Monday, April 30, 2007

Sarkozy takes aim at the French left, and scores a bullseye

From Le Monde, my translation:
"I want to turn the page on May 1968".

"Between Jules Ferry (1) and May '68 (2), the Left chose May '68...It has preached welfarism, egalitarianism, a levelling down and the 35 hour week. It has turned its back on the ordinary working people of this country".
And why doesn't he like the Soixante Huitards? (The French term for the near revolutionary Left of '68):
"Their intellectual and moral relativism. [suggesting] There is no difference between good and evil, between beautiful and ugly, between true and false and that Jack's as good as his master".
Good stuff. However, the track record of politicians appealing to the 'silent majority' (yes, he did - 'la majorité silencieuse') is not very encouraging.

And elsewhere, Le Figaro notes that at the same rally Michèle Alliot-Marie (the defence minister) accused Ségolène Royal of 'changing her convictions as often as she changes her outfits'. Catty, Michèle, very catty.
FOOTNOTES:
1 - More at Wikipedia, but Ferry was the father of French state education, and a contemporary of Gladstone and Disraeli in the UK, or Grant and Hayes in the US.


2 - There is no real equivalent to the iconography of May '68 for the British, but think general strike meets counter culture etc etc. The '68 demonstrations could be compared to the troubles on campuses in the US and the urban riots, if without the equivalent of Kent State. They came up with some inspired slogans though - 'Be realistic - demand the impossible' and 'Beneath the paving slabs, the beach!'

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