Grand gestures and big business

If there’s one thing that has characterised the recent change in French foreign policy, it’s the increase in pragmatism since Nicolas Sarkozy became president in May.

Shortly after he came to office he called for a new way of thinking, a New Deal for the world – economically and ecologically – with France taking a lead role. But is Sarkozy’s vision really one of foreign policy that includes the necessary recognition of human rights and principles of democracy? Or is it rather full of grand gestures, showmanship and pandering to the needs of big business? In short what are his principles?

His latest foray has all the markings of yet another potential media circus about it, albeit a rather delicate issue. Sarkozy has taken the unusual step of appealing directly (on television of course) to the leader of the Colombian rebel movement for the release of a French-Colombian hostage, Ingrid Betancourt. She has been held prisoner since February 2002 when she was kidnapped while campaigning for the Colombian presidency.

Sarkozy’s direct intervention came just days after a video was released showing Betancourt in a weak and gaunt state. The French president has made her release one of his priorities and if he pulls it off it will undoubtedly be racked up as a major political coup.

Of course it will also be fully (over) covered by the media here in much the same way as his intervention was a few months ago in the release of the Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor in Libya who had been accused of infecting children with HIV, or the repatriation of a Spanish cabin crew from Chad in November following the outcry over a French non-governmental organisation’s alleged attempts to “traffic” children.

Sarkozy is clearly a great showman and revels in grand gestures. Such symbolism though loses its impact when the major driving force behind foreign policy turns out to be economic.

There’s perhaps nothing new in a country’s leader setting out to pursue a foreign policy in terms of what is perceived to be in the national interest. Everyone does it. What is so different about Sarkozy is that he is far less subtle about it.

Every official state visit so far has been a chance to sign contracts worth billions of euros to French companies – high-speed trains to Morocco, ‘planes and power plants to China or energy deals in Algeria.

He has preferred to downplay any mention of human rights issues, even going so far as to stop the minister responsible, Rama Yade, from joining him on his trip to Beijing. And there was no attempt to put pressure on French oil giant, Total, to ease back on its investments in Burma during last month’s violent government crackdown on democracy protestors in Rangoon.

His remarks during a speech in Algiers that France’s colonial system had been “profoundly unjust” and contradictory to the founding principles of the French republic, liberty, equality and fraternity were commendable.

In a twist of doublespeak, he also raised the issue of how Algeria was as unwelcoming of some of its sons and daughters as France was often accused of being. A reference to the plight of Algerians (known as Harkis) who had fought for France during the North African country’s long war of independence from 1956-62.

The Harkis that fled to France after the war were held in internment camps and have suffered decades of discrimination, while those who stayed in Algeria were massacred or imprisoned.

While France’s present and past in North Africa will always be full of contradictions – for which Sarkozy cannot be held completely responsible - the same cannot be said for his exact understanding of the term democracy.

It came in from some serious questioning from European neighbours after last week’s parliamentary election in Russia.

Collectively the European Union queried the very nature of the ballot with Germany’s Angela Merkel going as far as to describe it flatly as neither free nor democratic.

Sarkozy, it appears had no such qualms, personally calling the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to congratulate him on his party’s victory. An odd move perhaps from a man who, since coming to office, has already been much more critical of Russia’s human rights record than his predecessor, Jacques Chirac.

Opposition politicians in France have suggested that Sarkozy is perhaps once again putting economic interests first, paving the way for more deals, such as one Renault has finalised with Russian car manufacturer Lada.

Similar interests also figure high in criticism of next week’s planned visit to France by Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi for the first rime in more than 30 years. Gaddafi will meet Sarkozy twice during his five-day trip with yet more trade contracts on the table.

Back in July the two countries announced an arms deal worth €275 million – Libya’s first with a western country since the EU lifted an embargo in 2004

Clearly Sarkozy is a man of many principles.

Time for a Hallyday – finally.

It’s official. A dinosaur of the French music scene is knackered. The 64-year-old Johnny Hallyday is finally packing away his vocal chords and retiring.

But hang about – not so fast. He’s apparently not quite finished and certainly ain’t going out without a bang.

Jean-Philippe Smet – to give him his full name – announced his retirement plans on Sunday’s evening news. And what plans – a farewell tour with the kick off at Stade de France (maximum capacity 80,000 people) in May – 2009!

That should leave plenty of time for the release of yet another album (or more perhaps) to follow the success of his latest one “Le couer d’un homme”, which is currently topping the charts.

And tonight there’ll be a general love-fest as Johnny, along with buddies galore, celebrates more than 40 years of rocking the nation with a two-hour prime time special dedicated solely to his music.

So what makes this ageing crooner (whose father was Belgian) such an icon of the French music scene? Well to begin with he has a powerhouse of a voice and can still belt out a tune.

Simply put, he was from the start of his career France’s answer to Elvis and hit the big time in the early 60s as the first rock n’ roller to sing in French.

Since then the statistics speak for themselves. Over the decades he has notched up 400 tours, performing in front of 15 million people had 18 platinum albums and sold more than 100 million records.

Mind you professional success has come at a price. His personal life has rarely been out of the headlines. In the mid 60s he married Sylvie Vartan – another mainstay of the French music scene - and the two were the Golden Couple of their generation until they divorced in 1980.

His second marriage in 1981 to model Babeth Etienne lasted barely two months and then there was a highly publicised four-year affair with the actress Nathalie Baye. A two-year marriage to Adeline Blondiau in the early 90s was followed by a fourth tying of the knot at the age of 53 in 1996 to the 21-year-old Laetitia Boudou.

All those years of touring and record sales have of course boosted his coffers to an estimated princely personal annual income of than more than €6 million. But such riches are heavily taxed here in France and Hallyday caused a storm of publicity last year when he upped sticks and moved his official residence to the Swiss millionaires resort of Gstaad.

So far not even the election of his close friend Nicolas Sarkozy as president or the recent drop in the level of French wealth tax have tempted him to return.

His fiscal flight and attempts to seek Belgian nationality (now abandoned) might have disappointed his legions of fans, but there’s no denying he has maintained his popularity.

Over 40,000 tickets for the opening dates of his 2009 concerts were scooped up when they went on sale yesterday.

The tour should be a fitting climax to the career of an ageing rocker, whose concert at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in June 2000 (in front of 800,000 fans and 10 million television viewers) rated as one of the most spectacular music events ever in France,

Johnny deserves his retirement.

“My most beautiful story IS YOU.”

No not the latest historical romance from Mills and Boon, but the title of the long-awaited oeuvre from the former Socialist presidential candidate, Segolene Royal.

The blurb for the launch of “Ma plus belle histoire, c’est vous” promises readers a mix of tears and laughter, pages packed from start to finish with humour and plenty of emotion.

Grappling to find a news angle last week one respected Internet site, clearly supplied with a teaser from the author herself, claimed that Royal was in fact about to dish some real dirt. The book, the site maintained, reveals that during a secret meeting Royal had offered the post of prime minister to the already beaten centre-right presidential candidate, François Bayrou. Their “assignation” apparently took place before her head-to-head debate with Nicolas Sarkozy just days before the final vote.

Ah but remember this is the wonderful world of often unsubstantiated and usually contradictory journalism and politics. So it’s hardly a surprise that a similar speculative story as to what was actually in the book, appeared on another even more respected news site with a slightly different angle.

The offer had indeed been made Bayrou is reported to have responded, but never accepted as there was no way he could have agreed to it believing, as he did, that Royal could not win. And of course the two had never met in private.

Ho hum lovely to see supposition and rumour shedding light on what we shall all be able to find our for ourselves on Tuesday.

So no story then? Well not quite. It’s rather an indication that even though journalists have perhaps been scratching around trying to throw some titbits out to the hungry masses, Royal has been playing her cards very close to her chest and not given them a chance spoil her comeback.

And that’s the real story - she’s back – and she’s back in charge of her own destiny.

She has shaken off the shackles of the Socialist Party’s old-timers – the so-called elephants – to whom she had been virtually manacled in the closing stages of electoral campaigning. Real emancipation at last, as evidenced by the few remarks she has made in recent months that her campaign had suffered because she had been forced to accept the impracticable sacred-cow policies of the 35-hour working week and a minimum wage of €1,500 euros a month.

The book, according to Royal’s own official website, is her attempt to set the record straight in so far as it details the months leading up to her failed attempt to beat Sarkozy in May.

The (centre-right) political weekly “Le Point” says the writing of the book was itself cathartic for the former candidate - not a time to fire salvoes at critics, but more a way of drawing that proverbial line under the past.

While Lionel Jospin, a fellow failed presidential candidate and one time Socialist prime minister, took aim at what he termed Royal’s incompetence in his own version of events a few months ago, she is said to have spent time taking stock and learning from her mistakes.

Of course the pre-Christmas timing of the book’s release could not be better planned and will probably help boost interest and sales. It also clearly hauls Royal back to centre stage after months of relative silence.

She has maintained a discreet distance from the political infighting within the Socialist party but still commands healthy support and has preserved close contact with some very influential
party activists

Her revamped inner circle of advisors is in part an answer to her own admission that Sarkozy had a veritable war machine in place during the presidential election campaign. And since she booted her former partner and likely competitor for the leadership of the party (for the presidential nomination in 2012), François Hollande out of their apartment, she has also installed herself in new offices away from the party’s headquarters.

And with local elections just a few months away, Royal is busy painting the town Red – quite literally – making regular appearances at the theatre, concerts and dance performances

She has rediscovered her professional and private life – rising beyond what must be bitter lessons of being called the “mother the country never needed” or the misogynist mocking of former colleagues as being a woman who castrated men.

But Royal has worryingly kept that disturbing staccato style of saying something one day, and then almost appearing to backtrack on it the next. She initially gave her support for example to the government’s policy for changes in the funding and administration of universities and followed it a couple of days later with the qualification that she wasn’t backing reform with her eyes closed.

While “Ma plus belle histoire, c’est vous” might not send too many pulses racing or pick up accolades for literary distinction, it is important because it marks the return to frontline politics of a presidential candidate who had the backing of 17 million voters at the polls.

And in the almost seven months of a hyperactive president firing on all fronts simultaneously, the voice so far of any reasoned opposition has been all but stifled. Perhaps French democracy will decide that it needs Segolene Royal after all.