· February, 2009

Below are posts about citizen media in French. Don't miss Global Voices en Français, where Global Voices posts are translated into French! Read about our Lingua project to learn more about how Global Voices content is being translated into other languages.

Stories about French from February, 2009

DRC: Police raise revenue, but whom are they keeping safe?

  28 February 2009

In the DRC, Cedric Kalonji questions the Inspector General of the South Kivu police who, in a recent radio interview, pledged that the police were committed to raising revenue through security taxes or fees for the issue of public documents.   Kalonji writes: “While killings, lootings, rapes and murders, which...

Martinique and Guadeloupe: Vocabulary of the general strike

  28 February 2009

le blog de [moi] [Fr] discusses how a new vocabulary has entered into the creoles of Guadeloupe and Martinique since the beginning of the general strike: “What was really surprising (and for me, I admit, a little unsettling) was to see how in interviews, men and woman on the street...

Guadeloupe: Police “Blunder”?

  26 February 2009

Amidst the confusion of the month-long social conflict in Guadeloupe, two nights of violence took place on February 17th and 18th. Apart from acts of arson in shops and numerous burning roadblocks, the climax of these violent clashes has been the as-yet unsolved assassination of a man. Trikess, who blogs...

Martinique: Violent clashes in Fort de France

  26 February 2009

Martinican bloggers Imaniyé and Bondamanjak both note the recent degradation of the social conflict in Martinique, as clashes between the police and young people took place in the capital city of Fort-de-France, on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Morocco: Simply Delicious

  26 February 2009

This week, the talk in the blogoma seems to be about all things edible. Moroccan cuisine, widely considered one of the most complex and best in the world, is derived from Arab, Spanish, Turkish, Jewish, and native Amazigh culinary traditions and is well-known for its use of vegetables and spices....

Colombia: Another Illegal Wire Tapping Scandal

  25 February 2009

The news magazine Semana recently revealed that the "secret police" of Colombia had been illegally wire tapping politicians, journalists, magistrates, intellectuals and even government officials close to President Álvaro Uribe. Even worse, some of these agents allegedly had been “selling to the highest bidder” the information obtained to guerrillas, paramilitaries or drug traffickers. Colombian bloggers react to these revelations.

Madagascar: A Resolution to the political crisis?

  22 February 2009

In Madagascar, bloggers react to a recent meeting where rivals President Marc Ravalomanana and Andry Rajoelina agreed to a political truce, paving the way for further negotiations. Weeks of public protests and violent crackdowns have left dozens dead.

DRC: When it rains in Kinshasa

  21 February 2009

Cedric Kalonji describes Kinshasa after a heavy rain [FR].  The roads turn into lakes, but “high up in their 4x4s, the authorities are untouched by the problem, the result being that there is almost no support for making storm sewers or gutters.”

Martinique: On independence and French “paternalism”

  21 February 2009

As the workers' movement in Martinique and Guadeloupe continues, bloggers in Martinique consider what it might mean for the overseas departments to become independent. le blog de [moi] finds the idea Martinique couldn't make it on its own offensive and paternalistic. Her readers think that one reality of being a small island country is that you are always under someone else's shadow.

Martinique: Carnival cancelled after weeks of workers’ protests

  21 February 2009

le blog de [moi] discusses officials’ decision to cancel Carnival in Martinique after four weeks of workers’ protests.  She quotes Louisy Berté from the Alliance union who asks, “How can we stand against the rising cost of living and, at the same time, present an image of Martinique singing and...

Martinique: President Sarkozy

  20 February 2009

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has finally met with elected representatives of French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Réunion, regarding the crisis which has been shaking the French West Indies for the last month. Martinican bloggers Imaniyé and blogde[moi] are dissatisfied and note that his TV address raised two questions: Why was...

Guadeloupe: Local media under pressure

  20 February 2009

Guadeloupean CaribCreoleOne is the first blogger to talk about the political pressure put on Guadeloupean media RCI and Canal 10. Some journalists even seem to have been summoned by the Local service of the Judiciary Police [Fr].

Guadeloupe: Where is it exactly?

  20 February 2009

French West Indian blogger Fwiyapin questions the way in which traditional French media are dealing with the Guadeloupean crisis – images of Guadeloupe and Madagascar mixed up on ITélé, or Guadeloupe suddenly being located in the Asia-Pacific column, in LeMonde.fr.

Guadeloupe: Escalating tensions lead to violence

  18 February 2009

After weeks of largely peaceful protests in the French overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, things took a violent turn on Monday, as police and demonstrators clashed in Guadeloupe's largest city, Pointe-à-Pitre. Workers are protesting skyrocketing unemployment and the rising costs of basic necessities, many of which are imported from France.

French Caribbean: Strikers Bloggers

  17 February 2009

Nowadays, no mass movement can ignore the importance of public relations and the social crisis in Martinique and Guadeloupe is no exception, according to Collectif5février [Fr, Martinique] and LKP and Elie Domota [Fr, Guadeloupe].

France, French Caribbean: Mobilization in Paris

  17 February 2009

It has often been said that l'Ile de France (Paris and its surroundings) is the Fifth French Overseas Department, due to its huge population of French Guianese, Guadeloupeans, Martinicans and Reunionese. In this announcement published by CaribCreoleOne, a group called Continuité LKP [Fr] invites the diaspora to march in Paris...

Guadeloupe: Police clash with protestors

  17 February 2009

Protests continue in Martinique and Guadeloupe, and yesterday protestors clashed with police.  Imaniyé posts photos and writes [Fr]: “Yesterday, the French forces of repression hit Guadeloupeans.  Tonight, Guadeloupe was set on fire and Guadeloupeans will not retreat!”

Guadeloupe, Martinique: Farewell Mr. N'Diaye

  16 February 2009

Martinican blogger Imaniyé and Guadeloupean B.World Connection both pay homage to Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye, who recently passed away. He was the Conservator of Gorée Island and instrumental in making French West Indians go back through the Door of No Return in the late 1990's.

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