Tag Archives: France

Presidents Obama, Sarkozy Meet in Washington

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French President Nicolas Sarkozy was in Washington today to meet with President Obama and to discuss a range of issues affecting both their countries, such as the global economy and national security.  France will assume the presidency of the G-8 and the G-20 in 2011.

After their meeting the two presidents held a joint press conference during which President Obama said they discussed, “how we can coordinate our [G-8 and G-20] agendas to make sure that we are as productive as possible in delivering the kinds of reforms and follow-through that will result in prosperity for peoples around the globe.”

Speaking about Franco-American relations President Obama said: “We don’t have a stronger friend and a stronger ally than Nicolas Sarkozy and the French people.  We have cooperated over the last several years on dealing with a global economic crisis, dealing with the challenges of terrorism, dealing with a range of geopolitical issues from the Middle East to Iran to Afghanistan.  And I’ve always found Nicolas to be an outstanding partner and an outstanding friend to the American people, as well as a leader on the world stage.”

As the presidents met, so did their wives.  Mrs. Obama hosted Mrs. Bruni-Sarkozy for lunch at the White House.

Obama meets with French president

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“France is our oldest ally and one of our closest,” Obama said March 30 at a White House press conference with French leader Nicolas Sarkozy.

Sarkozy and Obama

Obama thanked Sarkozy for working with him to strenghten this alliance. “We share a belief that through bold yet pragmatic action, our generation can bend the arc of history towards justice and towards progress.” Both leaders are pushing for financial reforms, to open global markets, to address climate change, to advance Middle East peace and to secure nuclear weapons, Obama said.

In his opening remarks, President Sarkozy said, “rarely in the history of our two countries has the community of views been so identical between the United States of America and France.”

You can watch their press conference on the White House Web site.

France Fighting Digital Crime

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French Culture Minister Christine Albanel testifies in the French National Assembly in May about a bill outlawing Internet piracy.

French Culture Minister Christine Albanel testifies in the French National Assembly in May about a bill outlawing Internet piracy.

If you are illegally sharing copyrighted material in France, be forewarned. President Nicolas Sarkozy wants you punished. On May 13, 2009, the French National Assembly passed a bill which is essentially a “three strikes and you’re out” act to suspend Internet access to anyone caught downloading copyrighted files three or more times. Combating digital crime is a priority for Sarkozy, and his government has taken note. What’s unique about this law? The enforcers, a new “high-level authority,” would require neither a court order nor a trial to take away violators’ Internet access for an entire year.

This bill is creating a stir in cafes from Calais to Marseille. It is also raising eyebrows around the globe as one of the most aggressive digital anti-piracy regulations ever conceived. And it looks like the controversy is just beginning. Producers of content, ranging from film to music to software, are hailing the bill as a monumental achievement. The European Parliament, as well as many civil rights proponents, is not so enamored.

A week before the French National Assembly passed the bill, known as HADOPI (Haute Autorité pour la Diffusion des Oeuvres et la Protection des Droits sur Internet), the European Parliament passed a measure banning EU member states from adopting such an amendment. They claim Internet access is a fundamental right, akin to freedom of expression and freedom of access to information.

Neil Turkewitz, executive vice president from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), sent me an e-mail with some of his thoughts. He writes that the sanction is not harsh because it is a graduated response. “The alleged infringer is given multiple opportunities to confront his or her accuser, and to either protest innocence or modify his or her practices. And not just once! No one has proposed that termination of a user account be the response to an allegation of infringement — just to repeated indifference to such allegations.”

Opponents say the “big stick” approach to illegal downloading has never been proven to work. Many insist the graduated response effort will do nothing to foster communication or bring royalties to artists or innovators.

Obama heading overseas

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President Obama will be traveling across the Atlantic again, and as judging by the pictures below in Germany, there’s already a lot of enthusiasm about his trip:

Obama magazines

Obama cookies

Obama begins his trip June 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he’ll meet with King Abdullah. He travels June 4 to Cairo for meetings with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his long-anticipated speech at Cairo University.

On June 5 Obama heads to Dresden, Germany, for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, a visit with wounded U.S. troops at a military hospital and a tour of the former Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald. He closes his trip June 6 with a trip to France to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day.

For more, see “Obama Seeks Enhanced Engagement with the Middle East, Europe.”

I'm Waiting in the Cell Because I Have to Know. Have I Been Guilty all this Time?

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(I’m listening to “Stop” by Pink Floyd.)

For casual spectators, criminal trials can become terribly interesting when new evidence is suddenly brought forward to convict or exonerate the suspect, and expert witnesses suddenly appear out of nowhere to contradict the findings of prosecution and defense witnesses.

But in France, the judicial system is designed to prevent this kind of drama.  I met a forensic evidence specialist in Lyon who is often called as an expert witness and researcher for criminal trials, and she says that unlike in the United States, most of the work in criminal cases is completed before the trial ever gets underway.   Thus, there are few surprises.  But there are more important things than pleasing the crowd, right?

When a criminal suspect is accused, a juge d’instruction (magistrate) conducts an impartial investigation to find evidence that will determine either guilt or innocence.  The lawyers aren’t involved.  Only the juge d’instruction, who doesn’t work for either the defense or the prosecution, is authorized to choose the experts.  After reports are submitted, the lawyers can request other experts to be nominated if they believe there are errors.
The juge d’instruction finally decides when to close this process of evidence-gathering and determines whether there is no evidence against the accused, or if there is the need for a trial.  That decision is then reviewed by another judge.

The trial goes forward with the jury rendering a verdict after hearing the experts testify orally, as well as the presentations by the prosecution and defense, and other witnesses.

I found it particularly interesting that in the case of a final appeal, the Cour de cassation in Paris (France’s equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court), does not look at the specifics of a case, but only at whether the law was respected and applied correctly and at the validity of any new evidence (such as DNA testing).  The Cour de cassation either upholds the verdict or calls for a new trial, but it does not completely exonerate the suspect.

Day 73: Obama takes his town hall to France

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On the campaign trail and even during his presidency, Barack Obama has used town halls as a way to connect directly with average people by answering their questions. Hundreds of French and German people attended his town hall today in Strasbourg, a French city near the border with Germany.

“There’s plenty of blame to go around” for the problems the world faces today, Obama said. “And the United States certainly … shares blame for what has happened. But every nation bears responsibility for what lies ahead.”

“We must seek the solutions to the challenges of this young century. This is our generation. This is our time. And I am confident that we can meet any challenge, as long as we are together,” the president said.

Obama discussed the European-U.S. relationship, one that has says has drifted in recent years. “I know that there have been honest disagreements over policy, but we also know that there’s something more that has crept into our relationship,” he said.

America’s failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world and Europe’s failure to acknowledge ways America has contributed to good in the world have added to this strained relationship, Obama said.
“So I’ve come to Europe this week to renew our partnership, one in which America listens and learns from our friends and allies,” the president said. Do you think Obama can renew the U.S.-Europe partnership?