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JANUARY 2012 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu 6 ♦ NATIONAL NEWS De Villepin to run for president Villepin, the arch enemy of President Sarkozy, has shocked the political world – and his own supporters – by declaring his intention to run in next year’s presidential elections. Although starting as a rank outsider (he is currently polling only 1 or 2%), the main contenders appear worried. Positioning himself as a Gaullist and an independent ‘centrist’, de Villepin could erode the support base of both Sarkozy and François Hollande, the current favourite. The political rivalry between Sarkozy and de Villepin is legendary, culminating in the Clearstream trial, which eventually saw de Villepin cleared of falsely smearing Sarkozy siret no. 492 314 349 00019 Former prime minister Dominique de over alleged acts of money laundering. Many see his declaration to run as a cynical ploy to sabotage the Sarkozy campaign for re-election. The worry for the mainstream parties, however, is a repeat of the 2002 elections when a large number of Socialist candidates split the vote sufficiently to allow far-right leader Jean- Marie Le Pen to sneak in and make it through to a run-off with Chirac. With his daughter, Marine Le Pen, currently showing good numbers in the polls, de Villepin’s involvement means that history may well be about to repeat itself. Dominique de Villepin, 58, is best known outside of France for an impassioned speech he made to the United Nations in 2003, when he was foreign minister, against the US plan to invade Iraq. ■ Finegans Rainbow Your Local Corner Shop Epicerie anglaise, Books, Beers, Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Cards, Kippers & Quorn + lots more at sub supermarket prices. Regular trips to UK for supermarket and wholesale pick-ups. Carriage only charged. www.fi negansrainbow.com Tue - Fri 10.00h-12.30h 14.30h-18.30h Sat 10.00h-12.30h 14.30h-18.00h 3 rue St Martial, Montmorillon - Tel: 05 49 48 87 23 - info@fi negansrainbow.com 4 large rooms of antique & quality furniture, linens, collectables, cushions & gifts all at aff ordable prices. Handmade furniture of all types designed & created for clients’ individual specifi cations. Lower rate of VAT rises from 5.5 to 7% The National Assembly has voted through the planned rise of the lower VAT rate in France from 5.5% to 7%. The increase was part of the government’s second austerity plan. The VAT rise, which comes into effect from 1 st January 2012, affects a number common goods and services such as home renovations, restaurant meals, public transport, tourist attractions, hotel and campsite bookings and firewood. Products and services exempt from the rise include supermarket food, electricity and gas subscriptions and school dinners.■ 2 rue Joliot Curie, 87190 Magnac-Laval Opening hours: 10am-1pm & 2pm-5.30pm Tue - Sat Closed Sunday & Monday Tel: 06 30 88 78 62 www.antiquesbrocante.net email: info@ antiquesbrocante.net Siret no: 442 537 486 00023 Breast implant scandal affecting 30,000 women The government is facing protests from women affected by a French company illegally using industrial grade silicone in breast implants, leaving many with leaking implants and fears over cancer links. The first mass street protest has taken place in Paris over the faulty breast implant scandal that has shocked France in the last year. It is now believed that more than 30,000 women have had breast implants filled with industrial silicone instead of medical-grade fillers. The scandal is not confined to France and has also affected women in Spain and the UK - it is believed that as many as 50,000 faulty PIP implants may have been sold in the UK. At the heart of the scandal lies Poly Implant Prosthesis (PIP), a company based in the south of France. PIP was one of the world leaders in silicone implant production until closing last year when it was found to have been cutting corners and saving an estimated €1 billion a year by using industrial silicone instead of medical-grade fillers in their breast implants. The casing around the filling was also faulty and prone to rupture or leakage. More than 2,000 women have so far filed legal complaints and a judicial investigation has begun for involuntary homicide after one woman subsequently died from cancer, although a link with the leaked industrial silicone has not been proved. The protesters believe that the government has not so far done enough to help the women affected and they are demanding that they meet the costs of having the implants removed. “We're sick of being dismissed as bimbos,” said one woman in the crowd who had PIP implants after reconstructive surgery following breast cancer. Many said they felt dismissed as vain or had themselves to blame. Most were on low incomes, had taken out loans for the initial surgery and were struggling to pay for removals. As we go to press, it looks as though the government may be conceeding to this demand. France's cosmetics and plastic surgery industry is among the biggest in Europe. An estimated 21,000 breast augmentations are carried out each year and between 400,000 and 500,000 women in France currently have breast implants – the most popular cosmetic operation after liposuction and antiwrinkle procedures. A study in 2009 found that although French women are the slimmest in western Europe, they also have the biggest complexes about their bodies and the toughest standards on weight. ■ editor@thebugle.eu
SIRET: 502 907 108 00018 RENOVATION SPECIALISTS renovation packages �� tailored for you SEPTIC TANK SPECIALISTS approved septic tank installer �� www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ JANUARY 2012 NATIONAL NEWS ♦ systems reliable, designed registered, with permissions multi-trade & insured paperwork business included that and independent approval with certification adds value to your property systems systems designed designed with permissions with permissions & paperwork & included paperwork and independent approval with certification included and independent approval with certifi cation full systems re-wires, designed new-build, with permissions additions, & modifi paperwork cations, included diagnostic and independent approval with certification report and remedial works - consuel approvals - liaison with ERDF for changes & new supplies �� Chirac found guilty of embezzlement Former president Jacques Chirac has been found guilty of embezzlement, abuse of trust and conflict of interest following a lengthy trial in Paris. He has escaped jail, however, after he was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence. The court said it had taken into account his age, health and status as a former head of state when determining the sentence. In the historic verdict, the court said it had found Chirac guilty in two related cases involving fake jobs when he was mayor of Paris between 1977 and 1995. The prosecution had alleged that money for the fictitious jobs in his mayoral office was in fact being diverted to fund the Rassemblement pour la République (RPR) party, of which he was the leader. Chirac is the first former French head of state to be prosecuted since Marshall Philippe Pétain, leader of the Nazi-collaborating Vichy government during the Second World War. Chirac was not present at his trial after being excused on health grounds – he allegedly has mental health issues and lapses of memory. Despite intense pressure to abandon the trial of a “weak old man”, the court found he was the main organiser and beneficiary of a network of “fake jobs” in the Paris town hall that boosted the staff and influence of his now defunct centre-right party. The judges went so far as to suggest that the “fictitious jobs” were the tip of the iceberg of a complex system of “embezzlement” of public cash to finance Chirac’s rise to power. Chirac had been immune from prosecution while he was president from 1995 to 2007, and there has been great pressure, especially from within the Sarkozyled government, to drop the case. Despite avoiding jail, the guilty verdict has permanently marked the reputation of a man who is still widely loved across France. It is uncertain whether that affection for the former president will now diminish. Sarkozy came to power in 2007 on an “anti-Chirac” ticket, promising to be more purposeful, more hands-on, more consistent, less hostile to American influence. After more than four years of Sarkozy's frenetic leadership, however, many in France now look back fondly at Chirac as a rascally but reassuring great uncle. Most will concede that he did not achieve very much, but will assert that he at least had the good sense to oppose the Iraqi war in 2003 – a war that was deeply unpopular in France. Those with longer memories speak of a more ruthless Chirac, prepared to do anything and everything to gain power. He has escaped from many sticky situations in the past through a combination of political cunning, ruthlessness and, if you believe the rumours, plenty of law-bending. Indeed, there are voices casting doubt on his current dementia claim, citing it as another attempt to wriggle out of trouble. Former president, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who Chirac betrayed in 1981 on his way to power, is fond of saying that Chirac could have his mouth full of jam, his lips dripping with it, his fingers covered in it, the jar open in front of him and still deny he had ever touched the stuff. Chirac's spokeswoman, 7 ELECTRICAL SPECIALISTS for all electrical works �� throughout the Creuse You click... we do the trip! YOUR SHOPPING... SIMPLY DELIVERED NO MINIMUM DELIVERY CHARGE NO MINIMUM ORDER VALUE UNLIMITED AMBIENT UNLIMITED CHILLED UNLIMITED FROZEN UNLIMITED SPEND REMINDER E-MAILS GREAT COMMUNICATION TIMED WEEKLY DELIVERIES PAYMENT IN STERLING AND EUROS PARCELS FROM UK Bénédicte Brissart, declined to comment following the guilty verdict, saying time was needed to go over the legal decision. His lawyer, Georges Kiejman, said, “We have to take a step back and read this ruling, we have to speak of course with the main person involved and we will know tonight if he accepts this decision or, on the contrary, if he wants on principle to appeal. For the moment, it's impossible to say more.” Comment from other politicians was guarded. His opponents on the right resisted the urge to gloat, his friends on the left did not celebrate the apparently lenient sentence. Fellow Corrèzien and presidential hopeful François Hollande simply said that no one was above the law, but added that consideration had to be given to a man with health problems. Perhaps predictably, the nastiest comment came from Jean-Marie Le Pen, the former far-right leader and political opponent who said that Chirac had been “nabbed at the gates of the cemetery”. ■ Breath test kits compulsory from spring 2012 Motorists in France will be required by law to carry a breath test kit ('éthylotest') in their cars from next spring as part of ongoing measures to combat road deaths. Under the new rules, drivers will face an €11 fine if they do not have the €1-2 piece of kit in their car. A Sécurité Routière official said the breath test would be a simple “balloon into which you blow and which you need to have in your car or face a fine”. In the 12 months to the end of October, 3,980 people died on the roads of France, meaning that the government is certain to miss its target of under 4,000 road deaths in 2011. Alcohol is the number one cause of deaths, being a factor in 31% of all road fatalities. Other measures announced include the installation of 400 new speed cameras across France (which won't have advance warning signs), the introduction of nextgeneration radar units that work from moving police cars and plans to install automatic speed reduction systems in cars. Denying that speed cameras were “easy budget boosters”, President Sarkozy claimed that all the proceeds from speed cameras go back into road safety and reaffirmed his aim to reduce road deaths to 3,000 in 2012. He also highlighted the number of motorcycle road deaths last year, saying: “It is not normal that in 2010 24% of the deaths are on two-wheels when they make up just 2% of traffic.” ■ We at M2H use our 26 tonne ATP certifi ed lorry to regularly deliver UK groceries to France. Transporting your orders in a controlled environment, we deliver grocery shopping, parcels and larger items. You are kept informed at all times during your shopping experience, notifi ed when your order is received at our depot, given at least one hour’s notice of your drop off in France and allocated a 15 minute timed delivery slot – so no waiting around in car parks for hours; leaving you to plan your day, around us, with confi dence... YOU ARE THE CUSTOMER AFTER ALL YOU’VE TRIED THE REST - NOW USE THE BEST 05 55 68 78 23 / 06 07 73 64 06 Website: www.mouse2housedeliveries.com Email: mouse2housedeliveries@gmail.com
Page 1 and 2: January 2012 Issue #27 Six under in
Page 3 and 4: Warmest November since records bega
Page 5: Asian supermarket ram-raided Asian
Page 9 and 10: Beer, glorious beer!! Regular envir
Page 11 and 12: © 2005 - George Owens (Flickr) 2 8
Page 13 and 14: Based in Saint-Mathieu, Darren Davi
Page 15 and 16: ADVERTORIAL NEW SALES RECORD FOR HO
Page 17 and 18: Harlequin Developments Established
Page 19 and 20: The Living Room www.thebugle.eu ○
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