I looked for her on my recent trip to France. I thought I might find her in the chic suburb of Neuilly, where she apparently used to live. I wanted to beg her to stop sending
emails, but she's apparently now found her way to Malta after her Tunisian citizenship was
apparently revoked.
I understand that many people, and no doubt a large number of people reading this, have already travelled in France. I went for two weeks with three goals: to explore and get to know Paris, to visit Normandy (in particular the D-Day beaches) and to better understand French culture and politics.
I don't have anything to say about Paris that you haven't already heard. It was everything I expected, if a bit faster-paced than I imagined. The signs of greatness are still there, particularly the architecture. The fashion is impressive. The people are proud. The food is incredible -- eating is a meal is an entire production.
Normandy was wonderful. It reminded me a lot of rural Quebec, except with less distance between the villages, older houses and slightly warmer weather! Walking on the beach in Courseulles-sur-Mer is an emotional experience (particularly when you see the war remains in the harbour at Arromanches) although those who've visited the Canadian Juno Beach Centre might concur that it is a bit underwhelming.
As for the politics, it was an interesting time to be there because it was the first anniversary of Sarkozy's election, and the 40-year anniversary of the famed general strike of May 1968. The French left was twisting itself into knots to try and re-enact their two-scores ago glory by calling for a redo of the strike to protest Sarkozy. It didn't work.
That said, Sarkozy is wildly unpopular and appearing a bit rudderless. The French right believes his lack of coherence is a problem (the sense is he goes around saying "I'm the reform guy, I'm just not sure what I'm reforming.) Even the most minimal attempts to drag France into the 21st century -- such as forcing schools to accept children for the day during teachers' strikes so parents don't have to fork over for babysitting -- are being met with a staggering amount of hostility. In some cases, early unpopularity for a reform-style leader isn't a problem -- as long as the leader is sticking to their guns (read: Harris, Thatcher.) But the fact is Sarkozy has re-drawn, re-formulated and re-jigged so many things so many times, I'm not sure the French people will reward him, even if he does realize some successes. We'll have to wait five more years to find out.
