November (just a month after her "carrot rage" outburst - see here to find out what THAT was all about), arguably one of the brightest politicians of her generation, fooling absolutely nobody as she waxed lyrical about the merits of the Paris métro!

"For me, the métro is place of charm, both anonymous and familiar," she said in an interview with Elle magazine.

"I often take lines 8 and 13 and I sometimes have the most amazing encounters. I'm not trying to idealise the subway. It is sometimes painful, but there are moments of grace."

Say what?

Charm?

Grace?

Try telling that to those who use it on a regular basis.

Clearly NKM seldom takes the ruddy thing during rush hour - as many were more than willing to point out.

Oh well. Each to their own.

Just before Christmas, NKM decided to let her hair down (metaphorically speaking as she has already done it literally) by sharing a ciggie with what appeared to be a group of homeless men.

It didn't really matter that they were reportedly workers from Poland with whom she also exchanged a few words in Polish.

Unluckily for NKM, she was caught on camera, the photo was published in VSD and Twitter had a field day poking fun at her and the "apparent attempt to rub shoulders with the homeless".

NKM has a quick ciggie (source Twitter)

Voters, opponents and the media await with impatience NKM's potential PR slip ups between now and the local elections in March.

But, when all is said and done, issues of perceived image pale in comparison with the dangers of the political challenge she faces from those...within her own party - where else?

This is the UMP after all, and true to form it's proving to be as unified as ever...and that means virtual disarray reminiscent of the 2012 leadership fiasco between François Fillon and Jean-François Copé.

At the heart of NKM's problems is her attempt to stamp her authority on sections of the party in Paris that quite simply refuse to accept her way of doing things or that she's the boss.

The particular case of the candidate for mayor of the fifth arrondissement has taken on proportions which prove that at a local level the UMP is as capable of disunity as it is nationally.

More importantly though, it also poses a real threat to NKM being elected.

The current mayor of the fifth arrondissement is Jean Tiberi - a man with the most colourful of political pasts even by French standards - and one of NKM's fiercest critics.

It's Tiberi's second spell in the post.

Jean Tiberi (screenshot Europe 1)

He held it from 1983 until 1995 when he ran for the job NKM is currently campaigning for.

Yes, that's right. He was mayor of Paris - the whole shebang - for six years.

In 1995, he succeeded Jacques Chirac, and he held the post until 2001 when he lost to
Bertrand Delanoë, mainly because he couldn't work out his differences with the late Philippe Séguin thereby splitting the centre-right vote...sound familiar?

So it was back to the fifth arrondissement where he has been ever since, running his own personal fiefdom.

Along the way of course, he and his wife, Xavière, have ridden out several scandals together, including one for corruption allegations as well as accusations of vote rigging.

Heck, he has even been fined, had a suspended 10 month sentence handed down and been prevented from running from political office again.

But that hasn't stopped him from appealing and holding down several jobs at the same time including that as  a member of the national assembly for over 40 years until he stood down in the 2012 elections.

He had been hoping the Tiberi dynasty in the fifth arrondissement would be continued by his son, Dominique.

But NKM stepped in, parachuting Florence Berthout, an old friend of her choosing as the official candidate, and leaving Tiberi - father and son - gobsmacked.

"She's just doing anything she likes," said Tiberi senior.

"My candidature is a legitimate one," said Tiberi junior.

Enter stage left...er, no...better make that right - French businessman Charles Beigbeder, the so-called "blue eyed boy" of the Parisian right and brother of the writer, director and literary critic Frédéric - although that has absolutely nothing to do with his political ambitions.

 Charles Beigbeder (screenshot BFM TV)

Beigbeder wanted to be the candidate on the list for an arrondissement of his choosing and one in which he would most likely be elected.

But NKM had other ideas, plumping for someone else instead and insisting Beigbeder stand in an arrondissement of HER choosing.

Yes this all gets a bit of a numbers game and even a reasonable grasp of the ins and outs of (local) Paris politics makes the internal manœuverings hard to understand.

The long and the short of it is though that Beigbeder has promised to launch his own alternative UMP dissident list of candidates, insisting that "It's not an anti-NKM campaign but one destined to beat the Socialist party's Anne Hildalgo."

No that doesn't really make sense, but it's what Beigbeder maintains potentially splitting the centre-right vote will do.

Ah politics and elections. That's really what it's all about isn't it?

Pass the gin!