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Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy Monday was facing the results of weekend regional elections in France, which show a serious erosion of his support from the right. Paris newspaper Le Monde points out that while the elections have no immediate impact on his role or his government, they show that the right has reservations about the president’s actions, his personality and his ability to pull together a majority for 2012 election.
Sarkozy and his celebrity wife, Carla Bruni, were in the news in the election run-up, with tabloids running stories daily about a gossip-based marital affairs rumour. Despite, or perhaps because of the gossip, the turnout for the vote was considerably lower than usual, less than half of voters.
Which way in Davos for the world economy. © 2010 World Economic Forum swiss-image.ch/Photo by Michael Wuertenberg
Davos, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The World Economic Forum (WEF) runs from 27-31 January in the snowy Swiss resort of Davos, and, ostensibly, the leaders will be discussing the state of the world and ways to improve it. Behind the scenes, they will be networking.
It isn’t every day that so many movers and shakers come together in one place.
The WEF is dedicated to bringing together the “world’s business and political leaders. . . to discuss the issues facing the world today.” It aims to bridge cultures and countries, and bring the best minds and experts to “allow leaders to make decisions that can bring about change for the better,” the Geneva-based non-profit group says on its web site.
World Economic Forum facts and figures
Paris, France (GenevaLunch) – Former Prime Minister of France Dominique de Villepin has been acquitted by a Paris court of plotting to discredit the current president, Nicolas Sarkozy, in a case that saw three other defendants judged guilty.
Sarkozy’s name was found on a list of clients of a bank in Luxembourg, clients allegedly linked to illegal arms sales. It was later established that the list was forged in order to slander Sarkozy during his bitter contest with de Villepin to succeed former President Jacques Chirac.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has left the Paris hospital where he spent the night. Sarkozy was under observation after reports of feeling faint while jogging. However, the Elysée Palace denied the claims, saying that Sarkozy suffered a ”minor” nerve complaint in the park of the Palace of Versailles. BBC, Le Monde
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was kept overnight at a French military hospital for observation after feeling faint during a 45-minute jog in Paris Sunday morning. An initial checkup showed no problems, but normal procedure in such cases is to monitor the heart for 24 hours. French media are questioning his “perpetual hyperactivity” and suggesting this could be the cause. CNN, Le Monde, Fre
Paris, France (GenevaLunch) – Mark Cavendish, from the Isle of Man, won his sixth sprint finish in the 2009 Tour de France. It was the most prestigious but in some ways also the easiest as his Columbia teammates, especially Australian Mark Renshaw, gave him a big lead into the final 100 metres.
The final day was a traditional affair, at a leisurely pace for much of the stage before a break by seven riders in search of glory.
Le Grand Bornand, France (GenevaLunch) – Younger men are getting ahead of 37-year-old Lance Armstrong, seven-time winner of the Tour de France, who slipped into fourth place overall Wednesday 22 July as riders took on the challenge of five mountain passes. The two Schleck brothers from Luxembourg, Andy and Frank, who ride for the Saxo bank team are now behind leader Alberto Contador in the overall rankings. Armstrong could not maintain the pace but came back strongly later as he stormed up the final mountain.
Bradley Wiggins, British three time Olympic champion, started the day in third place but slipped back to sixth, although this was not clear to television spectators who were forced to watch an interview with President Sarkozy on the Tour while the riders came in.
Armstrong’s fight to win can be viewed another way, reports Minnpost:
French President Nicolas Sarkozy dived into a festering debate on the use of the burka in France when he addressed the French congress Monday 22 June at Versailles. He said “the problem of the burka is not a religious problem, it’s a problem of liberty, of dignity of women.” Last week a group of parliamentarians led by Communist André Gerin called for an investigation into the use of the burka in France. The issue is fraught because France is home to the largest Muslim population in Europe, widely estimated to be five million people. The burka is a head-to toe covering worn by women in central Asia, notably in Afghanistan. BBC, Libération (Fre)
[Ed. note: the number of Muslims in France has been disputed, with some statisticians saying it is smaller: l"Express, 2003]
President Nicolas Sarkozy was jeered as he arrived 16 June at the presidential palace in Libreville, Gabon to attend the funeral of former president Omar Bongo, who died last week in a Spanish clinic after 40 years as president of his country. Sarkozy and former French president Jacques Chirac joined 40 other heads of state to lay a wreath on Bongo’s coffin. France, the former colonial power, maintained close relations with Gabon. But in May 2009 a judge in Paris decided to open an investigation of Bongo for corruption. BBC, Le Monde (Fre)
Da Silva, Sarkozy address jobs crisis summit in Geneva
Nicolas Sarkozy (©2009 ILO)
Lula da Silva (©2009 ILO)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Brazil’s President Lula da Silva Monday spoke out against international tax shelters and the deficiencies of a capitalist system that provoked the world economic crisis. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France called for an increased role for the ILO at the international level, on a par with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Bank.
The two are among the heads of state participating in a three-day jobs crisis summit in Geneva that opened Monday 15 June.
The summit is part of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) annual labour conference, from 3-19 June, and looks to examine ways in which government policies address the labour situation in the economic downturn.
Swiss news weekly L’Hebdo magazine’s 2 June edition features on its cover the murder trial of Cécile Brossard, accused of killing her lover, wealthy French banker Edouard Stern, in 2007. GenevaLunch, a partner of l’Hebdo, brings you the English version in two parts, with an introduction by GL editor Ellen Wallace.
French version © 2009 l’Hebdo
English version © 2009 GenevaLunch (may not be reproduced in part or whole without written permission). Translation: Sean Ecker
Background: The trial of Cécile Brossard for murdering Edouard Stern opens in Geneva 10 June, and is expected to run to 19 June. With 30 journalists accredited, it will likely remain in the headlines for the length of the trial. She has admitted to murdering her lover, divorced banker Edouard Stern, one of France’s wealthiest men, who was 50 at the time of his death in February 2005. The killing – four gunshots at his luxurious apartment in central Geneva – sparked enormous media interest at the time. The story was a hot mix: money, world travel, an on-again off-again affair he had with a woman 16 years his junior who came from a middle-class small-town French background while he came from generations of banking wealth, and then there was the death scene, with the victim found dressed in a head to toe latex suit that was part of their sadomasochistic sexual games. And then tales of his manipulative behaviour began to eke out, while other observers questioned his killer’s words.
The trial adds to this two well-known lawyers and public curiosity about the woman who committed the crime. Swiss media have already warmed up for the trial: the Tribune de Genève writes of obscure plots, disinformation being spread and swissinfo (in French) relates a tale of passion, power and sex. Suisse Illustré asks, diabolical Mata Hari or fragile woman? TSR, which is putting three journalists on the story, has a video blog to follow the trial.
The story according to L’Hebdo:
