Tag Archives: Nicolas Sarkozy

Energy and Power Politics: The French vs. The German Model

Posted on 25. May, 2012 by in Business, Culture, News, People, Vocabulary

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Don’t bury Nicolas Sarkozy just yet!

Now that François Hollande is French President, he will have to answer, sur le terrain (on the ground), to some of the tougher questions raised by his ex-rival Sarkozy during their Presidential debate.

Let’s pick up from the portion of the debate where we left it last time.

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Hollande and Sarkozy in the last Presidential Debate—Some points are still very relevant, now more than ever!

(Start from 32:15)

♦ L’ALLEMAGNE (GERMANY) as a MODEL:

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  • Sarkozy:

Ok, tell me, is there a country, in Europe or the OCDE [in English OECD], which did better than France?

  • Hollande:

The United States and Germany fared much better than us.

Now let’s talk again about les accords compétitivité-emploi (the competitivity work agreements): You talk about the German example. But in Germany, they have social partners who are well-respected, and a system which protected workers from being fired.
Your TVA [Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutée, a consumption tax], which you want to introduce in October, means 300 Euros less for a couple of “smicars” ["smicar" refers in French Slang to an employee who earns the minimum wage called "le SMIC".] That is unacceptable!
Concerning the SMIC: I will make sure it is adjusted in function of growth: It will go up whenever growth goes down, and vice versa.
I will also lock the price of energy, especially the price of l’essence (fuel) for the first three months, and I will make sure to help the families as well.

  • Sarkozy:

It’s the first time in the world that les syndicats publically support a Presidential candidate. This is very dangerous: Whenever syndicats get mixed up with politics, they cannot protect the workers.

  • Hollande:

That is not true, because in Germany the syndicats are very much involved in politics.

♦ ENERGY Politics:

  • Sarkozy:

Les heures supplémentaires (working overtime) has helped the purchasing power, but you want to stop that, and instead you want to raise le SMIC. I wonder why?
You said you would lock the price of fuel: But what will you lock, exactly? You won’t be locking the price of the crude oil barrel that you’ll buy. You won’t impose your price on countries like Saudi Arabia…

  • Hollande:

Oh come on, you know that I mean the distribution price of the refined product: the fuel.

  • Sarkozy:

But France is not an isolated island! Out of whose pocket is the difference going to be paid? There are not three pockets out there, only two of them: The pocket of the consumer and the pocket of le contribuable (the taxpayer.) To pay two cents less on a litter of fuel is equivalent to 1 billion of Euros more in deficit. How will you be able to lock the price of fuel and in the same time reduce the deficit?

  • Hollande:

I will primarily target the speculating distributors of fuel. Those who on purpose keep stockpiles of fuel at a low market price, then decide to sell it whenever it is best for them! Those distributors are the ones who will pay, not le contribuable (the taxpayer.)

  • Sarkozy:

Since oil prices are skyrocketing, is it not madness to suggest dismantling half of our nuclear energy capacity?

  • Hollande:

Not true, but we’ll get to that later.

French Tribute Song to Sarkozy’s Memorable “Casse-toi, Pauv’Con”

Posted on 05. May, 2012 by in Music, News, People, Vocabulary


French singer Tum Sally insisted upon paying a vibrant tribute to Nicolas Sarkozy by immortalizing his now (in-)famous slur aimed at an old farmer who had the impudence of refusing to shake his hand: “Casse-toi, Pauv’Con” (“Get Lost, You Jerk”)!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4m6jp

Tum Sally’s “Casse-toi, Pov’Con”
(“Get Lost, You Jerk”)

A bit of a strange name, “Tum Sally“, no?

It won’t sound too strange anymore when you realize that it’s actually a clever jeu de mot (pun) doubled with an “inside joke“

The pun is “Tum Sally” = “Tu me salis” (“You sully me“, i.e. “you make me dirty“)

As for the “inside joke“, check the video below…

Tum Sally is not alone in his hommage rendered to “Sarko“: There is now almost an entire franchise in France branded “Casse-toi, Pov’Con“, as with “Casse-toi, Pov’Con—Le Jeu” (“Get Lost, You Jerk—The Game”)

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Genesis of the moment that infamously went down in the history of the French Cinquième République (Fifth Republic)
To be fair to “Sarko”, his thuggish slur came as a reaction to an old farmer who not only refused to shake his hand, but also said: “Touche-moi pas, tu me salis”  (“Don’t you touch me, you make me dirty”)
Si t’égorges des moutons dans ta baignoire, casse-toi pauvre con
If you slaughter sheep in your bath tub, get lost, you jerk
Si t’es sans papiers et noir, casse-toi pauvre con
If you’re an illegal alien and black, get lost, you jerk
Si t’es pas un bon chrétien, casse-toi pauvre con
If you ain’t a good Christian, get lost, you jerk
Si t’aimes pas les américains, casse-toi pauvre con
If you don’t like Americans, get lost, you jerk
T’es pas d’la France qui se lève tôt? Casse-toi pauvre con
If you ain’t from the France of those who wake up early? Get lost, you jerk
J’ai signé lâche moi ton stylo ou bien… Casse-toi pauvre con
I signed, gimme your pen or else… Get lost, you jerk
Ton prénom s’finit pas en “a“? Casse-toi pauvre conne
Your first name doesn’t end with an “a”? Get lost, you jerk (i.e. like “Cécilia”, “Carla”, “Rachida”, etc.)
Si tu m’as dit “touche moi pas”, casse-toi pauvre con
If you said “don’t you touch me”, get lost, you jerk
Casse-toi pauvre con, tu veux même pas m’serrer la main, alors que j’mérite une ovation
Get lost, you jerk, if you want even shake ma hand, whereas I deserve me an ovation
Casse-toi pauvre con, ben c’est vrai si j’te plais pas fais donc comme Cécilia et Martinon, casse-toi
Get lost, you jerk, if you don’t like me, just do like Cécilia (ex-wife) and Martinon (ex-spokesperson)
T’as 10 ans, tu parraines pas d’mort?
You’re a ten year old and you ain’t godfathering a dead person?
Ta rolex elle est pas en or?
Your rolex ain’t of gold?
Si tu touches le RMI
If you benefit from the RMI (stands for Revenu minimum d’insertion, a form of social welfare in France)
Si Gaddafi n’est pas ton ami
If Gaddafi ain’t your friend
Si t’as pas libéré d’otage
If you haven’t freed any hostages
Ton fils a pas l’nom d’un fromage
Your son doesn’t have the name of a cheese
Tu veux t’faire élire à Neuilly
You want to get elected at Neuilly (i.e. Neuilly-sur-Seine is the French “Beverly Hills“)
Mais t’es même pas d’ma famille!
But you ain’t even a member of my family!
Casse-toi pauvre con, si tu veux même pas m’serrer la main, alors que j’mérite une ovation
Get lost, you jerk, if you won’t even shake ma hand, whereas I deserve me an ovation
Casse-toi pauvre con, ben c’est vrai si j’te plais pas fais donc comme Cécilia et Martinon, casse-toi
Get lost, you jerk, well it’s true, if you don’t like me, just do like Cécilia and Martinon, get lost
T’es plus tente igloo palavas
You’re more into igloo tents at Palavas (Palavas-les-Flots, in the South of France)
Que jet privé aux Bahamas?
Than a private jet to the Bahamas?
T’as pas tes entrées chez Maxim’s? 
You can’t get into Maxim’s?
Quand tu marches ça fait pas bling bling? 
When you walk, it doesn’t go bling bling?

T’es plus grand qu’moi sans talonettes?
You’re taller than me without high heels?
T’es moins discret qu’François Fillon? 
You’re more ostentatious than François Fillon (current Prime Minister of France)?
T’étais prem’s aux informations? 
You made to the news headlines?
Casse-toi pauvre con: “la France tu l’aimes ou tu la quittes, hein?”, tu veux même pas m’serrer la main, alors que j’mérite une ovation
Get lost, you jerk: “You either love France or you leave it, got it?”, you won’t even shake my handm whereas I deserve me an ovation

Casse toi pauvre con, (la France tu l’aimes ou tu la quittes, hein?” ben c’est vrai si j’te plais pas fais donc comme Cécilia et Martinon, casse-toi
Get lost, you jerk: “You either love France or you leave it, got it?”, well it’s true, if you don’t like me then do like Cecilia and Martinon, get lost

 

 

 

 

Hollande Vs. Sarkozy: Comics, Economics, and Freakonomics! (Part II)

Posted on 04. May, 2012 by in News, People, Vocabulary

Nicolas Sarkozy is a man of contradictions: When a handful of delinquents welcomed him with rotten eggs at one of the Parisian banlieues, he didn’t hesitate to call them racailles (scum.) Yet he never shied away from using un langage de voyou (thuggish language) himself: To an old man who refused to shake his hand, he said “Casse-toi, pauv’ con” (“F*** off, you loser”), and shortly before the Presidential Debate was scheduled, he promised his political pals that “il va exploser“ (“he will blow up”) his opponent, François Hollande!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4m6jp

Tum Sally made a whole song about Sarkozy’s infamous “Casse-toi, Pauv’ Con” (“F*** off, you loser”)

Let us resume the debate: The topic is also quite “explosive”: l’ÉCONOMIE… 

 

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HOLLANDE vs. SARKOZY: The Big Debate

  • 00:19:33 – 00:24:30:
    • Sarkozy:
      • Let us be very precise, Monsieur Hollande. You will admit that there was une crise financière (a financial crisis) for the past four years. You will also contend that I wasn’t in power in the United States, Spain, Italy, and other places.
      • After you criticized its policies for so long, now you talk about Germany as a model to criticize me! Well, Germany never launched les 35 heures. Germany’s economic policies are diametrically opposite to yours. I’d rather be inspired by what works than by what doesn’t. I’d rather follow the example of Germany rather that of Greece or Spain.  Therefore I’m afraid that this argument turns itself violently against you.
      • As for the deficit, it is true that it reached 70 billion Euros high. Do you know how much l’énergie fossile (fossil fuel) represents in this deficit? It’s 63 billions. That is why I think it is totally irresponsible to suggest dismantling our nuclear agency capability when the cost of energy is that high.
      • The number of 10% formed unemployed is accurate. But did you know that the responsibility of forming them is shared by the syndicats, the regional authorities, and the State. It was mainly the fault of the regional authorities who didn’t do well their job.
  • 00:24:30 – 00:27:20:
    • Hollande:
      • Monsieur Sarkozy, things with are you all always so simple: It’s never your fault! You always have a un bouc-émissaire (a scapegoat): With the lack formation of the unemployed, it’s not you, it’s the fault of the regional authorities. For le chômage (unemployment), it’s not you either, it’s the fault of the financial crisis! For the German model, it’s not your fault, it took you five years to realize that it was better than the Anglo-Saxon model.
      • Your suggested TVA anti-délocalisation will only undermine le pouvoir d’achat (purchasing power), and won’t help enough our industry to be competitive.
      • When the Socialists left the government for good in 2002, our commerce extérieur (foreign trade) was still balanced, whereas with you as a President, it kept going skyrocketing.
      • Your propositions will also affect la durée légale du travail (the legal length of work.)
  • 00:27:20 – 00:32:15:
    • Sarkozy:
      • You can try to criticize me for a lot of things, but not for assuming my responsibility, which is normal when one is a President of the Republic.
      • If my TVA proposition is that bad, tell me why your porte-parole (spokesperson) made it the main theme during the Socialists Primaries?
      • I also don’t get it: You say Germany is doing better than we do, but we won’t be taking any of the measures that Germany took in order to succeed? Germans voted for the TVA, and they also voted for les accords compétitivité-emploi (the competitivity work agreements), which means that it is totally up to the employers and the employees to decide the salary and how much they want to work—unlike the law of les 35 heures. That, Monsieur Hollande, is called “trust.” That means a modern economy.
      • And seriously, you’ve got some serious problems with counting. Aren’t you into accounting? I mean, you worked for la Cour des comptes (the Court of Audit), or not? Ten years ago, when the Socialist Lionel Jospin was Prime Minister, the budget was in deficit.
    • Hollande:
      • Yes, I am from the Court of Audit, and no, the budget was not in deficit. You will verify it yourself.
    • Sarkozy:
      • Why did you veto everything I proposed to promote innovation during the past five years, and now come to us and say: “J’ai changé d’avis” (“I changed my mind”)! Do you know the only country that didn’t go through a trimester of recession before 2009? Well, that is France.
    • Hollande:
      • That’s amazing! From all the people in France, why are you the only one happy?
    • Sarkozy:
      • That is an outright lie. You are shamelessly lying.
    • Hollande:
      • When did I lie?
    • Sarkozy:
      • When you say that I was always happy about myself.
    • Hollande:
      • Ok, fine. My bad, you too are unhappy with your work. I was wrong!
    • Sarkozy:
      • Monsieur Hollande, this is not a competition of la petite blague (one-liner jokes)!
    •  Hollande:
      • No, it’s not a joke, but I didn’t come here to be called a menteur (liar) either.
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