Stories about French from June, 2011
Senegal: The Protests Will be “Twitterized”
On June 23, 2011, Dakar's streets were stormed by protesters. Their goal: derail the electoral reform that would allow the election of the president with 25% of the votes in the first round and would also propose a dual ticket with a vice-president, much like the American electoral system. The protests succeeded in getting the bill withdrawn - and Twitter played a significant role.
Republic of Congo: Local Company To Produce First African Android Tablet
VMK, a Congolese company, announced via its CEO Verone Mankou‘s Twitter account, that it will produce the first Android tablet made in Africa. Tech Central magazine interviewed Verone Mankou, showing a picture of the back of the tablet. More pictures are available on the VMK Blog [fr]. An official introduction will be...
Republic of Congo: Widows Demand Their Rights
minguabiango [fr] writes on congo-liberty about the cruel treatments and deprivation of their rights suffered by some widows in the Republic of Congo: “In Congo-Brazzaville, some widows are daring to prosecute their in‑laws and obtain compensation, sometimes with help from NGOs. They set a good example for all those women...
France-Senegal: Anti-Wade Demonstrators Arrested by French Police
Senegal is eight months from its presidential elections in February 2012. The country's civil society has already protested against various attempts by the incumbent president, 85 year-old Abdoulaye Wade, to hold on to power.
Guinea: “Democracy, Backwards”
Guinean novelist Tierno Monénembo, who won the French literary award Prix Renaudot in 2008, examines the early record of the new President of Guinea, Prof. Alpha Conde, writing [fr] in an opinion piece on Slate Afrique: “Beaten up and imprisoned at a whim. Nominated and dismissed at a whim. All...
Senegal: President Wade's Failure
Barka Ba writes [fr] on blog leral.net, about the constitutional amendment proposed by President Wade of Senegal: “Now, the emperor has no clothes. His gambling on an election reform, that would have allowed the president and vice-president to be elected with only 25% of the votes, and then personally pick...
Lebanon: “Welcome to Lebanon” as Seen By a Migrant Worker
In June 2011, Migrant Workers Task Force responded to three promotional videos launched by the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism with three video clips. The Beirut based NGO parodies the official campaign showing Lebanon as a paradise for foreign tourists (here, here and here). For migrant workers, the situation is far from...
Senegal: Power Shortages in Dakar Lead to More Riots
Website politicosn.com has provided real time coverage [fr] of the protests against power shortages in Dakar, Senegal, on June 28, 2011: “Ongoing demonstrations have flared up in Senegal capital, public buildings have been stormed by youth protesting against power shortages. This situation has forced authorities to call upon the army, security...
Syria: French Embassy Website Hacked
On Saturday, June 25, since at least 3PM GMT, the website of the French Embassy in Syria appears to have been hacked: anyone connecting to the French embassy website is automatically redirected to another site (http://th3pro.pro/fr/), where, to the tune of the Syrian national anthem, a message in French and...
Lebanon, France: Amin Maalouf Elected Into The Académie Française
“My favorite novelist has just been elected into the Académie française“” write Khira [fr], from Morocco, and Patricia [fr], on behalf of the Lebanese diaspora, happy to announce on their blogs that Lebanese writer and novelist Amin Maalouf was elected a member of the Académie française on June 23, at...
Syria: Blogging Day for Syria
Today marks the 100th day since the protest movement found its foothold in Syria. A 100 days later, more than 1,400 deaths, and three presidential speeches, the protest movement is still in full force. This Friday is being billed "friday of delegitimization".
Senegal: Proposed New Election Law Sparks Riots in Dakar
President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade's, proposed amendment to the Constitution and election law, in anticipation of the presidential elections of 2012, has made a lot of Senegalese angry and sparked demonstrations and riots in the capital Dakar on June 23. This popular unrest has since forced the government to drop the suggested amendment.
Senegal: University women's group helps the needy
On the blog dakar.bondyblog.fr, Mamadou Sané presented the initiative of a group of female students from the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar. “The association called ‘Regard de femme [A Woman's Look]’ is aiming to collect as many foodstuffs as possible to distribute to those in greatest need through a...
Lebanon: Lady Gaga's Latest Album Sparks A Rumor
Lady Gaga's latest album, Born This Way, stirred a small storm on Lebanese social networks. An article published by the Sun on June 4th, 2011, and commented by one of the Los Angeles Time blogs , stated that Lebanese authorities had banned the album. Lebanese fans immediately mobilized against this decision forcing the Sûrete Générale in Lebanon to deny the ban.
India Close Behind China in the African Continent
In May, the second India and Africa Summit was held at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Through the Cooperation Plan, India offers a different partnership model from the Chinese one, and inspired comments in the French-speaking African blogosphere.
Tunisia: Protest to Free a Government Critic
Tunisian protesters took to the streets yesterday calling for the immediate release of Samir Feriani, who has been in custody since May 29, 2011, for openly criticising the Interior Ministry. Human Rights Watch and Anonymous both addressed the Tunisian authorities and asked them to free him.
Featured Translator: Fabienne Der Hagopian
Fabienne Der Hagopian is a volunteer translator for Global Voices in French. Being of Armenian descent, she has translated into French many posts about the Caucasus, but is also passionate about the world at large. Fabienne reflects on her experience as a volunteer translator.
France, Syria: Syria's Ambassador To France Resigns
Syria's ambassador to France, Mrs Lamia Chakkour, has announced her resignation during a live audio interview with France24 [fr] TV chanel in Paris, today. “I cannot support this cycle of violence […] and ignore that protesters have been killed, that families live in grief” she said. “I invite President Bachar al-Assad...
Burkina Faso: Netizens Debate Political Turmoil on Facebook Group
The 2,000 member strong opposition Facebook group “Blaise Compaoré doit partir” ([President] Blaise Compaoré must go) is one of the platforms netizens are turning to to share news, updates and opinions [fr] about the tense situation in Burkina Faso, where mutinous militaries and presidential forces clashed last week in the town...
Tunisia: Official Arrested for Criticizing Interior Ministry
Samir Feriani, a senior official in the Interior Ministry, was forcibly arrested by the police and taken into a military barracks in Tunisia on May 29. Days earlier, he had published in “Al-Khabeer” magazine two letters addressed to the Tunisian people, in which he criticized the recruitment policy of the ministry.
Côte d'Ivoire: The New Cabinet Line-up
Suy on la Côte d'Ivoire au jour le jour – Ivory Coast day by day posted an audio recording [fr] of the Secretary General of the Ivorian presidency announcing the line-up of the new government, noting also that some already consider as ”overmanning” a line-up of 36 ministers.
