You are by now (unfortunately) probably familiar with the
spine-tingling, blood-curdling tale of
(upon which we are formally forbidden to comment, for
reasons explained here).
You are far less likely to hear (unless you hear it from
me; so far [Sunday morning] the
anglophone press has been silent on the matter) about another incident that
happened at the same time, likewise involving a joking public reference to the
hazards of visiting Africa, which is, however, of considerably greater moment,
since in this case, the perpetrator was not some self-caressing P.R. ditzhead,
but the Président de la République française, M. François Hollande:
L'Algérie vexée par la boutade de Hollande sur la securité
Le président Hollande avait déclaré
sur le ton de la plaisanterie le 16 décembre dernier que le ministre de
l'Intérieur, Manuel Valls, était rentré «sain et sauf» d'Algérie. «C'est déjà
beaucoup», avait-il ajouté.
[Here the Président expresses joshing satisfaction that his
Interior Minister has returned “safe and sound” from Algeria, “which is saying
something!”]
In both cases, the hazards alluded to are entirely accurate
(it is for that very reason that they caused a scandal): In the case of [name of USPerson
redacted]’s indiscreet Tweet about [named darkcontinental ultrameridional
nation-state] being the world’s principle hot-bed and breeding-ground of
[quadriliteral acronym deleted], that is well-known. In the case of Hollande’s off-the-cuff about the perils of
Algeria, these are extremely well-known in France, which has lost many a
citizen to Algerian kidnappers, Algerian terrorists, etc., though little-known in the United
States. Hence Americans might scratch their heads over this anecdote, which has
Algerians in an uproar (and they can be quite dangerous, when thus aroused),
and thus might easily themselves have unwittingly perpetrated such a gaffe, if,
contrary to our advice here (“No Comment”), they were ever to say
anything to anyone beyond “Pass the salt” to a spouse or other close relation
while dining en famille in a room
that has been swept for listening-devices.
(And even “Pass the salt” can lead to lethal consequences, as we
demonstrated here.)
The Algeria taboo
is an example of the subjects alluded to in our earlier essay,
which is a stone no-no in one country, but not even within
the cultural ken of another.
As usual, the witty Figaro readers do not disappoint:
Terrible nouvelle. Va-t-on devoir
arrêter d'acheter du pétrole et du gaz Algérien que la France paye 1,5 fois
plus cher que sur le marché libre ? Va-t-on remettre en question les accords
préférentiels qui permettent aux Algériens de venir massivement s'installer en
France ?
---
On a plus de chances de rentrer
saint et sauf d'Algérie que de Marseille !
---
Connaissant Mhollandréou et son à
plat ventrisme j'ai l'impression que cette plaisanterie va nous coûter bonbon .
*
Si cela vous parle,
savourez la série noire
en argot authentique
d’Amérique :
*
There is another, subtler layer to the story, namely that
the ever-oily, ever-ingratiating Hollande -- who is by no means accustomed to
laying bald facts out plain -- was, in this case, actually attempting, in his ham-handed way, to be
politically-correct : only, within
a certain sociopolitical microclimate (compare Romney’s notorious remarks about
the 47%, which were well received in the closed conclave in which they were
delivered, but which leaked out urbi et orbi). This is hinted at in this slightly different account:
Le 16 décembre, le président
François Hollande déclarait sur le ton de la plaisanterie devant le Conseil
représentatif des institutions juives de France (Crif), qui fêtait ses 70 ans,
que le ministre de l'Intérieur, Manuel Valls, était rentré d'Algérie «sain et sauf».
I shall not point out here what will be obvious to any
Frenchmen, since here we touch upon a taboo that spans the Atlantic. But the French know perfectly
well what is going on:
Le coprésident du Front de gauche,
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a tweeté dimanche que la boutade de François Hollande lui
avait donné «la nausée» : «L'ivresse
communautariste du dîner a grisé #Hollande. Mais c'est nous qui avons la
nausée. #CRIF#Algérie», a-t-il écrit.
This is well-observed, worthy of Proust. To understand it, you have to be
clued in to the meaning of communautarisme
-- but I have already said too much.
[For extra credit: Compare the nature of the conclaves in the two cases, Romney and Hollande. Determine the dynamics, and solve using the Hamiltonian equations.]
BTW … Notice the Biblical cadence in Mélenchon’s
riposte. He is echoing Ezekiel
18:2:
'The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge.'
and the children's teeth are set on edge.'
Also note that, once the (quite transparent) veil of
allusion has been pulled aside, and the subtext properly understood, Mélenchon’s considered quip is far more
politically incorrect than Hollande’s impromptu brain-fart: the moreso as it was intended seriously, and not in jest.
[For extra credit: Compare the nature of the conclaves in the two cases, Romney and Hollande. Determine the dynamics, and solve using the Hamiltonian equations.]
*
Travaillant au noir,
le détective se
trouve aux prises
avec le Saint-Esprit
*
For the benefit of our obligate-anglophone audience,
herewith a décryptage of that Reader’s Comment:
Connaissant Mhollandréou et son à
plat ventrisme j'ai l'impression que cette plaisanterie va nous coûter bonbon .
Which is to say (leaving details apart):
Knowing Hollande’s propensity for
truckling and sucking up, I have a hunch that this jest is going to cost us a
pretty penny.
The oleaginous French President is indeed quite shameless in his pandering; we have commented upon a couple of such
incidents here:
Above and in related essays with the Label “rhetorical analysis”, we tweeze
apart the intricacies of expression, peeling them back to reveal the writhing
maggots in the meat beneath.
Such analysis applies to imagery as well. Consider this recent photograph; guess which man is the French President, and which the
Foreign Minister of Algeria:
 |
| Can I bring you coffee? |
It is a general rule in such photo-shoots, that the alpha
male looks triumphantly into the camera, and does not so much as glance in the
direction of the beta-male or Least Baboon; the latter fawns on the former, as though pantingly awaiting
an order to bend over and spread his cheeks. But here, the peg-boy is in fact the French President.
I weep for France.
[For an extension of this commentary, along linguistic lines, try this:
http://worldofdrjustice.blogspot.com/2013/12/reading-french-tea-leaves.html ]
~
¡ Gratis !
Leer la historia
completa aqí :
~
~
A good half-century ago, the Situationist International in
France popularized the critique of the Société
du Spectacle. What was true then, is even more
on-target now, in the age of social media. Cf. further:
* * *
~ Commercial break ~
For a mini-movie of
our own, try this:
We now return you to
your regularly scheduled essay.
* * *
[Update, evening]
Judging from the substantial page-view response, it seems to have fallen
to our lot to aid in the socio-linguisto-political interpretation of France and
of America, the one to the other.
Along these lines, word-lovers may enjoy these:
~
Et entretemps … while
France is absorbed in such insipid distractions as this latest entry in the palmarès of “The Wit and Wisdom of François
Hollande” (which, however, next to the Tweet that Riveted the Morons of
America, towers in the annals of diplomacy) -- some genuine events are
unfolding in Françafrique,
following in the wake of much bloodshed, and heralding more bloodshed to come:
Plusieurs milliers de musulmans,
sympathisants de l'ex-rébellion Séléka, ont manifesté dimanche à Bangui contre
l'opération militaire française Sangaris, après la mort le matin même de trois
combattants Séléka dans un accrochage avec des soldats français lors d'une
opération de désarmement.
[For the background on events in Centrafrique, and the
curious American perspective on same, click here.]
A reader comments, calmly but ominously:
On y est, guerre de religion et les
français sont les Croisés. Le djihad va être déclaré en France. Êtes-vous prêts
?
[For an extension of this commentary, along linguistic lines, try this:
http://worldofdrjustice.blogspot.com/2013/12/reading-french-tea-leaves.html ]
~ Art thou weary -- aye, world-weary -- ~
~ of the
never-ending roll-call ~
~ of the
follies of mankind ? ~
Consider
then rather this:
A consulter aussi:
Leçons de géometrie hexagonale.
[Update 16 mai 2014] The latest weird French overreactive Tweetgate:
[Update 16 mai 2014] The latest weird French overreactive Tweetgate:
L’histoire n’en restera donc pas à
un simple échange d’amabilités sur Twitter. Furieuse par la non-sélection de
Samir Nasri, Anara Atanes, sa compagne, s’était répandue en insultes via des
tweets accablants du type : « Fuck France and fuck Deschamps ».
Malgré ses excuses le lendemain, Didier Deschamps a porté plainte contre elle,
pour injures publiques, devant le Tribunal de grande instance de Paris, avec
constitution de partie civile. La Fédération française de football (FFF) a
également porté plainte de son côté, pour le même motif.
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