Lance Armstrong says it's impossible to win the Tour de France without drugs - he should know!

Isn't it just what the world needed - and in particular that of cycling?

On the day before the 100th Tour de France begins, Le Monde has published an interview with the race's biggest cheat (well the most publicised one at least) and liar (ditto).

The man in question of course is Lance Armstrong.

(screenshot from Disney film)

There's no need to go into the history of the man, his seven now-tainted wins of the Tour, the constant denials of drug taking and eventual admission or his deserved stripping of the titles he had "won".

That's all well-chronicled elsewhere.

But proving surely that Armstrong somehow believes none of the blame lies with him, here are some of the things Armstrong says in the interview, about the race.

"I didn’t invent doping," he told the paper.

"And it didn't end with me. I just participated in a system that already existed."

Yeah well.

He might be right.

But those are not exactly the words of contrition you would expect from a man who brought disgrace to the sport in the manner in which he constantly avoided telling the truth.

But there's more in his exercise of "justifying" his behaviour or lack of guilt.

“It’s impossible to win the Tour de France without doping because the Tour is an endurance test in which oxygen is a deciding factor," Armstrong said, adding that EPO was decisive for the race just as it was for long distance running.

Way to go! Now let's do a little deflection, shall we? And while we're about it, let's tarnish the reputation of other sportsmen and women based on your in depth knowledge of what it takes to "win".

Bravo M. Armstrong.

On former French rider Laurent Jalabert who had to step down as France 2 television and radio pundit for this year's Tour after doping allegations emerged earlier this week, Armstrong has some "comforting" words.

"Ah, Jaja. With all the respect I have for him, he's in the process of lying."

Congratulations M. Armstrong. You are an expert on the practice.

And finally on the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy (huh?), Armstrong said, "I really appreciate Sarko as a man. When I say this, it's not a political statement. It's just a personal opinion. He has always been cool to me."

No, it's not really clear what relevance that particular comment has to anything, but it was included in the interview.

If you want to read excerpts (in French) or the whole interview, then click here and here (for subscribers) respectively.

But there again, maybe you've far better things to do...

The 100th edition of the Tour de France will get underway on Saturday on  Corsica - a fitting tribute as it'll be the first time in its history that it has visited the French Mediterranean island.

Popping pills and knowing when you're truly "in" France

Whenever you're watching a report on telly - wherever you might be in the world - and up pops a photo of the Eiffel Tower, you know the film, report or whatever, is about either Paris or France.

Simple isn't it? It's an instantly recognisable symbol not of only the capital but the whole country - at least to those from the outside.

But there is of course another typical emblem of France - much more representative of everyday life and instantly identifiable to anyone who lives here - la pharmacie or chemist.

They appear to be everywhere - especially in larger towns and cities. Over 22,000 of them spread throughout the country.

Stand in front of one in your nearest town and the chances are you'll be able to see another one not so far away, its familiar green cross flashing outside when open for business.

Yes, you know you're in France when you drop in at the doctors thinking you just have a heavy, if lingering, cold, are diagnosed with bacterial bronchitis (ah, it's so much more reassuring to have a label put to something, it almost makes you feel legitimately "sick") and then sent packing to the chemist or la pharmacie.

Now comes the point when you realise you should have been paying attention to what the doctor was telling you while poking, prodding, taking your temperature, asking about generalised or localised aches or pains, and listening to that whistling sound coming from your chest. 

Because instead of just the anticipated antibiotics, there's also, a course of cortizone, paracetamol ("Pill or soluble form sir?"), breathing apparatus to "help inhalation in times of serious loss of breath or wheezing" as well as what looks like a vacuum cleaner complete with even more drugs and instructions on how to use it.

Just back from la pharmacie

At least that's what appeared on the counter; a fair mountain of drugs it seemed, fit to still the beating heart of even the most fervent hypochondriac (and what's the betting that France has more than its fair share based on such evidence) as the pharmacist runs through the prescription.

Luckily she (in this particular case) doesn't just leave you standing there wondering, "What the heck".

She's a trained professional after all and, besides, can see (and hear) you're (a) pretty zonked out (foreigner).

So before allowing you out of the door, she goes through the whole prescription and treatment not once, but several times ensuring you know what to take, when and how.

And explains the purpose of the "vacuum cleaner" breathing machine (on hire for a week), how it works, where to place the liquid and "How to breathe correctly, sir".

Yes the "patient" - who is now recovering rapidly thanks to the marvels of French drugs (bring 'em on) really should have been listening more carefully as he sat in front of the doctor first time around.

But he thanks his lucky stars there was another trained professional on hand to "walk" and "talk" him through it.

Time for a not entirely appropriate blast from the past.

Any excuse.

Florence Lamblin - Eco Sex toys and money laundering

No the title is not a piece of political faction.

But there again the alleged truth is often stranger than anything that could be dreamt up by a scriptwriter with even the most preposterously imaginative pen.

The deputy mayor of the 13th arrondissement of Paris, Florence Lamblin is back in the news again.

Florence Lamblin (screenshot BFM TV)

You might remember that last weekend Lamblin hit the headlines after being arrested for her alleged involvement in a ring suspected of laundering €40 million of drug money.

The - until-then - little-known (outside of political circles perhaps) Europe Écologie Les Verts - or Green party to the rest of us - politician suddenly found herself a household name as the media and political opponents had a field day "finding her guilty".

There were calls for Lamblin to resign, not only from the opposition but also from the party's presidential candidate this year, Eva Joly and just as importantly perhaps the Socialist mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë.



Lamblin did just that - sort of - following that time-honoured French political tradition of announcing that she would be, "suspending her activities and political duties until there had been a full investigation into her financial records."

In other words she'll probably be back.

That was last weekend's news and of course the investigation into her alleged involvement is still ongoing.

But when the proverbial "merde" hits the fan for a French politician, you can rely on the weekly satirical newspaper, Le Canard enchaîné, to keep everyone entertained with a slightly different angle on matters.

And that's exactly what it did on Wednesday following up on a story that had appeared the day before in the weekly "news" magazine Paris Match, revealing that Lamblin, apart from being a politician, was also a partner in an eco-friendly sex toy website

Sexecolo.com, which for the most peculiar of reasons currently seems to be unavailable, thereby surely missing out on a great marketing opportunity, has as its enticing tag line “pleasure, naturally”.

(screenshot sexecolo.com)

It tells potential buyers, says Paris Match, that ecology should be "fun and not make people feel guilty",  and offers (or should that be in the past tense now?) a range of (amongst other things) "natural massage oils, organic lingerie (the edible variety?) and sex toys free from potentially harmful plastic additives."

Um.

No comment perhaps - but feel free to come up with your own interpretation.

Keep them courteous, please.

French man who claimed Glaxo drug made him "gay sex addict" wins case

It might appear to be an April Fool, but rest assured it's genuine.

On Thursday a French court ordered the pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to pay Didier Jambart more than €117,000 in damages.

Didier Jambart (screenshot from TF1 news report)

Jambart had taken the company to court claiming that its drug, Requip, had led him to become addicted to gambling and sex, changed his personality and caused him psychological damage.

The 51-year-old father began taking the drug in 2003 to treat Parkinson's disease and a year later, after initial positive signs, his doctor increased the dosage, which was when the side-effects kicked in.

He began gambling, losing more than €70,000, stole credit cards from friends, became addicted to sex with men, cross-dressing and exposing himself on the Internet.

In his own words, Jambart was out of control and attempted suicide eight times.

It wasn't until a specialist took him off the drug in September 2005 that the link between Jambart's behaviour and the side effects of his treatment was established.

His lawyers had argued that GSK had known of the rare but potential hypersexuality and compulsive gambling in some patients as early as 2000 and certainly by 2003, but hadn't officially recognised the possible side effects or included a mention of it on the packaging until 2006.

"It's a great personal victory for all those victims of Requip," Jambart said after the court in the western French city of Nantes had handed down its ruling.

"The fight will go on for all those other people who have suffered similarly from such side effects and haven't dared to speak out."

Jambart's is far from being an isolated case in France. He and his lawyers, Gérard Marot and Antoine Béguin, say they in the past week they have been contacted by others now apparently willing to come forward.

It could get expensive for GSK. Still, the company can probably afford it.

Didier Jeambart demande 450 000 euros de dédommagement

French farmer fined for feeding ducks cannabis

You might want to check your diaries because the following tale sure seems as though it's an April Fool.

But even though it's without doubt just a tad ridiculous and certainly offbeat, it is in fact true.

A court the southwestern town of Rochefort has fined a local farmer, Michel Rouyer, and given him a suspended sentence for feeding his ducks cannabis.


Yep, you read correctly. Rouyer, who keeps 150 of the birds and fattens them up in time for the seasonal rush in France on foie gras, had cultivated a dozen or so cannabis plants as well for purely "medical reasons" of course.

Mind you not his own.

According to Rouyer, who lives in the village of La Gripperie-Saint-Symphorien, he used the leaves of the plants to feed to his ducks in the final weeks before they were slaughtered because cannabis acted as an excellent dewormer.

It was a claim he made when he appeared before magistrates insisting that, "A specialist advised me to do it" and maintaining that the plants were grown exclusively for use by his ducks and he didn't trade in the drug at all.

And his lawyer, Jean Piot, in defending his client, told the court that, strange as the explanation might be, "None of the ducks had worms and were all in excellent health."

Perhaps not surprisingly that argument failed to cut much ice and Rouyer received a one-month suspended sentence and a €500 fine.

It seemed to cut little ice with the court though who handed down a €500 fine and delivered Rouyer a one-month suspended sentence.

It is, as the regional daily Sud Ouest remarks in reporting the story, certainly a most timely decision coming in the same week as Unesco recognised French gastronomy as a world treasure.

Quack - man!

Hoax drug scare hits French schools

Local authority offices in the southwestern French département of Haute Garonne have reportedly been inundated in recent weeks with 'phones calls, letters and emails from concerned parents.

They were all acting on information that had dropped into their inboxes or they had read on the Net that the drug, "Strawberry quick" or "Strawberry meth", a flavoured crystal meth, was circulating in the area's schools.

"Strawberry quick" (snapshot from YouTube video)

Appearing to have been sent by the local authority and stamped with the official logo of the French interior ministry, the email warned that a "new drug" was being passed around and used in schools in the area.

"Children eat the drugs thinking they're sweets," read the email.

"And shortly afterwards they're admitted to hospital suffering from a number of side effects" it warned, stating that the local health authority had put in place a special unit to deal with the problem.

But according to the local authority, the alarm was nothing but a hoax and there was no need to be concerned.

In a statement it urged parents against passing the information on to others and an official, Loïc Armand, said that, "No special child protection unit had been set up as suggested in the email."

France is not alone in having had a hoax scare surrounding Strawberry quick.

It made its first "appearance" in 2007 when an identical rumour made the headlines in the United States after emails began to circulate suggesting that unsuspecting children were being given the drug.

And in March 2008 police in the British county of Oxfordshire sent out a warning to at least 80 schools after acting on a similar email hoax.

Haemorrhoids cream leads to French swimmer's doping suspension

French swimmer Frédérick Bousquet has been banned from competition for two months.

Frédérick Bousquet, image - from Wikipedia, author - Fred_Bousquet.jpg: myuzeme, derivative work: Philipmj24 (talk)

On Wednesday, the reigning European 50-metres freestyle champion revealed that he has been suspended for two months after testing positive for a banned substance during a meeting in Canet-en-Roussillon in southern France in June.

On the face of it you might be thinking, "Oh here we go again, another sportsman trying to cheat his way to success".

But even though Bousquet admits he was entirely to blame for testing positive, it was down to negligence and not an attempt to hoodwink the sport's doping controls.

You see the cause of Bousquet's suspension was his use of an ointment to treat his haemorrhoids, and unfortunately for him, it contained the banned substance heptaminol.

"I've suffered from this condition for the past eight years," he said in an interview with the sports daily "L'Equipe".

"The treatment I normally use doesn't contain the banned substance," he continued.

"But just before the meeting I suffered another attack and as I didn't have any medicine with me I went to the local chemist and bought a product which can be purchased without prescription...and the rest of the story is history."

Although Bousquet's ban came into effect last month, he has apparently tried to keep a low profile in the hope that his ban would be kept confidential and that the media would not make a huge story out of it.

Now it's out in the open though, Bousquet says he's not going to try to deny what happened.

"I have no extenuating circumstances," he admitted.

"I deserve this suspension," he added. "I should have read the instructions (on the packaging)."

As the French website Le Post points out, it's hardly the first time (and doubtless will not be the last) that a high-performance athlete has resorted to what some might consider "unusual" explanations as to how he or she managed to test positive for drugs.

The suspension, handed down by the anti-doping commission of the the Fédération Française de Natation (French Swimming Federation, FFN) began on September 20, but as it only lasts for two months, Bousquet will be eligible to compete at the French championships in December.

The problems of Modane - a French town and a laxative

It's winter here in Europe, just to state the obvious.

And of course that means snow and enough of it hopefully for French ski resorts and surrounding towns to do a booming business in tourism.

But one small town in the département of Savoie in the French Alps has other thoughts on its mind at the moment as its elected officials decide whether to take a drugs manufacturer to court because of an advertising campaign that potentially damages the image of the townsfolk.

Intrigued? Then read on.

The town is Modane with a population of almost 4,000 and perhaps best known for its international TGV station as it's close to the border with Italy.

The company is Cooper, "a laboratory dedicated to the needs of pharmacists," as its website explains, and which counts amongst its products a certain laxative called...yes you've guessed..."Modane".

The problems began for the mayor of the former - the town that is - when he had his attention drawn to the advertising campaign of the latter - the manufacturer of the drug offering relief for constipation - which started a couple of weeks ago.

It apparently contains a visual which is a little too suggestive in which the drug is heralded as promised relief for bowel difficulties to someone seated just a tad too long on the "throne".

Now before you start cracking all the same sort of jokes that have been entertaining some corners of the French media, this is a serious business as far as the town's mayor Jean-Claude Raffin is concerned and he's currently considering whether to resort to the courts to avoid any "confusion" and "embarrassment" that might ensue.

And he could well have the weight of French justice on his side as the names of villages, towns municipalities and départements are protected by law in France to ensure that there's no "infringement on the earlier rights of a local authority including its name, image or reputation."

According to the regional newspaper Le Dauphiné libéré, an appeals court in Paris interpreted that two years ago in a ruling to mean that "intellectual property cannon be adopted as a trade mark for a product that might contravene those rights."

If you're up to it you can read an explanation of the law here in French.

But as far as Cooper is concerned, the product in no way breaches that ruling, as its president, Pierre-André Martel, explains.

"The drug first came on to the market back in 1962," he says.

"But it was no longer covered by medical insurance for reimbursement from 2006 and so since then we have been advertising it."

One to follow?

Richard Gasquet innocent in doping charges

Good news for Richard Gasquet, the former French number one men's tennis player.

He has been cleared of any claims of doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

While "justice has been done" as far as Gasquet is concerned, and he's "ready to turn the page and get on with his career", it seems as though the 23-year-old still has a few scores to settle and rumours to scotch.

Most notably the remarks made by a former fellow professional, Henri Leconte, who had been less than supportive when the story first broke, and rumours surrounding his relationship with the publishing, media, aerospace and retail mogul, Arnaud Lagardère.

On Thursday the CAS threw out an appeal made by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which had wanted him banned for two years for testing positive for cocaine.

Back in July a three-man independent ITF tribunal had accepted Gasquet's version of events surrounding "the kiss" that had led him to becoming "inadvertently contaminated" during a tournament in Miami; one in which he had been scheduled to play but had withdrawn from before the first round because of a shoulder injury.

The tribunal had given Gasquet a two month and 15 day suspension retroactively from May 1, effectively clearing him to return to competition.

But both the ITF and WADA had appealed to tribunal's findings, requesting that the player be banned from competition for two years. It was that appeal that the CAS rejected on Thursday, effectively supporting Gasquet's claims of having been an innocent victim in the affair.

Since the verdict, Gasquet has given interviews across the French media - an indication perhaps on how much interest there has been in this country in the story over the past eight months.

Appearing on national radio on Friday, Gasquet said he had appreciated the support he had received from people close to him and many other professionals on the tennis circuit, but that he would never forget the comments Leconte had made which had questioned his version of events.

"There weren't a lot of negative remarks thank goodness, and by far the most virulent reaction was from Leconte," he said.

I don't know why he said that. Perhaps he wanted to make himself sound interesting," he added.

"He's not the most refined or intelligent person we know in Paris.

"I won't forget, that's for sure."

Richard Gasquet règle ses comptes avec Henri Leconte
par Europe1fr

On Thursday just hours after the verdict, a relieved Gasquet appeared on the mid-evening television news magazine "Le Grand Journal" on Canal +, alongside Lagardère: a chance for the player to recount what life had been like since the story first broke, his plans for the future and for the two men to put paid to rumours that they had been lovers.

And about those rumours, after Lagardère had unequivocally denied there being any truth of a sexual relationship between the two men, Gasquet added, "Homosexual with Arnaud....Drugged and homosexual, definitely not."

End in sight for French student accused of drugs trafficking

It's the sort of thing that seems to happen all too often to young people apparently "innocently" fooled into becoming unsuspecting drugs traffickers.

While the full picture is hard to grasp, and it's difficult to know where exactly the truth lies, when the media gets hold of the story it usually makes the headlines. And the family of those languishing in a prison far away are given fresh hope of an early release of their loved ones.

Such is the case here in France of 20-year-old student, Samantha Ziegler, who is currently behind bars in a prison in Argentina awaiting trial on charges of drugs smuggling after a dream holiday turned into a nightmare.

There have been a couple of programmes on national television recently highlighting her plight, and last night's prime time news on the country's public channel reported that the 20-year-old would enter a plea of guilty today, even though she continues to maintain her innocence.

The case will not go to trial, she will receive a reduced sentence and could be home within the next year.

So how did the nightmare begin? Well the facts are hard to come by, but the story goes something like this, according to Samantha's mother, Lydie.

In 2007 Samantha, along with a friend from southern France apparently "won" the trip of a lifetime to Buenos Aires after having answered three simple questions in a competition run on an Internet site.

That site no longer exists.

On arrival in the Argentinian capital, they were met by two men and given an additional €1,000 prize money, and spent the next few days enjoying themselves, "buying new clothes, eating out at restaurants every day and telling each other how lucky they had been to win such a trip," Samantha's mother told the French media.

But the dream holiday turned into the proverbial nightmare when the two young women were stopped by customs before boarding a 'plane to return home.

Inside their luggage, wrapped inside a pair of jeans, officers found 14kgs of pure cocaine.


(Photograph from Wikipedia. A public domain work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.

http://www.dea.gov/photos/cocaine/cocaine_bricks_scorpion_logo.jpg)


They were arrested and charged with attempted drugs smuggling, facing a possible 15-year prison sentence if found guilty.

While Samantha has up until now continued to claim her innocence, her friend, whose name has not been made public following the wishes of her parents, agreed to sign an "abreviado" which, says Samantha's mother, while amounting to pleading guilty in Argentina is not the same apparently as admitting to the crime.

Samantha insists that the "organisers" of the competition had slipped the jeans (size large, while both women were size small) containing the drugs into the women's luggage on the way to the airport, using the excuse that they should take two taxis because they wouldn't all fit into one.

Back in France, her mother created a committee of support to secure Samantha's release. And when she flew to Buenos Aires to see her daughter in June - the first time they had seen each other since March 2007 - there was a tearful reunion, recorded by French television cameras, during which Samantha once again proclaimed her innocence.

But with the trial date set for September 16, and the possibility of a long sentence, Samantha has now decided to plead guilty and sign the abreviado.

"She's decided to sign because it's better (in Argentina) to plead guilty rather than innocent," Samantha's mother said on French television.

"If she stands trial then she risks 15 additional years in prison whereas if she signs l'abreviado she could be extradicted within a year.

"It's disgusting but that's the way it is. Samantha has made her choice," she added.

The lawyer for the family, Philippe Soussi, told French television that he regretted Samantha's decision, especially as he remained convinced of her innocence. But he also added he understood her choice.

"She did it because she's frightened," he said. "She's 11,000 kms away from her home. I cannot guarantee her security. Nobody can."

On Wednesday Samantha will sign the abreviado.

It will be just a simple formality and there'll be no trial to determine the facts of the case or whether she is innocent or guilty.