Behind the Façades in France: What expats and the mainstream media (French and American alike) fail to notice (or fail to tell you) about French attitudes, principles, values, and official positions…
L'économiste et entrepreneur Sébastien Laye, est l'invité exceptionnel du grand entretien de Frontières.
Sébastien Laye : "Les politiciens ne comprennent pas la liberté économique !"
SOMMAIRE 00:00 : Citation d'Etienne de la Boétie: "il y a chez l'homme, une préférence pour la servitude volontaire" 03:30 : Quel partie est libéral en France ? 11:30 : Vers un Trump Français ? 24:30 : La prise de conscience d'un besoin de souveraineté 35:07 : Immigration et écologie du point de vue d'un libéral
'Tis the season to be jolly...
notes Duncan Hill; and yet
I didn't see this reported in the French or other European press. You'd think this would make the newsMy prayer for this Christmas and the coming new year is that civility returns to Western Civilization.
Thanks to the Rair Foundation, we learn that
It’s that time of year again in Open Borders Europe. While families hope to celebrate the birth of Christ in peace, the grim reality repeats itself: Christmas markets are under terror watch, churches face vandalism, Christmas trees are burned, and even the nativity scene – symbolizing Jesus and Mary – is desecrated, yet again, in a trend that has worsened with every passing year since Europe opened its doors to mass migration in 2015.
The latest incident took place in Metz, France [writes Natacha Kadur], where two of the four figures in the Nativity scene installed outside Metz train station were vandalized. City services discovered the figures’ heads had been ripped off on Tuesday.
… This is not an isolated event. Across France and much of Western Europe, acts of violence and hatred against Christian traditions have become an annual ritual of their own. Churches are defiled, Christmas markets are monitored like war zones, festive and religious decorations are systematically destroyed, and even those dressing up as Santa Claus are attacked. What once brought communities together now comes under attack by those who have no respect for European heritage, aided by leftist policies that open the gates to those who openly despise the West and its Christian roots.
A Pattern of Destruction
Every year, we see the same trend, and yet, the media and political elites remain silent or dismiss such incidents as “isolated cases” or “mindless acts of vandalism.” These are not random acts; they are part of a growing hostility toward Christianity and Western culture, enabled by open-border policies and the deliberate erasure of European identity.
Who Is to Blame?
While police investigate this latest attack in Metz, the bigger question is ignored: Who brought this chaos to Europe in the first place? The answer is clear. The same politicians who champion open borders, mass migration, and “tolerance” have created a climate where Christian traditions are no longer safe.
… The desecration of nativity scenes, like this latest incident in Metz, is not just an attack on religious symbols. It is an attack on Europe’s culture, history, and identity. Every torn-down decoration, every burned tree, and every defiled church sends a message: Christianity has no place in the Europe of tomorrow.
Rair stands for Rise Align Ignite Reclaim
One of the of the left's crusades in Europe has been trying to outlaw the word "Miss" for an unmarried woman — as, also, the old continent is trying to do away with, say, the Miss France competitions (the Netherlands scrapped theirs this year) —
although it turns out that Switzerland banned the word already back in the 1970s and a recent RTS article deplores how it has been hard to get Swiss society to follow through and reject the "sexist" term.
This came to mind as a reader named responded to a Sarah Hoyt InstaLien about Kamala Harris as follows:
Bad boy, ! Bad boy! A French directive for businesses from 2017 states as follows:
Eliminate all : head of the family, mademoiselle, maiden name, married or husband's name, patronymic name, etc. These expressions are banned from French law. Monsieur and Madame are sufficient. For example, remove "Mademoiselle" from all forms, letters, employment contracts, etc.
For instance, the word "Mademoiselle" is persona non grata in Switzerland's government, explains Pauline Rappaz, while Libération's Pauline Moullot points out that the French administration and legal system alone no longer use it.
Une circulaire de Matignon appelait ainsi les administrations à «privilégier» le terme de «madame» et à «éliminer autant que possible» des «formulaires» et «correspondances» l'appellation «mademoiselle», tout comme «nom de jeune fille», «nom patronymique», «nom d'épouse» et «nom d'époux», pour leur préférer «nom de famille» et «nom d'usage».
Dans l’entreprise, un guide coécrit par le ministère du travail et celui de l’égalité femmes-hommes publié en automne dernier et à destination des PME et TPE préconise d’adopter un «langage sans stéréotype»:
Éliminez toutes les expressions sexistes telles que : chef de famille, mademoiselle, nom de jeune fille, nom d'épouse ou d'époux, nom patronymique, etc. Ces expressions sont bannies du droit français. Monsieur et Madame suffisent. Par exemple, supprimer le «Mademoiselle» de tous les formulaires, courriers, contrats de travail…
So, in your private life, you can still use "Mademoiselle".
For now.
Sunday is the day that Agnes Repplier passed away 74 years ago. The American writer (1858-1950) is three or four generations removed from us (if not five), and seems forgotten today but the woman once described as no less than "our dean of essayists" sounds like she was the equivalent of a blogger for over 50 years at the turn of the century (19th-20th).
People who cannot recognize a palpable absurdity are very much in the way of civilization.
Amen!
As it were, Agnes Repplier managed to put humor and mockery into perspective:
Humor brings insight and tolerance. Irony brings a deeper and less friendly understanding.Hugh Prather said much the same thing: there are two kinds of humor in this life — the humor that unites, and the humor that divides. One is tempted to apply the following Agnes Repplier quote to conservatives and the quote following that to leftists:
Humor distorts nothing, and only false gods are laughed off their earthly pedestals.
The clear-sighted do not rule the world, but they sustain and console it.
The pessimist is seldom an agitating individual. His creed breeds indifference to others, and he does not trouble himself to thrust his views upon the unconvinced.
It has been wisely said that we cannot really love anybody at whom we never laugh.
There is always a secret irritation about a laugh into which we cannot join.
It is not what we learn in conversation that enriches us. It is the elation that comes of swift contact with tingling currents of thought.
It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.
And to conclude:
We hear so much about the sanitary qualities of laughter, we have been taught so seriously the gospel of amusement, that any writer, preacher, or lecturer, whose smile is broad enough to be infectious, finds himself a prophet in the market-place. Laughter, we are told, freshens our exhausted spirits and disposes us to good-will–which is true. It is also true that laughter quiets our uneasy scruples and disposes us to simple savagery. Whatever we laugh at, we condone, and the echo of man’s malicious merriment rings pitilessly through the centuries. Humour which has no scorn, wit which has no sting, jests which have no victim, these are not the pleasantries which have provoked mirth, or fed the comic sense of a conventionalized rather than a civilized world.
sur les résultats des élections américaines : «Kamala Harris, c'est le croisement d'Anne Hidalgo au niveau intellectuel et Sandrine Rousseau au niveau économique. Face à une personnalité comme Donald Trump, il n'y avait pas match», dans #180MinutesInfo
A couple of days later, it emerged that — in the "Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery" department — the Identité Libertés party's Marion Maréchal (the niece of le Rassemblement National's Marine Le Pen who has been a guest at CPAC) was using the exact same formula. As Le Figaro put it (with video at the hyperlink),
Marion Maréchal estime que Kamala Harris est un «croisement entre Anne Hidalgo et Sandrine Rousseau»
Mercredi 6 novembre matin, Donald Trump n’avait pas encore proclamé sa victoire que Marion Maréchal s'exprimait déjà sur X pour le féliciter de son triomphe. «Now, our turn to Make France and Europe great again !», écrivait la députée européenne nationaliste, revisitant le slogan de campagne du candidat républicain. Invitée ce jeudi sur TF1, la nièce de Marine Le Pen a de nouveau fait part de sa joie de voir le républicain revenir aux affaires. Pour la députée européenne, l’échec cuisant de Kamala Harris, qu'elle qualifie de «croisement entre Anne Hidalgo et Sandrine Rousseau», se situe dans sa stratégie identitaire. «Elle a tenté d'enfermer cette élection autour de trois questions : êtes-vous un homme ou une femme ? Êtes-vous noir ou blanc ? Êtes-vous homosexuel ou hétérosexuel ?». Or, on voit bien que Donald Trump arrive à rassembler autour de lui», estime la présidente du parti Identité Libertés, qui refuse toutefois de se qualifier comme «trumpiste».
This in turn lead Philippe Karsenty to say (privately to his inner circle) "I have been using that expression [the comparison of the Democratic politician with the French politicians Anne Hidalgo and Sandrine Rousseau] on all the networks for two months!" And to tell a friend of Marion Maréchal: "When she uses my expressions, wouldn't it be fair play to quote me?"
On Facebook, Eber Haddad explains the latest developments in the Middle East, i.e., the collapse ofthe Assad régime (merci pour le hyperlien, Sarah):
After 53 years of dictatorship from father to son, it is the end of the ASSAD dynasty. The "rebels" have entered Damascus, Bashar Al-Assad has fled his country, and the officers of the Syrian army have abandoned their posts, their equipment, and their uniforms.
It is also one of the consequences of the ceasefire obtained in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah on which Biden, Blinken, and Macron insisted vigorously without having the slightest idea of the consequences. Their ignorance in geopolitics is legendary. The "rebels" seeing the Shiite axis weakening took advantage of it to give the final blow to Bashar Al-Assad knowing full well that no one would come to his aid. Hezbollah, which has protected him for over ten years, is extremely weakened after its war against Israel, the Iranians can no longer do anything for him because the mullahs' régime is also very diminished, and the Russians, caught in the Ukrainian quagmire, no longer have men or equipment to send to support Bashar. Moreover, they have evacuated their base in Tartus and have urged their nationals to leave Syria as quickly as possible. This is probably also the end of the "Shiite arc", the defeat of the Iranian strategy which, under the pretext of its intention to destroy Israel, wanted to dominate the Middle East. It is very likely that the mullahs' regime will shortly disintegrate. It will be much more complicated or even impossible for Iran to send weapons and missiles to Hezbollah if that were still its intention. You only have to take a look at a map of the region to see this. The "rebels" have released all the prisoners in Sednaya prison near Damascus, one of the worst in the world, nicknamed by Amnesty International "a human slaughterhouse", after releasing those in Homs where the prisoners held in solitary confinement for years believed that it was Saddam Hussein's army that had come to free them and all of whom thought that Hafedh Al-Assad [1930-2000] was still president!
C'est la fin de la dynastie « ASSAD » après 53 ans de dictature de père en fils. Les « rebelles » sont entrés dans Damas, Bashar Al-Assad a fui son pays et les officiers de l'armée syrienne ont abandonné leurs postes, leur matériel et leurs uniformes. C’est aussi une des conséquences du cessez-le-feu obtenu au Liban entre Israël et le Hezbollah sur lequel Biden, Blinken et Macron ont insisté avec vigueur n’ayant pas la moindre idée des consequences. Leur inculture en géopolitique est légendaire. Les « rebelles » voyant l'axe chiite s'affaiblir en ont profité pour donner le coup de grâce à Bashar Al-Assad sachant très bien que personne ne viendrait à son secours. Le Hezbollah qui l'a protégé depuis plus d'une dizaine d'années est extrêmement affaibli après sa guerre contre Israël, les Iraniens ne peuvent plus rien pour lui car le régime des mollahs est aussi très diminué et les Russes pris dans le bourbier ukrainien n'ont plus ni hommes ni matériel à envoyer pour soutenir Bashar. D'ailleurs ils ont évacué leur base de Tartous et poussé instamment leurs ressortissants à quitter la Syrie au plus vite. C'est probablement aussi la fin de « l'arc chiite », la défaite de la stratégie iranienne qui, prétextant son intention de détruire Israël, voulait dominer le Moyen-Orient. Il est très probable que le régime des mollahs se désagrège dans quelques temps. Ça sera beaucoup plus compliqué voire même impossible à l’Iran d’envoyer des armes et des missiles au Hezbollah si telle était encore son intention. Il suffit de jeter un coup d’œil à une carte de la région pour le constater. Les « rebelles » ont libéré tous les détenus de la prison Sednaya près de Damas, une des pires au monde, surnommée par Amnesty international « un abattoir humain », après avoir libéré ceux de Homs où les détenus maintenus à l'isolement depuis des années croyaient que c'était l'armée de Saddam Hussein qui venait leur rendre la liberté et pensaient tous que Hafedh Al-Assad était encore président !
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After returning to Paris a day before Thanksgiving from Washington (where he met with congressmen along with aides to the Shah's family), RIF's Philippe Karsenty appeared on France TV Info (video at hyperlink), where he proceeded to tell French viewers that "Things are being prepared in Washington, to ensure that internal movements are created in Iran … The objective is to ensure that the ayatollahs' régime collapses … There are revolutions that can take place without external military attack."
According to Philippe Karsenty, Donald Trump is in favor of a regime change in Iran, in support of the aspirations of the Iranian people. "The Iranian people have had enough, they want to become free. There is a sheriff on the planet called the United States and Donald Trump. There are only 54 days left to wait, and I can guarantee you that it can change the software of all the players on the international level"
L'arrivée de Donald Trump à la Maison Blanche, en janvier prochain, ne sera pas sans conséquence, notamment sur la situation au Proche-Orient. "Il se prépare des choses à Washington, pour faire en sorte qu’en interne il y ait des mouvements qui se créent", déclare Philippe Karsenty. Pour le porte-parole du Parti Républicain US en France : "L’objectif est de faire en sorte que le régime des mollahs tombe… Il y a des révolutions qui se font sans attaque militaire extérieure."
Selon Philippe Karsenty, Donald Trump est favorable à un changement de régime en Iran, en soutien aux aspirations du peuple iranien. "Le peuple iranien en a assez, il veut se libérer. Il y a un chérif sur la planète qui s'appelle les États-Unis et Donald Trump. Il n’y a plus que 54 jours à attendre, et je peux vous garantir que ça peut changer tous les logiciels des intervenants sur le plan international", ajoute-t-il.
Over at France's semiology website, Elodie Mielczareck gets into some detective work to examine Donald Trump's choice of words and, indeed, compare them with that of Kamala Harris. Notably three departments:
• les aspects sémantiques : fréquence des mots et leur portée symbolique;
• le style rhétorique : quelles figures de styles, quelle tonalité, quels effets ;
• la linguistique pragmatique : quels actes de langage en particulier ;
This came before the Polish elections ousted the country's conservatives and brought the left back into power. But in honor of St. Nicholas’ Day (Mikołajki comes from Mikołaj (Polish for Nicholas, meaning little Nicholas)), we are bringing a lashing-out from The Economist at Poland's rightist government before the election, leading a Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament to come to the country's defense.
Poland’s government
Your leader on the Polish government read in places like an election pamphlet from the opposition Civic Platform party (“A Polish pickle”, April 21st). The governing Law and Justice (PiS) party received an overwhelming mandate from the Polish people in 2015, including a clear instruction to rebalance a judiciary, which had been stacked with allies by the former government without any complaint from the European Union.
To counter its weakness at home, Civic Platform is seeking to Europeanise what are essentially domestic issues and fight its battles in Brussels rather than Warsaw. By imposing an agenda of ever increasing centralisation and trying to force a mythical European identity on member states (the same policies that contributed to Brexit), the EU is behaving, in the eyes of many in Poland, like the former Soviet Union.
ASHLEY FOX, MEP
Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament
Brussels
Over on LinkedIn, one International Management coach for Exact North America & UKI has published 2025: The Perfect Year for International Business Expansion into the USA (merci à Sébastien Laye). Here are Philip Bini's four predictions:
as we move into 2025, many businesses are optimistic about the possibilities of doing business in the USA.
In my role with Exact, an international business software provider for small and mid-sized companies, I have the great fortune of speaking with mid-sized manufacturers, distributors, and financial services firms across the nation. With regional responsibilities in North America, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, I also hear from companies abroad.
Many of our customers I have spoken with in the last quarter share a collective sense of optimism for the future. Most of these conversations with customers boils down to some key themes. Here are four key reasons why I believe this optimism exists:
Reason #1 – Market Size and Diversity
Depending on who you ask, the United States is credited with nearly 25% of the world’s GDP, showcasing its economic muscle and high confidence in consumer and business spending. The sheer size and diversity of the US market are attractive to many international companies with expansion ambitions. …
Reason #2 – Favorable Economic and Regulatory Policies
With the US Presidential Election concluded and a new administration taking office in mid-January, there is hope that campaign promises will lead to an economic boom in 2025 and beyond. …
Reason #3 – Innovation and Technology
With the explosion of artificial intelligence, supercomputers, self-driving automobiles, and the emergence of mass-produced, polyfunctional robots on the horizon, technological innovation will be front and center …
Reason #4 – Economic Stability and Prospective Growth
In the last six weeks alone, the stock market has surged over 6%, and many industry analysts suggest the US economy will remain resilient in 2025.
The America that I love, I have seen it being destroyed from the inside for twenty years. Today, there is a chance for a rebound. We have to put an end to this cycle of decline, we have to put an end to this descent into hell. This election sends a very positive message about the future and about the ability of the United States and Americans to reverse this slope of decline.
The French version of Epoch Times has puiblished a video with Gérald Olivier, author of Cover up : le clan Biden, l’Amérique et l’État profond (merci à Vincent Bourdonneau).
Gérald Olivier est journaliste franco-américain et auteur. Il a notamment publié « Cover up : le clan Biden, l’Amérique et l’État profond » (éd. Konfident).
Dans cet entretien, il analyse la victoire de Donald Trump à la présidentielle américaine ainsi que les enjeux économiques et géopolitiques de son élection pour l’Union européenne, la guerre entre l’Ukraine et la Russie, le conflit à Gaza ou la rivalité avec la Chine.D’après Gérald Olivier, les électeurs américains ont notamment été séduits par le programme porté par le candidat républicain et comptent sur lui pour remettre de l’ordre.« Derrière Donald Trump, vous avez un vrai programme de gouvernement qui repose sur le principe de mettre les intérêts de l'Amérique d'abord, de rétablir la situation économique en combattant l'inflation, de relancer la production d'énergie, de protéger et de réindustrialiser le pays à travers une politique beaucoup plus protectionniste, et de mettre de l'ordre dans le monde en essayant de résoudre à la fois le conflit en Ukraine et le conflit au Proche-Orient », ajoute Gérald Olivier.« Le dernier élément de la mission que Trump se propose d’accomplir consiste à nettoyer Washington, en finir avec la corruption douce qui règne dans ce pays, voire l'instrumentalisation du système politique et judiciaire aux dépens des opposants du régime, ce dont Trump a fait l'objet pendant de longues années. »Alors que Donald Trump a promis de mettre un terme à la guerre entre l’Ukraine et la Russie, Gérald Olivier estime que sa politique sera très différente de celle de Joe Biden.« Faire pression sur Volodymyr Zelensky, c'est très facile. Sans les États-Unis, Zelensky n'aurait pas tenu tête à la Russie comme il a réussi à le faire depuis trois ans », remarque-t-il.« La vraie question est comment amener Vladimir Poutine à la table des négociations ? Poutine estime qu'il est en train de gagner cette guerre, il a conquis un certain nombre de territoires, la Russie contrôle aujourd'hui une partie de l'Ukraine et si on gelait les positions militaires, elle sortirait gagnante de ce conflit. »D’après le journaliste franco-américain, Trump compte amener le président russe à la table des négociations « en maniant la carotte et le bâton », et en garantissant que l'Ukraine ne rentre jamais dans l'Otan.Et Gérald Olivier de conclure : « Cette Amérique que j'ai aimée, je l'ai vue depuis vingt ans être détruite de l'intérieur. Aujourd'hui, il y a la chance d'un rebond. On a mis fin à ce cycle du déclin, on a mis fin à cette descente aux enfers. Cette élection envoie un message très positif sur l'avenir et sur la capacité des États-Unis et des Américains à inverser cette pente du déclin. »
Sébastien Laye joined the Frontières podcast, where he told Livre Noir's listeners that politicians do not understand economic liberty.
RIF's Philippe Karsenty was a guest on Sud Radio, where the RIF spokesman discussed how Donald Trump is already in presidential mode, long before the January 2025 inauguration.
The section with the RIF spokesman starts at around 20:30 and ends around 38:45.
Donald Trump : en mode président avant l'investiture
Avec Luc Gras, politologue, Philippe Karsenty, porte-parole de Republicans in France, Jean-Pierre Augé ancien colonel du secteur Afrique noire de la DGSE pour son livre "Afrique Adieu" aux éditions Mareuil
Retrouvez Alexis Poulin sans réserve tous les vendredis de 12h à 13h sur #SudRadio.
As Justin Trudeau is beset by scandal after scandal (often, if not always, reminiscent of the USA's Democrats) — update: Ezra Levant arrested by Toronto police for filming a pro-Hamas demonstration — Canada's prime minister gets no traction from the Economist, with its article, Justin Trudeau is killing Canada’s liberal dream (His failings hold lessons for liberals the world over).
A diagnosis of anxiety fits his own government, too. Mr Trudeau and his party have traversed an arc from heroic to hapless during nine years in office, and today are despised by many in Canada. … A letter has been circulating among Liberal MPs calling upon Mr Trudeau to resign.
… The unaffordability of housing is central. The cost of owning a home in Canada has increased by 66% since Mr Trudeau took office, with prices rising faster in this century than in any other sizeable OECD country bar Australia. … The influx of immigrants during Mr Trudeau’s decade in power has intensified the demand for housing. … The pain of high housing costs has been compounded by a mediocre economy.
… Climate change offered Mr Trudeau perhaps his clearest opportunity to blend moral leadership with pragmatism. But he ignored polling showing that while Canadians were concerned about the climate crisis, they were also loth to pay taxes equivalent to a Netflix subscription to fight it.
… Instead of adapting to or confronting challenges thrown up by his policies, Mr Trudeau has preferred to attack his critics. He has seemed inert as the erosion of his party’s support accelerated. Some Liberals privately suggest the breakdown of his marriage last year distracted him. In a shuffle aimed at energising his front bench in 2023 more than half his cabinet changed portfolios, but the economic message remained the same: we will continue to deliver “good things” to Canadians. Only recently has Mr Trudeau begun to acknowledge that this fell short. “Doing good things isn’t enough to deal with the kind of anxiety that is out there,” he told the Montreal conference. He still describes his voters’ problems in psychological rather than practical terms.
In this week's edition of The Economist (thanks for the Instalink, Sarah), a couple of readers respond to the article.
Can’t get no satisfaction
You described Justin Trudeau’s identity politics as “sanctimonious” (“The dying of the light”, October 19th). A local journalist once remarked that the Canadian system of government is a sanctimocracy: rule by the holier-than-thou.
ROBERT GENTLE
JohannesburgThe antipathy of Canadians towards their prime minister was quite apparent when, in the middle of this summer’s Rolling Stones concert in Vancouver, Mick Jagger commented on his long-standing friendship with the Trudeau family and was roundly booed. Mick quickly pivoted to the recent success of the Canadian soccer team.
Gary Phillips
Seattle
