French strenuously deny they captured Gbagbo

Laurent Gbagbo, deposed president of Ivory Coast is now in the custody of former IMF man Alassane Outtara's French and UN backed forces.

His capture occurred after a French assault involving armoured vehicles and aircraft but both the French and the Outtara forces they've been heavily supporting are adamant that the French didn't capture him.

As has previously been discussed Gbagbo probably wasn't a decent person either but its always a shame to see colonial armies and their proxies triumph.

Le Petit Nicholas and the journalists that wont shut up.

As well as his deeply unpopular pension policies and mini-pogroms French President Nicholas Sarkozy and his government are nursing a couple of major scandals. Firstly there is the Bettencourt affair essentially an allegation that Mr Sarkozy both in his campaign for the presidency and earlier on in his career received illegally large donations from a single donor. Secondly there is the accusation that Mr Sarkozy and others in the UMP (his party) received kickbacks from arms sales to Pakistan in the 90s. Mr Sarkozy and others implicated in these scandals have strenuously asserted their innocence.

Of course Nicholas did what any innocent man slandered and libelled by the media. He set the secret services on them. Oh and also accused journalists of being paedophiles for not revealing secret sources to the government, something which could be construed as a direct threat given the increased monitoring of journalists by the secret services. Further the French government is showing a fondness for the British way of doing things with a number of libel lawsuits threatened (but not yet carried out) against those who are investigating these scandals.

There have also been mysterious burglaries targeting those investigating the aforementioned journalists. Another blow to American Exceptionalism as Europe proves it can do COINTELPRO too.

It would seem that when the Propaganda Model fails supposedly and enlightened and freedom loving "democratic" governments in the west are more than willing to use harsher means to suppress the truth.

French government finds holy grail; cut costs while weakening the press.

The Pax Americana is breaking down and European riders of America's coat tails are starting to have to foot the bill and commit military to areas they only recieve passive benefits from, this is expensive and offers little return on investment so unsurprisingly countries are looking to cut costs. (France's success at keeping its own little empire going in Africa on the downlow is a topic for another time but even that is threatened by weakening US power). The French government has proposed a law where those rescued from Somali pirates by commandos or from Colombian rebels via breaches of international law would foot the bill if it was decided it was their fault they got into the dangerous situation.

Now on the face of it this sounds pretty good, the tax payer shouldn't have to foot the bill for the rescue of rich bastards who decided to take their yacht through a dangerous area for a bit of a thrill or whatever but Sarko and his cronies are refusing to exempt journalists or aid workers from this legislation. So if aid workers go to an area and help people that French foreign policy doesn't want to be helped and they captured and need rescuing the charity has to pay. Of course if they were giving aid in one of France's client states its not impossible their kidnap and rescue could be arranged specifically to take funds from a disliked charity (or indeed journalistic organisation). Even if that isn't the plan it certainly will have a deterrent effect for charities and journalists to go to the world's dangerous places, especially if the French government doesn't want them going.

While I'd doubt the US would do this, it'd look too much like weakness, I wouldn't be surprised if similar legislation is proposed in other European countries, Canada or Australia.

French Police also Racist and Abusive.

It seems everywhere you look the Police are violent and racist even as politicians and television lauds them as decent men and women performing every day heroics. It is a shame that a badges and uniforms inhibit so many people's critical thinking skills. In this case there also seems to be crony-ism and official indifference allowing the police to get away with abuses of their power.

Football causing racism (AGAIN??)

It seems that the multi-ethnic makeup of the French national side when they won in 98 and 2000 was seen as a culturally binding agent but now the team is losing politicians and commentators seem to be alluding to the fact there are Black people and Arabs in the team as a causal factor for these failings. Read about it here. Do listen the short audio clip near the bottom of the article, it makes things a lot clearer than the article does.

Please note a reference is made to some players being from the suburbs, in nearly all the western world outside of Britain and the US affluent urban dwellers live in the urban core and the counter urbs with the poor relegated to living on the outskirts of the city, often in large, easily bypassed housing projects. So essentially in France to be from the suburbs is to be from the ghetto.