Posts About France
"Couscous": Pursuing the French Dream
"Couscous" is a heart-wrenching French film that tells the story of Arab immigrants in France and their pursuit of the "French dream."
For New EU President, A Baffling Array of Challenges
Gaza, Gazprom, the economic downturn and Sarkozy's ego all pose their own problems early on for the Czech Republic's EU presidency.
France's Swan Song? Not So Fast
France is not the cultural and scientific heavyweight it once was - but it will bloom again in new and exciting ways.
As Rome Burns, China Won't Talk
China to France: You meet with the Dalai Lama, we blow off your meeting on future of the world.
Europe's Winner in Financial Crisis: Politicians
European leaders jockey for political gain as they navigate the global financial crisis.
Citizens Must Accept Cultural Norms
Burqas are not suitable for a free, open society.Wearing a burqa, however, is a different matter. As a religious practice, it represents an extreme form of discrimination against women, even a hint of sexual bondage, as a burqa is mainly intended to keep its wearers from the gaze of males. It's more than a simple matter of religious practice or ethnic custom. In Malaysia once, I was startled by the sight of an Arab woman whose black figure in a burqa dispelled many people. Some Muslim friends told me a woman in a burqa would be the best way to keep their own women from accepting the fundamentalist form of Islam. Cultural diversity is today taken for granted in many countries, but fundamentalist Islam in the form of burqas -- we have seen what it did in Afghanistan under the Taliban -- is a sign of cultural exclusivity, not accommodation. If an Arab woman insists on wearing it in France, she should not seek its citizenship. What would happen when circumstances arise for her to remove her burqa in an accident or in hospital? Would her irate husband attack the policemen or doctors? No, she and her family should move back to Morocco and live there, not in France. Burqas repel, rather than invite acceptance. Accommodation is limited to the woman’s family. We've seen women wear them in the diplomatic community, in official status, but not as de jure members of our society because burqas set them apart. They are not suitable for a free, open society.
France's Choice Defies Logic
State-mandated assimilation will only lead to formation of ghettos and more invisible walls.
Allegiance, Not Assimilation
All that should be asked of an immigrant is allegiance to a new country. Islamic theology's stronger message is one of tolerance, not imposition.
Two Nuclear Setbacks For France
France stumbles with a nuclear waste spill.
The French Nuclear Recipe
The French have mixed a lot of state support in with their nuclear power industry.
Three More Influential People
A French socialist, a Cuban dissident and an Egyptian novelist.
Decline is for Brooding Intellectuals
Decline? What decline? That's an invention by dark-suited French intellectuals. But while we talk of decline, the rest of the French work 35-hour weeks, drink expensive wine and enjoy “la joie de vivre!”
New Energy at the Ballot Box
France is showing strong commitment to the democratic process, and that process is bearing fruit. This first round of voting has been characterized by many novelties, including high voter turnout and two winners from a new generation of politicians.
Leadership Matters
Of course it matters how and by whom a country is led. Nothing is predetermined, in France no more than in the U.S. Chirac has played the French game in Europe poorly -- as Bush has throughout the world. But does anybody believe America cannot recover?
It's Cyclical, France Will Be Back
France's society and demographic fabric have been changing. This year's elections already show increased voter turnout from first-time voters -- minority and immigrant communities. France may be at the end of a cyclical decline, ready to move into a new era.
Not Decline, But Rupture with the Past
The moment when people start saying that a country is “doomed to decline” is generally a good time to buy its stock. France suffers from a paralysis common to many mature developed countries, but its population may be ready to elect and outsider with the power to change that.
French Kids Are Coming
The Anglo-Saxon market economy is widely regarded as superior to other economic models, including the French, in many ways. But the French system has succeeded in the single most important realm: producing future generations.
Elect a Woman President
It always matters (a bit) who the elected politicians are, as they have the power to shape the future of any country. But they are limited in what they can do by short terms in office -- and in the end, show me one country that isn't doomed.
Charlemagne to Duty-Free Champagne
After four years in Iraq, the U.S. seems ready to leave in a hurry, while Britain managed to stay there for decades. Europe remembers war and imperial domination, and has managed to break free. They may have lessons the world could stand to learn.
