Sunday, May 06, 2007

Chirac's farewell party


Within the next 24 hours (precisely Sunday at 8 pm French time) France will have a new President. I have no idea who this might be but one thing I know for sure is that Chirac will soon leave the Elysee (the Presidential residence) - precisely on May 16. A French television channel (Canal Plus) grabbed this occasion to run a very funny ad campaign using the expression "Pot de départ" which is what most employees do when they leave a company: invite they colleagues and share some peanuts and a glass a wine while expecting for gifts in return!

13 comments:

  1. Peanuts? hmm... this is not quite what most people imagine, I'm afraid. No cheese, no baguette, no fine French cuisine?

    In any event, good luck with this election.

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  2. Yes peanuts seem a little meagre but hey i'd be there!

    Wonder who it'll be? Is this why you are away, Eric, to get ready for your inauguration?

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  3. hope you would return from vacation early enough to vote :)

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  4. We're on election morning here in France, and we're getting the first images of the two candidates voting nice and early, trying to set the example I suppose.

    The tension will be very high as it is certainly not clear who is going to win. And for once as a pretty non-political person I do have a preferred candidate this time, so I'm pretty excited.

    Great image Eric! Mais il a pris un coup de vieux récémment, non? Le pauvre...

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  5. Ooooh no! Royal has said to the people of France that if they vote Sarkosy, there will be violence. Not a great move. See what i said before? She is over emotional, no control of her mouth. That is very cheap in my opinion to outrageously smear an opponent in such an aggressive way. She has now been accused of blackmailing the voters. Sounds like a lot of trouble. At least that's what's being reported here in the UK. Anyone else heard the same?

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  6. Well, I am not so familiar with politics in France but I would have liked to see the lady win this election.

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  7. I would like to see a list of good things that Chirac has done for the French people. I think it might be quite impressive. It won't be long before we know who will win this election but time will tell. Meanwhile, we still have a bush instead of a mighty oak.

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  8. sarkozy or royal? I don't believe in politics dear friend. and you?

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  9. Monsieur Irredento, to say you don't believe in politics is like saying you don't believe in the weather or the cycle of the seasons. Like it or not, politics exist. Usually, we say we don't like it when we don't like the result. If we like the result, then we like the political process. Besides, would despotism be better?

    We will be awaiting the result of the French election, though I think we all know what it will be.

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  10. Eric, I hope you're back in Paris already. You would have a great opportunity to take great - and historic - photos of the people all over the streets waiting for the result. I'm watching it on TV5, it's a beautiful party.

    And now they're celebrating, the results are in, Sarkozy has won.

    France has a new president!

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  11. There is an old country song here titled "Here’s a quarter, call someone who cares". I remember taping a quarter to my whiteboard at one company when I knew I was leaving. My manager only asked me one thing on my last day…Can I have your quarter? It ended up on his board!

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  12. Oh well..soon it will just be Jacques and Bernadette, scuffing along in their Pantouflesenjoying their retraite obligatoire.

    Meanwhile, France has a new President and I wonder if the French expat community in San Francisco is a microcosm of all of France?! The vote in SF was the same as France, 53% for Sarkozy, and 47% for Royal...but a Revolution? well, I think we will have to wait and see..hein??

    Right now, I think the revolution is in the Place de la Concorde, where the Future of France awaits???! Vive la Republique...Vive la France!!!?!

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  13. Je voulais profiter de cette affiche pour l'inclure dans une photo, mais je n'en ai malheureusement pas trouvé l'occasion (faut dire que j'étais à l'étranger entre les deux tours).

    J'espère que l'autre en organisera un dans pas trop longtemps...

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