France

Louis XIV railway carriages take to Paris-Versailles line

Rfi: Possibly the most glamorous local railway carriages in the world started operating on Wednesday between Paris and Versailles. They may look like any old beat-up railway train on the outside but inside they are decorated with reproductions of interiors from the royal Palace of Versailles. More: http://www.english.rfi.fr/visiting-france/20120516-louis-xiv-railway-carriages-take-paris-versailles-line

Islamophobia in Europe: Racism repackaged?

Arwa Al-Rikabi ARAB NEWS “Islam and Muslims are incompatible with rationality”…Who do you think said this? It sounds like something Geert Wilders (leader of Party of Freedom-Netherlands) or Nick Griffin (chairman of British National Party) would say, but it is the French Orientalist Ernest Renan who declared this in the […]

Hollande’s victory: The tortoise who beat the hare

France24. In style and probably in substance, France’s incoming president could not be more different than the country’s outgoing leader. François Hollande’s political rise to the country’s top post has been slow and steady, with the French media portraying him as “Monsieur Normal” – an easygoing, everyday man. Contrast that […]

Change Europe can believe in?

Credit: Asia Time: By Pepe Escobar Europe may just be living a remix of the late 2008 moment when Barack Obama won the presidency in the United States. But this time, will it be real? The election on Sunday of socialist Francois Hollande as president of France comes at an […]

Socialist Hollande triumphs in French presidential poll

France24. François Hollande has won France’s presidential election, giving the country its first Socialist president in almost two decades, exit polls showed Sunday. According to Ipsos polling institute, the left-wing candidate took 51.7% of the vote to incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy’s 48.3%. Celebrations are underway at the iconic Place de la Bastille […]