Sarko To Scrap Defining Characteristic of French Civil Law Tradition

In the French judicial system, magistrate judges ("judges d'instruction") are often the ones tasked with leading criminal investigations, with counsel for the parties playing a much more passive role. Critics have suggested that this essentially does away with any hope of a presumption of innocence and that this inevitably leads to an abuse of power. Proponents suggest that this method is much better because it allows an independent judge to look at the facts, rather than letting a beauty contest between two arguing attorneys (who may or may not get the law right) decide the outcome.

But after a few egregious cases where the investigating judge did not do such a hot job, Sarko thinks that it is time to have an adversarial process.

Unsurprisingly, French lawyers and judges protested the suggested reform.

Trois Mois de Sarkozy: un bilan inattendu

During the French presidential campaign, critics of Sarko were worried that he was too "Anglo Saxon" and that he might be too cozy with the United States (an estimation that I disagreed with somewhat). Well, it seems that he's kind of American in at least one way. He's proven to be a unilateralist .

Despite ongoing efforts by the EU to free the imprisoned Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor that have been held in Libyan custody for the last eight years (imprisoned and later convicted of deliberately infecting some 400 children with HIV on highly disputed evidence), Sarko and his wife decided to take the matter into their own hands last month.

In what seemed to be a tit-for-tat exchange, Gadhafi agreed to release the prisoners and France signed five key agreements on future cooperation, including deals on defense and civilian nuclear energy, with Libya. Other European countries, especially Germany, cried foul, and accused France of being unilateralist and stealing the thunder of what had been previously a concerted EU effort.

Someone accusing the French of being unilateralist? Wow, I guess it runs full circle.

Article form Der Spiegel

Sarkozy and Putin: No wounded soldiers on their watch

"Tout qui commence bien...."

This is a clip of a befuddled Sarkozy apologizing for arriving late to a press conference, stating that it was due to the length of discussions with Vladamir Putin. The Belgians picked this up first, and inferred that Sarko was wasted by saying that he had had more to drink than just water. Others have implied that he tried to keep up with Putin and lost.



I don't know. He has said before that he doesn't drink alcohol. He might also just be a befuddled new president late for an important press conference.

Sarko a l’Elysée

Well, he took it, with 85% voter turnout (could you imagine that here? Last presidential election here it was 57%. Wow). And so far, not so bad:

Ils se sont soldés par 730 voitures incendiées, 78 policiers et gendarmes blessés et 592 arrestations, selon un bilan de la Direction générale de la police nationale (DGPN).

It could've been worse. Well, this other article makes it sound worse:

Police fired teargas grenades into a group of several hundred masked demonstrators who threw rocks and other missiles at them, at the Place Bastille in Paris, where about 5,000 anti-Sarkozy protesters had gathered. There were also reports that police clashed with 2,500 protesters in Toulouse; 2,000 demonstrators in Lyon; and several hundred protesters in the towns of Rennes, Nates and Brest.

What actually happened?

Restez a l'écoute

On May 6 the French will pick their new president. It has become a classic left-right battle. I am somewhat torn between "Sarko" v. "Ségo" myself. I think France does need some structural reform, but I don't think the French will put up with much from Sarko because he is already seen as being too "anglo." I mean look what happened to Dominique de Villepin with the contrat première embauche. In case you missed it last year, this is what happened.

With Ségolène, one risks the status quo, but I think she might be able to push some mild market-based reforms through with her general support from the left. I also don't think that France needs to become Anglo to succeed. Is the unemployment rate to high? Yes, but I don't think they need to completely dismantle their state-run programs. Their hospitals and schools are first-rate. I kind of want France to stay, at least mostly, France. But it's not up to me, now is it.

On another note, the neuf-trois is getting ready, because if Sarko is elected, the banlieus of Paris might start to burn again. Soyez sages et prudents mes amis!!

Photo from The Economist.