France General Discussion IV: Yellow Fever

[Lechasseur]

https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2019/06/05/notre-dame-desaccord-profond-entre-l-assemblee-et-le-senat_5471717_3246.html

The National Assembly and the Senate can't come up with a compromise on the Notre Dame restoration (or as LREM would say, "reconstruction") bill, and given in France if both houses can't agree, the lower house has the last word, it looks like Macron will get the bill he wants and will be able to do whatever he wants to Notre Dame.

Frankly if the Senate's opinion doesn't matter, I really don't know why it hasn't been abolished yet.

[Lechasseur]

Can you please stop double-posting every news about Notre Dame? I don't care if you post it in the Notre Dame thread or the general France thread (and I do appreciate you posting updates on this, since I'm invested in the issue myself and agree with you on it), but it's annoying to have to check two different thread and find the exact same post. Just pick one thread and stick with it.

OK Will do. I just wanted to keep people updated, especially on an issue I really care about. I didn't mean to annoy anyone. I'll keep updates to the other thread.

[Lechasseur]

https://www.lefigaro.fr/christian-jacob-elu-a-la-tete-des-republicains-20191013?fbclid=IwAR2g0hwwCoRm2KpCzW6q-5_wnquX4ib3PalspNf7KBzBbCCh2Q3OC4gyWDY

Christian Jacob has been elected the new president of LR

[Lechasseur]

https://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/francois-hollande-plaide-pour-un-mandat-presidentiel-de-6-ans-sans-premier-ministre-20191022?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR03ABBbWyEqV8j4p56pGMyApcodQQxjRShpIwvw3eKE9i8YaPSUo_ofRn8#Echobox=1571730367

François Hollande wants the length of a presidential term lengthened to 6 years. He also wants the office of Prime Minister abolished.

[Lechasseur]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ouest-france.fr/politique/francois-fillon/le-proces-de-francois-et-penelope-fillon-aura-lieu-du-24-fevrier-au-11-mars-2020-6516896/amp

Old news but forgot to post it on here until now. François Fillon's trial will be in February/March 2020.

[Lechasseur]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.20minutes.fr/amp/a/2616783

Nicolas Sarkozy will also be going on trial for a separate case (Bygmalion Affair). The date hasn't been fixed yet but it will probably be next year as well.

[Lechasseur]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.lexpress.fr/actualite/societe/justice/affaire-karachi-la-justice-ordonne-un-proces-pour-balladur-et-leotard_2100658.amp.html

And then Edouard Balladur and François Leotard have also been ordered to go on trial due to campaign finance stuff linked to Balladur's 1995 presidential campaign.

[Lechasseur]

Macron does 180 on Immigration:
France will now impose strict quotas on non-eu migration, around 33000 per year according to the labour minister, despite being against Quotas in his 2017 Campaign. Health insurance will be restricted for illegal immigrants and the Asylum Law will also be tightened further, after being so already last year. France has seen a large increase in the number of Asylum seekers (as opposed to the other major EU countries that have seen large drops). Macron also said in the right-wing Magazine "Valeurs Actuelles" that there was a threat of "Secession" in immigrant-high Banlieues.

Sarkozy et al. talked tough on Migration in the Campaign, but did little legally, but it will be the 'liberal globalist rothschild soros puppet' that cracking down hard. Ironic. I wonder whether that new poll had anything to do with this...

2022 is not going to be a nice election for Left-wing voters, I fear.

(en) https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/france-toughens-stance-immigration-1.5349767
(de) https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/fachkraeftemangel-frankreich-fuehrt-quotenregelung-fuer-migranten-ein-16470130.html

In practice it changes nothing. Only a fraction of visas (titres de séjour) are for economic reasons. 33 000 is already about the amount of economic visas France gives out every year. And only ''economic'' migration will be capped.

Family/personal life visas and student visas, who make up the vast majority of visas, won't be capped as far as I know.

[Lechasseur]

Macron does 180 on Immigration:
France will now impose strict quotas on non-eu migration, around 33000 per year according to the labour minister, despite being against Quotas in his 2017 Campaign. Health insurance will be restricted for illegal immigrants and the Asylum Law will also be tightened further, after being so already last year. France has seen a large increase in the number of Asylum seekers (as opposed to the other major EU countries that have seen large drops). Macron also said in the right-wing Magazine "Valeurs Actuelles" that there was a threat of "Secession" in immigrant-high Banlieues.

Sarkozy et al. talked tough on Migration in the Campaign, but did little legally, but it will be the 'liberal globalist rothschild soros puppet' that cracking down hard. Ironic. I wonder whether that new poll had anything to do with this...

2022 is not going to be a nice election for Left-wing voters, I fear.

(en) https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/france-toughens-stance-immigration-1.5349767
(de) https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/fachkraeftemangel-frankreich-fuehrt-quotenregelung-fuer-migranten-ein-16470130.html

In practice it changes nothing. Only a fraction of visas (titres de séjour) are for economic reasons. 33 000 is already about the amount of economic visas France gives out every year. And only ''economic'' migration will be capped.

Family/personal life visas and student visas, who make up the vast majority of visas, won't be capped as far as I know.

The first one is not even cappable, as it would be illegal not to allow spouse and children to join the person if he has a legal residence and is able to provide.

Btw. Where/how did most of the African Immigrants come to France? I know people from Africa make up a relatively large % of the population in some areas, so was it some sort of program for ex-colonies?

Oh I don't support a cap on it either. And as you said it would probably be illegal anyway.

For the part on African immigrants there are many reasons for Algeria (it was PART of France until 1962 and not legally a colony like the others), but I'm not sure what the exact reasons for the others were.

I know you had programs in the 1960s but those ended under Pompidou I believe. I'm not sure how those who came later came.

[Lechasseur]

I know a lot of left-wingers want to see a Sixth Republic, but what would be different between that and the current Fifth Republic? I never really understood it.

[Lechasseur]

I know a lot of left-wingers want to see a Sixth Republic, but what would be different between that and the current Fifth Republic? I never really understood it.

EVERYTHING

The current system is basically the worst of both worlds, with the shallow personality-centric politics of a presidential regime combined with the servile, rubber-stamp parliament that you normally see in Westminster-type systems (although not in Westminster right now ). A movement in either direction would be preferable, but the most important thing is to break down all the shackles that the 1958 constitution put on parliamentary autonomy from the government, and put cabinet selection truly in parliament's hands. It would be even better to get rid of direct election of the president altogether, but sadly I doubt it would be possible to get people on board with that.

Yeah that makes sense

[Lechasseur]

As much as I agree with you, Antonio, I do think the semi-presidential system the Vth Republic ought to incarnate allows French people to give a general direction to their foreign policy through a Presidential figure well versed enough in the matter, while domestic issues are represented in their local elected official. Given its a nuclear power and now the only EU state with an army capable of deploying and occupying territory for a sustained period of time, France very much needs a captain and not a referee, which is what we'd have in a pure parliamentary system. You can't have a minor party dictate military affairs and collapse governments in it like they had in the Netherlands.  

The mistake was the 5 term Presidency which also implied holding legislative elections immediately after Presidential ones. If France separate the legislative from the executive in electoral terms too there would be a counterweight to any excess Presidentialism.

Yeah I agree with this.

The Fifth Republic was the best Republic France had from 1958 until 2002.

It seems like the system started going awry after the 5 year term which made it too president dominated.

You need a good balance between the executive and parliament, which France had I the 1958-2002 period.

Before 1958 the system was too parliamentary and since 2002 too presidential.

The Fifth Republic 1958-2002 was just right.

[Lechasseur]

Worth at least mentioning today’s general strike surely? Inspired by a set of pension reforms (details tbc), but the country is theoretically on shut down until further notice...

Yeah most public transport in my city is shut down today. Fortunately for me the line I use is basically the only one that isn't shut down. But half of my class is absent today...

Then one of my friends most likely failed his exams because of the strike, as originally he was supposed to have 9 exams over 5 days but due to the strike the exam calendar was modified to 9 exams in 3 days. 3 exams per day is too much.

[Lechasseur]

Just heard news about the strike on the radio, apparently it's supposed to continue until at least Tuesday.

[Lechasseur]

The Ile de France, the region Paris is in, is supposed to go under a Wuhan styled shutdown (total confinement) starting tomorrow according to the French media.

I'm really getting scared now.

[Lechasseur]

https://amp.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/coronavirus-une-plainte-contre-edouard-philippe-et-agnes-buzyn-a-ete-deposee-20200321

A criminal complaint has been filed by a group of doctors and other healthcare professionals against Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and former Minister of Health and current LREM nominee for Paris City Hall Agnès Buzyn for "mensonge d'État", "lies by the state" in English, due to their handling of the coronavirus pandemic (basically by hiding how serious it was and not doing anything about it until it was already basically too late).

[Lechasseur]

https://www.20minutes.fr/politique/2745571-20200322-coronavirus-vague-previent-emmanuel-macron-journal-dimanche

The French minister of health estimates that the true number of infected people is somewhere between 30 000 and 90 000 in France, but most of these people either don't have symptoms or have very light ones so they haven't been tested.

[Lechasseur]

https://www.letemps.ch/culture/albert-uderzo-dessinateur-dasterix-decede

RIP

[Lechasseur]

The Scientific Council has advised the French government that the lockdown here has to last at least 6 weeks.

It's purely advisory, but the government will most likely take its advice.

[Lechasseur]

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has announced that the lockdown in France will be extended until at least April 15th.

[Lechasseur]

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has announced that the lockdown in France will be extended until at least April 15th.

Probably until Early May.

That's what I'm thinking too

If it ends there it's fine. What I don't like is the uncertainty.

[Lechasseur]

http://www.leparisien.fr/politique/coronavirus-le-gouvernement-envisage-un-deconfinement-regionalise-01-04-2020-8292291.php

The French government plans on coming up with a strategy in the coming weeks to let people out of confinement progressively, depending on testing, the number of people still in intensive care, the region they live in, their age and other criteria yet to be determined in all likelihood.

[Lechasseur]

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has stated that confinement will "probably" be extended.

So France will be under stay-at-home order until at least the end of April.

[Lechasseur]

According to CNews, the total lockdown in France will probably end at the end of April, but restrictions will still apply in France for a while after that.

https://www.cnews.fr/france/2020-04-05/fin-du-confinement-pour-quand-et-comment-942659?amp

[Lechasseur]

http://www.leparisien.fr/video/video-paris-malgre-l-interdiction-des-milliers-de-personnes-defilent-pour-les-sans-papiers-30-05-2020-8326971.php

Yesterday there was a major demonstration in favor of the "sans-papiers" (French term for undocumented immigrants), despite the government having banned large demonstrations due to the current health situation.

The police broke up the demonstration and there were 98 arrests.