Last week the french government decided to put a ban on any foreign country buying or taking over companies in specific sectors in france.

i found that terribly perplexing seeing that france is buying up companies left and right in other countries.

i was wondering when the EU would respond to this blatant level of nationalistic protectionism, and finally, 2 EU commissioners have, “warning that a crisis akin to the depression of the 1930s loomed for Europe if governments like that of Jacques Chirac continued to twist and break international trade rules to protect domestic companies.”

this could lead to legal action taken against france (and italy) that would be highly appropriate but somehow we know that things (aka PROGRESS) changes slowly (or NEVER) in france – With the continuation of this kind of schizophrenic behavior in the name of “patriotism,” it makes me feel that france is destined to stay in its ossified way of governing, which will ultimately impede the EU from ever having a unified constitution.

when france goes down, she’s taking other countries with her!!

Every time the subject of Gérard Depardieu comes up (which is quite often; he’s in like eight million films) i’m reminded of one of his obscure films i saw recently (late in the wee hours of the night when i couldn’t sleep), a franco-italian produced movie called, the last woman (1976). in it, he plays a seriously tortured soul that ultimately decides that the best thing to do is to cut off his dick (oops excuse my french) with an electric kitchen knife.

i know. ouch. i had to laugh out loud, but, in fact, it left me feeling traumatized. you know, ’twas nervous laughter WISHING that it would be, in fact, really (dan akroyd’s julia child spoof on SNL) kind of FUNNY.

today’s guardian interview with monsieur depardieu not only reminded me of that torturous film, but also, makes me laugh. again. – luckily it’s not too uncomfortable this time. you see, gerard just published a COOKBOOK called, Gérard Depardieu: My Cookbook, newly translated into English. In the book you’ll find his favorite traditional french and italian recipes, and it’s apparently accessible for all levels of cooks, and always great for those who like all things gerard.

i’m gonna pass on it, probably, though i do love to cook. i will try to rid my life of my weird association with this subject. in the meantime, i just hope my chronic insomnia will one day leave AND that GD didn’t use an electric kitchen knife…

find gerard’s book at amazon though, i’m not sure if it’s available yet there.

mac users (using tiger’s dashboard) can listen to french radio with this neat (and free) application called, “m@radio” developed by french independent developers, raphael pascual and simo el alj. m@cradio is a widget that seamlessly works within tiger’s dashboard – with extremely easy access to 30 radio stations:

france inter, france culture, france musique, france info, fip, nrj, funradio, evasion fm, ou fm, cherie fm, rtl, rtl2, rfm, europe1, europe2, sud radio, bfm, nostalgie, radio de la mer, montagne fm, le mouv, skyrock, and rire & chansons. you can also access francophone stations outside of france: rfi, rfi afrique, rfo reunion, rfo guyane, rfo martinique, rfo mayotte, and rfo nouvelle caledonie.

go to the m@radio widget site for details, system requirements and download.

As U.S. aid pours into the gulf coast, so too, is help from around the world, including France. The town just south of Paris, Orleans, is offering help to devastated New Orleans in the form of donations and university enrollment for 50 students of the University of New Orleans (UNO). According to UNO’s site, beginning October, the University of New Orleans will be offering classes electronically, which is the best they can do given the circumstances. Cornell University is offering Tulane students enrollment, and other universities are following suit.

Orleans, situated in the heart of the Loire Valley was home to French royalty hundreds of years ago. French settlers founded New Orleans in the U.S. in 1718 and named it after the Duke of Orleans.

[via bignewsnetwork/associated press]

as if all the chaos and tragedy along the gulf coast, biloxi and new orleans weren’t enough for the world to take in, here comes nicolas sarkozy, france’s minister of the interior, ordering the expulsion and eviction of immigrants from sub-standard housing in several locations in paris. apparently, the evicted will be moved to hotel housing for one and a half weeks. BUT AFTER THAT??

this is obviously an express, focused strategy on sarko’s part to steal votes from the side of the fascist national front (extreme right party with jean-marie le pen as the likely presidential candidate in 2007). it makes me wonder if sarko is, in fact, REALLY a front national supporter, but opted to join the UMP (union pour un mouvement populaire) having a clear chance at winning a presidential election (especially against a declining in popularity chirac with his myopic vision for the future)…

i am scared for france.

whether you live in france or the u.s. or anywhere else for that matter, please consider giving to any of a number of organizations working with the victims of katrina. you’ve probably seen the devastation in and within the vicinity of new orleans and the gulf coast. it is heartbreaking – and they need aid.

click here for an excellent list of organizations and contact information, courtesty of instapundit.

the last gauloise cigarette factory in france will today take its last puff and close its doors forever. many think that this is another element pointing out that france is slowly losing her identity. i say, nay and YAY.

despite the loss of gauloise and gitane production in france, i can honestly say with confidence that france is a place that has so much personality, there’s no way she could ever suffer an identity crisis. yeah, i know, people aren’t wearing berets or drinking as much wine but hey, france will always be france. (besides, wine consumption is declining, yes, but there’s still some rather hefty drinking going on, who are they trying to kid.)

apparently, it’s no longer cool (and it’s extremely expensive. about 100 euros a carton. about $124) to smoke gauloises and smokers are leaning toward “sweeter” (and cheaper) tobacco found in the uberpresent marlboro and camel cigarettes. i’m not a smoker (because FUMER TUE!!) but c’mon, “sweeter”? can one (let alone, a SMOKER) really TASTE “sweet” in a cigarette!? maybe. i always wondered what the draw to gauloises was in the first place because they smell…well…nasty and seriously gross. “experts” claim that it’s a dark, rich flavour. maybe. to me it smells a bit like fertilizer (aka MANURE) and i always imagined that the factories kept their little secrets and mixed tobacco with… cow poo. i mean, there’s no shortage of bovine dung around france and some people worship the oozing, cheeses that closely resemble (and smell like) some sort of animal turd. so why not add a little COUNTRY FLAVOR to cigarettes??!

have you seen the brown fingertips of longtime gauloises smokers? i have and it’s not a pretty sight, believe me.

i know. i digress. i’m an incurable conspiracy theorist. maybe.

wait! i just realized that the company is closing because consumption is declining – exactly what happened with nestle! (read the nestle post here). so. will altadis be forced to REOPEN just like nestle? hmmmmm.