Why Chirac must go!

[dilloduck]

There's More to It Than France Violating the Arms & Trade Embargos

http://www.factbook.net/chirac.php

Stratfor.com reports that what Chirac called his "close, personal relationship" with Saddam dates back to late 1974, when Chirac traveled to Baghdad and met the #2 man in Iraq: Vice President Hussein. During that visit, their main negotiation issue was Iraq's purchasing of nuclear reactors. In September 1975, Chirac personally took Saddam on a tour of a French nuclear plant. He expressed his desire to help Iraq with its nuclear program, and "the Iraqis bought a 70-megawatt reactor along with six charges of 26 points of uranium enriched to 93%." That's enough weapons-grade uranium to produce three to four nuclear devices.

Baghdad also purchased a one-megawatt "research reactor," and France agreed to train 600 Iraqi nuclear technicians and scientists. France also agreed to sell $1.5 billion worth of weapons to Iraq - for which they got a lucrative oil contract. In 1987, the Manchester Guardian Weekly quoted Chirac as saying that he was "truly fascinated" by Hussein.

This was Chirac's doing, on his own and separate from France's government. Former French President Valerie Giscard D'Estaing said exactly that in 1994. When President D'Estaing found out about this deal, he kyboshed it. In preparation for the 1988 presidential campaign, Chirac claimed he had nothing to do with that reactor destroyed in 1981. This gets Clintonesque! In August of 1987, French magazine Le Canard en Chain published excerpts of a letter from Chirac to Hussein. The magazine writes that the letter "speaks of the cooperation launched more than 12 years ago...for the sovereignty, independence and security of your country." This is amazing stuff - and it may just be the tip of the iceberg.

It's almost as though Iraq is France's #1 trading partner for oil and weapons. Chirac knows these Inspector Clouseaus will never uncover any evidence of his personal hand in arming Saddam, which is why he wants them given endless amounts of time. If Chirac was involved with that reactor and trying to get 93% enriched uranium to Saddam, then there's evidence to prove it, which we'll find if we invade. This is one of the things he's obviously trying to hide. The so-called idea that "it's just the French and they're pacifists" or trying to seek power at the EU may be true, but it doesn't explain this irrational behavior and the temper tantrums by Chirac - this news does.

 

[CSM]

There's More to It Than France Violating the Arms & Trade Embargos

http://www.factbook.net/chirac.php

Stratfor.com reports that what Chirac called his "close, personal relationship" with Saddam dates back to late 1974, when Chirac traveled to Baghdad and met the #2 man in Iraq: Vice President Hussein. During that visit, their main negotiation issue was Iraq's purchasing of nuclear reactors. In September 1975, Chirac personally took Saddam on a tour of a French nuclear plant. He expressed his desire to help Iraq with its nuclear program, and "the Iraqis bought a 70-megawatt reactor along with six charges of 26 points of uranium enriched to 93%." That's enough weapons-grade uranium to produce three to four nuclear devices.

Baghdad also purchased a one-megawatt "research reactor," and France agreed to train 600 Iraqi nuclear technicians and scientists. France also agreed to sell $1.5 billion worth of weapons to Iraq - for which they got a lucrative oil contract. In 1987, the Manchester Guardian Weekly quoted Chirac as saying that he was "truly fascinated" by Hussein.

This was Chirac's doing, on his own and separate from France's government. Former French President Valerie Giscard D'Estaing said exactly that in 1994. When President D'Estaing found out about this deal, he kyboshed it. In preparation for the 1988 presidential campaign, Chirac claimed he had nothing to do with that reactor destroyed in 1981. This gets Clintonesque! In August of 1987, French magazine Le Canard en Chain published excerpts of a letter from Chirac to Hussein. The magazine writes that the letter "speaks of the cooperation launched more than 12 years ago...for the sovereignty, independence and security of your country." This is amazing stuff - and it may just be the tip of the iceberg.

It's almost as though Iraq is France's #1 trading partner for oil and weapons. Chirac knows these Inspector Clouseaus will never uncover any evidence of his personal hand in arming Saddam, which is why he wants them given endless amounts of time. If Chirac was involved with that reactor and trying to get 93% enriched uranium to Saddam, then there's evidence to prove it, which we'll find if we invade. This is one of the things he's obviously trying to hide. The so-called idea that "it's just the French and they're pacifists" or trying to seek power at the EU may be true, but it doesn't explain this irrational behavior and the temper tantrums by Chirac - this news does.

What is interesting is that this little snippet of news has been around for some time now yet no outraged cries of alarm from the media.

 

[dilloduck]

I wrote earlier about the severe demographic and financial stresses facing Old Europe, including France, for the coming decades (decades, mind you, not years).

For France the latest news is not good at all and the French people seem to understand it. The Straits Times reports that the French mood is bleak and for good reason:

The wave of negativity about the performance and future of the country has been dubbed 'Francopessimisme'. ...
But don’t wade through the article’s text, just go to AlphaPatriot, who summarizes it thus:
Annual growth of the GDP is projected to be 0.2 per cent, the lowest in 10 years.

Budget deficit will be 4 per cent (again).

French economic performance is 10th among the 15 members of the EU.

French economy dropped 10 places in one year to 30th most competitive economy in the world.

The state employs seven million, or one in four, workers.

Their salaries and perks cost 13.5 per cent of GDP.

Their jobs are guaranteed for life, regardless of work performance.

The pension system for civil servants is in a US$50-billion (S$86.5-billion) deficit.

The 35-hour work week costs 13.7 billion euros ($27 billion) to subsidize work reduction and job creation.

There is now less foreign direct investment than 10 years ago.

Only one in two foreign companies expected to expand its French operations.

One in four foreign companies are considering relocating.

French companies, too, are moving abroad

lots more
http://www.donaldsensing.com/2003/10/more-troubles-for-french.html

 

[NATO AIR]

more evidence chirac must go

he claims France cares about helping the UN in Afghanistan, yet the ISAF force there that is made up of NATO nations troop contributions is woefully undermanned and very limited in scope. If France has such a fantastic and modern military, why aren't they contributing 5-10,000 troops to Afghanistan?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3421259.stm
Security will remain the single biggest issue across the country in 2004.

Nato, which now controls the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Kabul, has pledged to move outside the capital with more troops.

But European members of Nato have largely refused to provide those troops.

The US will be urging Nato to fulfil its pledges so that security is enhanced for the elections.

WHERE'S THE FRENCH MILITARY LEADERSHIP?

and if i was a french parent, i would wonder why the hell chirac wasn't doing more to help afghanistan and stop its deadly opium cultivation and trade that leads to violence and death in France's cities and towns. Why isn't he doing more to protect French children from drugs and drug violence?

 

[dilloduck]

CHIRAC MAKES TROUBLE ABROAD FOR PEACE AT HOME
http://www.euro-correspondent.com/ed58_240604.htm
French President Jacques Chirac seems to cause nothing but trouble at international meetings these days. As European leaders haggled over the historic European constitution in Brussels at the weekend, Chirac snapped at Tony Blair for 'weakening' the constitution over his insisting on a veto in social policy and foreign affairs, writes Emilie Boyer King.

June 24, 2004

While disputes over the nomination of the president of the European Commission threaten to divide the European community, Chirac nearly caused a diplomatic incident on Saturday by reportedly accusing new member country Malta of 'moral cowardice' for not backing France's choice of candidate. And when US President Bush requested casual dress for the world leaders G8 summit in Georgia two weeks ago, the French president dressed up with a tie.

"Jacques Chirac has a way of irritating everyone in these world meetings," laments Marie-Ange Kergorlay, a 58 year-old librarian from Paris. "He has basically very good ideas, but he lacks the diplomatic skills."

Over the last two years, the president the French alternatively call the 'bulldozer' or the 'bon gars', the good lad, has huffed and puffed his way onto the world stage, lashing out against American foreign policy in Iraq, snapping at the UK's cautious approach to European integration and alienating some of the new European states last year over their backing of the US-UK coalition in Iraq. But if the French premier stands out as a bully abroad, his strong positions over foreign policy are the one thing that keep him above water at home.

Jacques Chirac's popularity in France has plummeted after his government suffered devastating defeats in the recent regional and European parliamentary elections last month over a series of unpopular reforms. 62 percent of the French electorate don't trust him, according to a recent poll. Pushing France's position on the world stage is a way of uniting French public opinion which is deeply divided over the government's home affairs.

"At the moment, the party's home policies are not going down well in France and the only way for Chirac to restore his image is to intervene on foreign policies," explains François Miquet Marty, head of the political studies department at Louis Harris market research company. "His positions flatter the national ego," he adds.

Inspired by De Gaulle to enter politics over forty years ago, the French premier is a nationalist at heart, at odds with a world dominated by the US. De Gaulle was a fierce supporter of France's independence and often acted against in the face of international pressure to preserve it. The general withdrew French forces from the US-led NATO and vetoed the entry of pro-American Britain into the Common Market. Five weeks after his first elections as president, Chirac set off nuclear tests in the Pacific causing international outrage.

Chirac's muscle-flexing at international meetings is often a reaction against US hegemony and the decline of French influence on the world stage. The 20th century saw France lose her colonies one by one and look inwards towards Europe, taking a role as unofficial leader of the union for thirty years. Since then, France's power has been increasingly eroded within the EU. Enlargement on May 1st dealt the latest blow to France's strength within Europe.

"Chirac's international stance goes against general opinion that the country is in decline," said Miquet Marty. "It's a dose of optimism which the French public craves."

Comforting the French public abroad when things are going badly at home is something Chirac is very good at. His hearty smile, penchant for the good life and human side (le bon gars) contribute to his popular public image, helping him through all sorts of trouble including accusations of illegal party financing and paying out cash to friends and family while he was Mayor of Paris. The French President, whose role in France is perceived to be 'above the state', ploughs on ahead in international politics, leaving the Prime Minister to get his hands dirty at home.

"Chirac isn't particularly interested in foreign affairs, but in tactical terms, it is very interesting for him to stand out against the US or the UK," explains Georges Le Guelte, head of research at the institute of international and strategic relations in Paris. "Chirac has his eye on the electoral calendar and everything that means for French politics. He is no different to many other politicians," he added.

As the presidential elections loom in 2007, Chirac would beg to differ. Two years into his second mandate, it is too early to tell if the 72-year-old president will stand for a third term. Stiff competition from his own camp, especially from his ambitious and hugely popular rival, finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy, may lead him to stand down. But Chirac is keen to leave his mark on history. And so he continues to puff his feathers and strut on the world stage. He is flamboyant, noisy and slightly pompous, like the country's proudest emblem, the 'coq gaulois'.

 

[onedomino]

It is vile in a French Reign of Terror kind of way that Chirac was concerned with preserving the "sovereignty, independence and security" of one of the most heinous dictators of the 20th century. Maybe Chirac is Robespierre reincarnated.

 

[Merlin1047]

There's More to It Than France Violating the Arms & Trade Embargos

Okay, you convinced me. Reckon Padisha can show us where to register to vote in the next French election? Seems only fair, since he thinks he should be allowed to vote in ours.

 

[padisha emperor]

the questio of the trade of weapons is not the point of the election of Chirac.
uin the 3 articles about Bush, I seapk of Bush, of Iraq, but also of what he will do if he would be reelected.

Why isn't he doing more to protect French children from drugs and drug violence?

NATO AIR, you don't know....

since 2002, the laws are more hard for the drugs people.
the "Code Pénal" punish with strength the guilties.

the frenhc police do a good job.

But....i believe that in USA, lots of people are addict to drugs. more than french people.
so..............

 

[dilloduck]

the questio of the trade of weapons is not the point of the election of Chirac.
uin the 3 articles about Bush, I seapk of Bush, of Iraq, but also of what he will do if he would be reelected.



NATO AIR, you don't know....

since 2002, the laws are more hard for the drugs people.
the "Code Pénal" punish with strength the guilties.

the frenhc police do a good job.

But....i believe that in USA, lots of people are addict to drugs. more than french people.
so..............

So why is Chirac persecuting the muslims and not allowing to practice their religion?

 

[MtnBiker]

The state employs seven million, or one in four, workers.

The 35-hour work week costs 13.7 billion euros ($27 billion) to subsidize work reduction and job creation.

Their work force is only 28 million and they only work 35 hours per week?

How do they get anything done?

 

[Comrade]

Their work force is only 28 million and they only work 35 hours per week?

How do they get anything done?

That presumes they do anything. Can't even provide air conditioning for themselves, can they? That's why French people stink more than Americans!

 

[dilloduck]

Chirac got personally RICH off the oil for food scandal---you would think he would spread it around his people a bit if he really cared about em