## F09 LiveFromFrance S02E09

I'm writing this post during the Paralympic Games. After the Olympics, it was a great part of the last month. For Mad Macron it seemed to be the "Real Life" (La Vraie Vie). No, he was not joking, he looked so serious. Imagine a world where only volunteers do the work. Imagine a world that celebrates performance. Imagine a world with only the biggest companies as main sponsors... And a world where he can use the state resources to see these events in private. You'll only find this in France, because in every democratic country they should have resigned. Speaking of resigning, don't forget that we no longer have a government, but a "Gouvernement démissionnaire" (resigning government). Theoretically, they can only manage current affairs. But in the minds of these people, everything seems to be current affairs... except choosing a real government, given the results of the elections. 

Mad Macron has a real problem with democracy, like his hidden model, Sarkozy (another mad man..., we are specialists with mad presidents in France). In 2015, there was a referendum on the European Constitution, as in other European countries... But the result, a No, did not please the politicians. So they managed to circumvent the problem and write what they wanted. It's a memory in the subconscious of French voters and since then referendums have lost their meaning and legitimacy. But with his way of rejecting the results of the elections he provoked, it's another stab in the back of democracy. First there was an ultimatum for August 23... But he refused to name the candidate of the leftist coalition that narrowly won the elections. Some observers said that he insisted with the other parties that they all threaten to vote no confidence in this left-wing government, for whatever reason. And when the left leader Melenchon proposed not to be in the government in order to facilitate the candidate of the left, n
othing changed. Imagine that the goal of the left is to do exactly the opposite of everything Macron has done in recent years: more social, less power for the powerful, more financial justice and fairness. Macron is afraid to see his work of destruction... destroyed! That's why he finally chose Michel Barnier, a kind of older clone of Bruno Lemaire, the worst finance minister of Europe. He was against abortion, against the "Republican Front against the Far Right" and his party got just over 6% of the vote, coming a distant 4th. Remember, it was the guy who negotiated Brexit for Europe... Hum, no comment on the ridiculous result. During the primaries in 2022, he copied some ideas of the far right, but lost. Now the far right seems to be friendly with him... 

But with this decision to interfere in the life of the National Assembly, mad Macron is doing what the constitution should forbid... if he hadn't muzzled the Constitutional Council. Another shovel to dig the Constitution's grave. We talk about the impoverishment of the president, but only on the left of the left. The fear of the unknown frightens the French, as always. Barnier frightens the poor because he will make budget cuts in social services, hospitals and education. And don't talk about culture... For his first speech, he says "Those from below", about the French people. A common point with Macron, Hollande or Sarkozy. During this period the French actor Alain Delon died. He was a friend of the old far-right leader Le Pen because of the Indochina war. He was very talented and handsome, but also a reactionary, often compared by the media to Jean-Paul Belmondo. But no sex scandal for him... At the same time, Gérard Depardieu is waiting for his trial. Macron no longer speaks for his defense!

Now about sports, everyone was very happy about the Olympics. France came 5th in the medals table. And now we expect the same for the Paralympics. It's a kind of miracle to see how sport is practiced in France. Many of our champions had to go abroad for training. And it's a daily struggle for disabled people to move or go to work. Maybe that's our way of training?  At my place of work, they have made some ramps... but not at the right level, which means that they end in a step. Like when the SNCF (French Railways) bought new passenger cars with platforms that were too low. So much to do, but if I'm positive, it can only be progress! 

There weren't too many big fires in France. Fortunately, ... because our fire-fighting planes were out of action. But I heard some colleagues criticizing Greece for its inability to maintain its forests or to have the means to fight fires. The French are always French with a short memory... 2022 was terrible in France for fires and heat wave. That's over for many French people. Now we have big problems with road conditions. No money to maintain our small roads and I start to understand why more and more people are using off-road cars. In my street there are 9 months a year with big holes called "Nids de poule" (chicken nest or pothole)...you can put a whole family of chickens or even geese in there. Some neighbors have even added dirt or sand themselves. But since our local elections are coming up, it will be repaired next year! Speaking of sports, maybe it's another idea for a sport, like the obstacle course or a kind of "ninja warrior" if you are with bicycles. The French are very creative!

Oh, the last great thing about our kin... the president. He sold some Rafale fighter planes to Serbia, one of the only countries in Europe that supports Russia. But they are not involved in the Ukrainian conflict. Are these fighters still useful in modern wars with drones and cheap weapons, as we saw in Yemen or Ukraine? That's a good question that even the USA is asking itself. I'm sure he made a good price!

2Dɛ

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