The French-American Foundation Weekly Brief

FRANCE

Agence France Presse reported that France’s far-right National Front party was defeated in a critical town council election, which would have been its first victory in such a contest in over ten years. The New York Times described the strange bedfellows created during the election, as the center-right urged voters to support the left against a far-right party.

Mike Steinberg, wine critic for Slate.com, described the “startling decline” of French food over the last few decades in an excerpt from his new book, in which he explains how McDonald’s conquered France.

In the Voices blog at the Washington Post, Mary Ann Akers analyzed the perennial debate of shopping on Sundays in France in the context of Michelle Obama’s recent trip to Paris.

As the Tour de France begins, there are new indications that the French are warming up to multi-tour champion Lance Armstrong, who has had a historically stormy relationship with French fans and French cycling authorities.

UNITED STATES

Europe1 reported that Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, made a surprise announcement that she would be resigning without giving specifics as to her next steps. She later confirmed, according to La Presse Canadienne, that she is looking to become involved in politics at a national level.

Following a decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court, comedian and political commentator Al Franken has been awarded the contested Minnesota Senate seat, defeating his rival Norm Coleman, according to Agence France Presse. Les Echos analyzed the repercussions that a Democratic supermajority could have in senate decisions.

Four in ten Americans say that their views have grown more conservative, according to a Gallup poll on the direction of American political ideology.

In a guest column in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, a local businessman argued that French is an increasingly irrelevant language and that it should be replaced in high-schools by more business-focused languages such as Chinese.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

PressEurop described the Scandinavian social model as “lovely” but “unaffordable” and noted that it would likely be impossible to graft such a social model onto the other member states of the EU.

Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer called for “better coordination of exchange rate policy” for global currencies, as China and Russia call for a “rethinking” of the international monetary system, according to Bloomberg.
 
European Affairs asked whether an economic “mega-challenge” can spark “mega-cooperation.” In the Financial Times, Wolfgang Munchau analyzed the economic plan of President Nicolas Sarkozy and argued that France and Germany need to “sing in tune” on issues of government deficits.

French winemakers are celebrating a reversal by the European Commission, which will continue a ban on “blending” to create rosé wine, a move that will protect the market for French traditional producers, according to the Times.

INTERNATIONAL

A Yemenia Airlines plane carrying 66 French nationals crashed en route to the Comroes, according to the BBC. The Associated Press profiled the small island nation, and the BBC explored the country’s deep historical ties with France.

The Brookings Institution provided analysis and context for the G8 conference in Italy, where world leaders discussed issues such as the global financial crisis, Afghanistan and Iran, Africa, energy and climate change.

A recent court decision in Germany giving more power to national parliaments in regard to EU institutions may mean that the dream of a “United States of Europe” is now finished, according to Der Spiegel.

In Foreign Policy, Minxin Pei systematically dismantled myths of a quick Asian rise, arguing that “it will be many decades before China, India, and the rest of the region take over the world.”

The views expressed in the preceding press coverage are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the French-American Foundation nor its directors, officers, employees or representatives.
 
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