HEATED SUMMER
It's been an agitated summer
so far with strikes and disturbances at several summer festivals, revelations
of financial misconduct within the UMP opposition party, a surprisingly long
and tough hearing of former president Sarkozy by French prosecutors, and the
Tour de France off to a chaotic start.
The INTERMITTENTS DU SPECTACLE (temps of the entertainment business) made
good on some of their threats (blog June 15) and closed down the première of the
Avignon theatre festival at the famous Palais
des Papes and a number of other shows thereafter. In spite of an initial
positive gesture from the government in response to the strikers' demands, a hard-core group of
protesters shut down festivals in Montpellier, Marseilles, Uzès, and elsewhere,
and at times the police had to intervene, particularly in a highly charged
Avignon where Minister of Culture Aurélie Filippetti was shouted down by
hecklers and the mood turned ugly.
In Aix-en-Provence, after a
difficult start with one opera cancelled and another one disturbed, a
compromise was reached: the opera
festival management distributed pamphlets and prominently displayed large
banners in support of the intermittents
at the four opera venues in town. In addition, they allowed the temps to
present their case on stage at the beginning of each performance − generally to enthusiastic
applause of the French audience and bewildered looks from foreign visitors.
At the 2014 International
Opera Awards in London on April 7th, the festival of Aix-en-Provence was named
"Best Opera Festival in Europe" − a prestigious distinction in a crowded field and
proof of its increasingly wide resonance abroad. This month-long event produces
€65 million in revenues for the region, approximately half of it for the city
of Aix-en-Provence alone. Cancelling this festival would not only have
disastrous financial consequences but would severely damage its reputation
outside France, where less tolerance can be expected for the salary issues of
the intermittents.
AND AWAY WE GO...
None of this unrest has
slowed down the holiday departures in France, when people leave the cities en masse, usually towards the Atlantic
and Mediterranean coasts. Every weekend throughout July and August is a
"weekend rouge" or "noir" on traffic-choked major highways,
as hordes of vacationers −
like lemmings − make
their way to the sea. While the young splash around in pools or at beaches,
their parents settle into their lounge chairs to read magazines or the summer
best sellers that have been discussed and recommended in the press.
SARKOZY
After spending 15 hours in
police custody on July 1st, former president Nicolas Sarkozy was formally charged with corruption and abuse of power following a number of wiretapped
conversations with his lawyer on his private cell phone. These revealed that
information concerning his pending Bétancourt
case (blog March 17) was being leaked to him by a lawyer at the Paris Court of Appeals
who hoped to obtain a prominent position in Monaco with Sarkozy's help. Within
hours of his long ordeal, a combative Nicolas Sarkozy appeared on national television
to accuse the two prosecuting judges of clear bias, unnecessary humiliation,
and building their case on illegally obtained information (lawyer-client
privilege). Even if Sarkozy may be proven right, this episode still further
erodes his chances of a possible presidential comeback in 2017.
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| Nicolas Sarkozy |
Meanwhile, his UMP party
continues to be weakened by internal scandals that have already led to the
resignation of party leader Jean-François Copé over the Bygmalion affair (blog June 1).
A financial audit has now revealed that the UMP is €80 million in debt, part of
it incurred to finance the Copé couple's lavish lifestyle and pay for excessive
salaries for the top managers. There are also rumors of a secret fund for presidential
campaign expenses beyond the legally allowed limit. A triumvirate of three
former prime ministers has taken over the leadership of the party until a new
leader can be elected in October. Nicolas Sarkozy's backers are still hopeful
that their man may return and, in the absence of any strong UMP candidate on
the horizon, they may get their wish.
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| Old (left) and new glasses |
BERLUSCONI
One man who can and did win
was Silvio Berlusconi who, on appeal, was acquitted of the charges of paying
for sex with a minor and abuse of power. The judge apparently accepted
Berlusconi's testimony that he thought the then-underage prostitute
"Ruby" was over eighteen. Known for his harsh opinion of the Italian
justice system, this time a jubilant Berlusconi commented that "the vast
majority of Italian magistrates do their job quietly and with admirable
impartiality and rigor". The ruling
by the Appeals Court overturns his lifetime ban on holding political office,
but may have little effect given Berlusconi's age and the fact that he is still
on trial for political corruption at a court in Naples and for witness
tampering in Milan.
TOUR DE FRANCE
This year the Tour de France has been plagued by a series of accidents that knocked several big-name riders out
of the race early on. Mark Cavendish crashed out on the very first day in his
native Yorkshire, and when the Tour hit French soil on day four, heavy rain and
wind caused multiple spills on the slippery cobblestone roads, resulting in a
number of broken bones. Among the victims were last year's winner Chris Froome,
and former winners Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck. There are now no former Tour winners left in
the remaining stages.
HAVE A HAPPY SUMMER ...
AND KEEP COOL!
