A woman's Facebook appeal to honour her father

Widely reported in the French media over the New Year comes a tale that is both seasonal and very telling of the times in which we live, when many are having difficulties making ends meet.

It is at the same time sad and uplifting, starting as it does with the death of a man just before the holiday period and resulting in the efforts of his daughter to pay homage to the father she lost, while also trying to help out others.

Joël Gamelin was the owner of a company which constructed and repaired boats in the western French town of La Rochelle. He had built the company up from scratch in 1983 and employed 120 people.

But at the beginning of last month it went into receivership, and on December 23 after the bank refused a credit extension to see the company into the New Year, Gamelin committed suicide.

The 55-year-old father of three left behind a note which read "please forgive me for not having been able to save the company."

Shortly before he took his life, Gamelin had expressed his frustration to the rest of his family, and as his oldest daughter, Fanny, told national radio, he had been particularly distressed by the fact that he wouldn't be able to pay his employees for the Christmas period.

"He told us he had never asked anything of anyone," she said.

"And the day he went to the bank to ask for help, he said was simply ignored," she continued.

That could well have been the end of the story - another casualty of the credit crunch, a small company faced with closure and a man, refused help and unable to deal with the consequences.

Except his daughter decided not to let the case rest there.

She set about not only paying homage to her father, but at the same time trying to ensure that the 120 employees at least had a salary coming in for Christmas.

Fanny turned to the Internet to launch an appeal for donations. She is using Facebook, and has set up a group inviting members to contribute just €1 each to raise the €200,000 necessary to pay the December salaries.

"If 200 000 people give just €1 each, that'll be enough to ensure the 120 families concerned will have an income for another month," she told prime time television news on Friday.

And already the campaign seems to be yielding results. As of Friday evening Fanny had received cheques totalling more than €1,500 and promised donations of another €500.

She has also been in touch with the local authorities to put the necessary wheels in motion to allow her to collect funds and is in the process of setting up a means by which contributions can be made online.

"Together we can act and people can survive," she writes on her Facebook message.

"And this will also permit my father who committed suicide to rest in peace."

French justice minister gives birth

Rachida Dati, the French justice minister has given birth.

The 43-year-old gave birth by caesarean early on Friday afternoon to a girl - named Zohra, after the minister's mother, Fatima-Zohra, at a hospital in the west of the French capital.

So what? You might well ask. Well, "so a lot" perhaps, because the circumstances surrounding the birth and the role of Dati in politics says a fair bit about France.

Dati, you might remember, made history here by becoming not only the first woman to hold the office of justice minister, but also by being the first person of North African descent to make it into the government.

She has created plenty of controversy during her time at the ministry "haemorrhaging" staff at an alarming rate and facing accusations of incompetence from the opposition Socialist party and certain sectors of the French media.

But one thing surrounding which there was no real controversy was her announcement at the end of last summer that she was expecting a baby.

Dati, who is unmarried, consistently refused to reveal the name of the father, saying the "situation was complicated", and much of the French media has been willing to leave it at that.

Of course the "mystery" surrounding the identity of the father has also led to some speculation - particularly among the weekly glossy magazines - with the name of a former Spanish prime minister and that of a popular French television and radio presenter being among "potential paters".

On the whole though, throughout her pregnancy, Dati's right to privacy has pretty much been respected.

It's not that often that a serving minister has given birth in office. Another notable politician was - wait for it - none other than Ségolène Royal, the defeated Socialist party candidate in the 2007 presidential election and the narrow loser of the battle to lead the party in November last year.

Back in 1992, while a minister in the government of prime minister, Pierre Bérégovoy, Royal gave birth to a daughter. Although in a long-term relationship at the time with François Hollande, Royal wasn't married either.

Back to Dati though, and her future role in government is far from being certain. She has dropped out of Sarkozy's "inner circle" of which she was so long a member, has come under constant attack from the media, and is rumoured to be the governing UMP party's preferred choice to head its push for the European parliamentary elections in June this year (in place of the junior minister for human rights, Rama Yade, who has refused to run.

Should Dati, who is also currently the mayor of the VII arrondissement in Paris, accept that challenge, she would most likely be asked to step down form the government.

But that as they say, is for the moment, just speculation.

Right now though, Dati is a reportedly "proud" first-time mother, who just a few weeks before giving birth was quoted as saying "there's more to life than just politics."

Simone Veil "tops" French honours list

Simone Veil, is probably the most high profile among a list of those announced on Thursday to receive France's most prestigious award, the Légion d'honneur or Legion of Honour.

Veil, recently elevated to the illustrious Académie française or French Academy, was named Grand Officier - one of the two highest levels of the order - at the discretion of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Every time a new list or "class" is revealed - at the beginning of each year and then usually around Bastille Day on July 14 - there's a certain amount of "promotion" that goes on, if you like, as some individuals are bumped up a notch.

Hence in this New Year's list, Veil was in a sense fast-tracked - although that's perhaps not the most appropriate term to use for the 81-year-old former government minister - as she was named to one of the higher levels without having first passed through the lower ranks, as is usual.

Here's perhaps the moment to fill you in with a little bit of background about the Légion d'honneur - without going into too much detail as it can become both confusing and deadly boring.

So as briefly as possible :

While Britain has its New Year's honours list to pay tribute to the country's "great" by awarding them titles and medals for "individual personal bravery, achievement or service", France opts for its own version, in a manner of speaking .

The Légion d'honneur was created in 1802 by Napoleon as an order of merit to recognise "outstanding services rendered to France or a feat befitting humanity."

In the past it was limited to intellectual greats, artists, the military and in general those who had made what was considered an “important” historical contribution.

But in more recent years it has been "opened up" somewhat, and although there are limits on the numbers of those accepted into one of the five different ranks, the range of personalities can maybe leave some "purists" wondering what has happened to the original intent behind the order of merit.

Be that as it may, there are five different levels from Chevalier (Knight) - to which the maximum number of those accepted into the order is over 113,000 making it the most "accessible", through Officier (Officer) with a limit of 10,000, Commandeur (Commander) numbering no more than 1,250 and then the two elite levels; Grand Officier (Grand Officer) - 250 max, and "la crème de la crème" Grand-Croix (Grand Cross) whose limit is set at 75 .

For a more complete list of who has received what, when and why - see here and follow the appropriate links.

As far as Thursday's announcement goes, apart from Veil, other names that might ring a bell outside of France include the former international soccer star, Zinédine Zidane, who moves up from Chevalier to Officier, and two of the three joint recipients of the Nobel prize for medicine; Luc Montagnier, who will now become a Grand Officier, and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi is a Commandeur.

France's other Nobel laureate from 2008 - Jean-Marie Le Clézio, for literature - also becomes an Officier.

British fashion designer and big cheese at the Dior house, John Galliano, took his first step on the French ladder of honour when he was named a Chevalier.

And from the world of showbiz, the actress Isabelle Huppert, moved up from Chevalier to Officier - topping off a great start to the year for her as she has also just been named president of the jury at the 62nd International Cannes film festival, which will take place from May 13-24.

For a full list click here and once again follow the appropriate links.