Say what you will, France certainly has more interesting First Ladies than we in America do. Nicolas Sarkozy, while French President, wed supermodel Carla Bruni in February 2008. Soon after, nude photos of her were made available to the rest of us; at one point, a firm produced shopping bags with her naked form on view, which for some reason were a big seller.
Carla Bruni
Photo: Remi Jouan
The results are in for the 2012 French and Greek Elections with Socialism being the big winner. In the French Presidential Election, French President Nicolas Sarkozy lost to Francois Hollande in a close race, 51.9% to 48.1%. The polls had been much worse for Sarkozy in the days leading up to the vote as the French media did its best to smear him. In the Greece elections, the pro-bailout New Democracy, Communist and Pasok parties fell short of winning a majority of seats, earning only 150, an even half of the Parliament. Perhaps they will be able to sway one member from another party to join them in forming a new government. Either way, it was very clear now that both France and Greece will be much more difficult in efforts to go along with austerity measures as part of any German-bank led bailout program.
The credit rating agency Standard & Poor′s downgraded several Eurozone nations today, including stripping France and Austria of their Triple-A bond rating. Both nations got cut to AA+, a one-notch downgrade. Italy, Spain, Cyprus and Portugal each were hit with a two-notch downgrade. Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia each also took a one-notch downgrade. Of the 17 Eurozone nations, only Germany, Finland the Netherlands, and Luxembourg are still holding on to their AAA+ ratings. Ireland, Belgium and Estonia were also spared any new changes to their credit ratings. Greece is already at junk bond status.
At least 1 person is dead and four others injured due to an explosion at the radioactive waste storage facility of the Centraco Nuclear Plant near Marcoule, in Southern France, about 18 miles from Avignon near the Mediterranean coast. The explosion occurred around 11:45am local time, 9:45 GMT, after a fire broke out at a furnace used for processing spent radioactive fuel. The facility recycles weapons grade plutonium and makes MOX fuel for use in nuclear reactors. France produces 75% of their electricity from 58 nuclear power plants. The Marcoule facility is one of the oldest in France, opened in 1955 and is owned by EDF, a large French utility corporation, which owns Centraco. While there is no reports of radioactive leaks yet, the radiation associated with MOX fuel′s plutonium and uranium is very dangerous with a very long period of radioactive decay.
Move over Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy may be the next president of a nation to lose its AAA credit rating . Though Sarkozy is less to blame if France does get a credit rating downgrade. Rumors flashed today about several major French banks being reviewed for possible downgrades. This cause a fervor that forced Sarkozy to return to Paris from his vacation and hold an emergency economic meeting. But the Dow Jones also continued its plunge today largely due to American domestic woes. Yesterday, the stock market did a dead-cat-bounce after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke issued a statement following the FOMC meeting that interest rates would stay low well into 2013. This sparked an almost 600-point climb in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Gold prices even hit a new record high, breaking the $1,800 barrier!
The International Monetary Fund is having a tough time these days. IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn sits in the Rikers jail on a suicide watch after bail was denied in regards to his alleged sexual assault on a maid of the Sofitel Hotel in New York City this past Saturday. Strauss-Kahn is a popular politician in France, considered a contender to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy for the job as president. Many question why he was staying in a $3,000 a night room while the IMF preaches austerity to many countries, especially Greece. Today, the IMF warns Greece to get serious about financial and budget reforms. The sovereign debt crisis as overwhelmed Greece, but after some initial reforms, followed by weeks of sometimes violent protests and strikes, the Greeks are considering other options, including going off the Euro and printing their own currency.
Forces of Muammar al-Gaddafi are continuing to push Libyan rebels backwards from the city of Brega to Ajdabiya.. Meanwhile, Obama and NATO reconsider their role in Libya. This past week, NATO air strikes hit opposition forces several times, causing some rebels to curse them. Both Presidents Obama and Sarkozy have shifted from merely considering sending weapons to the rebels, but are now considering sending foreign troops in as well. Both leaders are facing rebellions of their own in Washington and Paris. Obama cabinet members like Gates and Clinton are unhappy that he is listening to Samantha Powers more than them. Likewise in Paris, Nicolas Sarkozy is getting flak from his ministers, who are upset with him listening to the true architect of the intervention in Libya, French philosopher and writer, Bernard-Henri Levy.
