The France NSR Thread

[Nanbawan]

Okaaaaay. What's really sad, is that you think you're the first witty guy to come and do that about a subject like this...The only thing that annoys me is that you pollute us, apart from that, that kind of trolling is so childish we don't really give a flyin rat ass.

[Lensois]

aaaaaah, democracy's taking hold there we can see:

http://cdn-channels.netscape.com/fotosrch/3/20060323_AO004-0323182218_GTY.jpg

This from someone with a Che avatar:rolleyes:

[TheOrator]

This from someone with a Che avatar:rolleyes:

Maybe you should read my avatar, genius.

[YankBastard]

Protesters beat down someone who dissagreed with their cause. It's beginning to look like a PSG-Marseille football match out there.

http://cdn-channels.netscape.com/fotosrch/3/20060323_FEF15-0323183719_GTY.jpg

Were those guys really beating him up because they disagreed with him? Those guys look more like average thugs than college student protesters.

[Lensois]

Maybe you should read my avatar, genius.

Oh so sorry, troll. I barely bothered to read your attempt to stir things up here let alone make a detailed analysis of your avatar. Keep spinning it, troll.

[TheOrator]

Oh so sorry, troll. I barely bothered to read your attempt to stir things up here let alone make a detailed analysis of your avatar. Keep spinning it, troll.

Everybody's a troll in the French forum.

[Lensois]

Everybody's a troll in the French forum.

Nope, just you salop.

[gary_rb]

TheOrator:

i understand that you cannot understand what's going on here, like how people get to demonstrate. we don't demonstrate when poor teenage girls goes to the private clinic for abortion...
so sorry that your people only goes down the streets (of the few cities where people have a critical sense), once or twice, when your president attacks a country when surveys say that most people don't want that.

so sorry that you can not understand. so sorry that you are a sheep.
in the end, i understand that it makes you feel angry...

so glad to be here, after all ;)

[ilv2]

I no what else is well above your head. The US economy. http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

if you have no sufficient knowledge of how french society works, or the many nuances of french society, then please don't attempt to critique it. France is so completely different from the United States, especially with respect to domestic politics, that any american mindsets, or rather those particular to the United States, will simply not work - no amount of quick google/wikipedia research will educate you enough to allow you to formulate a pertinent and intelligent argument that can truly critique french society. That said, it does merit a significant amount of criticism, but just not from someone who can't begin to comprehend its complexity.

[guignol]

kids, kids, let's all calm down.

my old man had a saying i've kept all these years, whenever i started to lose my temper he'd say...

don't tell 'em to go to hell; just let 'em.

do we go all over the USA boards (despite the fact that we are thousands of times more knowledgeable about the states than whatsisname is about france) ragging about iraqi civilians, topped levees or birdshot-peppered lawyers?

no.

because we've got class.

so let this whoeveritis (never seen him before to talk about intelligent issues, have you?) play his games, he's obviously getting his jollies; meanwhile let's get back to the reason we're really here: enjoying each others company, talking about football and other things in an interesting and pleasant manner...

as for whatsisnameagain...

get a life. you'll have to sooner or later, and in my experience, sooner is better.

[RandyNA74]

Everybody's a troll in the French forum.
No. Just you. Stop bothering us. Bye.

[YankBastard]

kids, kids, let's all calm down.

my old man had a saying i've kept all these years, whenever i started to lose my temper he'd say...

don't tell 'em to go to hell; just let 'em.

do we go all over the USA boards (despite the fact that we are thousands of times more knowledgeable about the states than whatsisname is about france) ragging about iraqi civilians, topped levees or birdshot-peppered lawyers?

no.

because we've got class.

so let this whoeveritis (never seen him before to talk about intelligent issues, have you?) play his games, he's obviously getting his jollies; meanwhile let's get back to the reason we're really here: enjoying each others company, talking about football and other things in an interesting and pleasant manner...

as for whatsisnameagain...

get a life. you'll have to sooner or later, and in my experience, sooner is better.

You guys think you're so sophisticated and educated than Americans but in reality you people are just as ill-tempered and dumb-witted as everybody else. You Frenchies just don't realize that and every once in a while you get reminded that you are just like everyone else. At least we Americans admit that we're not the smartest people in the world.

[guignol]

You guys think you're so sophisticated and educated than Americans but in reality you people are just as ill-tempered and dumb-witted as everybody else. You Frenchies just don't realize that and every once in a while you get reminded that you are just like everyone else. At least we Americans admit that we're not the smartest people in the world.now what were we talking about? :rolleyes:

btw, we're mostly americans here.

[sl7vk]

You guys think you're so sophisticated and educated than Americans but in reality you people are just as ill-tempered and dumb-witted as everybody else. You Frenchies just don't realize that and every once in a while you get reminded that you are just like everyone else. At least we Americans admit that we're not the smartest people in the world.

Please go back to your cave.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/images/neanderthal.jpg

Thank you.

[RandyNA74]

You guys think you're so sophisticated and educated than Americans but in reality you people are just as ill-tempered and dumb-witted as everybody else. You Frenchies just don't realize that and every once in a while you get reminded that you are just like everyone else. At least we Americans admit that we're not the smartest people in the world.
Incidentally, guignol is American.

[Pierre-Henri]

Somehow, I can understand Yankbastard reaction. Let's face it, french and francophile posters, we also hear a lot of stupid things about USA in France. We, french, tend to patronize other people a lot, especially americans.

What can I say ? We are not all like this. As the old joke says : France is sixty millions of minorities.

[Nanbawan]

OK, the subject of French social unrest can ce a open to discussion like any other one but not by some retard who just deposed his poopy in the lobby and comes back from time to time to check if it still stinks...

And Yankbastard's post is off target -for a change...- and somewhat ironic in a sense. He just made us a lecture on the great values of America while criticising our tendency to think we're above the rest. As for ill-tempered, I wonder what reactions would have been like for something like this in other areas of the forum...

Nobody here is perfect (hmm, that's subject to discussion too) but I don't see the problem in trying to be reasonably civilised with others. It's not a sin in my book...As for French thinking they're the crême de la crême of humanity, it's of course partly true and is IMO the most shared national trait in the world ; though we can all notice that within borders we -like in so many other nations- can be very harsh with our country as well. So, on the whole, saying that and just that shows your ignorance and more importantly the lack of willingness to try and begin to start to learn about things in general.

There are things I would like to criticise about the US as well, yet I don't feel entitled to do it in a way that would systematically and unnecessarily hurt the eventual readers' feelings. That doesn't mean those critiques can't be expressed. Anyway, it wouldn't simply come to mind to go and troll on US boards ; losing your temper after a series of dumb posts is something else...

[TheOrator]

French coach Troussier and wife convert to Islam

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/108670.asp

Frenchman Philippe Troussier and his wife Dominique have converted to Islam in the Moroccan capital where they live, sources close to the couple confirmed.
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The widely-travelled Troussier, 51, is former coach of the Moroccan national team and French club Marseille. He also had spells in charge of South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Qatar and Japan, whom he guided to the second round of the 2002 World Cup.
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"Troussier is no longer Philippe, he has taken the name Omar and his wife is no longer Dominique but Amina," the French-Moroccan daily L'Opinion reported Thursday.
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A source close to the couple confirmed the conversion to AFP, adding that the ceremony took place last Friday.
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"Welcome Omar and Amina to the Kingdom of the All Powerful, the Kingdom of the Truth," L'Opinion wrote, hailing the conversion as "a magnificent and wonderful surprise".
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"As Muslims we are happy to see such a strong and well recognised personality as Philippe Troussier become part of this religion of peace and tolerance."
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The newspaper added that when contacted Troussier said he "did not want to elaborate too much on the subject."
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"I want to keep my feelings for myself," Troussier was quoted as saying, adding: "as you see things evolve ..."
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Meanwhile, the Moroccan Evening newspaper reported that the couple have adopted two local girls Selma and Mariam. — AFP Frenchman Philippe Troussier and his wife Dominique have converted to Islam in the Moroccan capital where they live, sources close to the couple confirmed.

[Nanbawan]

Too slow (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=329931) you are, young padawan !

And that's borderline soccer related. :p

[YankBastard]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4842734.stm

"Yeah, right there..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/europe_enl_1143219280/img/1.jpg


French pride tested at EU summit

French President Jacques Chirac left Brussels saying that he had been "deeply shocked" by the language used at this summit.

That is because the language was English, and it was being spoken by a fellow Frenchman.

The president, a lover of dramatic gesture, walked out of one meeting, trailing his senior ministers behind him, when the head of Europe's business organisation, Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, had the temerity to abandon the language of Balzac for that of Bush and Blair.

What must have made it worse for President Chirac is that his compatriot made it clear that he committed this, how shall we say... faux pas because English was the language of business, and that was a fact of life.

It would be hard not to read this as a display of "linguistic patriotism" to go with the official French government policy of "Economic Patriotism".

You could see both varieties of patriotism as either an inability to face up to the real world or a brave stand against the crushing force of Anglo-Saxon hegemony. Or both.

But they certainly reflect the reality of France's position within the European Union, which has been changing over the last decade.

Once French was the main language of the EU, the only language that everyone had to speak, just as the EU's economic policy reflected French priorities. The entry of the Scandinavian states, then the Eastern European ones, changed all that.

Back rub

But at least President Chirac escaped a formal assault on his economic policy.

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had planned an attack on "economic protectionism", but no one else was eager to join him. So instead he gave the president a jokey back massage.

The reason others did not join in (the attack rather than the massage) was because they thought there was little that the EU could do in concrete terms. And there was no point in needlessly making an example of anyone. Even President Chirac.

In fact, this was one of those workman-like summits where most of the hard graft had already been put in by civil servants and where, linguistic flounces aside, there was no need for head-to-head confrontations.

They have agreed that more work should be done on a common EU energy policy. The Austrians, who are in the hot seat, say this will be looked back on as "historic".


Healthy direction

Perhaps, but at the moment there are a lot of question marks over details and even more work for those civil servants.

The text issued at the end of the summit tries hard to make it sound as though something of moment had happened, talking of "a fundamental relaunch" of the Lisbon Strategy, the jargon term for a more prosperous and economically liberal Europe.

But while the European Union can beam or frown on certain countries for the degree of enthusiasm that they pursue their "national reform programmes" this really is the business of the nation states. The Commission has neither the power, nor more importantly the will, to wave a big stick.

Prime Minister Tony Blair left for the Commonwealth Games looking as though his mind was on other things, saying that the direction of travel of the European economy was "healthy".

That probably translates as meaning not much was done, but what was done sent the right signals. And sent them in English.