Happy Birthday (former) M. Le President - Jacques Chirac turns 80

The former French president Jacques Chirac celebrated his 80th birthday on Thursday - a chance for the media in this country to pay tribute to the man who held the top job for 12 years.

Chirac might not figure in opinions polls any longer - and with good reason as he hasn't been politically active since leaving office in May 2007 - but the so-called "received wisdom" is that he's still pretty popular with many French.

Bernadette and Jacques Chirac (screenshot Les Guignols)

While Chirac's memory isn't apparently all it once was - with those close to him admitting that his deterioration was worrying, it would also seem that the collective powers of recall from many sectors of the French media as well as the population at large aren't any better...at least as far as the satirical show on Canal +, "Les Guignols de l'Info" was concerned, as it, in its own special way "celebrated" Chirac's 80th birthday.

Here's the clip of the show's very special trip down Chirac memory lane (from one minute 38 seconds until two minutes 45 seconds).

Les Guignols de l'Info du 29/11/12 - Le politique préféré des français

Friday's French music break - Cauet, "La fin du Monde"

Friday's French music break this week is from someone who isn't exactly known for his singing prowess.

"Ah," you might be saying. "When did that ever stop anyone?"

Quite.

It comes from French radio and TV presenter and entertainer Sébastien Cauet who ingeniously goes under the name "Cauet".

Cauet (screenshot from official clip)

Taking what was undoubtedly all of five minutes out of his busy daily schedule, Cauet has come up with a timely number that's supposed to raise a smile or two but is actually hard to sit through.

"La fin du monde" ("The end of the world" just in case you really needed the translation) sees the 40-year-old jumping on the Mayan prediction for the "cataclysmic or transformative events" which are supposed to occur on 21 December 2012 - aka the end of the world as we know it.

Cauet struts, raps, croons and hip hops his way through a mess of verbal images and moves which bear a remarkable resemblence to another - more internationally successful clip relying heavily on ridicule, Psy's "Gangnam style".

And it would appear that the over-produced studio "style" is working almost as well for Cauet as it has done for the South Korean singer and entertainer Park Jae-sang (or Psy).

Almost 1,5 million (and counting) have viewed Cauet's "La fin du monde" since it was published on YouTube on November 19 - although there are no stats available to say whether everyone who logged on actually made it to the end...of the clip, that is.

It's truly awful, very "unfunny" and far from having any musical merit.

Or, as many of the comments seem to suggest it's hilarious and worth a mighty LOL!

Oh well. "Enjoy".

Gay marriage and adoption - a hotbed for terrorism?

Even if you're in favour of same-sex marriage and two men or two women being allowed to adopt, you probably agree there's room for debate.

It's healthy after all isn't it?

Opinions can be shared, explanations attempted as to why neither should be feared, how society isn't going to collapse, the world isn't going to end (well it might on December 21, but that has nothing at all to do with the matter at hand) and the proposed legislation is just French lawmakers catching with what a majority of the population already believes to be right and just.

And hey, who knows, in the process of a constructive discussion, some people might set aside their intolerance and realise that same-sex marriage is not a threat to religious institutions.

But - aha - you knew it was coming didn't you - some arguments against same-sex marriage and adoption are surely more than absurd.

Such as the one put forward earlier this week by Nicolas Dhuicq, a parliamentarian for the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP).

Nicolas Dhuicq (screenshot YouTube video)

 Dhuicq was speaking during a debate in the national assembly on Tuesday on the government's anti-terrorism bill when he made the link between - here we go - same-sex marriage, adoption by parents of the same sex and...terrorism.

Firstly he helpfully explained how or why some people became terrorists.

"One characteristic of terrorists is that in most cases they've never had paternal authority while growing up," he said

"They've never had the opportunity to learn what's feasible and what isn't, what's good and what's bad," he continued.

And then addressing Manuel Valls, the interior minister who was present during the debate, Dhuicq made that link between same-sex marriage, adoption by same-sex couples and terrorism.

"Isn't there a certain contradiction in the government's anti-terrorism proposals and those which at the same time seek to strike the word 'father' from the civil code," he said.

"What you're doing is setting the basis for gender confusion in the future, the denial of sexual differences and psychosis," he added.

So there you go. As far as Dhuicq is concerned the government is helping set the conditions for future generations of potential terrorists by blurring the boundaries of sexual identity.

Just for the record, Dhuicq is a qualified psychiatrist, a member of the rightwing grouping Droite populaire within the UMP and a supporter of Jean-François Copé.

Maybe we should be more thankful that the media has been focusing less on what he has had to say over the past week and more on the turmoil within his own party.


Le député UMP Dhuicq lie homoparentalité et... par LeNouvelObservateur