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2007-05-10 -Lurid Crime Tales-

Anti-Sarkozy protests in Paris, students strike

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Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2007-05-10 06:42|| || Front Page|| [8 views ] Top

#1 What is accomplished by students striking? Do they actually DO much of anything when they are not on strike?

Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore 2007-05-10 08:14|| 2007-05-10 08:14|| Front Page Top

#2 They could put the professors out of work! Those fascist bastards!

Posted by Mitch H.">Mitch H. 2007-05-10 08:56|| http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/]">[http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/] 2007-05-10 08:56|| Front Page Top

#3 Are you kidding? They're showing their solidarity in the face of the man, and, um, well...

Nope.

Posted by Jackal">Jackal 2007-05-10 08:57|| http://home.earthlink.net/~sleepyjackal/index.html]">[http://home.earthlink.net/~sleepyjackal/index.html] 2007-05-10 08:57|| Front Page Top

#4 Expel them and disentitle them to any state benefits for ten years.

Posted by Excalibur 2007-05-10 09:06|| 2007-05-10 09:06|| Front Page Top

#5 sacre bleu!

Posted by eLarson 2007-05-10 09:57|| 2007-05-10 09:57|| Front Page Top

#6 Carrying on with a time honored French tradition...

Posted by treo 2007-05-10 10:23|| 2007-05-10 10:23|| Front Page Top

#7 Just give the final exam on the day the students strike. Then flunk them all.

Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader 2007-05-10 10:38|| 2007-05-10 10:38|| Front Page Top

#8 Then they have to repeat the whole semester!

Better to follow The American Plan and promote them.

Posted by Professor Dumas 2007-05-10 10:45|| 2007-05-10 10:45|| Front Page Top

#9 JFM or A5089---please educate us on Sarkozy's options when he takes the reins of government. How are his ministers appointed? How much latitude does he have to deal with civil unrest? In other words, what are the limitations of his powers?

Posted by Alaska Paul">Alaska Paul 2007-05-10 11:09|| 2007-05-10 11:09|| Front Page Top

#10 AP, I'm an ignorant schmuck, so JFM will have to bring in the necessary precisons and corrections, but sarko can appoints who he wishes, and who he chooses next will be a first major indicator of where he's going (basically, if he's taking "fresh blood", that's good, if he's recycling the olde boyz, that's bad), and his minister of interior will handle civil unrest according to sarko's guideline (big issue will be justice, with for example about 40% IIRC of the judges belonging to a bona fide *leftist* union).
Note that the 1958 constitution was taylor-made for fde gaulle who fancied himself as a providential man for France, so not only does the president have all the power, and the assembly none, in short, but there's the article 16 which allows him to become a dictator, suppress civil rights, call extraordinary powers,... in case of emergency. It never has been used I think, even during the algeria war, and I doubt it ever will, but it might come in handy some day. Of course, it could be to repress french unrest, hehe (I've always thought the Establishment would prefer to arm the 'hoods against the french people, if it decided to rise against the Holy Republic, after all, the gaullists counted on the commie militias/stay behinfd armies to defend the parliament and the centers of power should the french army rebel against the surrender of algeria).

Posted by anonymous5089 2007-05-10 11:55|| 2007-05-10 11:55|| Front Page Top

#11 It is a bit more complex. Theorically, the president appoints the Prime Minister and this one selects the government. However even when President and PM were from opposite sides teh PM has ever negotisted with eth President but I think it is not so much a Constitutional thing as a practical matter: "Mr Prime minster skip Dupont who has a record of vicious attacks against me President or I will be very, very, very nasty to you".

For the government theorically it depnds on the Assemblée Nationale (your house of Reprsentatives) and must be approved by it. Assembly may tumble the government and Preseident cannot. However in the usual situation is tha Assembly, PM and President are friopm the same side. Since President is the real leader from the dominant party he can ask the PM to resign and this will have to comply since the represntatives will tumble his government otherwise. In case the PM and Assembly are from differnt side than the Presdent (eg Mitterrand-Balladur, Chirac-Jospin) the President has no power to force the PM to resign. The President can dissolve the Assembly at will except if it has been elected for less than a year.

About Assembly, it votes the law. However laws emanating from the assembly have a lower prioriity thahn laws emanating from the government. Also in order to be enforceable, a law has to be signed by the President (but he cannot delay this indefinitley, I think he can ask for second discussion) and more importantly, the government must publish its decrees of aplication. It is not unuusual that governemnt makes a law, pushes it through teh Parliament though the fast lane but then never takes the decrees of application...

Assembly votes the budget. However French deputies are not allowed to add measures who would increase the deficit: if a deputy tries to add a spending then he musts either propose a tax increase for at least the same amount or propose a funding cut in anothere area. Same thing for proposed tax cuts: the deputy must match it with teh increase of another tax or the cut of a spending. THis is to avoid US-like pork.

The matters where the Assembly is allowed to legiferate are limitatively enumerated. The remaing is governemnt territorry.

We also have a senate (who unlike the Assemùbly cannot be dissolved) but unlike the US Senate it has not domains who are its exclsuive competency. It can modify the law voted by the Assembly but if if Assembly does not like the result it will vote the law a second time and this will overrule Seante's text.

Also ethe executive does not need either Assembly's or Seante's approval for the nominsiation of high ranking civil servants.

Voila. But I am not a jurist and anyway the little law I was teached, when I was young and beautiful, was not about constitutional matters.

Posted by JFM">JFM 2007-05-10 16:48|| 2007-05-10 16:48|| Front Page Top

#12 Damn! JFM, that gives me a headache just trying to follow all those twists and turns in your government.

Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader 2007-05-10 17:58|| 2007-05-10 17:58|| Front Page Top

#13 But I am not a jurist and anyway the little law I was teached, when I was young and beautiful, was not about constitutional matters.

;>
Heh heh, I've learned that kinda law too.

Posted by Shipman">Shipman 2007-05-10 18:01|| 2007-05-10 18:01|| Front Page Top

#14 JFM and A5089---Thank you both for giving us some good background into the workings of the French government. Mr. Sarkozy will have his hands full come May 16. I hope that he has some real majority support for his reforms and changes to his country, because the anarchistic and muzzie minority will raise as much hell that they can get away with.

If you both can keep us Rantburgers of how Sarkozy is doing from time to time, it would be much appreciated.

Posted by Alaska Paul">Alaska Paul 2007-05-10 21:27|| 2007-05-10 21:27|| Front Page Top

#15 Lets cut to the chase JFM, could Sarkozy order the foreign legion into cités?

Posted by gromgoru 2007-05-10 21:55|| 2007-05-10 21:55|| Front Page Top

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