The French-American Foundation Weekly Brief

United States

On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that President Obama is “cautiously optimistic” that Senate Democrats will pass the health care overhaul bill, including the public option feature. However, abortion coverage, as part of the public option, is still a “contentious” issue. Some anti-abortion lawmakers have proposed a “compromise” in order to get the bill passed, which would allow for an “expan[sion] of services” to help pregnant young women during the course of an otherwise unwanted pregnancy, according to NPR. 

On Wednesday, the House approved the “jobs package,” which includes $154 billion to stimulate employment rates, according to the AFP. The bill will create jobs, in part, by funding large-scale road and bridge repair projects, and will “require the use of US-made construction material.” Critics fear that this stipulation will slow construction, and subsequently slow the creation of new jobs, while leaders in the transportation sector are pleased that the bill has opened the door for much-needed debate over the way federal money is spent on their sector, according to The New York Times. 

This week, the Christian Science Monitor featured several articles discussing the history and significance of the Muslim veil, as well as its place in contemporary America. The articles are timely in view of the current political discussions in France and Europe over whether or not the veil, particularly the burqa, should be banned. (See additional Christian Science Monitor article entitled: “The Muslim veil: modesty has its own style“)

The Washington Post this week discussed the potential for a Republican “comeback” in 2010, but said that it will be mostly dependent on the “policy and political leadership” of Republican governors, as opposed to congressional Republicans. This could be a result of what Politico calls the overgrown and “fractured” Republican Tea Party movement. According to the publication, the movement, which seeks to restrain “big government,” has apparently grown in such an abrupt and disorderly manner that it may fulfill the Democratic hope that intraparty conflict will thwart Republicans in the 2010 congressional midterm elections. (See also: “The Republican Party fights…with itself” [Christian Science Monitor]; click here to learn more about the Tea Party Movement)

France

Grève is the name of the game in France this holiday season, where unions in several sectors are planning, or continuing, strikes. In the transportation sector, employees of the Paris commuter train line RER A, will have, as of Thursday, been on strike for over a week, and plan to continue despite the “200 miles of traffic jams” that have occurred as a result of the work stoppage, according to the AFP. Also in transportation,The Connexion reported that Eurostar drivers, as well as Orly airport employees, plan to strike in the “coming days,” which will make holiday travel to and from the French capital difficult. Lastly, while the Centre Pompidou has agreed to put a hold on their strike that began November 23, France Info notes that it plans to re-instate it after the holidays.

This week, Elle magazine celebrated female government ministers in honor of its upcoming forum on women in France entitled: “Les Etats généraux de la femme,” as reported by Les Echos. The forum, which was initially launched in 1970 (and has not taken place since), will return this January to Lyon, Paris, Lille and Marseille, and will give women the chance to discuss issues ranging from gender equality in the workplace to education and relationships. (See also the Elle magazine article for further information on the forum)

The organization “Delinquants Solidaires,” which seeks to protect the human rights of illegal immigrants, or “sans-papiers,” in France is demanding the reversal of the November 23 regulations that prohibit, among other things, French businesses from hiring illegal immigrants as reported by Le Monde. According to the World Socialist Website, préfets would have the authority to “shut down firms” and the government could, as quoted by Labor Minister Xavier Darcos, “reinforce inspections [of businesses]” as a type of “deterrent.” In a related example of how the French government has dealt with immigration issues, Timemagazine published a story on the recent government-ordered “raz[ing]” of a migrant camp near Calais, and how it came to be managed by the aid group Secours Catholique.

Business and Economy

On Monday, Les Echos reported the negative results of France Telecom’s October employee questionnaire. The outcome of the survey, which was launched by the company as a way to address the particularly high number of suicides among its employees over the past two years, indicates that a quarter of the 80,000 respondents are in a “situation of risk” in their work environment. The telecom industry news website, FierceTelecom, stated that France Telecom plans to remedy the situation by bringing “1,300 outsourced positions” in-house, as well as consulting with occupational health doctors, among other things. 

On Monday, Radio France International reported that President Sarkozy’s ‘Grand Emprunt ‘ — known as the ‘Great Loan’ to Anglophones — will consist of a €35 billion investment of partially-borrowed money into “five ‘priority’ areas.” One of these areas, higher education, will receive €11 billion to create several new “campuses of excellence.” While some students are excited by the potential to up the ante of the French higher education system, some feel that the creation of these “pôles” will only enhance notions of elitism and divide the student population, according to an article in France Soir. (See also France Soir‘s article: “Education — Vers des campus d’excellence“) 

On Monday, the New York Daily News reported that Citibank will begin repaying the U.S. government the $45 million it owes from bailout loans. However, on Wednesday, The New York Times reported that the bank will be spared $38 billion worth of tax deductions it would have lost as a result of the repayment, courtesy of a rule changed by the Internal Revenue Service. While many are angered by the flexibility of laws and exceptions made recently for distressed banks, Bloomberg reported that the change was supposedly a protective measure to keep investors, who were banking on the probability that Citibank would be “denied the deductions,” from profiting.

International

Dubai, once the quintessential example of economic growth, will receive $10 billion in bailout money from Abu Dhabi to pay back “a pile of loans” related to the “state-owned conglomerate,” Dubai World, according to NPR. In related news, Tiger Woods’s golf course, ‘The Tiger Woods Dubai’, will “[push] ahead,” despite the emirate’s financial woes, with the expectation of construction delays, and an unknown finishing date, according to the AP.    

According to Monday’s Le Monde, Iran is close to creating the “last components” necessary for the construction of a nuclear weapon, but maintains that its nuclear program is solely for “civilian purposes,” according to the AP. A concerned U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure, by a vote of 412 to 12, to impose sanctions on the middle-eastern nation by “target[ing] [its] dependence on imported gasoline,” according to Voice of America.

This week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton eased tensions at the Copenhagen Summit by agreeing to a plan for developed nations to provide “$100 [billion] a year by 2020” to poorer nations, barring one requirement: that countries receiving the money (particularly China) provide “documentation of […] efforts to cut emissions,” as reported by The Guardian. Her announcement came after developing countries, particularly China, India and several African nations, ended a boycott of the talks on Monday, which was based on the suspicion that developed countries were “conspiring to soften their commitment” to the reduction of carbon emissions, according to NPR.

Al Jazeera reported that Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement that has had “full control of the Gaza Strip” for the past two years, celebrated its 22nd anniversary on Monday with a rally of “tens of thousands of supporters.” During the rally, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya spoke of the failings of the Middle East peace talks and insisted that he would not compromise or cut a “permanent deal” with Israel.