We're better than the British, says Chirac

[BigBadBrian]

We're better than the British, says Chirac
By Henry Samuel in Paris
(Filed: 15/07/2005)

In pictures: Bastille Day

President Jacques Chirac celebrated Bastille Day yesterday by insisting that France had no need to "envy or copy" Britain.

Whether the point of comparison was food, health, education or science, France was in far better shape than its old rival, he said.


President Jacques Chirac, surrounded by Republican Guards, waves to the crowds lining the Champs Elysées

Mr Chirac, embattled by a run of crushing defeats and record low ratings in the polls, had clearly decided that the best form of defence was attack.

"I have a lot of esteem for the British people and for Tony Blair," he said. "But I do not believe that the British social model is a model that we should copy or envy."

In his annual Bastille Day television interview he did concede that unemployment was lower in Britain than in France, where it is running at more than 10 per cent. But in public health and tackling poverty the French were "much better placed than the British", he said.

France put a higher percentage of its national wealth into education and scientific research than Britain, Mr Chirac added - "So I don't envy their model."

His remarks were in stark contrast to recent comments by his popular interior minister and bitter rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, who extolled the "Anglo-Saxon model" Mr Chirac so reviles.

Mr Sarkozy even dared to ask out loud whether it was "France that is wrong and the world that is right".

Mr Chirac's response was not only a rebuff to Mr Sarkozy but also part of a concerted campaign to restore French pride at a time of national soul-searching and gloom.

His tub-thumping included French cuisine, which he said undoubtedly played a part in the nation's exceptionally high life expectancy.

An interviewer, referring to Mr Chirac's recent disparaging comments about British food, asked whether he really did consider it the world's worst.

"No, no, I did not say that," he replied, a factually correct answer as far as it went, as he had put British cooking second from bottom, above Finland.

Next in Mr Chirac's litany of praise came his country's birth rate, the highest in Europe with Ireland's, and its status as the world's "second agricultural power".

He reiterated his refusal to make "the slightest concession" on the Common Agricultural Policy, which the Prime Minister argues is in need of urgent reform because it takes up 40 per cent of the EU budget.

Behind all Mr Chirac's macho chest-beating hides a man struggling to salvage his reputation. More and more, the French are wondering how he can carry on as president for two more years when the polls show that fewer than one person in three trusts him.

Asked whether he was worried that France was tired of him, Mr Chirac said: "It is up to the French to decide, not me." He said he had carried out his duties as he thought best.

He even left his options open about running for a third term in 2007, saying that he would respond "at the appropriate time".

Mr Chirac's international credibility has suffered serious damage since French voters' rejection of the European constitution, his bruising clash with Mr Blair over Europe and the failure of Paris to win the race to hold the Olympic Games in 2012. But he remained bullish.

"When I am outside France, I absolutely do not feel on the defensive," he said. "I feel sure of myself."

The president played down reports that Mr Sarkozy had tartly suggested scrapping the traditional July 14 interview because most people would be "at the beach".

The annual television appearance was "without doubt of interest," Mr Chirac ruminated. "It is always good to launch debates."

Before the interview, the president and guests, including Sir John Holmes, the British ambassador to France, observed two minutes' silence in memory of the victims of the London bombings last Thursday.

"No country is sheltered from terrorist attacks," Mr Chirac said.

He was flanked at the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysées by his guest of honour, President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, of Brazil.

Thousands of people lined the streets as French jet fighters roared over, leaving a trail of red, white and blue, followed by Brazilian Tucano aircraft trailing the yellow and green of Brazil's flag to mark the year of "Brazil in France".

Security was tight to ward off any possible terrorist attacks, with more than 5,000 police officers patrolling the capital.

Link (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/15/wbastille15.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/07/15/ixworld.html)

[Nickdfresh]

In poor taste considering recent events.

[Warham]

France, a country we can all look up to.

[Cathedral]

Chirac Sucks!!!
And what's up with the jets putting out red white and blue smoke?

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by Cathedral
Chirac Sucks!!!
And what's up with the jets putting out red white and blue smoke? http://www127.pair.com/critical/french-flag.gif

[Big Train]

What is the exact pecking order in Europe?

[Cathedral]

Originally posted by Nickdfresh
http://www127.pair.com/critical/french-flag.gif

Oh, Duh...Boy, my blade is really sharp today, eh? lmmfao..........

[FORD]

Originally posted by BigBadBrian
We're better than the British, says Chirac
By Henry Samuel in Paris
(Filed: 15/07/2005)

In pictures: Bastille Day


Now come on Brian.... After using a series of RUSH avatars the last several months, you're gonna knock the French for celebrating Bastille Day?? :D

Lessons taught but never learned
All around us anger burns
Guide the future by the past
Long ago the mould was cast

For they marched up to Bastille Day
La guillotine claimed her bloody prize
Hear the echoes of the centuries
Power isn't all that money buys

[LoungeMachine]

Originally posted by FORD
Now come on Brian.... After using a series of RUSH avatars the last several months, you're gonna knock the French for celebrating Bastille Day?? :D


Bri didn't know it was Alex Lifeson

He thought it was Ann Coulter:cool:

[BigBadBrian]

Originally posted by LoungeMachine
Bri didn't know it was Alex Lifeson

He thought it was Ann Coulter:cool:

C'mon, quit kidding Kip.

Or is it Nuno.

:D

[BigBadBrian]

JACQUES CHIRAC INSULTED A NUMBER OF THE MEMBERS OF THE OLYMPIC SITE SELECTION COMMITTEE JUST BEFORE THE FINAL VOTE - GREAT TIMING YOU SMUG MORON!


http://www.strangepolitics.com/images/content/108670.jpg

[thome]

France is so beautiful the countryside and all .Fine wine growers
food great.The french people seem some times in the press,
im shure their not all this way,to not have a superior attitude
but a superior Altitude about themselves I guess a couple
thousand years of history does that to some.?

[Fairwrning]

buwhhaahhaaaa


love that pic

[Golden AWe]

Love the french, hate Chirac...

You people may already be familar with this already but he recently commented on the british food..."only the finns have worse food in the world"

Well, that cost them the olympics...the two finns in the committee voted for London and that settled it...52-50 or something.

[Redballjets88]

chirac is a bitch

[Mr Grimsdale]

The European pecking order used to be West Germany in the lead but with the end of the Cold War and the re-unification of Germany that fooked them up big time. Now it's the UK and France that seem to be leading the way. On the face of it the UK economy seems better but I wouldn't trust this governments figures any longer. They recently changed the way they measure a key economic statistic, the reason being that if they left the measure in its original form they would no longer meet their target so they changed it to make everything seem OK.
Muppets.

[Mr Grimsdale]

The French themselves are a pretty good bunch, I've worked with quite a few and we all enjoy taking the piss out of each other and ourselves.

Mind you we did win Agincourt, Trafalgar, Waterloo and the Olympics.

[ODShowtime]

Originally posted by Mr Grimsdale
[B I wouldn't trust this governments figures any longer. They recently changed the way they measure a key economic statistic, the reason being that if they left the measure in its original form they would no longer meet their target so they changed it to make everything seem OK.
Muppets. [/B]

yeah they do that shit here too

[Seshmeister]

Chirac is a prick and a crook.

Don't judge a country by it's leaders. I've spent time in France and got on vey well with many of the folk there.

Him saying that they are the worlds 2nd biggest agricultural power is a fucking joke though. French farmers make up 3% of their population and need to be subsidised to the tune of billions which is part of the reason people starve to death in Africa every day.

As for British cooking, he's 20 years out of date.

Cities in the UK have many restaurants that rival anywhere in the world.

London has some of the best restaurants in the world and Paris has as many McD's as anywhere else. I think the French health figures have more to do with sipping the odd glass of red wine and sleeping all afternoon as anything else. The UK is exporting millions of ready meals to them already and once they find they need to start working harder like the rest of us as they run out of money due to globilisation they'll all start dropping like flies...


Cheers!

:gulp:

[Seshmeister]

Originally posted by Mr Grimsdale
On the face of it the UK economy seems better but I wouldn't trust this governments figures any longer. They recently changed the way they measure a key economic statistic, the reason being that if they left the measure in its original form they would no longer meet their target so they changed it to make everything seem OK.
Muppets.

Mr G it works out at a billion a year over 7 years. It's irrelevant in the great scheme of things.

We are much richer than the French now, their economy is fooked.

Cheers!

:gulp:

[Mr Grimsdale]

Originally posted by Seshmeister
Mr G it works out at a billion a year over 7 years. It's irrelevant in the great scheme of things.

We are much richer than the French now, their economy is fooked.

Cheers!

:gulp:

Hooray!

Golden Brown is a pillock.

[Seshmeister]

Originally posted by Mr Grimsdale
Hooray!

Golden Brown is a pillock.

Not at all.

We need more Scots in the government!

[Mr Grimsdale]

Jaysus.

Let's see, we have a Scots Assembly and a Welsh Assembly, both of which can set laws for Scotland and Wales. The MPs in the assemblies also vote in the Houses of Parliament, so your lads get to set the laws daahn sarf and locally, while the English get stuffed.

As for Gordon Brown, did you see the front page of the Sunday Business yesterday? Seems his economic "miracle" might be about to end.

Why on earth politicians promise this end to boom and bust stuff I don't know. That's how economies work. As long as the net result is roughly two steps forward one step back who cares if there's a boom and bust cycle. Personally I prefer it, much more scope for opportunism.

[Mr Grimsdale]

Originally posted by Seshmeister
Mr G it works out at a billion a year over 7 years. It's irrelevant in the great scheme of things.

We are much richer than the French now, their economy is fooked.

Cheers!

:gulp:

Gordon is not just a pillock, he's a slimy pillock. This bunch of cretins in power at the moment are even more screwed up than the last Conservative administration, at least their mistakes revolved around who they could shaft, be that their own leadership or some young lady.

Gordon waves two fingers (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-158-1703619,00.html)

Patience Wheatcroft
The Chancellor's latest action typifies this Government's contempt for the ordinary voter

THE AVERAGE VOTER may have little understanding of Gordon Brown’s “golden rule” and even less comprehension of what he did to it this week. But never mind the more arcane details of defining the economic cycle, what should incense every voter is the sheer contempt for the public that is inherent in the Chancellor’s behaviour, and so much else that this Government does.

Mr Brown may be able to justify decreeing that the current economic cycle began not in 1999, as he had contended until Tuesday, but in 1997. What he cannot justify is that he chose to mention the change only 24 hours before publication of numbers that otherwise would have shown it to be all but impossible for him to adhere to his own golden rule: that recurrent spending be in balance or surplus over the course of an economic cycle.

So instead of owning up to his fallibility, Mr Brown waves two fingers at the public, moves the goalposts by two years and £13 billion, and declares himself a winner.

Does he think we are stupid? Of course he does. He may present himself as the man who wants to right wrongs, lift children out of poverty and feed Africa, but he treats the British public as if they were a very long way beneath him.

The Blair Government has often been accused of having a “nanny knows best” approach, taking decisions for us because it believes that we are incapable of taking them ourselves. Yet despite the occasional horror story about a nanny who turns out to be more like the wicked witch than Mary Poppins, the breed as a whole tend to be interested in their charges and what they think and feel. That is not the attitude of this Government.

As the truth about the renationalisation of Railtrack has unfolded in court, it has become increasingly apparent that Mr Brown’s contemptuousness of the ordinary voter was shared by Stephen Byers, the former Transport Secretary. He not only scorned the many thousands of small investors in the company, but also had no compunction about lying to his colleagues in the House of Commons about his actions.

Mr Byers now says that he cannot remember why he lied to the House about when he had first begun to look at pushing Railtrack into administration. That signifies either that he routinely told whoppers to his parliamentary colleagues and paid so little attention to the event or, if we are to give him the benefit of believing that such an untruth was a rarity, that he is peculiarly, and conveniently, forgetful not to be able to recall for the benefit of the court why he had found it necessary to break with the truth on that occasion. Neither is an edifying scenario. Yet such is the treatment that we have come to expect from this Government that we are not even really surprised by the revelations from the courtroom.

Why should we be? From the early days of his administration, when Tony Blair took a cheque from Bernie Ecclestone, the chief of Formula One, as debate raged over tobacco sponsorship, and then appeared on television looking hurt and insisting that he was “a pretty straight sort of guy”, it has been apparent that he and his colleagues have no respect for lesser mortals.

The attitude was summed up by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton. You will recall that it was he who, after the chaotic transport arrangements that wrecked Millennium Eve for many of those who attended the celebrations at the dome, referred to the celebrities who had been inconvenienced, but also to the “ordinary people”.

Lord Falconer is no longer an ordinary person, being a friend and former flatmate of the Prime Minister and now a member of his Cabinet. And if members of that Cabinet show contempt for those outside it, then that can only be encouraged from the top. The Prime Minister may try rather harder at the superficial public relations but, beneath the simpering smile and the pleasantries, there is a deep disdain for the electorate. It was apparent in the way in which Mr Blair misled the country before taking us into the Iraq war. Whatever the rights and wrongs of taking up arms against Saddam Hussein, respect for the public should have ensured that we were not bamboozled with the contents of a dodgy dossier. But Mr Blair had decided what he was going to do. The electorate merely had to be told something that might prevent them causing undue difficulties for his plans. Conventionally, this approach is categorised as “spin”, but the term does not do justice to the total disrespect that is afforded to those on the receiving end.

It is in evidence daily. On Wednesday, for instance, the Home Office was trumpeting a fall in crime that was “historically unprecedented”. When it was pointed out to Hazel Blears, the Police Minister, that the number of violent assaults in a year had quadrupled since Labour came to power, she dismissed the fact, saying it was explained by people being more prepared to report minor scuffles than they had been in the past.

She must know that this is utter nonsense. Surely, just like the rest of us, she hears and reads the reports of unprovoked attacks on passers-by that are regular occurences on our streets. That does not stop her trying to tell us we are being stupid.

Ms Blears may hold this view of the electorate because Mr Blair and his supremacists were returned to power at the last election despite treating the country so contemptuously. If only the Opposition could sort itself out and line up behind a leader prepared to show some genuine respect for the “ordinary people”, the arrogant Mr Blair and Mr Brown, and their cohorts, could find it is they who are at last given the kicking.

[Seshmeister]

You trust articles written by someone called Patience Wheatcroft?

The Blair government is a bit crap but the Tories were evil thieves and rogues.

[Mr Grimsdale]

A bit crap?

They're just like every Labour administration, they promise the earth and end up delivering nothing. It's only now that the cracks are showing. The NHS is in a worse state than in was under the Tories, so is the state of education and as for immigration and defence... they don't even have a policy.

The Conservatives acted like a bunch of tossers, mainly against their own leadership, but their policies were at least based on honesty. Work hard and you might get something, lounge around and you won't. New Labour is all smoke and mirrors.

[Seshmeister]

Such a short memory - the NHS was terrible under the tories.

Now Labour just piss money away on it but sometimes it reaches where it should.

Most of the buildings are a lot nicer for a start and those 'Carry On Doctor' style wards are nearly gone now.

Admittedly trying to get a GP to come to your house is spectacularly difficult.

[Mr Grimsdale]

Originally posted by Seshmeister
Such a short memory - the NHS was terrible under the tories.

Actually, it wasn't. My dad spent time in hospital during the 80s and got great care. I know people who have had to wait months for operations in the last 5-6 years and then get cancelled at the last moment. Under the current government all they've done for the NHS is successfully employ more and more managers and introduce more and more poor quality, over budget, under performing IT programmes. It's true Labour has boosted NHS funding, unfortunately it's also very true that the extra cash, both in real terms and headline figures, is being squandered.

As education, the government is living in a dreamworld thinking that 50% of the population need to have degrees. Most jobs do not really require a university education, a growing number of the degrees attained these days are in "mickey mouse" subjects that don't improve the prospects of the student or improve the economy of the country.


Originally posted by Seshmeister
Now Labour just piss money away on it but sometimes it reaches where it should.

Most of the buildings are a lot nicer for a start and those 'Carry On Doctor' style wards are nearly gone now.

Admittedly trying to get a GP to come to your house is spectacularly difficult.

The change from the 'Carry On Doctor' style wards was initiated in the mid-80s, most of the hospitals down south had changed by the early 90s. All Labour are doing is continuing something begun by the previous administration.

The economy was sorted out by Ken Clark in the mid-90s after being screwed up by Norman Lamont and the last year or two of Nigel Lawsons time at the Treasury (not really his fault as the world economy was screwed by the stock market crash in 87), so all Gordon Brown has done is keep it on an even keel since then. The one good thing he's done was make the Bank Of England independent, although now he's got the problem of wanting to cut interest rates more rapidly than the bank wants to. Even though they cut them yesterday there's strong indications they might well go up again in the near future.

[Seshmeister]

Originally posted by Mr Grimsdale
Actually, it wasn't. My dad spent time in hospital during the 80s and got great care. I know people who have had to wait months for operations in the last 5-6 years and then get cancelled at the last moment.

Gender realignment is never going to be a high priority.

I'm pleased for your dad but there are a million random anecdotal stories one way or the other. Judging the NHS by one tiny bit of it at one time is silly.

Don't make me laugh with the management thing another blue rinse propoganada weapon.

For example when the Tories brought in trusts every hospital had to price every procedure and inpatient stay in order to compete with each other. I was in a Finance deprtment at a hospital here and there were 40 people, half of which were trying to effectively price 25 000 'products'.

I was at the same place recently and now there were only 16 people in the department.

You're right about the IT systems though, funny that the media has just noticed today what I've been saying for over a year. It's impossible that this IT project won't fail, it's a fucking joke run by an idiot(who is the highest paid person in the entire civil service).

Cheers!


:gulp:

[Mr Grimsdale]

Originally posted by Seshmeister
Don't make me laugh with the management thing another blue rinse propoganada weapon.

For example when the Tories brought in trusts every hospital had to price every procedure and inpatient stay in order to compete with each other. I was in a Finance deprtment at a hospital here and there were 40 people, half of which were trying to effectively price 25 000 'products'.

I was at the same place recently and now there were only 16 people in the department.

Funny, how you can dismiss this as propaganda and yet accept propaganda claiming the opposite when it comes from Tony and the boys. Your example of 40 people in department is as much a one-off example as mine.

I see no improvement in the NHS. I'd go as far as to say that the NHS IS fundamentally flawed nowadays. The level of care that people have been led to expect cannot be funded through taxes. 50 years ago the level of care and technology required could be funded publicly, I simply don't see and personally don't want to have to pay for it.


Originally posted by Seshmeister
[B]You're right about the IT systems though, funny that the media has just noticed today what I've been saying for over a year. It's impossible that this IT project won't fail, it's a fucking joke run by an idiot(who is the highest paid person in the entire civil service)./B]

It's not just NHS computer systems that are heading for an almighty cock-up. This government seems to have a love affair with EDS, possibly the worlds worst consultancy. Every project they've delivered so far has been late and/or over-budget and yet they keep on getting repeat business. They're a bunch of clowns, everyone in the business knows it but government ministers and civil servants don't seem able to grasp the simple fact that they are, to quote Terry Thomas, an absolute shower.

[Mr Grimsdale]

...and don't even get me started on the education system!

[Don Corleone]

Wow, Grimsdale I'm impressed.

[Seshmeister]

Originally posted by Mr Grimsdale
It's not just NHS computer systems that are heading for an almighty cock-up. This government seems to have a love affair with EDS, possibly the worlds worst consultancy. Every project they've delivered so far has been late and/or over-budget and yet they keep on getting repeat business. They're a bunch of clowns, everyone in the business knows it but government ministers and civil servants don't seem able to grasp the simple fact that they are, to quote Terry Thomas, an absolute shower. [/B]

Yup..all those cunts are the bane of my life.

A project I was working on they took 6 months to provide a quote for some stuff holding us up and it was £12000.

I did it in 3 hours for nothing I was so fed up waiting...

You try and arrange an interface which should be maybe a days work and it takes four meetings with 3 fucking accounts managers(salesmen) at each of them and noone that actually has a clue about anything remotely technical.

I wish I could get on the billions of pounds consultancy bandwagon but I have this terrible habit of being too honest and can't use the 'language' those arseholes have without laughing.

Cheers!

:gulp:

[BigBadBrian]

You gotta admit, the French have better food.

:gulp:

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by Seshmeister
...I wish I could get on the billions of pounds consultancy bandwagon but I have this terrible habit of being too honest and can't use the 'language' those arseholes have without laughing.

Cheers!

:gulp:

Is there a bigger scam going than being a CUNTSULTANT? I think not...

[BigBadBrian]

Originally posted by Nickdfresh
Is there a bigger scam going than being a CUNTSULTANT? I think not...

The line aboot Sesh being "too honest"...... uhu uhu huh uhu uhu huh

:killer: :killer:

[Mr Grimsdale]

Originally posted by Don Corleone
Wow, Grimsdale I'm impressed.

I know, amazing eh? I didn't say cock once. Oh gawd.