Stories about France from May, 2011
Africa, France: Who is Nafissatou Diallo? Victim or Conspirator?
In the debate over the alleged sexual assault by French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn of a Guinean hotel chambermaid in New York, attentions from France to Africa have now shifted to the identity of the alleged victim, Nafisatou Diallo.
Russia: OBEY Giant Poster Wonders ‘Who Set Up Strauss-Kahn?’
LJ-user groupper posts [ru] pictures of an illegal poster with OBEY Giant and a question in French and Russian: “Who set up Strauss-Kahn?” The poster hanging in front of the French diplomatic mission building in Saint-Petersburg, raises a conspiracy theory question, wherever the #DSK scandal was a deliberate removal of...
France: #frenchrevolution in photos and videos
The Bundlr site presents a compilation [dead link] of photos, videos, links and tweets about the raising of the Place de la Bastille in Paris, to echo the protests in Spain and Greece.
France : The “Civilized” Internet According to President Sarkozy
As a prelude to the G8 summit in Deauville, chaired by France, the e-G8 forum of the Internet was held in Paris on 23 and 24 May 2011. To the dismay of supporters of civil society, the interventions on the forum were limited to government agencies and large companies.
Russia: EU’s Roma to Move to Russia?
Window on Eurasia wrote in early May that “rising tensions between the Roma and the titular nationalities of the European Union have sparked reports in Moscow that some of this often-despised community are about to be moved to the Russian Federation, either on their own or from a deal between...
France: DSK Scandal Fires a Protest Against Sexism
French feminist network Osez le féminisme (Dare to be a feminist) [fr] is organizing a protest [fr] in Paris on Sunday May 22, 2011, in front of the Pompidou museum against “the sexism of the French ‘elites’ revealed by the DSK scandal”. In a matter of hours, their online petition...
France: French Women Bloggers on the DSK Scandal
French feminists bloggers and women bloggers writing on women's issues, have gained a larger audience and a new respect in France in the aftermath of the Domininique Strauss-Kahn scandal. Meet a few French feminist bloggers laboring online against prejudices and the French perception of sexual harassment and crimes.
France, World: Discontent Against G8 Meeting About the Internet
Blog Club de l'Europe is outraged [fr] by the “Internet sharks’ feast” to be held on May 24 and 25, 2011, at the Musée du Louvre, in Paris. The meeting aims to prepare the G8 forum, which will be focused (according to its French presidency) on the Internet, but only economic and...
France: Anti-Racism Group Expelled from Slavery Commemoration Event
During a National Slavery Day ceremony in Paris attended by French president Nicolas Sarkozy on May 10, eight members of anti-racism group Alliance Noire Citoyenne [Black Citizens Alliance] were expelled for wearing shirts that said “Anti Negrophobia Brigade”. A video of the action has been viewed more than 600,000 times.
France: The Fall of Dominique Strauss-Kahn?
On Sunday 15 May, 2011, France awoke to a political earthquake: a sex scandal involving the (now former) French president of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, arrested for an alleged sexual assault against a housekeeper in a New York hotel. On day three after the revelation, French bloggers are still struggling to grasp the implications of this global scandal on French politics.
May 11, 1981: 30 Years Ago, Bob Marley and François Mitterrand
“François Mitterrand and Bob Marley, united for eternity on May 11th 1981″, [fr] is a post on the blog Calédosphère commemorating the 30th anniversary of the passing of the “God of Reggae”, Bob Marley, and the election of former French President François Mitterrand. Bob Marley fans can visit the blog [fr]...
Italy: How technology can help manage emergencies
In a crisis, how can Web 2.0 be of use to social movements and what practical help can it offer to facilitate collective action? In reality, there is no shortage of platforms which, established on a voluntary basis, using free software, harness the internet and mobile phones to gather and share information, sourced...
France : demonstration at the Syrian Embassy
On Tuesday, 3 May 2011, World Press Freedom Day, representatives from Reporters Without Borders demonstrated in front of the Syrian Embassy in Paris. Video of the demonstration [in French and English].
Tunisia: Illegal Tunisian Migrants in France
Illegal Tunisian migrants, who arrived in Paris via the Italian island Lampedusa and were rescued by a grass-root organization tell the Bondy Blog [fr] about their feelings of “regrets, anger, honor, and a little shame too”.
Morocco: “I Love Kech!”
Marrakech, the main tourist attraction in Morocco, was hit on Thursday by a bomb attack. Bloggers are asking people to send their pictures to show solidarity with the victims of the attack.