by Ramin Mazaheri
I know that if you’re on The Saker you have a ton of great stuff to read, and I don’t want to waste your time, so:
Fillon is a French presidential candidate, and no you do not have to care about him anymore.
Are you still reading? Well then, we must be related!
(Send food/money/fewer pictures)
I have put off writing this article for so long that it has become largely irrelevant, as Francois himself now is.
Today, Fillon had all of France in a tizzy as he hastily canceled his visit to the National Farmers’ Fair (Salon de l’Agriculture) and called an immediate press conference.
France is the breadbasket of Western Europe and primarily a nation of rural farmers, so politicians don’t just…cancel a visit to this event. It’s the only time you can step in cow dung and be in Paris at the same time!
And you certainly don’t do it in a campaign year!
But done it, he did.
And so we journos stopped whatever we working on to cover Fillon. I cancelled a story on a demonstration against France’s illegal treatment of homeless minors. I felt bad about that, but that’s the way it is.
We all assumed that he was going to make good on his pledge to step down if the justice system opened up a formal investigation on his alleged participation in “Penelopegate”.
François and Penelope Fillion
For those who rightly ignore the presidential campaigns of foreign nations because they are what I call “near news” (whoever wins is the actual “news” anyone really needs to know): Penelope is Fillon’s wife, and she is alleged to have received nearly 1 million euros in ghost jobs over a decade.
From taxpayer money no less. As her husband’s parliamentary aide, no less!
They could not find any proof of Penelope doing any actual work. Fillon said he would provide plenty of evidence to police…such as pay stubs. LOL, Francois seemed to think that proof of payment is not the same as proof of hard work.
This is from a candidate who ran as “Mr. Clean”, backed by the rural Catholic silent majority who he so surprisingly spurned to hold this press conference.
Skip the preambles, so what’d he say?
Fillon announced that he will indeed have to go before a judge on March 15 and explain himselfover his role in the alleged fraud.
(But he’s got pay stubs! What’s the problem?)
What’s funny is that if you are a cop in France and you shoot some Black or Muslim 20-year old in the back…well, then the wheels of justice move slowly, and then they move not at all in a seemingly-guaranteed acquittal (I can offer no examples of cops being convicted of murder this century).
So, it is a bit strange that Frank is going to have to testify so quickly….
I said “skip the preambles”! Is Fillon going to drop out?
Hahahahaahha, your naiveté is very cute! What a good heart you have! How are you not married by now?
Frank is not dropping out.
Franklin may have dropped from guaranteed winner all the way down to 3rd place, but he’s still close enough to the De Gaulle-crafted dictatorship-presidency that nothing could make him quit.
Frank said “the presidential election is being politically assassinated”…and that is being poorly reported as, “Fillon claims ‘political assassination,’” but I can’t do everyone’s job for them.
He’s got a point, per my “how does a cop get off after shooting anybody in the back” point attests. I’m surprised he didn’t also draw the comparison….
It’s not just Fillon: Marine Le Pen is also being investigated for alleged ghost jobs, but with European Parliament. She is a smart one, or at least she has savvy lawyers, because she has claimed her right to immunity as an MP and refuses to talk to investigators until after the election.
However, she has just been stripped of said immunity, but only regarding gruesome beheading re-Tweets of ISIL.
That investigation has been going on since late 2015 but the timing is also curious, and Le Pen will easily find a receptive audience for allegations of politically-motivated machinations to deprive her of the presidency as well.
I wonder how we the public can understand the effects of going to war if we can’t show the actual effects of war…but that’s pretty much the point, and also another issue.
Fillon can’t really take Le Pen’s tack here (though he does agree with her policy of rampant xenophobia), because he campaigned as “Mr. Clean”.
He’s a “Monsieur Propre” (as that household cleaner is marketed here in France) with a cool million of allegedly stolen taxpayer money, but he still has to dutifully go and see the cops, and he may even confess like the good Catholic he always says he is.
That’s between him, his Maker and the justice system, but admitting it and putting it behind him may be the only way for him to regain enough popularity to get into the 2nd round. The latest poll has him at 21% in the first round, bested by Le Pen (25%) and Emmanuel “Ugh please anyone but him how can this happen oh the humanity” Macron (24%).
For those not used to a two-round system: 21% in the first round is essentially equal to the score of the New Anti-Capitalist Party’s Philippe Poutou, who is polling at 0%.
I assume that’s rounded down, unless he really has a self-confidence problem.
Ole Francoissy said (I’m running out of nicknames here) at his press conference: “I rely on the French people because only the vote, and not a prosecution, can decide who will be the next president….The sovereign will of the people cannot be annulled…that alone should choose our collective future.”
It’s an interesting point, similar to the US Supreme Court justice situation during the Trump/Clinton election. Should the people decide…or appointed bureaucrats? If the French people are ok with electing a guy who may be guilty of embezzlement…well, this is France.
And how bad is France? It is so bad that a staggering, STAGGERING 99% of 18-34 year old believe their politicians are corrupt, according to a poll last December.
That is enormous; that is something which may not be replicated anywhere else; that alone proves that voting for the mainstream is the fool’s vote. Certainly since the European Sovereign Debt Crisis they are indeed a “lost” and “sacrificed” generation.
The older ones here are just as faithless: 75% believe that Parliamentarians are corrupt. It has gotten so bad that we will have had nationwide anti-corruption on three Sundays running, provided it’s not too rainy March 5th.
So, Coissy (why don’t they use that diminutive here?) is not wrong to think he really is not done for.
But Fillon should be done for
My original headline for this column was: “Francois Fillon – man of the (17th century) people.”
I waffled on if his ideology would be more accurately termed “16th century” – preceding any advancements of the Enlightenment – and then I became engrossed with flicking playing cards into an upturned hat and never wrote the column.
Fillon lives in a huge 14th century feudal manor.
It’s the type of place which for centuries required an entire village of hundreds of people to support. You’d have the barrel-makers making his barrels, and the cobber cobbling 14th-century Fillon’s cobs, and the indentured servants as his mistresses, etc.
Somebody wouldn’t bow low enough, or they’d ask if they could collect the rainwater for the tiny patch of cropland Master didn’t appropriate, and…14th-century Francois would give them the lash, and then go pray in the on-site chapel with a totally clear conscience.
21st-century Francois is not so different. He is unusual in that he seemingly always wears pinstripe suits, and in France this English/American style is only for the most capitalist of conservatives, for the biggest wannabe-gangsters.
I don’t care about his sartorial fashions or his wife’s I’m “a country peasant” who stays at home in my hillbilly hovel nonsense. Well, if you do, then how are you also working hard as his Parliamentary assistant in Paris? And what kind of a peasant earns 7,000 euros/month? You likely weren’t working hard as his aide, and she was caught on video years ago saying as much. Penelope is also being forced to testify.
What I care about is that Fillon’s economic plan is to DOUBLE the austerity cuts of Hollande.
Really? Is it because that has worked so well?
I can promise you that with a clock’s regularity since the fall of 2011 I have been penning the phrase “low quarterly growth rate” every three months. Austerity forced me to do so many of these stories that I’m going to instead hyperlink a story about French activists occupying a bank over tax fraud from December. (Fun story)
Fillon also wants to cut 500,000 public sector jobs. Why can’t I put 500,000 in capital letters?!
Because France has more than 4 million people already unemployed, 500k more would mean an instant 15% increase.
Yeah, maybe it’s not exactly that simple, but my math is way better than the neoliberals who say that firing 500,000 people will spark a decrease in France’s near-record unemployment rate.
I wouldn’t vote for Fillon if he ran against the exhumed body of Napoleon III’s favorite barrel-maker!
And yet, I’ve been shocked to hear even true leftists in France say they would still vote for Fillon over Le Pen. As if Fillon wasn’t just as xenophobic….
So where does Mr. Fillon stand now?
Well, he probably stands with far less political independence than when today started.
Fillon was 30 minutes late to his press conference, and people here are pretty punctual. (Not me, I’m on Iranian-peoples’ time.)
There should be very little doubt of why he was late: He was in the back room of his campaign headquarters, with all the fellow conservative party leaders he could muster…and he was probably handing out favors and appointments in return for their continued support despite the deepening of his scandal.
He probably had to promise an airport in this town, a cabinet position to this guy, a campaign appearance at the annual cheese festival of this rural bigwig, etc.
Maybe some didn’t get what they wanted, because they are already defecting from Fillon’s campaign. He might lose some key centrist parties who had backed him – time will tell.
How can you campaign for a guy being grilled for embezzlement…when just two months ago you were repeating his claim that “only a candidate with a record as spotless as me can correctly inflict such brutal austerity measures”? I’m paraphrasing, but not by much, truly.
He did not lose Sarko l’Américain.
In fact, as his campaign was starting to unravel, Fillon lunched with Sarkozy last month. And it was clear that he gave Fillon his new campaign tactic: Say something shocking every day to control the narrative.
I wasn’t here in 2007 when Sarko started, but journalists told me, “Man, was he great for business!” Because he gave journalists a lot of work by purposely saying crazy and offensive things during the campaign, and then also calling a ton of press conferences during his lone term.
There’s no bad publicity, for a Sarkozyist.
But there is – and it’s disgusting really: The very night that Fillon met with Sarkozy he proposed to try minors as adults.
It was openly targeted at Muslims and Blacks in the poor suburbs – pure Sarkozy.
The reality is that if Fillon wins, he’ll have to try and deliver on this promise, and that means that 16-year olds will be treated as if they aren’t children and will be forced to rot even longer in France’s antiquated, overcrowded, 70% Arab-filled prisons which are “among the worst in Europe” (behind only Moldova) … just so Fillon can be president.
Like I said – disgusting.
I guess it’s really WWSD – What Would Sarko Do – and not WWJD – What Would Jesus Do?
What Fillon may not realize is that Sarkozy’s tactic won’t work – it’s old hat. Islamophobia has gone mainstream under Hollande, and now everybody is doing it. That well has gone dry.
Fillon: Watch out for those flying cow patties!
It’s really amazing: Three days after the French Left doomed themselves to irrelevance– by refusing to unite in a broad coalition –the Right is now imploding due to Fillon.
Much like the Celine Dion CD he probably has rocking in whatever high-end luxury car he has, Francois’ “heart will go on”.
He is still running, and c’est la France – expectations for morality are so low that almost no politician is ever dead, above all on the Right.
But I think Fillon will ultimately sink just like Celine’s Titanic did…unless he can find a LOT more non-Whites to throw under the bus, or something.
In 2017 it’s all about just getting into the 2nd round, where everyone is beating Le Pen. However, it’s key to know that she made very solid gains in February: she is running at 58-42 against Macron and is all the way to 55-45 versus Fillon.
That was prior to today.
Fillon is going to take a huge hit in the polls, and I for one say it can’t be deep enough: Penelopegate aside, 5 more years of austerity would mean that we have to come up with an adjective even worse than “brutal” to precede “austerity measures”.
And the French really don’t like those, as the “one and done” term of Hollande proves.
And yet…Macron is proposing worse cuts than Hollande and is somehow leading? I am going to go on record as saying: France is currently a very stupid country.
At some point before they close the fake barn doors, Fillon will have to go back to the Farmers’ Fair…and he better hope his pinstripe suit is Staingarded for cow dung.
He’ll even get some cheers, but the people cheering the most tonight are Macron and Le Pen. Barring the nation coming to its senses and voting for the Communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon, it will be those two candidates in the 2nd round on the May 7th.
Now that you’ve met Francois Fillon, I think you’ll agree you really didn’t need to know so much about him – he’s just “near news”.
Ramin Mazaheri is the chief correspondent in Paris for Press TV and has lived in France since 2009. He has been a daily newspaper reporter in the US, and has reported from Cuba, Egypt, Tunisia, South Korea and elsewhere. His work has appeared in various journals, magazines and websites, as well as on radio and television.
For what it’s worth, here is what all my French friends are telling me: (literally word of mouth)
1. Macron and Le Pen are a definite no
2. Macron is a weird amalgam of liberal left combined with protection of banking interests (?) His message does not really resonate.
3. Fillon did really bad stuff, but is it any different to what other politicians have done.
4. The controversy around Fillon is based on events that occurred between 1998- 2007.
5. They will probably vote Fillon without enthusiasm because what are the alternatives?
Maybe you’re writing him off soon..
Who is YOUR favourite candidate Rahmin?
Many thanks for the compliments!
You are very possibly correct that I have written Fillon off too soon. Easy to do in the heat of the moment. This campaign has had several front-runners and plenty of surprises. Macron is so young, so unqualified and so susceptible to leaks and revelations that he could allow Fillon re-enter the top
Fillon’s nepotism is practiced by 30% of parliamentarians, so he’s still in the minority. The truly galling thing for the French is that he ran a campaign of personal integrity and people believed him.
My favorite candidate is Melenchon – he’d be a real change, considering the other contenders, and is the only one of the 3 truly leftist candidates who has any chance of winning. Poutou, for example, is a really great guy when I’ve talked with him, but he’s so sincere he’s not going to get anywhere in this election.
Melenchon just can’t get over the 12% hump….
I would love to be able to agree with you, but clearly Melenchon cannot be trusted to resist the EU: he would be another Tsipras.
I do not like it, but Le Pen is the only one who might change the trajectory of France and Europe. And so I, as a leftist, will vote for her.
here is the only alternative Serbian girl https://www.upr.fr/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/0001-3.jpg
it’s even in Serbian just for you (vesti journal) .
You can vote for whoever you want as long as you stay in the EU nothing will change. The policies are already set and written by the EU commission it’s called the GOPE (grande orientation de politique economique) and every member state as it’s own version he has to apply (art 121 of the TFUE in french ) . Whoever is elected has to apply this road map or face million of euros in fine everyday.
you can read it here: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/csr2016/csr2016_france_fr.pdf
All those that try to sell you another europe are duping you as they have been doing for the last 40 years. Literally every party sell that idea at every presidential election and nothing ever change. There is only 2 option stay in the EU and get more neo-liberalism that has been sinking us since more than 20 year now or get out and be free to make our own policy.
Only UPR is clearly proposing to get out by art 50 (like the british). Don’t be fooled for another 5 years
here are the recomendation for 2016-2017 from the Eu commission
1.
assurer une correction durable du déficit excessif en 2017 au plus tard en prenant les
mesures structurelles requises et en consacrant toutes les recettes exceptionnelles à la
réduction du déficit et de la dette; préciser les réductions de dépenses prévues pour
les années
à venir et accentuer les efforts pour accroître le montant des économies
générées par les revues de dépenses, y compris en ce qui concerne les dépenses des
collectivités locales, d’ici à la fin de l’année 2016; renforcer les évaluations
indépendantes des
politiques publiques afin de recenser des gains d’efficacité dans
tous les sous-secteurs des administrations publiques.
2.
veiller à ce que les réductions du coût du travail soient pérennisées et que les
évolutions du salaire minimum soient compatibles ave
c la création d’emplois et la
compétitivité; réformer le droit du travail pour inciter davantage les employeurs à
embaucher en contrats à durée indéterminée.
3.
renforcer les liens entre le secteur de l’éducation et le marché du travail, notamment
par une réforme du système d’apprentissage et de la formation professionnelle qui
mette l’accent sur les personnes peu qualifiées; d’ici à la fin de l’année 2016,
entrep
rendre une réforme du système d’assurance
–
chômage afin d’en rétablir la
viabilité budgétaire et d’encourager davantage le retour au travail.
4.
éliminer les obstacles à l’activité dans le secteur des services, en particulier dans les
services aux entrepri
ses et les professions réglementées; prendre des mesures pour
simplifier les programmes publics d’innovation et en améliorer l’efficacité; d’ici à la
fin de l’année 2016, approfondir la réforme des critères de taille réglementaires qui
freinent la croissan
ce des entreprises et continuer à simplifier les règles
administratives, fiscales et comptables en poursuivant le programme de
simplification.
5.
prendre des mesures visant à réduire les impôts sur la production et le taux nominal
de l’impôt sur les socié
tés, tout en élargissant la base d’imposition sur la
consommation, notamment en ce qui concerne la TVA; supprimer les dépenses
fiscales inefficaces, notamment celles dont le rendement est nul ou faible, et adopter
la réforme concernant la retenue à la sour
ce de l’impôt sur le revenu des personnes
physiques d’ici à la fin de l’année 2016.
Notice how those recommendations are exactly what François Hollande did !!!
Try and get a hold of the greek version and then compare it to Tsipras policies just for the lulz.
Now on a final note, the Eu commission members are not elected many come or end up in big international firms (especially Goldman sachs). So guess who profit from the policies and those who suffer from it ? How are the inequalities between the extremely rich and the rest have evolved in the last 30 years ? Do you think it’s a coincidence that our msm are owned by the extremely rich that constantly promote the EU and censor those that are TRULY against (ie not melonchon or lepen).
Thanks for the links! I admit this is the first time I’ve heard of UPR party or of François Asselineau…
“Macron is a weird amalgam of liberal left combined with protection of banking interests …”
He sounds like a U.S. Democrat! ;)
Great article. One of the best of your series, I very much enjoyed it !
I discussed with my sister yesterday on this, recently the candidates have released their income statements and Fillon’s was a pretty good one. Although he stated revenues of several hundred k€, there was not much in his accounts ; he listed a bank account with 4.000€, another with 2.500€… Where did the rest go ? Only his banker knows probably…
It’s all turning to a farce. But it doesn’t matter anyway. Here are the possible alternatives :
– Fillon is elected. Then tries to apply his austerity programs. Huge demonstrations follow. Fillon recants, distributes handouts. French budget deficit worsens. Germany steps in and France gets the Greece treatment.
-Macron is elected. We’ll get the Greece treatment straight away.
– Marine Le Pen is elected. The financial world will riot, French bonds will crash, she’ll do a Tsipras (threaten to leave the EU and then recant at the last moment), then we get the Greece treatment.
– Hamon is elected. Distributes handouts straight away, hires public servants, goes on a spending spree, then gets a phone call from Merkel. Then we get the Greece treatment.
The path before us is clear : i don’t see any politician with enough grit, cunning, determination, and connections to steer us out of this EU dictatorship. Even Russia would not necessarily support us because they have a lot invested in the euro and the Eurozone. Our economy is going down because our population is getting dumber. Our future governments will wail and moan, but in the end do the bidding of the EU and the Anglo-saxon elites, because France has been a colony for the last 150 years. A sometimes rebellious colony, but a colony nonetheless.
Great stuff, Vincent! My only point of contention is that Russia (or any other country, for that matter) can trade with pretty much whoever it wants in whatever currency the trading partners decide upon. I think Russian investors would be prefereable to Qatari investors, and given Russia’s alleged interest in organics (bio), it could prove to be a real plus for the organic farmers here.
I hoping against hope that Marine La Pen will win the day in France.
Check out this amazing video of La Pen absolutely crucifying Merkel and Hollande in front of the entire EU. Viva La Pen!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkeUZ2DG2Mw
@Perimetr,
I’m with you and cannot believe this author called Marine LePen a “xenophobe”. I am so sick of this multicultural, globalist bullshit – all designed to destroy homogeneous and functional societies so the morally bankrupt, wealthy elite can lord it over the global plantation. Marine LePen is a French patriot looking out for the interests of FRENCH people, as she should.
What has the immigrant population done for France other than turn it into a shithole of violence? What does France gain from being overrun by migrants who bring their backward, third world ways and conflicts with them? Nothing but degeneration. How long ago was it a French priest had has throat cut while performing mass? Who in their right mind wants to invite more of that into their country? Look at what the poor people of Calais have had done to their town and lives. It’s outrageous and the French should rise up and do something to their traitor politicians that I cannot say on this site.
Mind you, I don’t blame the migrants for wanting to come. I blame the Zionists, Marxists and globalists who have engineered this destruction of western civilization. It’s criminal. All of the people of the world should have their place but that doesn’t mean all of the people belong together. They don’t.
I suggest the author read this brilliant piece from Israel Shamir on what mass immigration is really about and the intent being nothing but destruction to benefit the demons behind it:
http://www.israelshamir.net/English/immigration.htm
Great video, BTW. Watch here as she destroys an insufferable BBC globalist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuLn7ISNBrI
She did the same with CIA war whore and liar, Christiane Amanpour, also on Youtube.
Either people like Le Pen, Farage, Orban and other similar leaders save Europe from the multicuturalist globalists soon or Europe is DOOMED. Everything Putin has warned about concerning the degeneration of the west is spot on and I am grateful that the tide is turning. I just hope it turns fast enough to save Europe.
France invaded, killed and raped in third world countries, installed dictators in place to make sure it continues to control the natural resources of such countries, ppl were made poor and had to leave for better life……and you blame immigrants?
It’s not about “blame” man, it’s about order. The victims of all these resource wars perpetrated by financial criminals are conveniently being used as a weapon by the same perps to create more chaos. They haven’t just been “made poor”, half of them have fled war zones without a chance to bury their family. This is not to say you can disregard that they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is no control on an individual level, every sort of scumbag is thrown in this mass horror with all the others. Then if you object to rampant chaos you are xenophobic Those psychopaths. in Brussels planned all this. People who are French have rights too, like safety, community, continuity. Yes they failed in selection of leadership, got conned, etc.Yes it has led to the degeneration of values and culture. And should not be bullied into abandonment of their way of life.
@Anonymous
Do I blame immigrants for the government of France colonizing, invading, killing and exploiting in other countries? No. Do I think France and every other government should not do that shit? Yes.
The way you posed your statement and question implies that crimes of immigrants, in France, are somehow justified by the crimes of colonization. They are not. All individuals are responsible for their own behavior and, yes, I blame those guilty of causing mayhem.
Using your logic, I wonder how you would rationalize the crimes of immigrants in Sweden.
By wanting a halt on the insane mass migration into France, Marine LePen is looking out for the interests of French people, and that includes the immigrant communities born in France – even the ones causing trouble. The idea is to not bring in more trouble and to respect the rights of French people (what a concept). That’s what the leaders of every nation should be doing. Obviously, this flies in the face of the globalist agenda.
I understand your point that immigrants are not to blame but the globalists and financial elites are. What I see in reality is that the politicians you support start by saying this, but at the end and throughout their careers they are beneficiaries and supporters of the elite. Take Trump and his cabinet…a Goldman Sachs brothel.
Since the immigrants are a byproduct of the destruction wreaked by the elites plundering of natural resources in the 3rd world, why isnt there any support for the left.
This suggests that there is some racism at play, not in you, but generally.
@raphee
There is a lot of support for the left and you can see it right here in these comments. I’m not a leftie but find common cause with some on some issues. However, that depends on the definition of “left” and which left we’re talking about.
Definition of terms are needed. Exactly what are the “right” and the “left”? I’ll bet we could have a thousand reply thread just on that subject. The same goes for terms like “nationalist”. That one is often attached to race (which is not inherently a bad thing) but would not apply in a place like the United States where we don’t have the same history as Europe.
While I came to this site when the Maidan coup happened and I am a supporter (lover!) of the people in DPR, LPR & Crimea and pro Russia Russians, I consider myself to be “nationalist”, in American terms. What that means to me is that I believe in the nation state and it’s sovereignty. I oppose internationalism, communism, globalization, (fascism, too, even though it’s associated with “nationalism”) totalitarianism, etc., and support the right of populations to self determination and the preservation of the unique cultures spefic to nations (the opposite of multiculturalism). In a different conversation I would say I’m a Jeffersonian (as in Thomas Jefferson) but nationalist works well enough. I would also include populist with the opposite being elitist. So, am I “right” ( I LOATHE the Ukie junta and their twisted ideology), or left because I support Novorussia (which has many communists) even though I oppose communism? You see, these labels just are not enough to define complex human beings who don’t fit in any box.
I posted a link, above, from Israel Shamir which defines very well my own thoughts about immigration and multiculturalism. I oppose no individual based on race, skin color, national origin, etc., but I am firmly against one culture, through socially engineered mass migration, infiltrating and eventually damaging and taking over another. It’s very obvious that’s happening in western Europe. Whatever the reasons for massive influx of immigrants from other cultures, it is ALWAYS destructive and causes conflict, which is why the globalists are doing it. Their intent is to destroy western Christian (which is white, yes) culture and that meets the legal definition of genocide (genocide does not only mean mass murder). When I say Christian, I mean culturally as well as religious, fully understanding that the west has turned it’s back on it’s own historical, spiritual foundations. Just as it’s wrong for Europeans (white people) to colonize far away places and destroy their cultures, it wrong to do the same to Europeans by flooding them with Muslims. Western culture is not compatible with Islam, EVER. I don’t see acknowledging that fact as a left or right wing position but simply the truth.
Susano, thanks for a well thought out and written reply. And for the most part I do agree with you.
I do disagree when you talk about socially engineered cultural change, or cultural genocide of a Christian west. This is not because of immigrants, but because of the changes that have happened in western societies over the past few decades. From the concept of individual liberty (without restraint) to that of demonizing religion in the name of freedom of speech, these were acts of Westerners.
I still fail to see what immigrants have done. I understand they come from a different culture, have different habits, at times are uneducated, but they are minority populations. And surely can and will eventually create a harmonious subculture. I realize this is something foreign to the west, not so much here in big Asia.
As to how much immigrants are too many, i believe each country has a right to determine that, but the basis must be economic or social factors of importance, not racism, which some leaders elicit. No one wants another Hitler.
Thanks again.
@raphee
I do disagree when you talk about socially engineered cultural change, or cultural genocide of a Christian west. This is not because of immigrants, but because of the changes that have happened in western societies over the past few decades. From the concept of individual liberty (without restraint) to that of demonizing religion in the name of freedom of speech, these were acts of Westerners.
Well, raphee, what and who is is behind those changes? If we’re talking about what we’ll term as the Christian west (culturally and/or religiously), who is it that began attacking Christianity? There must be an outside force that appeared and objected to already established cultures. I could generalize and accurately say it was the left/progressives who are in large part atheists (or more recently, “secular humanists”). Who are they and from whence did they come? I know the answer but will give myself some cover and let Israel Shamir (again) answer that question:
>>>The Muslims are being used as silent partners in the Jewish war on the
Church. Instead of saying: “We, Jews, do not want to hear church bells,
see Christmas scenes and hear Christian blessings”, these modest and
retiring people usually refer to Muslims. Muslims do not want to hear
church bells and see Christmas trees, they say. We Jews are just more
considerate towards our Muslim brethren, so we notice that, while you
brutes do not. Muslim sensitivities are already quoted in Germany to
exclude pork-based local delicacies and to ban Christmas celebrations.
It doesn’t matter that normally Muslims do not object to Christmas
celebrations, as we know from our experience in Palestine. The Jews and
other enemies of the Church say it all the same.
With the new ISIS-infected Muslims, the war on the Church will proceed
even better. For sure, the US judges like the Seattle one will ban
Christmas celebrations in a few years’ time citing the same refugees
they insist on delivering to America’s shores.
The war on Christ and the Church is the most important element of
Judaism. Wherever Jews succeed, the Church suffers, and vice versa.
Israel, the Jewish state, has been located at the cradle of Christianity
not by whim of Zionists: actually, the leading Zionist Theodore Herzl
called for establishing the Jewish state elsewhere, from Uganda (modern
Kenya) to Argentina. But the struggle against Christ necessitated their
choice of Palestine with its deep Christian roots.
The most popular Jewish early medieval text glorified Judas for his
victory over Jesus Christ. Fight against the Church and Christ in-formed
Jewish weapons: media and money. The Church was an enemy of
moneylenders; interest has been forbidden by the church, but it was used
by Jews to accumulate their vast capital to be used against the Church.
As for media, the present concentration of almost all mass media in
Jewish hands began in France of 19th century, where Jews formed a
conspiracy to own and control media and they used it with great success
against the Church during the Third Republic, notably in connection with
Dreyfus Affair. (I previously wrote about it in a review).
The Jews usually acted in union with Protestants, as they were also
enemies of the Church. Protestants, certainly, believed they were using
the Jews for their own benefit, but in the end, separate and mutually
hostile Protestant Churches submitted to the single will of Jews. This
is why Jewish positions are so strong in the US in the absence of a
single national church. Judging by the migration affair, it appears the
Jews believe they can make a next step in their fight with Christ: by
using the Islamic fanatics as a cover, they plan to push the church
underground, out of public space altogether.<<<
http://www.unz.com/ishamir/the-futile-efforts-of-donald-trump/
Individual liberty is the foundation of the US constitution and, I would guess, an important principal in most of the rest of the west and France. The restraint you mention comes from a spiritual foundation which atheism attacks and then sets about spreading corrupting influences (I would refer back to Putin's incredible speech on this topic). In the United States, that corrupting influence came in the form of immigrants and became an enemy within. Isn't that the case in Europe, as well? Now, that they've spread their ideology and caused moral erosion, their current (last 20-30 years) tactic is using other immigrants, with VASTLY different cultures and belief systems, to deliver the final blow.
I still fail to see what immigrants have done. I understand they come from a different culture, have different habits, at times are uneducated, but they are minority populations. And surely can and will eventually create a harmonious subculture. I realize this is something foreign to the west, not so much here in big Asia.
Does the Muslim subculture in, say, the UK (where it’s been for a long time) look harmonious to you? The more it grows the more demanding it gets and the demands are to change the host culture. Anyone challenging those demands is labeled “racist”, “xenophobe”, “Islamaphobe”, e.g., the native population are expected to give up their own rights, way of life and culture and to submit to the demands of a foreign culture. How about the north African minority in France – hows that working out? That’s not to say that most of the immigrant population hasn’t assimilated but that as the immigrant population grows, it only takes a small percentage to start causing major damage. Before Sweden went multicultural, it was famous for being virtually crime free. Immigration has not enriched Sweden but made it’s people unsafe and it’s cities full of “no go zones” where even police aren’t safe. There is just no upside to mass immigration except for those organizing it to carry out an agenda. Mass migration is not the same as individuals who make a well thought out choice to emigrate, adopt a new culture and assimilate. Mass migration is colonization and all that that entails.
As to how much immigrants are too many, i believe each country has a right to determine that, but the basis must be economic or social factors of importance, not racism, which some leaders elicit. No one wants another Hitler.
It is not Hilterian to want to protect one’s own culture and/or race. It’s a mistake to associate preservation of one’s people, culture, nation, etc., with Nazis. If part of the reason for preserving one’s culture has a racial component it does not make those wanting to preserve their own people racist and doesn’t imply any feelings of superiority. I don’t think anyone would accuse the Japanese of being bad people for preserving who they are. It would be a shame to go to Japan and find it full of Anglos or Indians. All people and cultures and peoples are worth preserving and make the world a much more rich and interesting place.
I’m sorry for the long post but it’s a deep and multi-faceted subject. Thank for you engaging this on interesting topic.
BTW, this to the author, Ramin Mazaheri: I would be sad to visit Iran and find it taken over by the British with fish and chip shops on every corner. It could have happened. Look at how the last conquest worked out for the Persians. Not so good.
***
Below are a few of tweets by Marine Le Pen (translated into English).
Marine Le Pen invited by LCP and France Bleu (02/03/2017)
“Politics must regain control of the European Union which has decided the disappearance of the French agricultural model, based on family farms.
“The euro gives a spectacular competitive advantage to Germany, which benefits from an undervalued currency.” # QDMethod
“I want to change the voting system and introduce proportional representation so that all French people are represented.” # QDMethod
My comments:
The American family farm started to die in the 1970s – Right after the Carter Administration encouraged the farmers to get into debt and then made market conditions so that they could not repay. Add to that the high cost of seed, equipment and fertilizer, and you would need to be a multimillionaire in order to start a career as a farmer from scratch. Most family farms no longer exist in the USA. American farms are now corporate agribusinesses run by few people, for the benefit of a few people.
How does Germany benefit from the EU. Why can’t France benefit?
Proportional representation has been the norm in Germany since at least 1945.
Do the French enjoy complaining? If France envies Germany, why don’t the French elites copy German organizational structures and systems of Government?
Well that is the thing French and german culture are different so applying the same policy to both doesn’t work. The Euro is basically the dutch mark because Germany has the strongest economy.
This induce that southern economy can’t be competitive with that currency and up with huge deficit.
When huge deficit like that happen it is normally adjusted by inflation and weaker currency . That can’t happen with the Eurosystem and the EU commission that set the economic policy roadmap for all 28 member state (see my post above) has been the following:
-lower salaries
-lower unemployment benefit
-deregulation of protected profession
-deregulation of worker rights
-privatization of everything (energy, infrastrcture health care and so on ….)
-less tax for big business
-more tax for the population
this end up in less well paid and more precarious jobs to be more competitive will being taxed more . Since there is no protectionism at all anymore we end up being in direct competition with the poorest member of the Eurozone or even poorer country around the world so in a sense you will only be really competitive when you get those salary and social protection .
germany is doing ok because of its high value commodity export but even there the average wage has been going down .
but even Germany is in big trouble because of the money transfer from the south to mainly germany in the EU finance system .if the system break you better have your money in german bank than greek banks (look up target2 for more information on that subject) . To counter that germany has to redistribute wealth (more or less 10-12% of its GDP) to those nation in deficit. In every country there is wealth redistribution like these from rich to poorer region.
more here -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimum_currency_area
But the EU doesn’t have that kind of solidarity because we have different history and culture. it s a silly idea to think people will suddenly have that kind of solidarity just because they live on the same continent and that they are white with kinda same religion. So Germany doesn’t give money for free but loan that will never be repaid but that are on the balance sheet of the dutch bank.
So people in the south feel cheated because they feel germany is making the rule in its interest and people in the north feel cheated because they feel they are giving money for free to lazy south people.
All the while the imbalance keep growing and growing because the system is flawed at it s core.
There is only one solution to this problem to dissolve that monetary union.
now how will it be dissolved that is the question ?
“Dutch Bank”
You mean ‘Deutsche Bank’, there’s nothing Dutch (Netherlands, Holland, cloggie) about the German (Deutsche) Bank.
The French cannot just “copy Germany” as there is no way to remedy the original mistake which was made back in 2002 when the French franc was overvalued when it entered the Euro. Once in the euro zone, France provided the consumers for Germany’s exported goods but could not compete with their comparatively overpriced industries.
Germany had a dress rehearsal for currency union during their reunification. The West Germans offered Dmark parity for the Ostmark. It seemed like a generous offer at the time but it had the same effect as in France, i.e.West Germany gained consumers and out competed the overpriced East German industries. Result: unemployment & de-industrialisation in the East.
The person who was finance minister in France and who oversaw the botched franc -euro transition was Laurent Fabius (under Prime minister Jospin and Chirac president.) This team should have understood what currency union with Germany meant and they should have better protected France.
If France has become a dumping ground for manufactured products from Germany, how many French-owned businesses have gone bust in the process. Mass unemployment as a result of de-industrialization is happening in both France and Italy due to the mass importation of German goods. In a few more years, what will be left of France but tourism and vineyards. They may not even have the vineyards much longer if the growing Muslim population succeeds in shutting those down.
The Nazis could not conquer Europe with bullets, but the Germans have found another way. Remember when the Germans were demanding that Greece give several islands to Germany for debt repayment? Just wait until Germany demands that France do the same thing.
The philosopher and journalist John Laughland has written an excellent book called “The Tainted Source” providing evidence of the totalitarian nature of the EU which derives much of it’s ideology from the Third Reich. Eye-opening to say the least…
https://www.amazon.com/Tainted-Source-Undemocratic-Origins-European-ebook/dp/B01F3Z2J5U/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
And for those who read French, I suggest the followiing two books:
http://www.albin-michel.fr/ouvrages/circus-politicus-9782226238597
http://www.gallimard.fr/Catalogue/GALLIMARD/Le-Debat/L-arnaque
And please consume wisely. Boycott Amazon.
I thought obomber was going to run for president of France;)
Thanks for the article.
It’s actually surprising how anybody could think that Fillon now has a viable chance in the election. If he had some before, it was prior to the ‘rise’ of Macron, a person much more acceptable to the French establishment than Fillon.
French politics in the past decades have had a certain familiar pattern, and this election will be no exception. It’s all the matter of alternative, scandal or no scandal, polished, ‘Europeanized’ cosmopolitan Macron is a much better alternative to Le Pen than Fillon, whom the ruling part of French elites see almost as a remnant of the Ancien Regime. So, globalists will throw all of their support for Macron who will prolonge the agony of France until some bitter end.
Whether we agree with her or not, Marine Le Pen’s election would be a sign of hope for Europe. Her winning is unlikely, though, because I think that France is already in the advanced stages of the disease, but I hope it’s still not terminal.
Holy metaphoric synchronicity! Holy Cow!
Earlier today, before reading this amusingly cynical article by RM I also chose bovine poopdedoo
(Pompidou always conjured the same image…..) in my Feast comment, /moveable-feast-cafe-2017-03-02/#comment-328484.using the Zodiac (Taurus) to lead into the sub-theme:
Bull or No-Bull???
Let’s see, I almost never listen to NPR but I was in the car 3 hours yesterday out of range of KUSC (classical) and searched for Deplorable News. I couldn’t find Alex (Jones) but landed on NPR, reporting from France.
WTF! Here they were quoting various French voters, including Left voters, on what a masterful job Marine Le Pen has done smoothing out the rough, impossible to imbibe edges of the political wines her father used to fascisticly and rudely stamp out.
What is this? It (this receptivity to Le Pen by NPR) seems to be undermining RM’s purpose in portraying her in pre Nov 8 Trump “loser, can’t win” terms. We know that voters in Britain, the USA and Italy are in an ornery enough mood to secretly like anyone the pundits disparage.
Can this mean that NPR is wising up and realizing that the best way to stop Marine is to give her positive coverage??
I’m with Peter J Antonsen, who months ago gave us several links to the bare breasted central figure of Delacroix’s painting and (while bad-mouthing Trump) expressed hopes that Marine would “Faire de la France Grand Nouveau”………Make France Great Again…. after watching her rain contempt on Merkel and Hollande:
https://youtu.be/i9WZeAVbSTo
For the moment. These days things can change in mere hours. A definite “No” can be a clever endorsement. Positive coverage can be the kiss of death.
@Rhamin Mazaheri. I luv ur stuff see u on Press TV ur analysis is so spot on . The polls I think they r dubious . I suspect they r doing the same thing they did in the US skewed numbers and that most people are not being honest with their response. Le Pens numbers could be higher than we think. Macron is the oligarchs candidate. He is anti Russia and pro banks. ex Rothschild stooge . I also suspect the Communist will do better than the poles suggest. Le Pen could and might win stright up via first round. I hear the farmers r really with her. Russian sactions have hurt all the farming sector
As an arrogant American, I struggled through the article despite thinking in the back of my head, does this really matter much to the rest of the world? How long has it been since France brought anything positve to the world in terms of change? Would the french ever be bold enough for Frexit?
My take away:
Every person and every nation is extremely important in this time of great pressure and change in our world. God bless the French people. (No matter how hopelessly socialist they are) Maybe they can truly change course. Not so long ago they were fairly conservative by current European standards.
Le Pen can’t really use the “drain the swamp” approach the same as Trump did but, she could go all in on putting the Citizen’s of France first over refugees and the EU. Make that theme central to every position she takes. France, a leader among nations instead of an EU vassal. If that doesn’t score a win, then the French people basically deserve the other option that they would get.
Hope that is not offensive, I am American afterall.
Active Patriot, I’m French and I agree with you. Maybe I’m grandstanding, but I can feel a pervasive feeling in French society that we’re generally declining. The neoliberals leech on this feeling to tell us that we have to become like Gemany or the UK. The FN banks also on it, of course.
The trouble is that it’s a very diffuse feeling. Nobody quite knows what to do with it. Everything seems so complex. Education system for instance ; everyone with a modicum of common sense agrees that it’s broken. But it’s totally controlled by a clique of functionaries, ideologues, entrenched in power, that nobody dares to break..
France really has nothing to bring to the world right now. Our diplomacy has degenerated into a sad joke. We have no diplomacy anymore. For God’s sake, a memo from the Quai d’Orsay proposed to fund and assist the djihadist-controlled parts of Syria (Idlib) ! We have turned into a poodle of the neocons. The French Military is just used as a suppletive corps. This is not a government ; this is a regime, comprador elites who were ready to sacrifice French soldiers in 2013 to attack Syria and only backed out because they had no choice.
Vincent,
Thank you for your reply. What I find interesting is that I think the French are willing able able to resist or fight for something but they do not know what that is. It seems they have become hopefully indoctrinated into socialism with their only other option being some hybrid “socialist conservatism” based on neocon ideals.
You will don’t have an outsiders choice over there, no one running who isn’t indebted to the system that gave them their rise to power. Without that, you have no real choice. The same as with American Democrats and Republicans (2 sides of the same coin). Trump was a glitch that wasn’t supposed to be but, they are doing everything within their powers to try to reign him in or destroy him. We haven’t “won” anything over here yet but we have been entry into the fight. We’ll see what we do with it.
Sounds like france is dying.
“In fact, as his campaign was starting to unravel, Fillon lunched with Sarkozy last month. And it was clear that he gave Fillon his new campaign tactic: Say something shocking every day to control the narrative.
I wasn’t here in 2007 when Sarko started, but journalists told me, “Man, was he great for business!” Because he gave journalists a lot of work by purposely saying crazy and offensive things during the campaign,”
Interesting, the same tactic trump used.
Polls don’t represent people’s will, they represent only the system’s wishes. This should be clear for anyone now, at least since the latest US presidential election. The whole idea of the French media consists in making people believe that if they don’t give a “useful” vote for Macron it will be Le Pen, but this game isn’t likely to work anymore, because the people have lost their trust in mass media and many Left voters don’t consider Le Pen any worse than Macron. As a French citizen from Paris I don’t know any middle or lower class French and not even a businessman in my entourage who would vote for Macron. Actually everybody’s laughing at this candidate because he claims to be against the system while being sponsored by the big banks and because he didn’t even have an election platform until last week. Assuming that most of his voters are in the big cities, this trend must be even stronger in the countryside. The only way I see Macron winning the presidential election is by electoral fraud, but France is not the USA (we don’t have electronic voting…etc.).
As for the French Left who “doomed themselves to irrelevance– by refusing to unite in a broat coalition”, this applies only to the incumbent French “Socialist” Party (PS) and its candidate Benoît Hamon, not for Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Hamon was elected at the primaries of the PS against Valls because he promised a radical shift from the current government’s austerity policies. Mélenchon offered him an alliance on condition that he wouldn’t take anybody from Hollande’s treacherous government in his team an offered him to discuss about the rest terms in a public debate. Not only has Hamon not replied to his proposal until this day but he has also started to build his “new” team with no less than the same traitors who have been implementing the austerity measures of the last five years. The media tries desperately to put the blame for a “divided Left” on Mélenchon but nobody is stupid enough to buy this story, since it’s an obvious lie. Actually the two candidates disagree from the beginning on many points, for example on the Russian question or on the EU issue: Hamon has described Russia as a threat in his speeches while Mélenchon has a clear anti-NATO stance and calls for friendship with Russia, Hamon is unconditionally pro-EU while Mélenchon is ready for a Frexit if Germany and the other members don’t agree to renegociate the treaties. The “Socialists” live in the past. They still believe that the whole Left is the PS’s poodle and has no chance to win an election unless it aligns behind the “Socialist” candidate, as if they hadn’t noticed that the popular support for their party is lower than ever before. Mélenchon does the right thing. If he aligned behind Hamon, he would discredit himself, while Hamon has already lost his credibility.
The media keep stressing that there are three “Left-wing” candidates disadvantaging each other, the message here again being “vote for Macron because he’s leading in the polls”. In reality there are on the one side two Right-wing and openly pro-austerity candidates (Fillon and Macron), one wannabe-alternative-but-not-fooling-anybody candidate (Hamon), one “moderate” far-Right candidate (Le Pen) who claims to be a little less neoliberal than the first two but is also hysterically islamophobic and anti-immigration (I can accept an objective criticism of mass immigration for economic reasons in a capitalist system, but blaming everything on Immigrants and Muslims is delusional and totally counterproductive for national cohesion), and on the other side there is Jean-Luc Mélenchon with La France Insoumise (Unsubmissive France), who represents the only true socialist and anti-imperialist Left. Fillon and Macron will probably be sharing their voters, since they have more or less the same austerity program, despite Fillon candidating for the Right and Macron being lebelled as “Left” by the media. Hamon risks himself to be sharing his voters (if he even get ones) with Macron, since he betrayed his own Left-wing electorate that he will probably lose to Mélenchon. Fillon might also lose some voters to Le Pen, since both advocate the so called “conservative values”, but I think that the outcome of this election will be rather about the economic questions and the austerity issue than about some abstract “values”. Since the French people are massively fed up with austerity, the real battle will be between the delusional xenophobes and the real system’s opponents. That’s probably the reason why both the conservative Right (for example Sarkozy and Fillon) and the liberal “Left” (Valls for example) have already been surfing on the xenophobic wave for a while.
If the French are up to their historical smartness, the second round will be between Le Pen and Mélenchon, and if they stay smart until the end, Mélenchon will be elected for President. The only thing the polls are right about is that Le Pen has a serious chance of being in the second round, but altogether the people ready to vote for the National Front in the second round are at the very most about 45 percent (but actually it’s rather something beween 30 and 40 percent, depending on who will be the second candidate). If Macron reaches the second round too, what I really doubt, Le Pen will probably win, because many will abstain rather than voting for Macron. With Fillon instead of Macron against Le Pen in the second round, the result will probably be the same. If Hamon gets into the second round, he’s likely to win, because the most of the Left electorate will rally behind him, still having a little glimmer of hope that he will be less favorable to austerity than his predecessor, and some of the Right voters could abstain rather than voting for Le Pen, but he’s at the moment the most unlikely candidate to be in the second round. If the second round is between Le Pen and Mélenchon, the latter has the best chance of winning, because the whole Left will rally behind him, since even (and especially) the most liberals from the broader “Left” hate the National Front (even though they’re far from appreciating Mélenchon either, but in the worst case they’ll abstain), and some of the Gaullists will vote for him too, while some of the neoliberal Right might abstain. Most people have understood the scam of “gathering against the National Front” and would even vote for Le Pen rather than abstaining in a case of a second round between Macron/Fillon and Le Pen, not because they share her xenophobic views but because they assume she’d be less neoliberal that any mainstream candidate, but in the case of a second round between Mélenchon and Le Pen, they wouldn’t be forced to choose the lesser evil, since Mélenchon’s program ist clearly anti-austerity and clearly anti-imperialist but without any xenophobia unlike the program of Le Pen. Of course, the mainstream media and the deep state will do anything to prevent Mélenchon from reaching the second round, but let’s hope for the best.
Spot on, Samira. Only needs some more paragraphing to make it more enjoyable.
For all the mistrust of polls, I think 2 things need to be remembered:
1) Polls will change over time, and especially closer to the actual vote when the undecideds finally decide
2) Trump/Clinton polls consistently showed Trump within the margin of error and only a few points of Clinton. What happened was many simply refused to believe the polls, and certainly the media (98-2 of the top 100 newspapers endorsed Clinton) refused to their job and look at the data objectively.
I say that because I don’t see how Macron voters are just going to ‘go away’. I’d love to see a shock 20% for Melenchon in the first – nearly double his current score, but even that wouldn’t put him into the 2nd round at this point. Where does this huge upsurge in support come from? You have Hamon pegged as a ‘wanna-be alternative’, but you have plenty of Socialist Party lifers who would vote for anyone with SP next to their name.
It can happen for Melenchon, for sure, because this election is unlike most in that incumbent can’t even run again; the mainstream is totally discredited; there’s been constant chaos and subverted narratives.
It’s clear the media/establishment would rather have Le Pen than Melenchon.
If I had money today I’d put it on Le Pen – because the gambling men would give me good odds and make it worth my while, and because everything – EVERYTHING – has been aligning up for her the way she would have hoped for 3 months ago. Trends change, but so far everything is trending her favor (and Macron’s).
What Le Pen needs to put her over the top is some kind of big financial shock before the election, but a global financial shock doesn’t happen every day.
Dear Mr. Mazaheri,
Thank you very much for your answer and sorry for my late reply, I hope it’s still not too late for me to post it. Sorry for the bad paragraphing in my last comment as well, it was the very first time I posted something on this Website and I was not familiar with the layout, but I’ll try to make it better this time. There might also be a lot of language mistakes in my posts because I haven’t written in English for a while, so I apologize for them in advance.
You’re right about the U.S. elections, but while the polls become more and more difficult to falsify as the D-Day is getting closer, I think it’s still very easy to do it in the beginning of the election campaign as long as most people still don’t know who they’re going to vote for and if they’re going to vote at all, and I don’t see any valid reason for those who make the polls to refrain from doing it, since it’s a very effective weapon to influence people’s voting behavior.
To be honest about Macron, maybe there’s some wishful thinking in my head but I definitely can’t believe that he really has so many voters as the media polls claim. I simply can’t buy it. I mean, the French voted for Hollande in 2012 to get rid of Sarkozy because they were fed up with the latter’s neoliberal policy and disgusted by his dirty plot in Lybia, but they got betrayed by a guy who didn’t keep any of his campaign promises except the one of implementing gay marriage and just continued exactly on the same austerity and NATO endorsement path as his predecessor (the same way as the Americans voted for Obama in 2008 in the hopes of turning the page on Bush’s warmongering years and had unfortunately to face huge disappointment). Today only 4% of the French are satisfied with Hollande’s action according to the official polls. Both Sarkozy and Hollande’s heir Valls got massively rejected by their own voters in the primaries of their respective parties (Hollande didn’t even dare run himself). Why would the French now vote for a guy who’s exactly a perfect mixture of Sarkozy and Hollande, or even more accurately, of Sarkozy and Valls, and who has helped implementing the most unpopular policies of the current unpopular government, just because he’s suddenly started to claim that he’s against the system? I think even the stupidity of the most media-brainwashed has its limits. This might seem excessive, but I wouldn’t wonder if the “thousands of supporters” at Macron’s meetings are in fact paid agents (at least part of them). I find it hard to believe that Macron’s true current score exceeds in fact something between 15 and 20%.
At the same time I’m quite sure that Mélenchon has in reality about 20% of voting intentions at this time, if not even more, but the media will never admit it. He has made a very smart campaign and developed a very good campaign platform this time, much better than in 2012. He’s understood the radical Left’s mistakes of the past decades, which consist in having progressively distanced itself from the working classes and having been way too conciliatory towards the treacherous “Socialist” party for far too long. He goes to the field and talks with laborers, farmers, students, entrepreneurs, pensioners, unemployed people or long-time non-voters and tries to win back people’s trust. He actually targets everybody except the <0,1% on the top of the pyramid. He's realized the impact of the internet on today's world and he's present on all the social networks. Btw. it's interesting to notice that Mélenchon has over 600 000 likes on Facebook while the supposed "favorite" Macron has about 200 000, almost 1 million followers on Twitter while Macron has less than 600 000, and over 200 000 subscribers on Youtube while Macron has only about 11 000. This might not be meaningful in itself but since both candidates target especially young people (the population group that uses the social networks the most), it could have some informative value. Only Le Pen surpasses Mélenchon on Facebook and Twitter but not on Youtube (all the others are far behind him on all three networks), but given the fact that Le Pen is internationally famous while there is about no cover-up at all of Mélenchon outside the French media, this makes one more point for Mélenchon.
I think the real danger for this presidential election is not Macron's (factual) electorate but rather the potential non-electorate, and that's precisely what the system and its mass media are betting on. While I doubt that they truly believe that Macron can get as many voices as they'd like him to get, by presenting him as the second favorite after Le Pen and as one of the two candidates who will inevitably be in the second round, they try to discourage all those who are sure not to vote for Macron (as well as for Le Pen or Fillon) from bothering to move to the polling station. The problem is that this mean strategy can work as long as people keep believing that the election outcome is a foregone conclusion. While a great part of the population is totally fed up with austerity, neoliberalism and wars of aggression, the same part also thinks that the rest are still sleeping. By this time probably at least half of the population wants a real change but keeps thinking at the same time: "I can't change anything alone" and "my single voice doesn't bring anything". The system is well aware of this weakness and stakes on it, the subliminal message of the media is very clear: "If you're not a Le Pen or a Fillon voter, vote for Macron or stay home, because anything else is just useless". Since Right-wing voters are known for their low abstention rate, it's unnecessary to mention that if all the potential Left-wing voters don't vote, the second round will inevitably be between two of the three aforementioned candidates. This is the self-fulfilling prophecy the system relies on.
Knowing that the far-Right has always been at the same time the scarecrow and the lifebuoy of the system, it's thinkable that the system has already accepted a possible victory of Le Pen as being the "lesser evil" from its own point of view, and is ready to sacrifice Macron if needed but wants him at the same time (or if they can't have him then at least Fillon) to be in the second round, because they know that Macron (or Fillon) is very likely to lose against Le Pen while Mélenchon would have a huge change of winning, and a true Left candidate winning the presidential election is probably the system's biggest nightmare at the moment because it could derail the agenda (that already hangs by a thread) once and for all. The U.S. Democrats didn't shy away from risking to lose against Trump as they made their conspiracy against Bernie Sanders in order to get Hillary Clinton running for them (according to some serious polls Sanders would have easily beaten Trump if he had run instead of Clinton). Anyway, all these strategies are quite pathetic and just show how desperate the empire really is right now. The good news is that the establishment is running out of tricks, it seems like the system has already played all its cards. The only ones who are really likely to vote for Macron are the "bosses" themselves (<0,1%), the 4% sleep sheeps who are still satisfied with the current government, some totally politically disconnected youth, and some sarkozysts who reject Fillon because of his supposed friendliness towards Russia and rhetorical criticism of NATO (while they are rather unlikely to get shocked about Fillon's money scandals since the guy they support themselves is no less than a war criminal), but Macron's rhetoric might not be anti-islamic enough for the latter group's liking.
Fortunately Mélenchon is aware of the aforementioned media trap and has started to specifically target the potential non-voters by trying to convince them to vote for him. His idea of organizing a "March for the 6th Republic" is particularily smart, because thus he can get a reliable picture of the amount of support he really has among the population. I really hope this march will be successful. I know that it's far from being secured in advance, but hope is still permitted. I keep my fringers crossed for today afternoon and I wish Mélenchon the best of luck.
Its seems quite obvious by now that the French regime is trying to rig the Presidential election in France. They are attacking Le Pen and now Fillon as well. I would think a smart move from those candidates would be to form an electoral alliance of some kind. Where the loser in the 1st round would urge their supporters to vote in the 2nd round for the other one.There are certainly disagreements between them. But in the face of a election rigging campaign they should put those differences aside and unite in opposition to their common enemy. They should promise to take into their cabinet elements from the other’s party if they win. The French regime needs to not be allowed to influence the vote and put their own choice in power.And only a unified opposition to that can stop them. Do I think Le Pen and Fillon will have the intelligence to do something like that. Probably not,but they should, if either of them hopes to win.
Good job Ramin. But I was wondering what you think of the suggestion that the Fillon scandal is remote-controlled by the US/NATO? Fillon was in favor of normalized relations with Russia, and that is anathema to the US/NATO Deep State. The Canard enchaîné, which broke the scandal, is (unfortunately) and has been for some time a party in the demonization of Russia. They even hide behind their status as a “satirical” weekly to systematically make outrageous accusations against Russia (they “invaded Ukraine”, they “annexed Crimea”, they shot down the Malaysia Airlines flight, etc. etc.) So they presumably buy the Deep State’s attitude toward Russia (as indeed the whole of the French mainstream press do). Why did they choose to break the scandal just in time to shoot down FIllon’s candidacy? As you suggest, dirt can be found on ANY French politician, and the Canard probably has dirt on all the others too and could surely shoot down, say, Macron if they wanted to. Mélenchon is reasonable toward Russia too, but there’s no need to shoot him down.
Fillon is hardcore Right, but at least in his attitude toward Russia he was reasonable. The same can be said of Trump. Now the issue will never even be discussed and we’re locked into a “pensée unique” which, as is so often the case, just happens to coincide with the wishes of the US Military-Financial Deep State.
Saker, the fact that you accept Soros shills like the author here proves you are giving everybody a chance to express themselves.
One thing is for sure, and that is the author knows less than an amercian tourist, at least the american tourist has visited the country at least once. I’ve already picked up gross errors in precedent articles of this person.
When he writes : “France is the breadbasket of Western Europe and primarily a nation of rural farmers” the person ignores that agriculture represents about 5% of the workforce (the agro-industrial complex adds anoter 5-7%). But perhaps he’s talking of “rural farmers”, instead of , I don’t know… urban farmers ?
“De Gaulle-crafted dictatorship-presidency” : only Anglos describe the De Gaulle years in these terms. De Gaulle still enjoys a high popularity and a high nostalgia for this period of time. It was like France’s Eisenhower Years. As for any dictatorship, Ms Thatcher was arguably far, far worse in this regard than a guy who had to endure a massive pre-Soros destabilisation (Mai 68) that due to massive backlash essentially fizzled into nothing more than introducing zionist leftwing-neocons in the political landscape (Cohn-Bendit) or at the helm of the press (Serge July).
Again, the person is not only ignorant of public perceptiosn in France, he also sports quite classical notions of the US dept. of State & the US intel community.
This *again* attempts to paint France as a sort of Apartheid State : “What’s funny is that if you are a cop in France and you shoot some Black or Muslim 20-year old in the back…well, then the wheels of justice move slowly, and then they move not at all in a seemingly-guaranteed acquittal (I can offer no examples of cops being convicted of murder this century).”
The whole country knows the exact opposite is true. (How about Malik Oussekine , just as a name that pops in my memory). French policemen simply don’t shoot people routinely, this is not StLouis or something, and when it happens it’s either some shady terror business (false flags) or, the investigation proves they did the right thing.
If the author spent a single day in France he would have noticed, even at the airport, that you have a noticeable proportion of policemen and military from North African and Black African origins.
But the guy is just a fraud. I’m not the only one to have noticed, judging on the comments every time, but his continuous presence here actually destroys the (english) Saker’s credibility among the french audience.
Thanks for reading and responding Alex! Please allow me to answer some of your questions.
1) My comment about France being ‘primary a nation of rural farmers’ was not the best sentence I’ve ever crafted, I agree. It was not the best way to say that France is a nation whose culture is greatly shaped – historically and now – by rural communities. I think this German analyst from Deutsche Welle put it far better than I did:
“Well, I always tell people, if you drive from Dijon in the east to Bordeaux in the west, you basically have 500 kilometers (300 miles) worth of sunflower fields. In Germany, you’d have an exit to an industrial park every 20 kilometers.”
http://www.dw.com/en/without-france-germany-is-on-its-own-in-europe/a-17937915
2) The ‘De Gaulle-crafted dicatorship’ refers to the political structure of France’s 5th Republic, not the De Gaulle era. If you misunderstood, then perhaps my writing was not clear enough, and that is my failure. France’s system is certainly unique in the West in that it gives the chief executive such vast powers. This anti-democratic aspect is primarily why both Communist Melenchon and Socialist Hamon are in favor of creating a 6th Republic.
http://www.thelocal.fr/20120503/3247
3) France is indeed an Apartheid state…at least according to Hollande’s former prime minister.
http://europe.newsweek.com/french-prime-minister-decries-apartheid-french-ghettos-447712?rm=eu
4) You bring up the case of Malik Oussekine – that was 1986. I wrote about police acquittals this century. A lot has changed in France in 30 years. FYI, cops kill around 10 people year. Here is a link to a list of every victim since 2005 – they are certainly not all terrorists. I urge you to contact this group for more information – Emergency: Our Police Kill – they have known me for years due to my reporting for Press TV. You are right that the ‘investigation proves that they did the right thing’ – but if you talk with some of the families of these victims you will find they see that quite differently.
http://www.urgence-notre-police-assassine.fr/123663553
5) I have lived in France since 2009, so I’ve spent many days here. Also, yes there is – in my eyes – a very small minority of cops of non-White descent. To me this is not very relevant – this would undoubtedly be 100% Apartheid if there were no non-Whites in the police force, right? Anyway, cops have only one color: Blue, and they stick together, above all, I think many will agree.
6) I’ve never been paid by Soros and certainly am not a fan of his! If the French people think I am a fraud – that is their right, but je m’en fous: I stand by my work, even free stuff like this article. However, if people are expecting fawning, uncritically pro-French journalism they should look elsewhere because that is not what I believe a journalist should do and there is no lack of such stories.
Thanks Ramin, I enjoy reading your articles, always learn something.
1- On the rural farmers thing, What you could have said is that a lot of frenchmen still have a distant memory of their rural roots from three geenrations ago, and this is why the Salon de l’Agriculture still is something which is popular and symbolically important. But this is “memory cherry-picking” since that rural life was harsh (see the Farrebique and Biquefarre documentaries)
2- I understood exactly what you wanted to say. If De Gaulle’s system was dictatorial then how could his era then not be dictatorial ? You’re trying to find a loop out of your own sentence. When De Gaulle came to power the Algeria War was tearing French society apart, mainly because of the draft system. The situation was actually much more dictatorial than the situation when De Gaulle left about ten years later. Much more. De Gaulle did try to solve the Algerian War by military means (Plan Challe) but while it has military success it was a political stalemate, and then De Gaulle had to courage to solve the matter democratically by letting Algerians vote for their fate. he had to take a lot of flak for this and even had to face a military coup by NATO in 1961. This is hardly being a dictator, actually quite the opposite. He faced numerous attempts on his life by the OAS which was a Stay-Behind organisation (hence, also NATO).
The Fifth Republic *as such* is actually more democratic then the Third and Fourth Republic because the constant parlementarian instability of the two previous republics led to bureaucrats to be in power, and they don’t get elected and they surely are not accountable for their actions and decisions. The three episodes of “cohabitation” shows there was a limited form of “balance of pwoer”, but as a general rule France is as democratic as other european nations : the government still has to answer to the Parliement.
Back in 2003, Jacques Chirac actually listened to popular opinion and used his veto right to deny the USA any legality of their planned war in Iraq. This is something you rarely witnessed in 20th century Europe.
Immediately afterwards Sarkozy seized power as a shadow president,and then became just another “dictatorial” leader of an EU country.
(Friends coming in, more some other day)
toppled the regime and Sarkozy was immedia
Absolutely agree that France was taken over immediately after its act of lese majeste against the Anglo-Zionist Empire. Chirac was the last ‘French’ President of France. All the others have been Israeli dual-citizens. Hollande (not French) Sarkozy (not French) ‘Manny Macaroni’ (not French) and most of the Ministers have been plucked from the same tribe.
France, it had ceased to exist by then (2009), at least by my standards!
Totaly agree with Alex, very tired of the anglo/saxon/us false and arrogant perspective of France, french people, it’s culture ( nearly extinct now courtesy of american corporate invasion).
3 – >> “France is indeed an Apartheid state…at least according to Hollande’s former prime minister.”
Perhaps you can quote Poroshenko’s ministers when talking about the Ukraine.
Your vision of an apartheid France reflects a deep lack of knowledge of french society. You may live in France since 2009, I lived here for more than 40 years, and did my time in the conscription army, among other things.
As I explained as a reply to a former article of yours, the segreation that takes place in France is almost entirely social. There are different levels of racial markers that are not easy to understand, almost like the different accents used in England, and this is why you don’t get them.
It is extremely important to understand that a large number of second-generation and third-generation immigrants are completely accepted in society. There are technicians, engineers, doctors and also your fellow coworker whose parents or grandparents once were immigrants. In the cities (75% of the population) everybody knows people like that, and many have friends of North African or even Black African origin, if only simply because they were schooled together.
These people are not considered immigrants at all, since all they know is France and they had scant contact with the country of origin of their parents. They also have no accent whatsoever and just by talking on the phone you wouldn’t know of any difference.
There is another thing you never mentionned once is that Caribean French are also widely integrated and accepted, many of them working in the administration, postal services etc. Slavery is a very faint memory for those French Caribeans who live in the Métropole (european France) for over one generation – it is much more visible on the islands themselves. Actually, some Corsicans for instance are sticking out much more than most people of French Caribean or Northern African origin.
There is also a high degree of mixity and intermarriage, especially in the large cities, and this is quite visible in schools for instance. Asian people keep more to themselves, and are less likely to live in ghettos, but there are an increasing number of mixed couples with them as well.
The truth is that France is an assimilationist country not by design but by default, and thus nobody gives a flying FK about racial origins of other people, because even before WW2 a lot of people were already from mixed families (italians, Polish etc.). Léon Gambetta was a key French politician in the 1870’s to 1880’s and was of italian origin, for instance. At that time, many Frenchemen didn’t even speak french (read “From Peasants to Frenchmen” by Eugen Weber).
When I served in the army the most regular meal we had was couscous, served every wednesday, and most soldiers were not of north african origin. It was a normal meal like any other. We were comrades all together like in any patriotic army, and I witnessed like so many people of my generation how the conscription gave ghetto people a chance to get out of their social misery, just like the conscritpion did with the rural people four generations ago.
The real segregation is against the urban ghettos. There is a distinct accent coming from these places that triggers an automatic bias against them. While “ethnically pure” ghettos (moroccan ghettos, Black African ghettos etc.) do exist, there has been a number of mixing there too, and thus those who have the ghetto speech can be whites just as well as north african : these ghetto types are universally rejected. The movie “la haine” which is THE ghetto movie depicts people of various and mixed ethnic backgrounds, whose common point is that they live in the same ghetto with the same accent and are rejected once they leave it.
Since teachers are recruited on a national level, they have to serve their first years in ghettos before having the right to work closer to home. These schools have a very high turnover rate because these populations are held in a state of violence and stupidity. It’s the same as in every other country, with tittytainment, TV and a badly configured welfare state as culprits. Foreign-sponsored jihadists are also a problem, like in so many other countries.
So this is not something specifically french, in that regard.
So when you or Fox News describe this apartheid situation, Frenchmen know it comes from misinformed foreign people. The problems have nothing to do with race, and everything with society and economics.
you’re absolutly correct Alex, as your anectdote about couscous being north african but very largely accepted food by most french people .
The anglosaxons want to stick their interracial problems on the french and the latins in general.
I’ve never experienced the level of racism and divide between whites and non whites in france as it exists in the usa, and I know both first hand.
And I agree , it has everything to do with economics and class struggle.
Thanks Martin and Franz for your insights and support.
Unfortunately I already wrote these things on two previous articles before this one.
Removed as per moderation policy. Please stop the attacks on the author and Saker. Mod
This is not only an election year, but in these times of Hybrid Warfare we don’t know when the troubles provoked by professional troublemakers will end (if ever).
hi mod. on duty,
something wrong with my comment posted 7~8 hours ago?
“hi, I found two news that I think important to share (In French, of course…”
thanks.
all the best!
Nothing came through at my end. Perhaps you could try resending? fk mod.
hi,
I found two news that I think important to share (In French, of course. Voltaire’s English edition don’t have this articles; Spanish edition have translation. Does anyone find it interesting to make a good translation?):
—————————–
1) Google oriente la campagne électorale française (Réseau Voltaire | 2 mars 2017)
Google News Lab et le European Journalism Center (EJC) coordonnent, depuis le 28 février 2017, des sociétés françaises et étrangères pour la durée de la campagne électorale présidentielle française.
Les deux organisations s’appuient sur l’expérience de ProPublica, qui a orienté les médias contre Donald Trump lors de la campagne électorale états-unienne.
Elles réunissent non seulement des médias, mais aussi des écoles qui leur fournissent des « experts ».
Les entreprises ayant conclu un accord avec Google News Lab et le European Journalism Center (EJC), pour la durée de la campagne présidentielle française, sont: AFP, Bellingcat, Bloomberg, Buzz Feed News, le Centre de formation des journalistes, Centre France, Channel 4, l’École de journalisme de Sciences Po, l’École publique de journalisme de Tours, Euractiv, Euronews, Explicite, Facebook, Factoscope, France24-Les Observateurs, FranceTélévisions, Global Voices, International Business Times, L’Express, La Provence, La Voix du Nord, L’Avenir, LCI, Le Journal du dimanche, Le Monde, Le Télégramme, Les Décodeurs, Les Échos, Libération, London School of Economics, Mashable-France 24, Meedan, Nice-Matin, Ouest-France, Rue 89, StoryFul, Street Press, Sud-Ouest.
…
complete article: http://www.voltairenet.org/article195486.html
——————————
2) Le Réseau Voltaire dénonce la possible mise en examen d’une parlementaire au titre de l’article 227-24 (Réseau Voltaire | 1er mars 2017)
Le parquet de Nanterre a ouvert une information judiciaire contre Marine Le Pen au titre de l’article 227-24 du Code pénal (dit « article Jolibois » du nom de son auteur). Le Parlement européen envisage de lever son immunité parlementaire.
La prévenue avait répondu à un journaliste qui avait assimilé le Front national à Daesh en tweetant trois photographies de crimes de Daesh déjà diffusées par la presse.
Le Code pénal réprime la diffusion de messages « pornographiques, violents, ou gravement attentatoires à la dignité humaine, susceptibles d’être vus ou perçus par un mineur » ; des faits qui, outre d’être appréciés de manière subjective, peuvent être —quoique choquants— nécessaires au débat démocratique et sont donc protégés par la Constitution.
C’est la première fois que l’on tente d’utiliser cette disposition pénale contre une personnalité politique.
…
complete article: http://www.voltairenet.org/article195481.html
——————————-
all the best!
English Yandex Translation:
“1) Google directs the French presidential election campaign (Voltaire Network | march 2, 2017)
Google News-Lab and the European Journalism Center (EJC) coordinate, since February 28, 2017, the French and foreign companies for the duration of the presidential election campaign of French.
The two organizations rely on the experience of ProPublica, who has steered the media from Donald Trump during the election campaign of united states.
They bring together not only media, but also schools that provide them ” experts “.
The companies have reached an agreement with Google News Lab and the European Journalism Center (EJC), for the duration of the French presidential campaign, are: AFP, Bellingcat, Bloomberg, Buzz Feed News, the Centre de formation des journalistes, Centre, France, Channel 4, the School of journalism of Sciences Po, the public School of journalism of Tours, Euractiv, Euronews, Express, Facebook, Factoscope, France24-The Observers, FranceTélévisions, Global Voices, International Business Times, The Express, The Provence, The Voice of the North, The Future, the LCI, The Sunday Newspaper, The World, The Telegram, set-top boxes, Echoes, Liberation, London School of Economics, Mashable-France 24, Meedan, Nice-Matin, Ouest-France, Rue 89, StoryFul, Street Press, South-West.
…
complete article: http://www.voltairenet.org/article195486.html
———-
2) The Voltaire Network denounces the possible indictment of a member of parliament under article 227-24 (Voltaire Network | march 1, 2017)
The public prosecutor of Nanterre has opened a judicial investigation against Marine Le Pen at the title of the article 227-24 of the penal Code (” article Jolibois ” from the name of its author). The european Parliament intends to lift his parliamentary immunity.
The accused had responded to a journalist who had assimilated to the national Front to Daesh by tweeting three photos of the crimes of Daesh that have already been broadcast by the press.
The penal Code criminalizes the dissemination of “messages of a pornographic, violent, or seriously disruptive to human dignity, may be seen or perceived by a minor” ; facts which, in addition to being valued subjectively, can be —though shocking— are necessary for democratic debate and are therefore protected by the Constitution.
This is the first time that you attempt to use the criminal law provision against a political personality.”
“In future, kindly use Yandex or other translator to do what I just did. Mods do not always have time to provide such a service.
Thank you for your post. fk mod”
I went to the link provided, looked to the very top of the French article’s page, and clicked on English. Usually the voltairenet articles are available in English, but the list of languages at the top are tiny and gray and often go unnoticed. Try this link:
http://www.voltairenet.org/article195455.html
dear Anon,
this is the link for a specific article: “The Clinton system to discredit Donald Trump”, in English.
what does this have to do with the articles I mentioned, in French?
all the best!
Apparently nobody ever told Ramin Mazaheri “brevity is the soul of wit”.
This article should have been no more than two paragraphs long, but he managed to stretch it out into a short novel.
About 25 years ago, when I was young, I attended a “concert” in Lausanne, Switzerland, similar to this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlbDGs8h9yY&index=2&list=RDPfRudkryo7Q
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
Pauvre Emmanuel! Macron Claims to Be Target of Sputnik Faux News
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201703051051273950-macron-sputnik-rt-fake-news/
“French presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron’s team on Saturday repeated its unfounded “fake news” accusations against the Russian-based RT channel and the Sputnik news agency.
“We are accusing Russia Today [RT] and Sputnik News [of being] the first source of false information shared about our candidate and all the other symbiotic ways of working with all these fascist organizations or extreme right news organizations,” Mahjoubi said.”
LOL, macron (or better, micron, to match his integrity), is a zionazi, one can’t get more fascist than that.
“In February, Macron’s ally and the secretary general of En Marche! Richard Ferrand suggested that RT and Sputnik were spreading false rumors about the candidate and favoring other participants of the presidential race. The fake news were later “used, quoted and influence our democratic life,” he said. Ferrand also claimed that his party was subjected to numerous cyberattacks emanating from Russia as party candidate Macron wanted a “strong Europe in the face of Russia,” unlike his rivals.
The Kremlin has also reacted to claims made by Macron’s ally, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling these accusations “absurd” and also drawing a parallel with the 2016 US Russian hacking scandal.”
Apparently micron wants everybody to know his butt is buttered by the same psychotic zionazi freakshow that sponsored clinton. If the zionazi makes it to the 2nd round, I hope his opponent wins, whoever they are.
I get about an hour of France 24 where I am (US) and tonight’s “Debate” was all about Macon being the runaway leading candidate. They tried to spin it as “luck”. Of course, they cited polls which are no doubt pure fiction, contrived to try to drive votes and create “inevitablility”.
I hope to hell this bankster puppet comes in dead last.