Sarkozy and Obama

Photo rights here.

The elections this weekend were not the only big event in Paris. Obama was here too. He was here, of course, for the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, but his trip did include time in Paris. When Obama was invited, Sarkozy had every intention of capitalizing on the moment for good PR, and thus he invited the Obamas for several formal events during their time in France. For the large part, President Obama refused these invitations. Some cite Obama's refusal as a means of avoiding giving the public impression of campaiging with Sarkozy just before the EU elections. Sarkozy's desire to use Obama's political capital would indeed explain why the Queen of England was not initially invited to the proceedings for D-Day. Sarkozy, you rascal.

In a classic spin, Sarkozy used the little time he had with Obama to insist on the fact that Obama was not there for a photo op, and suddenly, neither was he. In his words: we have "autre chose à faire que de belles photos sur papier glacé" (other things to do besides take beautiful photos for glossy paper).

With Obama's speech in Cairo as background, Sarkozy was given the opportunity to align himself with Obama or distance himself from Obama's positions.

First, Obama's words directly from his speech:

Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state of our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That is why the U.S. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it.

When Sarkozy was asked about his stance on these words, he stated that he completely agreed with Obama. This may not seem controversial, but in France, it decidedly is.

Sarkozy's words:

"Je suis totalement d'accord avec le discours du président Obama, y compris sur la question du voile", a déclaré M. Sarkozy. "Je précise juste deux choses. En France, une jeune fille qui veut porter le voile peut le faire. C'est sa liberté. Nous mettons deux limites, parce que nous sommes un Etat laïque. La première, c'est qu'au guichet des administrations les fonctionnaires ne doivent pas avoir de signe visible de leur appartenance religieuse (...). C'est ce que nous appelons l'impartialité de l'administration, la laïcité. (...) La deuxième réserve que nous avons, c'est : que les jeunes filles musulmanes portent le voile, ce n'est absolument pas un problème, à condition que ce soit une décision émanant de leur libre choix, et non une obligation qui leur soit faite par leur famille ou par leur entourage."

(I agree completely with President Obama's speech, including his thoughts on the question of the veil. Two things should be specified. In France, a young girl who wants to wear the veil can do so. It is her freedom. We place two limits on this freedom because we are a secular state. The first is that government civil servants must not have any visible religious symbol in their appearance. We insist on the impartiality of the government, on secularism. The second reservation is that wearing the veil must be a young muslim woman's choice, her free choice and not an obligation from her family).

In his statement, Sarkozy puts himself in a tricky position for two reasons. First, he contradicts his own statement of 'completely agreeing' with Obama by significantly qualifying this position. Second, he is part of an administration and government which inherently do not agree with Obama's position on this issue. The 2004 French legislation on religious symbols in schools is testament to this. Hence, Sarkozy has been subsequently criticized for his superficial alliance with Obama's stance.

The question of secularism in France has been continually fascinating to me. I've had various heated discussions with my French friends about this issue. As is often the case with one's own culture, it is easy to believe that it is representative. In this case, I assumed that the positive tolerance (multiculturalism) that we see in the United States was the normative means of addressing religion in the western world. I assumed that everyone could come to the table (or to school) with their differences showing, as long as no one's differences were forbidden. (And to be fair, this is not perfectly practiced in the US either). However, in France, secularism does not mean multiculturalism or everyone having an equal right to displaying their religion. Secularism means sameness, in the sense that all kids have no visible version of religion at all.

To be sure, there are important historical precedents for this manifestation of secularism in Europe and in France. The public space as a space free of religion is an important cultural value because of France's past. A citizen in France is expected to be French before being anything else, including his/her religion - this is the universalist model of citizenship. This extends to race, gender, sexuality and any other identity category.

Still, the regulation of religious symbols or the veil in schools remains unsettling to me.

Some religions can't be left behind only to be practiced in the private sphere. And aren't children stripped of all religious symbols exhibiting something after all (if not their own religion)? They are, in essence, athée (atheist) in appearance. Isn't this also a belief system?

Obama Indulgence

Just a bit more, I promise...



I have to share this little tale because I think it is a most definite sign of improving foreign relations. The other night I was headed home. It was pretty late and I got off the train at Gare du Nord - which can be a rather dubious area of Paris. Walking along a narrow side street, I found myself approached from out of the shadows. This figure started to walk with me. Before he could open his mouth with his advance, I stopped in my tracks - he stopped too, and I turned to face him. He looked at me in his big, puffy down jacket, with his sideways hat and gold chain around his neck. I smiled, a big toothy grin, and said "Obama!" I stuck my hand in the air positioned for a high five. His smile matched mine as he gave me a high five worthy of American distinction. It was cool after that. We walked along, talked and laughed for a bit. He was surprised I was American and when I told him I was married and heading home, he told me to have a great night, and headed back in the direction we had come from. Merci Obama.

And...because she is so delightful and says this every time she sees a picture of him, here is Marguerite:

Obamania à la française

Aretha, Sing One For Me

The view from my bedroom window the other night.


Our man. Obama. Cheered from here with my fellow expats.


How do I feel? About like this.

Martin Luther King Day

The French don't celebrate it, obviously. But here he is.



Obama hysteria - perhaps the truest effectuation of the day. Civility.

Le Monde featured an interview with Noam Chomsky this week. Listening to Chomsky talk about Obama gives an interesting angle. (Chomsky is, of course, a famous linguist, philosopher, thinker - he appeals to the libertarian socialist in me). He called Obama "the lesser of two evils," "A centrist" in the model of Bill Clinton. Made the important point that Obama's election is simply the western world finally being civilized. And connected this civility to activism in the 60's in America. Credited what happened there. Not just the civil rights movement for blacks, but also the feminist movement and others.

(The interview is in English and is worth a listen - his point about the Bolivian elections is worth a think. He insists that the election of an indigenous member of the Bolivian population after 500 years of suppression is far more revolutionary than the election of Obama in America, but is hardly taken note of and is a good example of modern occidental racism - "The third world is often more civilized than we are." Chomsky is rigorous and will make you think).

Still, with all the hype and the connections made to ML King's legacy, tomorrow is an exalting day for Americans and for many people in the world. 80% of Americans are optimistic about Obama's presidency (which is a full 10 percentage points higher than incoming Bush I or II, Clinton, Reagan, and Carter - NYTimes/CBS News Poll). Impressive.

"A New Spirit"

Even if I am thousands of miles away from the United States, I had a shared experience this morning as I watched Barack Obama's victory flash across the screen. Tears. I cried. And I've cried all day - a deep welling up of emotion- ongoing. And so, like many other Americans, I've stepped back and asked why this victory - and I would dare say, regardless of political affiliation - means so much - symbolizes so much.

You don't even know that it is building up - underlying how you think and feel and relate to the country of your birth - to your people and culture. This morning, my tears came from that store of disappointment, disillusionment, almost shame - that finally burst open and was released.

I am not terribly liberal politically. In fact, I lean toward libertarianism. I believe in liberty above all. And for that reason and many others, I have been ashamed of the past 8 years of government in the United States.

There is also a part of this emotional reaction that is particularly salient for me because I don't live in the United States. When we were at war in Iraq in 2003, I was at school in Oxford, England and in that context, at that moment, it seemed that when I opened my mouth I could feel (or visibly see) that my American accent was a political affront, a frightening sound to the people around me.

And now that I am in France, I've had the privilege of being the butt of many (perhaps well-deserved) American jokes. French/American tension is well-established. After the election in 2004, the French took Bush's re-election as a mandate to continue and amplify their disdain for Americans - culture, politics, people.

My tears this morning came from being tired of experiencing this while at the same time knowing that the United States is an exceptional country in singular ways. My tears came from the relief of knowing that people will celebrate the United States again and greet Americans with a smile and not a grimace.

But more importantly, my tears came from my fundamental belief in equality, meritocracy and humanity. It was heartening in a way that I have never before experienced - that people voted in record numbers to elect Barack Obama. That age was cited as a more relevant issue for people in exit polls than race. That black voters came out in unprecedented numbers, but so did white voters - as many white people voted for Obama as they did for Kerry in 2004. So, yes, race is/was an issue. Fundamentally. And at the same time not at all. That paradox is what makes this event historical and exceptional.

In his speech on race, Obama said, "In no other country is my story even possible." That is what rings true today. That is what makes me cry. That this election marks a historical chapter in possibility. And that possibility has triumphed over a story of violence and division on racial lines that has so scarred the United States.

Just as McCain said in his concession speech - this is a victory for all Americans, partisanship aside. And crucially, as always, hubris is as dangerous as ever. With a largely democratic legislative branch and executive branch, caution and bipartisanship are more important values than ever before. The undoing of this great achievement would be through arrogance and overreaching by the democrats.

But man, I am proud.

In Obama's words: "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”

Obama for the French

The reception of our historical candidate, Mr. Barack Obama, is a fascinating phenomenon in the United States. The vantage point from France is also noteworthy. In yesterday's New York Times there was an article entitled, "For Blacks in France, Obama’s Rise Is Reason to Rejoice, and to Hope."

In my classes, we often have political discussions and Obama is often a preferred topic. My students have expressed surprise at Obama's speech on race because it so blatantly addresses the topic. The United States is rife with racial tension and racism continues in political, educational and commercial spheres. The fabric of racism is different in France though.

The Times article expresses this idea when quoting a French author, originally from Cameroon: “French universalism, the whole French republican ideal, proposes that if you embrace French values, the French language, French culture, then race doesn’t exist and it won’t matter if you’re black. But of course it does. So we need to have a conversation, and slowly it is coming: not a conversation about guilt or history, but about now.” Perhaps this is why Obama's speech on race is surprsing to many French people.

Race does matter. In the US, and in France. The numbers of black representation in politics are pitiful in both countries, but in France there is "only one black member representing continental France in the National Assembly among 555 members; no continental French senators out of some 300; only a handful of mayors out of some 36,000, and none from the poor Paris suburbs" (numbers from the Times article).

The discussion is absorbing though. All of my students, race aside, are convinced that John McCain is a clone of Bush - that there are no differences between these two men. (Now, regardless of whose team you are on, McCain's record and history in the Senate prove otherwise. Furthermore, even if John McCain has toned down his maverick image and now embraces traditional party ideals as the Republican Candidate, I remain unconvinced that his term in office would be a replication of Bush's).

My students are also persuaded that there is no chance that Obama can win - or even fight in this election - that it is literally already won by McCain. Post-Iraq French pessimism is evident here.

One student said to me, "Every time France likes and supports an American candidate, John Kerry, for example, he is not elected." (I smiled at her connection, as if French favor of a candidate has something to do with his defeat in the US).

In one conversation class specifically devoted to Obama, we read his profile from his own campaign website. At the end of his bio, he says, "But above all his accomplishments and experiences, Barack Obama is most proud and grateful for his family." When this was read aloud, the students around the room laughed out loud. I looked up in surprise, not realizing how cultural this statement was. Of course, there is political posturing implicit in a statement like this (although I don't doubt his sincerity therein). But I asked them why were laughing. One student replied, "Oh, it is like how he talks about faith in politics. Who cares about his family or religion?" The answer is 98% of Americans. Politics is certainly a different world in these two nations.

SEINE-ing It

Today, I dashed away from work at lunchtime, grabbed a velib (rentable bicycles with automatic stations all over Paris), and flew to Pont Neuf (pont = bridge) to attend an "Obama Peace Rally." I was interested in what Obama supporters were like on this side of the Atlantic. Well, the mantra YES WE CAN wasn't quite that...the turn-out looked something like this:



But otherwise, I think this is a good moment to feature that lovely waterway which flows through this city. There are many coves and walkways along its banks and some of my favorite places to lounge about like a big fluffy cat and read a book are here. Or, for instance, to watch dogs. (Can you believe how remarkably charming this one below is?)



The pathways along the Seine are also obviously great places to romp with lovely friends who come from New York (e.g. Chris Melton) ---->





Chris - the sepia one is for you...