The news from France is very bad. Over the summer, President Sarkozy and the French Government have deported about 1,000 Roma people to Romania and Bulgaria. The mass expulsion of a community (based on ethnicity), the likes of which we have not seen in Europe since the Second World War, was duly met with widespread [...]
Everyone’s favourite mad-cap Mayor (of the people who read this blog) Christian Estrosi has made a final coup against freedom and democracy: he has banned the recording of council meetings, after censoring street performers it was the next logical step to censor his councillors. The Mayor of Nice decided without warning that the recordings would [...]
As I sort my life out in Spain and get back into regular blogging, I’m pleased to offer this bit of continuity. On the 14th and 21st of March, elections for the Conseils Regionals all over France will take place. These will be a decisive test for French politics because, as it stands, the Parti [...]
Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice (UMP), has imposed a curfew on children aged 13 and under. The curfew forbids children from going out on the streets without an adult after 11pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. In principle, there is no reason for a minor to be out on the streets alone at night. However, [...]
I have been working for our French colleagues in the Parti Socialiste for 6 months now, and though I don’t know what a Jedward is, I have been able to experience ‘continental democracy’. The debate about electoral reform in Britain has always been “PR or not to PR”, with the third way of AV or [...]
Yesterday I spent Remembrance Day (Veterans’ Day to some) outside of Britain for the first time. My grandfather took part in WWII as a sergeant and though he is still alive, I always try to attend something to attest to that fact. I think it’s important to note that the day is a public holiday [...]
There is a stigma that it is always the Left who will increase your taxes, as if the Right are completely incapable of doing it. In fact, right-wing UMP Mayor Christian Estrosi has made Nice the champion of all of France… for local tax increases! See the map for runners up: The tax rises he [...]
Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice, has decided to severely restrict and censor the activities of the city’s street performers. The danger is thus that this kind of censorship spreads and results in the eradication of all forms of expression and spontaneity in the town, which has already been suffering a lack of energy this summer. The City [...]
On Sunday night, I received the results to Round 1 of the by-election. They make for interesting reading! I had to deal with it in an Excel spreadsheet and figure out who was who, but YOU get this nice handy chart: So, there are a number of interesting conclusions I draw from this. (Note the French [...]
As voters in Pasteur, Cimiez and Libération vote in the first round of the by-election for Nice 6, I’ll take you through the choice they face. There are 11 candidates in total from the extreme left all the way to the extreme right. The two winners from today will go through to round 2 next Sunday. [...]
