10 questions that will make the French squirm

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,340
1,650
113
10 questions that will make the French squirm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1) Why do we find the bloodiest and most corrupted regimes in the former French colonies? (Cambodia, French Indo-China, Central African Republic, Niger, Togo, Haiti etc…)

2) Why does France support those regimes to this day with
consequent economic subsidies which are then diverted to the Swiss bank accounts of those governants or are recycled in part into the campaign funds of French political parties? (The vast majority of the 21 French-speaking African countries are brutal dictatorships supported by France)

3) Why did Mitterrand (former president and national hero) work with the Vichy regime of Marshal Petain (a Hitler collaborator)?

4) Why is it that Mitterrand, who had tapped the phones of the most prominent French journalists and other VIPs, whas never charged, judged or anything else while Richard Nixon in the U.S. was practically forced to resign because of a murky breaking into the national Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate building and subsequent cover up???

5) Why does the history curriculum of the French ministry of education concentrates almost exclusively on Ancient History, the kings, the French revolution, the empire, the 100 year war, Napoleon, WWI, and so little on modern history??

6) Why are Senators, in France, elected by an electoral college constituted exclusively of politicians (rotten politicians that is) and not by the people like in the United States???

7) Why did France sell nuclear reactors capable of enriching uranium to Saddam Hussein???

8) Why did France help the bloodthirsty Hutus in Rwanda??

9) Why is it that in France, we always talk about Americans and oil, and NEVER of France and Oil?? After all, wasn’t it France, through Elf [The major French oil company, partly owned by the French government] which had juicy oil deals with Saddam’s Iraq??

10) Why is it that when the French discuss the Viet Nam war in history class, the REAL causes of the war linked to the French colonization of that country are not mentioned ?

Asked by a French expat living in the US.

http://elvatoloko.blogspot.com/
 

Munkustrap

Nominee Member
Mar 3, 2005
59
0
6
Ottawa
11) Why don't we dig up all the dirt on all the countries and bash them too?

I don't think you can find a country that does/has done everything perfectly in it's (cultural/non-cultural) history. So France has screwed up, and is still screwing up. We're (Canada) not perfect, we do a lot of stupid things. So does the United States. Germany. Britain. I think you're unnecessarily bashing the country of France.
 

Twila

Nanah Potato
Mar 26, 2003
14,698
73
48
RE: 10 questions that wil

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

That's why
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
1
38
Winnipeg
RE: 10 questions that wil

Actually when it comes to imperialism and brutality, France is only second to the US, and that's largely a matter of scope. French influence was limited first by the British Empire (not exactly a bastion of humane treatment of others itself) and then by the US.

France has, largely because of public demand since Rwanda, been working towards reformation though. They've appointed judges, arrested CEOs, held hearings, etc. It isn't enough, but it's a hell of a lot more than anybody else has done.
 

Vanni Fucci

Senate Member
Dec 26, 2004
5,239
17
38
8th Circle, 7th Bolgia
the-brights.net
I’ve often said that politically, France is very much like the US in structure, if not in attitudes.

According to the CIA World Fact Book:

Republics of the World:

Afghanistan -- Islamic republic
Algeria -- republic
Angola -- republic, nominally a multiparty democracy with a strong presidential system
Argentina -- republic
Armenia -- republic
Austria -- federal republic
Azerbaijan -- republic
Belarus -- republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship
Benin -- republic under multiparty democratic rule
Bolivia -- republic
Bosnia and Herzegovina -- emerging federal democratic republic
Botswana -- parliamentary republic
Brazil -- federative republic
Burkina Faso -- parliamentary republic
Burundi -- republic
Cameroon -- unitary republic; multiparty presidential regime
Cape Verde -- republic
Central African Republic -- republic
Chad -- republic
Chile -- republic
Colombia -- republic; executive branch dominates government structure
Congo, Republic of the -- republic
Costa Rica -- democratic republic
Cote d'Ivoire -- republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960
Cyprus -- republic
Djibouti -- republic
East Timor -- republic
Ecuador -- republic
Egypt -- republic
El Salvador -- republic
Equatorial Guinea -- republic
Estonia -- parliamentary republic
Ethiopia -- federal republic
Fiji -- republic
Finland -- republic
France -- republic
Gabon -- republic; multiparty presidential regime
Gambia, The -- republic under multiparty democratic rule
Georgia -- republic
Germany -- federal republic
Greece -- parliamentary republic
Guatemala -- constitutional democratic republic
Guinea -- republic
Guinea-Bissau -- republic, multiparty since mid-1991
Guyana -- republic within the Commonwealth
Honduras -- democratic constitutional republic
Iceland -- constitutional republic
India -- federal republic
Indonesia -- republic
Iran -- theocratic republic
Ireland -- republic
Italy -- republic
Kazakhstan -- republic; authoritarian presidential rule
Kenya -- republic
Kiribati -- republic
Korea, South -- republic
Kyrgyzstan -- republic
Lebanon -- republic
Liberia -- republic
Madagascar -- republic
Maldives -- republic
Mali -- republic
Malta -- republic
Mauritania -- republic
Mexico -- federal republic
Moldova -- republic
Mozambique -- republic
Namibia -- republic
Nauru -- republic
Nicaragua -- republic
Niger -- republic
Nigeria -- republic transitioning from military to civilian rule
Pakistan -- federal republic
Paraguay -- constitutional republic
Peru -- constitutional republic
Philippines -- republic
Poland -- republic
Romania -- republic
Rwanda -- republic; presidential, multiparty system
San Marino -- independent republic
Sao Tome and Principe -- republic
Senegal -- republic under multiparty democratic rule
Serbia and Montenegro -- republic
Seychelles -- republic
Singapore -- parliamentary republic
Slovenia -- parliamentary democratic republic
South Africa -- republic
Sri Lanka -- republic
Switzerland -- federal republic
Syria -- republic under military regime since March 1963
Tajikistan -- republic
Tanzania -- republic
Togo -- republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule
Tunisia -- republic
Turkey -- republican parliamentary democracy
Turkmenistan -- republic; authoritarian presidential rule
Uganda -- republic
Ukraine -- republic
United States -- Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
Uruguay -- constitutional republic
Uzbekistan -- republic; authoritarian presidential rule
Vanuatu -- parliamentary republic
Venezuela -- federal republic
Yemen -- republic
Zambia -- republic

Here are some interesting points:

Of the countries that were originally part of the “Coalition of the Willing”, 24 or exactly half of them were republics of one form or another.

Most of the countries surrounding and including Afghanistan are republics.

Most of the countries that Canada has had peace keeping missions in, are republics.

The Sudan, which is currently suffering a devastating humanitarian crisis, is virtually surrounded by republics.

Cote d’Ivoire, scene of another humanitarian crisis is a republic, and bordered by 4 other republics.

Many of the South American that have been classified as political hot zones have been republics.

How these nations developed into republics would be an interesting history to follow, but unfortunately outside of the scope of my cursory observations presented here.

It would seem that in light of these observations, that republics are a failure as a democracy, taking too much power from the people, and putting it into the hands of too few, which gives rise to a thoroughly corrupt system of government.

Perhaps they should look at adopting more of a confederated parliamentary democratic model…