France's sports minister, Valérie Fourneyron makes an Olympic gaffe

Oh happy days.

Finally a minister has shown that she's every bit as "normal" as her predecessors from the previous government by proving that she too can come up with the appropriate howler when needed.

It's the sports minister Valérie Fourneyron, whose portfolio has known some of the very best - or worst, depending on how you view these things - slip ups from those clearly not at ease in the job such as the pink croc-wearing Roselyne Bachelot and her much-loved (although not by Bachelot) sidekick Rama Yade to the former judoka and expert neologist David Douillet.

Valérie Fourneyron (screenshot France 2 television)

And that's quite a decent segue into how Fourneyron made a complete ass of herself in front of millions of TV viewers early Monday morning.

She was appearing on France 2 television outlining what the programme would be for her and her big boss, the French president François Hollande, who would be joining her for the day at the London 2012 games.

"We'll want to be able to see all sorts of different sports," she said, no doubt surprising viewers that the Olympics provided such an opportunity.

"It could be boxing or it could be judo to see Laura Flessel, our country's flag bearer at the opening ceremony who'll be appearing in her fifth games," she continued.

"Perhaps we'll get a chance to see the French women's basketball team in action, a handball game, boxing (do you think she maybe has a thing about boxing?)...it'll be a programme full of sport," she finished with a flourish.

Er.

Wait a moment.

Do you spot the error.

Just a teensy-weensy one mind you.

Laura Flessel, a double gold medallist in Atlanta back in 1996, who also competed in Sydney, Athens and Beijing collecting a further three medals along the way, now 40 years old and appearing at her fifth and final Olympics as Fourneyron correctly said.

Except Flessel is not a judoka.

Nope. The sport for which Flessel, the spokesperson for the French team during London 2O12, the five-time Olympic medallist and 12-time World Championship medallist, is famous is... fencing.

Oh well. How was Fourneyron, whose background is rich in sports medicine, supposed to know.

It's such a simple mistake to make after all and one which the minister put down later to, "An early morning slip of the tongue."

"I know Laura Flessel well. I spent a good part of the Friday with her," she said.

Presumably grappling on the tatami.

Next!

Lionel Jospin and Roselyne Bachelot - France's new comedy duo "do" political morality

There's a new comedy team to have hit the headlines this week.

Actually it's a double act comprising two (surprise, surprise) figures

And it's proof, if it were needed, that French politicians never truly disappear.

They might "retire" from centre stage for a while, but more often than not they make a comeback - or two - as in the case of Lionel Jospin.

Lionel Jospin (Wikipedia)

Yes, just when you perhaps thought you could forget the man who safely guided the Socialist party from government to more than a decade in the wilderness following his humiliating 2002 first-round defeat in the presidential elections, he's back.

Actually Jospin is back, back, because although he announced his "retirement" (never take a politician literally - huh) shortly after his failure to make it through to the second round in 2002, a couple of years later he let it be known that he was "available" should the Socialists decide they wanted him as a candidate for the 2007 presidential election.

The party didn't.

He withdrew his candidacy in the primaries and threw his full weight behind the official contender, Ségolène Royal, happily joining the other disgruntled elephants in the not-so-subtle "Tout sauf Ségolène" campaign.

Anyway water under the proverbial, and if you want a full recap of Jospin's long political career and his time as prime minister (under Jacques Chirac) you can of course begin with that most trustworthy of online resources Wikipedia.

Back to the present and Jospin's latest reincarnation.

The 75-year-old has been appointed to head a commission with the snappy title of "The renovation of public life."

"A political morality commission" (an oxymoron?) with a mission - to boldy go...er sorry wrong gig... "to reflect on how to go about abolishing multiple political mandates and the immunity of the president to prosecution while in office."

Now why exactly a commission is needed for something which, when it comes to the abolition of multiple political mandates, was a) an electoral promise and b) would seem downright logical to anyone looking in from the outside, might escape you.

But a commission is there is to spend time (and money) "reflecting" on how best to go about things.

And let's face it, there'll probably be pretty strong opposition from many parliamentarians who insist that the time-(dis)honoured tradition of multiple mandates is one that should be upheld because it allows politicians to serve simultaneously at a national and regional level and thereby gives them roots in, and a better understanding of, what's happening in their local community and...more money.

Don't question the weird and wonderful ways of the French political system in which any recommendations that might be made could be equally ignored and besides the "morality commission" will also be considering such worthy subjects as, "guidelines for the behaviour of elected representatives in public life, campaign spending and financing and the possible introduction of limited proportional representation."

Groan.

Jospin will be heading a 14-strong team which includes the other half of that promised double act.

Applause please for Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, the croc-wearing, opera-singing, gay-friendly close ally of former prime minister François Fillon and herself a minister under Jacques Chirac (environment) and Nicolas Sarkozy (health and sport).

Bachelot is a recent retiree from political life having decided not to contest the seat she held in the last parliamentary elections.

But she too has "received the call" to join the cross-party commission and is suitably surprised and honoured to be asked to be a member,"(blah, blah, blah) maintaining that she will always be "a woman of the centre-right."

So there you have it.

Jospin and Bachelot "do" morality.

Sounds like a match made in heaven, doesn't it?

A possible double ticket for 2017 when Hollande's mandate will be coming to an end?

Let's see Jospin would be just a couple of months short of his 80th birthday and Bachelot would be 70.

Sounds just about right



Probably Roselyne Bachelot's finest hour

Raymond Domenech breaks his silence and admits his "mea culpa"

It has been quite a while since the former coach of the French national football team, Raymond Domenech, has given an interview of any sort.

He has remained discreet and refused to go into any details over the disastrous performance of Les Bleus at last year's World Cup finals in South Africa, the players' infamous strike, the disappointing Euro 2008 showing or his post-managerial plans after being fired in September 2010.


But in this week's edition of the French news magazine L'Express, published on Wednesday, Domenech breaks his silence.

Responding to some of the questions that others have been answering in his place over the past couple of months is, says Domenech, "an attempt to restore the truth and show that I'm not the moron I've been described as being."

And the 59-year-old doesn't mince his words.

"With hindsight I see them as a bunch of irresponsible brats," he says of the players who, in that now "legendary" non-footballing moment, returned to their bus and refused to get off for the training session before the team's final match against the hosts South Africa.

He admits that he didn't want to read out the players' statement but had little choice in the matter.

"There were hundreds of kids waiting on the sidelines and all the cameras were trained on the bus," he says.

"We were the laughing stock of the world. Somebody had to take responsibility and stop the charade."

Legal reasons prevent Domenech from speaking of the incident that sparked of the players' strike - the alleged altercation with Nicolas Anelka during the half time interval in the match against Mexico and the subsequent sending home of the striker.

But the former coach says quite simply that he did his job as trainer.

He has harsh words for the then-sports minister, Roselyne Bachelot, who was also in South Africa during the debacle and said that she had given the players a pep talk and believed that some of them had "tears in their eyes."

"The players were close to tears? Maybe of laughter," he retorts.

"I never got involved in the vaccination campaign (against H1N1 flu, for which Bachelot was also responsible as health minister) and when I'm not competent (in a matter) I hold my tongue."

The interview is far from being one in which Domenech passes the buck and blames others.

Far from it. He admits he made mistakes; from choosing the wrong players and not explaining himself sufficiently well to failing to step down from the job after the Euro 2008 campaign when France went home with just one point and one goal after the group stage.

"I've asked myself why I didn't resign then," he reveals.

"More than that, I wonder why I wasn't asked to step down."

But for all the admission of mistakes made Domenech doesn't take criticism well, and it's a trait which perhaps gives him an air of arrogance.

"If others have the impression that I have no regrets, then perhaps that's because I'm a bad communicator," he says.

"Let's be clear; I made mistakes in not choosing the right players or finding the right words," he continues.

"I don't accept the criticism of politicians or former players who are now journalists but that doesn't stop me from drawing my own conclusion over my record as a manager."

You can read the full interview on the website of L'Express.

Heatwave alert in France

Ice cream to beat the heat, screenshot BFMTV report

It's hot in France at the moment - very hot.

and the country's meteorological service, Météo France, has put several regions on heatwave alert for the next couple of days. Daytime highs are forecast to peak at 37 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country and not dip below 20 degrees at night.

The heatwave is not predicted to be nearly as long or as fatal as the one that hit much of continental Europe in 2003 and during which around 15,000 (mainly elderly) people died in France.

But the health minister, Roselyne Bachelot, is not taking any chances and has advised local authorities to "be on their guard".

"The lessons of 2003 have been learned," she said on national radio Friday morning.

"Départements are ready and health facilities have been prepared. The number of hospital beds available is higher than normal at this time of year and mayors throughout the country have maintained lists to pinpoint those most at risk."

The eastern region of Alsace is expected to be one of the hottest places with temperatures in the main city of Strasbourg rising as high as 37 degrees Celsius.

The Prefect of the region, Pierre-Etienne Bisch, has put health and emergency services on high alert.

In Paris and the surrounding départements, local authorities have introduced a "system of support and guidance" for the most vulnerable citizens.

France's second largest city, Lyon, the surrounding metropolitan area and the whole of the Rhône département is the third region of the country in which emergency services are on high alert following Météo France's heatwave warning.

The hot spell also coincides with what is the second weekend of the summer holidays and tailbacks are expected on many of the country's motorways.

While the metro in the French capital for example has become a roasting tin for commuters and tourists alike and some bosses in companies around the country have encouraged employees to stagger their working hours and come in earlier to avoid the heat, one man in the south-western town of Moissac tried another way of dealing with the hot weather.

According to the regional daily La Dépêche du Midi, the man decided to begin mowing his lawn - at 11 o'clock at night - and would have continued doing so had his neighbours not complained and called the local police.

Jean-Pierre Escalettes to resign

The president of the French Football Federation (FFF) Jean-Pierre Escalettes, has announced he's standing down. In a statement on the Federation's website Escalettes said he would officially present his resignation at an FFF council meeting on Friday.



His decision comes follows mounting criticism of his presidency after France's World Cup campaign which saw Les Bleus eliminated after the group stage with just one goal and one point from three matches.

The team also hit the headlines after striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home for allegedly insulting coach Raymond Domenech and the players "went on strike" by refusing to attend a training session.

In a short statement released on the Federation's website on Monday, Escalettes said he had spent the past couple of days thinking about his future and took his share of the responsibility for what had happened.

"After a weekend of reflection during which I consulted my colleagues, staff and my family, I consider it my duty to resign," he wrote.

"I accept my share of responsibility," he continued. "It's a decision taken mainly by my wish to preserve and help the evolution of the institution I've served with passion for several decades."

Escalettes has been president of the FFF since 2005 and was seen as instrumental in solving its financial problems and leading France's successful bid to host Euro 2016.

But he also faced criticism for leaving Domenech in charge after France failed to make it past the group stage of the Euro 2008 finals and later struggled to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa.

The 75-year-old's tenure as FFF president had been due to run until 2012.

Last week after what she called the "disaster" of France's World campaign, the French sports minister Roselyne Bachelot said in an interview on national radio that although she didn't want Escalettes to resign she considered in an "unavoidable consequence."

Last week after what she called the "disaster" of France's World campaign, the French sports minister Roselyne Bachelot said in an interview on national radio that although she didn't want Escalettes to resign she considered it "unavoidable."

Is the French team's World Cup hotel too Bling Bling?

Rama Yade (photo from Wikipedia, Marie-Lan Nguyen)

With less than a week to go before the World Cup finals kick off in South Africa, the French junior minister for sport, Rama Yade, has caused a controversy by lashing out at the amount of money being spent on the accommodation for the French football team.

In a radio interview on Sunday morning Yade suggested that the French Football Federation's choice of the luxury five-star Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa in Knysna, Western Cape Province as the base camp for Les Bleus hadn't been appropriate at a time when everyone else was being encouraged to tighten their belts.



"I wouldn't have chosen this particular hotel," she said, noting that Spain, one of the favourites for the tournament, had opted for a university campus.

"Should France do well in the World Cup, then the choice of a site offering the best training conditions might well turn out to be a wise one," she continued.

"But if the team underperforms then there'll be some explaining to be done (on the choice of the hotel and its cost) by those in charge," she added.

"I hope that the French team will dazzle us more with their results rather than flashy hotels and I had called on the FFF to show some decency in these times of (economic) crisis."

http://www.lepoint.fr/actualites/2010-06-06/mondial-rama-yade-juge-indecent-l-hotel-des-bleus/1037/0/463507

Later in the day, Yade's immediate boss, Roselyne Bachelot, the minister for health and sport, while not openly criticising her junior minister's comments, didn't exactly back her up either.

And she refused to be drawn into what she called an "unnecessary controversy" over the national team's accommodation in South Africa.

http://www.rtl.fr/fiche/5942169500/roselyne-bachelot-invitee-du-grand-jury-rtl.html

"As far as I'm concerned, now is not the time to create a polemic over our team," she said when being interviewed on RTL national radio's Le Grand Jury, with Yade looking on in the audience.

"The team needs our support, and both Rama and I will be present during the World Cup," she continued.

"The French Football Federation has made its choice, and they're the ones responsible," she added.

"It won't cost the taxpayer anything and now it's time to say 'stop' and get behind the team."

When interviewed by the news agency Agence France-Presse over his reactions to Yade's comments, Jean-Pierre Escalettes, the president of the FFF refused to be drawn into the debate. was interviewed by the news agency

"What do you want me to say?" he's quoted as responding.

"If the junior minister speaks, she speaks. I'm not going to make any comments about a hotel I don't yet know myself. It's not my role," he added.

http://www.leparisien.fr/coupe-du-monde-2010-football/hotel-des-bleus-roselyne-bachelot-recadre-rama-yade-06-06-2010-952841.php

A French cat with "swine flu"

It's a slightly different take perhaps to begin with on the "swine flu" - or H1N1/influenza A as it's more commonly called here - epidemic in France.

The first case of a domestic pet coming down with the flu, confirmed last week by the director general of health, Didier Houssin.

The sick animal is a cat in the Bouches-du-Rhône département in the south of France and belonging to a family that had also been suffering from the flu.

The vet taking care of it had apparently found the cat to have bronchial pneumonia and diagnosed flu.

No need to panic though that the nation's pets will soon be victim to the same epidemic that has already seen the death of 150 people in this country (according to official statistics released by the health ministry on Wednesday) as it is for the moment just an isolated case.

"There have been several cases of this type abroad in pig and dogs in China recently," said Houssin.

"And then a cat in the United States," he continued before usefully adding that the best way to avoid pets falling victim to the flu was for "people who owned them to get themselves vaccinated."

Ah yes. The vaccination process which started off tentatively in October among health professionals and then a couple of weeks later was extended to certain sectors of the general public according to a priority list of those most susceptible to the possible effects of the flu such as those with nursing infants, children, expectant mothers and people with respiratory problems.

Where does the country stand at the moment?

Well the 3,000 special vaccination centres set up to "handle the hordes" were pretty underused during the first few weeks but then of course the French panicked somewhat and there were reported cases of some people waiting more than three hours before being able to get themselves (and/or their children) vaccinated.

From that slow start though, almost 3.8 million people have now been vaccinated, and the health minister, Roselyne Bachelot, expects the number to reach four million by the end of the week.

And she's obviously hoping that the numbers will increase significantly especially as the rest of the general public have started to receive their "official invitations" required before they can make their way to a vaccination centre.

While the figures for those consulting their doctors with suspected symptoms of the H1N1 had, according to official figures, stabilised over the past week, Bachelot warned against any general complacency.

"You should know that in general, outbreaks of flu evolve in waves and it is very possible that more waves will follow," she said.

"What the experts say is the second wave is often more virulent than the first."

France steps up H1N1 vaccination campaign

A large proportion of a still sceptical French public will decide for itself this week whether to be inoculated against "swine flu" (H1N1 or influenza A as it's more commonly called here) as the government's vaccination campaign steps up a notch.

On Monday the health minister, Roselyne Bachelot, announced that over one thousand special centres would be open from November 12 and around six million French would be receiving letters this week encouraging them to go along and get vaccinated.

Among those given priority in the next stage of vaccinating the population at large are parents and childminders of infants under six months of age, health workers who haven't yet had the jab and the "more vulnerable" among the French especially those with respiratory problems.

From the second half of November until the end of the month letters will be sent out to other sectors of the population according to their perceived level of risk.

Pregnant women, who are also considered a priority, will have to wait until the vaccine that doesn't contain the chemical additive adjuvant is given the government's green light, while vaccination of the country's 12 million school children is scheduled to begin from November 25, with the education minister, Luc Chatel, stressing last weekend that it would be entirely voluntary with the decision being left to parents.

Adults over the age of 18 and in good health will be the last to receive a letter inviting them to be vaccinated.

So all well and good with the government finally delivering on its promise to be in a position to vaccinate the entire population.

It has in total ordered 94 million doses of the vaccine.

But in spite of the government's campaign and an increase in the both the number of confirmed cases in recent weeks and deaths reported linked to the H1N1 virus, the French seem to remain largely unimpressed with the most recent poll indicating that only 21 per cent of them intended to get themselves vaccinated.

And although Bachelot remains upbeat about the 10 per cent of health professionals who have so far voluntarily turned up for the jab since the vaccination became available to them as a priority last month, even she has had to admit that the figure is "insufficient".

France gets the jab as flu vaccination starts

The campaign to vaccinate France's population against "swine flu" (H1N1 or influenza A as it's more commonly called here) began on Tuesday.

And first in line to be injected are the one million or so health professionals working in hospitals.

They've been given priority in the government's campaign, but from the evidence of the reports carried on both the country's major television prime time news broadcasts in the evening, they (the medical professionals) were hardly queuing around the block in anticipation.

In fact as the health minister, Roselyne Bachelot, pitched up at the Necker hospital in Paris to launch the campaign, just 20 doctors and nurses were waiting to be vaccinated - sorely outnumbered by the camera crews and photographers on hand to record and report the event.

The problem it appears is that many of them are sceptical of the vaccine's efficacy and wary of the potential side effects.

Bachelot though was on hand to put an upbeat spin on things, emphasising the importance of getting vaccinated and rejecting contradictory reports from some experts who've questioned the benefits of the vaccine, the speed with which it has been produced and its possible side effects.


Moreover she was adamant that hospital workers had an obligation to both themselves and patients to be vaccinated.

"Medical professionals are indispensable for looking after the sick and therefore it's necessary to protect them to be able to preserve our health service which could be put under pressure if the epidemic intensifies," she said.

"Doctors and nurses are in close contact with those among us who are most susceptible to infection so getting vaccinated is an act of responsibility to oneself and to others," she added.

The message is having a hard time getting across not just to those working in hospitals but also to the public at large it seems.

The French remain largely reticent with recent polls showing that between 60 and 65 per cent of them have no intention of getting themselves inoculated when the vaccine becomes available to the general public at the beginning of November.

And they're hardly helped by family doctors either, just over half of whom have said they won't be heeding the call to turn up at one of the 3,000 centres specially set up to administer the vaccine.

Although only anecdotal a couple of weeks ago this particular resident was presented with the dilemma most of us are likely to face at the beginning of November.

It happened while he was getting his annual jab against seasonal flu from his GP and inevitably the conversation turned towards H1N1.

"So will you be going along to one of the centres to get vaccinated?" he asked his doctor.

"No," came the simple reply. "And nor will any of my colleagues."

If those who are supposed to know about the benefits of the vaccine can't agree among themselves, how are the rest of us supposed to make an informed decision?

No regional presidency race for Brice Hortefeux

In what was hardly the best-kept political secret of the week, the interior minister, Brice Hortfeux, has confirmed that he will not stand as a candidate for the president of the council of Auvergne in next year's regional elections.

He had been slated to head the country's governing centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) in the central French region.

But on Friday he said wouldn't after the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, had insisted that his long-term friend and close political ally was needed at the interior ministry - a job he took up in the government reshuffle in June.

Hortefeux's decision was to a great extent one forced upon him by Sarkozy, who appears to have decided that government ministers will have to step down if elected as presidents of their regions next year.

It's apparently part of an effort to prevent politicians amassing jobs, a common practice within French politics over the years as they've sought office on a number of levels - local, regional, national and even European - sometimes all at the same time

"The president has entrusted me with some very important responsibilities," Hortefeux said of his decision in a televised interview.

"Ensuring the security of our citizens and preparing how the country will face the threat posed by a flu pandemic require all my attention, and are incompatible with running for office on a regional level," he added.

So Hortefeux is doing "the honourable thing" if you like, in not standing in the elections next March - even if his decision to do so is at the insistence of Sarkozy.

The process of "accumulating terms" (and salaries as well as pension rights of course) was one discouraged under the Socialist government from 1997 to 2002 and successive centre-right governments under the former French president, Jacques Chirac.

But under Sarkozy, there has been no such unwritten rule, and it tends to depend on how politically appropriate it might be - or how much of a fuss the opposition is likely to kick up.

In fact it seems that Sarkozy blows hot and cold on the issue, depending on whether it's political expedient.

In June's European parliamentary elections the message was clear; a position as government minister or a member of the European parliament. Not both at the same time.

It was the reason why two former ministers - for justice, Rachida Dati, and for agriculture, Michel Barnier, had to step down in June after they secured seats in Brussels-Strasbourg.

Sarkozy "blowing hot" for sure and a convenient way of sidelining Dati in particular who had probably become something of a political liability on the domestic front as far as the president was concerned.

But wait, in those very same elections you might remember that Sarkozy faced a dilemma as Hortefeux rather unexpectedly won a seat to the European parliament (for more on that see here).

In the end Hortefeux declined to take up the post, mainly after being persuaded by Sarkozy - and let's not forget, he had just got his hands on the job he really wanted - that of the interior ministry.

While "hot" on the issue in terms of the European and regional elections, Sarkozy was decidedly "lukewarm" approaching "cold" in last year's local elections.

Far from it being a specified requirement of government ministers at the time that they should leave their jobs if elected to local positions, many of those who had never stood for office, such as Dati, were actively encouraged to put their names forward to boost their credibility.

For the moment though, back to next year's regional elections and the decision by Hortefeux that he won't stand.

It seems to assure him of a job in government even if, as rumoured, there's a reshuffle directly after those elections.

But the same cannot be said for some other ministers

Valérie Pécresse, the higher education minister is a candidate to head the list in the Ile de France region. The emplyment minister, Xavier Darcos, is the candidate for Aquitaine as is the health minister, Roselyne Bachelot, for Pays de la Loire.

If they're all successful, and should Sarkozy hold true to his word then there could indeed be some very high level changes in government come next March.

French government takes a break

You know summer is well and truly in full swing when the country's politicians pack up their bags and head off on their hols.

This year the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has given government ministers a three-week break.

Set aside the weather, disregard perhaps that it's the silly season for television and in particular for news, with so-called lighter stories dominating the bulletins.

Don't even think about the traffic chaos predicted for this weekend as juilletists (those who traditionally take their break in July) pack their bags and head home to be replaced by aoutiens (August holidaymakers) searching for sun: the two clogging motorway lanes, filling the airports to bursting point and battling for position at the major railway stations in the annual "crossover".

No, the real point of interest is how the country will manage for a couple of weeks as government ministers go on vacation.

Have no fears, this isn't a list of ALL 39 ministers and their chosen destinations. Instead it's a brief and less-than-serious look at where some of them are planning to spend the next few weeks, remembering all the time that a reported 51 per cent of French cannot afford to go away on holiday this year.

First up (of course) is the one person who isn't strictly speaking a minister; Sarkozy.

After his recent "malaise" - or "nerve attack" as it was first reported by some media outlets - he'll probably find it a little easier than might otherwise have been the case to follow doctors' advice and scale down his activities.

He'll be spending a quiet couple of weeks with his wife, Carla, at his parents-in-law's little pad in Cap Nègre in the south of France.

Not among his list of visitors presumably will be Jacques Laisné, the former prefect of the department of Var, where the Bruni-Tedeschi house is located.

Laisné lost his job a couple of months ago in the "septic tank" affair, in which he reportedly reneged on a promise to Sarkozy sort out a dispute over whether to replace the existing system of septic tanks with mains drainage and sewage system.

You can read more about that here.

Perhaps the minister who faces the toughest job come September when there'll be La Rentrée (the time when everyone gets back to work and schools reopen after the summer break) is the health minister, Roselyne Bachelot.

Without specifying exactly where she'll be passing her time, Bachelot has promised to remain "a maximum of one hour" from her ministry, ready to tackle any threat there might be from the expected H1N1 outbreak.

Another couple of government members for whom you could well spare a thought perhaps are the minister of finance, Christine Lagarde, and the minister of employment, Xavier Darcos.

They'll both be reportedly taking along work with them.

Ah such is the life for those in office.

And then there's the minister of industry, Christian Estrosi, who has recently faced a number of ongoing disputes, most notably the threat of of workers at the bankrupt New Fabris car factory in Chatellerault, southwest of Paris, to blow up the factory.

He says he'll only be taking long weekends because anything else would "be unreasonable".

Some though can apparently afford time for a proper holiday, and a couple of them could even bump into each other.

Both Eric Woerth, minister of budget, and the newly-appointed junior minister of housing, Benoist Apparu, will both be spending their time in the same place; Corsica in the Mediterranean.

And if they're very lucky they could enjoy a tête-à-tête-à-tete with the general secretary of their party ( Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, Union for a Popular Movement,UMP), Xavier Bertrand, who is also scheduled to be staying on “L'île de Beauté” or the island of beauty.

Sarkozy, along with many of his ministers look set to be following the French habit of tending not to travel abroad (90 per cent of them holiday in France). But there is an exception.

The prime minister, François Fillon, will once again travel south to Tuscany in Italy.

Oh well, there's always one, isn't there?

Divisions in France of over dangers of H1N1 virus

There are two quite different perspectives that have appeared in France over the past couple of days on the same story: perhaps reflecting the attitude held by many people here and elsewhere over the real dangers associated with "swine flu" - or "grippe A" (influenza A) as it's called in France.

In Sunday's edition of le Journal du Dimanche there was an interview with one of this country's most well-known doctors and a member of parliament for the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) professor Bernard Debré.

He played down the dangers of the (H1N1) virus and accused the government of over-reacting and responding to media pressure.

The following day there was a reply from fellow UMP member and minister of health, Roselyne Bachelot, who insisted in an interview with the national daily, le Figaro, that the government's response was measured and appropriate.

The crux of the matter as far as Debré is concerned is that the current strain is no more dangerous than seasonal flu and in fact could be less threatening.

Part of the problem, he insists, is the reaction there has been to the latest outbreak in light of the so-called bird flu which he describes as "Being very dangerous to human beings with a mortality rate of 60 to 65 per cent but at the same time less contagious because it's difficult to cross from species to species."

"This (H1N1) flu isn't dangerous. We've even realised that it could be less threatening than seasonal flu," he said.

"At the moment there have been around 800 deaths worldwide and the southern hemisphere has undoubtedly reached its peak of contamination," he added.

"Of course the virus could become more virulent, but that's not the opinion that has been expressed by a majority of virologists."

Debré says that the reaction from the French government has to an extent only served to increase fear among the general public. But at the same time he admits that governments around the world have had their hands forced somewhat.

"From the moment the World Health Organisation started issuing daily reports and holding press conferences, governments really didn't have an option but to follow that lead," he told le Journal du Dimanche.

"It's my contention that the French government has come under pressure because of the political over-dramatisation within the media of the risks the virus presents."

The flip side of the argument of course comes from Bachelot, who told le Figaro that as far as she was concerned the government's reaction to the threat had been the right one.

"I treat this pandemic very seriously and I don't base my approach on the opinion of politicians or try to make a media splash," she said.

"From the beginning I've consulted the most renowned and respected experts - French and European - and if we look at what they have had to say in the media about the government's response to this health crisis, they point to it having been in proportion and correct."

In answering Debré's assertion that the virus isn't dangerous and is no more harmful than the possible effects of seasonal flu, Bachelot perhaps not surprisingly, is more cautious.

She admits that the virus might not be particularly harmful at the moment, but its ability to spread quickly requires that governments have a system in place that can cope with a wider outbreak.

And for Bachelot, the threat lies in the potential rate of infection based on statistics for those who catch seasonal flu.

"On average seasonal flu kills around 2,500 people in France - among 2,5 million people who catch it," she says.

"Some experts say that this virus could lead to around 20 million people becoming ill and that presents a potentially serious problem to public health even if the virus remains relatively harmless in many cases."

The number of cases of "grippe A" reported here in France so far has been 483, of which none has been deadly.

Transsexualism no longer a "mental illness" in France

To coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) on May 17, the French minister of health, Roselyne Bachelot announced at the weekend that transsexualism in France would no longer be considered a mental disorder.

In an interview with the national daily Libération, Bachelot said that she had received agreement from the rest of the government that transsexualism would "no longer be classified as a long-term psychiatric illness."

"This declassification doesn't mean there won't be the need for a medical diagnosis in determining issues involved (for an individual) in gender identity, nor abandoning complementary counselling," she said.

"But it's a very clear signal addressed towards the whole of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community and is also an emblematic measure that will help fight against transphobia."

Indeed the announcement of the change couldn't have been more timely, coming as it did on Saturday - the eve of IDAHO, which here in France had as its focal point the fight against transphobia.

Up until now transsexuals or those with gender identity issues have able to receive therapy only under conditions which define them as "requiring treatment for a psychiatric illness".

There has been access to long-term therapy which many in the LGBT community in France have considered to be discriminatory, stigmatising and meaning transsexual men and women being "virtually taken hostage by the psychiatric community because the 'condition' was considered as such."

In effect, Bachelot's announcement means that transsexualism will no longer be treated as a mental illness in France.

And it's one which went further than many who had been pressing for a change had expected and was one of historic proportions as far as Joël Bedos, the general secretary of Idaho here in France, was concerned.

"It's one that gives an explosion of hope for transsexual men and women throughout the world," he said.

"And it makes France the first country (in Europe) to take such a decision."

Sarkozy's women in government - Roselyne Bachelot - a woman who breaks the mould

Time for another slab of French politics with part five in an occasional series looking at the women in the French government.

Perhaps not before time as there's likely to be a cabinet reshuffle before or just after the European parliamentary elections in June.

If, as expected, two serving ministers - Rachida Dati and Michel Barnier - are successful in winning seats, they'll have to step down.

So before all that happens, it's time for a look at the minister for health and sport, Roselyne Bachelot.

As mentioned in previous pieces, when the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, came to power in May 2007 he promised parity within the government, and he duly lived up to that pledge by appointing seven women to the 15-strong cabinet of front-line ministers - plus several others to junior ministerial portfolios.

Bachelot's appointment at the time came as something of a surprise to many even though the 62-year-old was no political beginner.

She first took her seat for the centre-right Rassemblement pour la République (Rally for the Republic, RPR) which later became today's ruling Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) party in the National Assembly in 1988.

And she served in government as the minister for the environment, ecology and sustainable development from 2002-2004 under two successive governments of the prime minister at the time, Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

But she has always had the tendency to buck the trend and speak her mind, most notably back in the 1990s when she was the only member of her party to vote in favour of the Pacte Civil de Solidarité (Civil Pact of Solidarity, PACS) and she's also an outspoken supporter of same-sex marriage and gay couples being allowed to adopt.

Bachelot has often been poked fun at - in a tender way - by French commentators and humourists - not least for the way she fairly warbles her way through interviews on the airwaves and is sometimes spoofed on telly as having no clue as to what she is doing.

That indeed might be true somewhat for her sporting ministerial hat.

In fact she struck quite an amusing figure during France’s hosting of the rugby world cup in 2007 with a definite twinkle in her eye as the players grappled each other for the ball on the pitch.

And before last year's Olympics in Beijing she made a wager with the French team. "Bring home at least 40 medals and I'll wear a pair of pink Croc sandals to the first cabinet meeting following the games," she challenged.

The team duly obliged - just - and Bachelot kept her word (take a look here).

She’s also not averse to putting her foot in it - handsomely, just as she did several years ago when she let slip that former president Jacques Chirac was slightly deaf in one ear.

Old habits clearly die hard for Bachelot, and she made another blunder early on in her current ministerial portfolio when she named someone as a new recruit in the post of junior minister before Sarkozy or the proposed candidate had given their approval.

The appointment was never made.

There is of course a more serious side to Bachelot and she has had to face a fair number of problems.

Hospital staff shortages and medical mistakes have rather dogged Bachelot since she took over the ministry and things rather came to a head over the Christmas period last year.

That was when, within the space of five days, there were two deaths, which many healthcare professionals and commentators said should have and could have been avoided.

They highlighted some of the problems and pressures felt by those working in hospitals: too few staff on occasions, and breakdown in co-ordination.

On Christmas Eve, a three-year-old child died in a Parisian hospital after being given the wrong drug.

And just a few days later a 53-year-old man died after suffering multiple heart attacks because the emergency services failed to find him a hospital bed - even though there were apparently some available at the time.

On the purely social side or health issues, campaigns have already been launched to fight obesity, and lower the rate of alcohol consumption by prohibiting its sales to anyone under 18.

A ban on television advertising for a range of products during children’s programming is just part of the multi-pronged approach Bachelot has taken to cut down on child obesity.

She also wants sweets withdrawn for supermarket checkouts and there are plans afoot for
a Gallic-style Food Quality Agency to monitor a complete overhaul of what’s on school menus with new dietary and nutrition plans due to come into effect at the beginning of the next academic year in September.

Most recently Bachelot has been battling to push through reforms to hospitals and the country's health insurance system.

Many within the ruling UMP and opposition Socialist party feel an overhaul is necessary, but there's profound disagreement as to exactly what needs to be done.

The country's healthcare and health insurance system is one the French pride themselves on and many now see as coming under threat.

Bachelot - and her boss, Sarkozy, want to balance the health insurance budget (by 2012) by, for example, encouraging public hospitals to group together (on a voluntary basis).

Just last week she was forced to respond to a petition signed by 25 leading doctors from the capital's hospitals who, among other things, were particularly critical of the number of jobs under threat from the proposed reforms and the potential for administrative chaos there could be.

They claim the reforms marginalise the medical aspect of healthcare and makes hospitals first and foremost about the "business" of health, balancing budgets and meeting targets.

Those employed in the health sector have been at the forefront of public sector workers demonstrating during the two national strikes that have already been held this year.

And there's the threat that there could be a strike among administrative staff at hospitals in the French capital later this month protesting job cuts.

While Bachelot has undoubtedly faced a tough time of it over the past couple of months as the reforms made their way through the National Assembly, the lower chamber of parliament - in the process requiring around 500 amendments according to Bachelot - the next month could prove even tougher.

Those strikes are scheduled to take place at exactly the same time as the reforms are debated in the Senate.

Maybe after all Bachelot was a wise choice to help push through such controversial reforms.

She doesn't create the same sort of "loathe or love" feeling as say Rachida Dati or Rama Yade, two much younger colleagues who are often hitting the headlines and appear high in the list of the country's most preferred politicians.

And she doesn't follow the usual pattern of iron-fisted politics clothed in a velvet glove.

But the following month and how she handles opposition and any concessions she might need to make before the reforms are passed could have an influence on any decisions Sarkozy takes when he announced that much-anticipated cabinet reshuffle.




See also

Sarkozy's women in government - just - Rama Yade

Sarkozy's women in government - Christine Lagarde. Who would be a finance minister?

Sarkozy's women in government - MAM, a rough ride for even the toughest

Sarkozy's women in government - Rachida Dati, a star on the wane?

Restrictions remain on gay male blood donors in France

There's a shortage of blood donors here in France at the moment. Indeed we're constantly being reminded of the fact by reports and advertising campaigns by the Etablissement Francais du Sang (French National Blood Service) stressing both the need and simplicity of giving blood.

And in an effort to encourage more people to be "eligible" the health minister, Roselyne Bachelot has announced that the age limit for donors will be increased from 65 to 70 years of age.

But as you've probably noticed from the headline there's one group in France which is still being barred from giving blood - homosexual men.

In an interview with the national daily newspaper Libération this week, Bachelot emphasised how important it was to remind people of the need to give blood especially at this time of the year when there's traditionally a shortage and blood banks around the country are making appeals for donors to step forward.

However she also said there would be no change in the restriction preventing gay men from giving blood - even though one of her predecessors in the job, Xavier Bertrand, had promised a review.

Gay rights groups have been particularly critical of Bachelot's decision as it comes from a woman who herself says "Everyone knows my personal engagement".

Back in 1998 when the French parliament was debating a change in the law to recognise same sex partnerships (PACS), Bachelot was one of the few from her party or indeed the whole of the centre-right to speak out in favour, and she has also made her position clear on gay marriage and homosexual couples being allowed to adopt children.

Her decision in the matter of whether gay men should be allowed to donate blood is, she insists, one based purely on the professional advice she sought and is founded on solid medical expertise.

"As far as AIDS or HIV goes there are two elements that have to be taken into account. First of all the time delay between someone being in contact the HIV virus and for it to be detectable in the blood. - that poses a real problem," she said.

"And then the figures speak for themselves. Between 10 to 18 per cent of gay men are HIV positive, whereas among heterosexual men and women the percentage is 0.2 per cent. Therefore there's a risk - and that risk is too great to take," she added.

Gay rights groups though contest Bachelot's thinking.

Act-Up argues that Portugal for example has recently opened up blood donorship for homosexual men without creating a health risk, and the group maintains that Bachelot is promoting "fictional discrimination."

Her reasoning is discriminatory "borderline homophobic" it insists on its website.

"According to Bachelot there are groups 'at risk', when in fact there are only sexual practices at risk," it maintains.

And it also contests the figures quoted by the minister, saying that ""today two-thirds of (HIV) contamination in France takes place among heterosexuals."

Bachelot though said her decision was purely one taken to ensure health safety.

"It's not a philosophical option," she insisted. "We'll keep monitoring (the trends) and if there's a change the restrictions will be amended accordingly."

The lady with the sweets

Ah, Roselyne Bachelot is such a nice lady. The minister of health doesn’t follow the usual pattern of iron-fisted politics clothed in a velvet glove. Instead she prefers the softly-softly approach.

So when she outlined plans on Monday to help fight child obesity, it came across not so much as draconian policy proposals but more like a friendly push in the right direction.

Bachelot wants television channels to drop advertising for a range of products during children’s programming. She has targeted of course food and drink high in sugar and fat content, but has given networks and advertisers the initial chance for self-regulation.

In other words they are to work out for themselves what should and shouldn’t appear in commercials, and Bachelot will retain the option of banning certain products completely if she’s not happy with the outcome.

She has set a deadline for April 1.

It’s what is being referred to in the French media as the “light” alternative, with Bachelot hoping that her call will be heard and heeded and that she won’t need to draw up official legislation.

A ban on telly advertising is just part of the multi-pronged approach Bachelot is taking to cut down on child obesity.

She also wants to withdraw sweets from check outs in supermarkets and has called for a meeting at the end of this month to determine how such a move should be implemented.

Also in the pipeline is a Gallic-style Food Quality Agency to monitor a complete overhaul of what’s on school menus with new dietary and nutrition plans due to come into effect at the beginning of the next academic year in September.

For some here in France it’s not quite the nanny state gone mad, but it’s fast approaching. There’s been a fair amount of debate on national radio about how far government can legislate such social change or whether it should be left to parents to be responsible for their children’s eating habits.

Others, such as the pressure group “Obesity – protect our children” welcome Bachelot’s proposals and want even more legislation as proof that there is a real political will to fight the flab.

It might seem strange that in a country with a terrific reputation for good food and haute cuisine that such a problem should exist. But it does.

The bottom line is that in France, as in many other countries, there has been a marked increase in the number of overweight children. Research shows that 18 per cent of 3-17 year-olds weigh too much – that’s around two million children - with 3.5 per cent defined as clinically obese. That’s up from 14.5 per cent and 3 per cent respectively in just two years.

And if the figures are correct it’s a problem that lasts well into later years with more than two thirds of overweight children remaining so as adults and life expectancy reduced by 13 years.







Sarkozy’s trouble with women 4

When he came to power in May this year the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, promised parity within government. Real equality between the sexes at last. And he delivered…..apparently…..appointing seven women to the 15-strong cabinet.

But is and was it true parity or simply a gesture with little substance?

Do those women in fact actually hold positions of real power? Or are they simply there to make up the numbers and carry out the wishes of the president?

The evidence so far is mixed, although in his defence it should be said that Sarkozy has never flinched from interfering in each of his minister’s– be they men or women - areas of responsibilities

But his electoral promise for gender parity comes in for particular scrutiny, as the women seem to have suffered most from Sarkozy’s methods of government.

Take the case of the interior minister, Michèle Alliot-Marie.

She’s a woman with a long political career on both a local and national level, entering politics in 1983 as a local councillor and three years later winning a seat in parliament. By the end of the 90s MAM – as she is commonly known - had worked her way through the ranks of the centre-right Rassemblement pour la République party, the forerunner of the modern-day Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, to become the first woman to lead a party. In 2002 another first for MAM, when she was appointed defence minister – a post she held until May this year.

She considered standing as a candidate for the UMP presidential nomination, but eventually threw her backing behind Sarkozy in the hope of being suitably rewarded. In a sense she was, becoming (once again) the first woman to hold the office of interior minister. But her role and influence has been seriously diminished by Sarkozy’s decision to move immigration to another (newly-created) ministry, headed by one of his closest allies and personal friend for more than 30 years, Brice Hortefeux.

So MAM, who just six months ago was in charge of one of Europe’s largest defence budgets and took the occasional trip in a Mirage fighter ‘plane, now finds herself drawing up laws against dangerous dogs and accompanying the president whenever he pitches up in front of the cameras to comfort families whose loved ones have died in fires.

If the common perception is that Alliot-Marie has perhaps been sidelined, the same cannot be said of the culture minister Christine Albanel, whose role – as far Sarkozy is concerned – was never going to be anything other than minor.

Indeed Sarkozy did not have a great deal to say about culture in the run-up to the presidential elections. And he isn’t perceived as being particularly highbrow.

Another close personal friend of the president, Albanel may have the right intellectual credentials for the job, but that certainly won’t stop Sarkozy from muscling in whenever he sees fit. And that’s exactly what he did at the beginning of September, when he stepped into the role of culture minister at the inauguration ceremony of the revamped City of Architecture and Heritage museum in Paris,

And Albanel has a clear brief in a letter she received from the president himself to “democratise” culture by allowing free access to major museums encouraging more “creative and bold” cultural programmes on the small screen.

While Albanel’s job should be safe as long as she does what she’s told, Christine Boutin, the social cohesion minister, has a far trickier task. Although she has a track record in social affairs, it’s not one that endears her to everyone.

She’s an outspoken advocate of moral conservatism and founder of one of France’s largest pro-life organisations. Back in 1998 she opposed legislation to recognise same-sex domestic partnerships (PACS), famously arguing that its adoption would encourage homosexuality!

Should French television screens be filled once again with pictures of riots in the inner city suburbs, the homeless camping in tents on the streets of the capital, or asylum seekers being turfed out of sheltered accommodation, Sarkozy could well ditch Boutin and take control himself.

The last woman in the cabinet is the much-loved Roselyne Bachelot – a maverick of the centre-right. The health and sport minister was the only member of her party to vote in favour of the PACS back in the 1990s and is generally seen as the jolliest and most engaging member of the government. Paradoxically, that could be her very undoing.

She’s not averse to speaking her mind and handsomely putting her foot in it, just as she did several years ago when she let slip that former president Jacques Chirac was slightly deaf in one ear. Old habits clearly die hard for Bachelot, and recently she unofficially named a new recruit as a junior minister before Sarkozy or the proposed candidate had given their approval. The appointment was never made.

Bachelot fairly warbles her way through interviews on the airwaves and is spoofed on telly as having no clue as to what she is doing, which is true perhaps for her sporting ministerial hat. In fact she struck quite an amusing figure during France’s hosting of the rugby world cup, with a definite twinkle in her eye as the players grappled each other for the ball on the pitch.

Always smiling and loudly dressed, she comes as close as anyone to being a national institution but whether that, and her undoubted expertise in health issues will be enough to save her from a premature chop is unlikely.

How Bachelot and her fellow women in cabinet fare clearly depends not just on their own abilities but also on whether they have presidential approval. The prime minister, Francois Fillon, may be their boss, but to all intents and purposes, it’s Sarkozy who wields the potential axe.