The French-American Foundation Weekly Brief

FRANCE

Fadela Amara, France’s minister for urban policy, has called for a ban on the wearing of the burqa, arguing that it represents “the oppression of women, their enslavement, their humiliation.” The BBC noted that in 2004, France controversially banned the wearing of Islamic headscarves and other “conspicuous” religious symbols in state schools and by public employees. According to Der Spiegel, conservative parties in Denmark are echoing the call for a similar ban in their country, calling the garment “un-Danish.”

The Maillé Law has officially gone into effect, according to Le Figaro, allowing clothing stores in special “tourist zones” to open on Sunday. The Connexion noted that the new status had little effect at the outset, since the first Sunday came the day after the Feast of the Assumption in France, and many shops remained closed.

Reuters reported that France is under attack by “bee-eating Chinese hornets” which are threatening local honeybee populations.

The Angus Reid Global Monitor released a new poll showing that the French are “evenly divided” in their opinions on the leadership skills of President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister François Fillon, though approval ratings are slightly up from July.

Charles Bremner of the Telegraph reported that that the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and Google are closing in on an agreement for the internet search company to digitize the library’s stacks and add them to Google Books. La Tribune noted that 29 of the world’s largest libraries have already entered into similar agreements.

UNITED STATES

Le Nouvel Observateur noted the continuing intraparty contention over proposed health care reform in the United States, with disagreements forming within the Democratic Party. Libération cited what it saw as numerous gaffes and missteps in the rollout of the new plan.

Speaking to RTBF’s Matin Première, U.S. specialist Katia Long discussed the debate over health care and what strategies the Obama administration can use to extricate the debate from the current imbroglio. The New York Times provided a timeline of 100 years of health care reform in the United States.

L’Express reported the death of DC journalist Robert Novak, a staple of the beltway journalistic community and the center of the scandal surrounding the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame.

Le Figaro reported the Washington visit of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and described his meeting with President Obama and numerous Jewish organizations. In the Wall Street Journal, Saad Eddin Ibrahim argued that President Obama should keep his campaign promise and “turn his back on tyrants.”

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said that the government would take actions to limit bank bonus policies that the government claims “encourage excessive risk taking.” Bloomberg noted that limiting remuneration is proving more difficult as the economy recovers and competition for talent in the financial industry heats up.

A UK loan of £340 million loan to help the European airline giant Airbus build wings for its new A350 at British plants has aggravated the continuing trade dispute in the aeronautics industry between the United States and the EU. Meanwhile, EUBusiness reported that the trade surplus for eurozone countries more than doubled in June, providing another positive sign for Europe’s economy after France and Germany officially pulled through the recession.

French economist Olivier Blanchard published an analysis at the IMF in which he concluded that economic recovery has begun but that “sustaining it will require delicate rebalancing acts, both within and across countries.”

The Washington Post reported that Switzerland will reveal the names associated with over 4,450 secret accounts of U.S. tax cheats.  Le Figaro reported on the testimony of John McCarthy, an American customer who plead guilty to tax evasion, and described how the fraud was perpetrated. 

INTERNATIONAL

French educator Clotilde Reiss was released on bail from an Iranian jail, according to Deutsche-Welle, and the French government continued to call for the charges of espionage to be dropped. The Guardian noted that Reiss was put on trial for espionage with over 100 other suspects in a televised mass trial. The amount paid was €200,000, according to euronews.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for a recent attack against the French embassy in Mauritania. The BBC reported that the U.S. Peace Corps has removed over 100 aid workers from the country because of security concerns. 

Afrik.com analyzed the United States’ changing relations with Africa in light of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent trip to the continent.

The New York Times described the primary issues in Afghanistan’s presidential elections, and Voice of America listed the main contenders for the office. The Washington Post reported that the content proceeded with “unexpected smoothness and order.”  Forbes described the experience of British MP candidate Rory Stewart, who incarnates Britain’s complicated relationship to the Afghanistan war.

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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