Posted on 06/04/2009 10:00:19 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
The Obamas turn up in Paris this evening, but have declined a dinner invitation from the couple next door: the Sarkozys.
President Obama’s reluctance to spend more than minimum time with the French leader on his visit for the D-Day anniversary has come as an embarrassment to the Elysée Palace.
America’s First Family will not be dining with President Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni, even though they are staying at the residence of the US Ambassador, yards from the Elysée apartments where the Sarkozys spend their weekends.
Mr Sarkozy’s staff were trying yesterday to arrange another private moment between the couples. Mr Obama is due to fly back to Washington tomorrow night or on Sunday.
Mr Sarkozy’s dream date would be dinner somewhere spectacular such as the Jules Verne, an Alain Ducasse restaurant on the Eiffel Tower. The Obamas were reported on French celebrity websites to be planning a meal there.
A glamorous joint outing might be compared with the ones that President de Gaulle undertook with John and Jackie Kennedy in 1961. On that trip, Mrs Kennedy was such a hit that JFK presented himself as “the man who accompanied Jackie Kennedy to Paris”.
Failure to socialise with the Obamas will add to mockery that has greeted Mr Sarkozy’s attempts to stage the 65th anniversary of D-Day as a “Barack and Sarko show”. The media and Opposition have mocked Mr Sarkozy over Mr Obama’s coolness towards him, which is only partly due to his handling of the Normandy commemoration.
Mr Sarkozy has been pilloried in France for his failure to invite the Queen to the events. “The palace is fearing a snub,” Le Parisien newspaper said yesterday after the news emerged of the Obamas’ plans to keep themselves to themselves.
Yesterday the popular comedian Nicolas Canteloup did an
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
The French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools bans wearing conspicuous religious symbols in French public (i.e. government-operated) primary and secondary schools. The law is an amendment to the French Code of Education that expands principles founded in existing French law, especially the constitutional requirement of laïcité: the separation of state and religious activities.
The bill passed France’s national legislature and was signed into law by President Jacques Chirac on March 15, 2004 (thus the technical name is law 2004-228 of March 15, 2004) and came into effect on September 2, 2004, at the beginning of the new school year. The full title of the law is Loi n° 2004-228 du 15 mars 2004 encadrant, en application du principe de laïcité, le port de signes ou de tenues manifestant une appartenance religieuse dans les écoles, collèges et lycées publics (literally “Law #2004-228 of March 15, 2004 concerning, as an application of the principle of the separation of church and state, the wearing of symbols or garb which show religious affiliation in public primary and secondary schools”).
The law does not mention any particular symbol, though it is considered by many to specifically target the wearing of headscarves (a khimar, considered by some to be required as part of hijab [”modesty”]) by Muslim schoolgirls. For this reason, it is occasionally referred to as the French headscarf ban in the foreign press.
Funny, Christians are not given that honor.
Deutsche Welle, December 9, 2008
Europe’s top courts have ruled in favor of a French school that expelled two Muslim girls for refusing to remove their headscarves for physical education classes. The ruling fuels the debate over secularism in France.
The European Court of Human Rights has dismissed a complaint by two French Muslim girls that their school violated their freedom of religion and their right to an education. The girls were expelled after repeatedly refusing to remove their headscarves for physical education classes.
The teacher had said that wearing a headscarf was incompatible with physical education classes. The girls, Belgin Dogru and Esma-Nur Kervanci, are French nationals and were 11 and 12 respectively when they were expelled from the school in the north-western town of Flers in 1999.
For secularism’s sake
Based in Strasbourg, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on Thursday, Dec. 4 that the school’s move to expel the girls was not out of line, emphasizing that the girls had been able to continue their education via correspondence classes.
“It was clear that the applicants’ religious convictions were fully taken into account in relation to the requirements of protecting the rights and freedoms of others and public order,” the court said in a press release.
The court also observed that the purpose of the restriction on the applicants’ right to manifest their religious convictions was to adhere to the requirements of secularism, a hot topic of debate in France.
Secularism is taken very seriously in the country’s state schools, and in 2004 a law was passed that bans pupils from wearing conspicuous signs of their religion at school.
France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim minority.
yitbos
What’s next with this Kenyan poseur, return of the Statute of Liberty?
He's going to Buchenwald, no doubt to pay respects to one of his uncles.
Let's see how he can dis Chancellor Merkel who told Hussein she was done bailing out anyone especially any GM divisions in Deutschland.
yitbos
JFK introducing himself during his visit to Paris, “You may have heard of me, I’m the man with Jackie Kennedy.”
The Obama’s didn’t want to be out-classed.
How rude of the Obama’s to decline to visit the President of the host country of the ceremony.
OBAMAS are fake MSM hyped manufactured celebrities
If you were Meeeeechelle, one of the 100 most beautiful women in the world, would you want to stand next to Carla Bruni?
“This is why he got rid of the bust of Churchill and labels conservatives as terrorists...”
BINGO!!
A great big thank you to the 60 million idiot voters across America responsible for embarrassing your country on the world stage. (Those other 9 million votes? Fraud.)
What really happened was that they couldn't find a feed bag for FLOTUS on such short notice.
Tell me, please -- if YOU were in Paris, and wanted a good dinner, where would YOU go? (I do enjoy good traditional French food, well cooked & presented. I have all of Julia Child's books - including Vol. 2 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking - and I do use them. Never did enjoy 'nouvelle' - in Miz Julia's words 'you just know somebody's fingers have been all over it'.)
BTW, nice shoes, Carla!
sw
These two Affirmative Clowns really represent the Peter Principle, Their actions and Performance prove they are the poster couple of nothing more than Churls.
Noun 1. churl - a crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement
The Obamas eat more than anybody I’ve ever heard of. Two out of three reports have them going for or having brought to them, expensive meals.
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