France sends five to third round at Wimbledon
June 27, 2008
In tennis, France’s French Open showing is forgotten as five French players advance to third Wimbledon round.
Five men from France will represent their country on British soil in the men’s singles in the Wimbledon tennis championship’s third round. This number rivals that of spain and Germany, also advancing five players.
In Friday’s Wimbledon action, Richard Gasquet, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Gilles Simon and Arnaud Clement joined Marc Gicquel, who had qualified to advance to the next round on Wednesday. 8th seed Richard Gasquet benefited from the forfeit due to injury fifty-four minutes into the match of fellow Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, who had been leading 2 sets to zero (6-2 6-2). Gasquet credited his relaxed and confident performance on grass to his new trainer, Guillaume Peyre, whom he credited with giving him a “boost.” Richard Gasquet will next face another French rival, 28th-ranked Gilles Simon, who beat Argentina’s Agustin Calleri, 49th in the world, in four sets (5-7 6-2 6-3 6-4). Simon expressed elation at his advancement, and respect for his upcoming opponent, who has beaten him twice.
14th-ranked Paul-Henri Mathieu outclassed his junior compatriot Jeremy Chardy, 108th worldwide, in three set (6-3 7-5 7-6) for his advancement. In the third round, the Frenchman will face Croatian Marin Cilic, who battled through five sets before eliminating the Finn Jarkko Nieminen, number 24 worldwide. The upcoming match will be the fourth time in two months - and the third week in a row on grass - that the two men will clash.
Arnaud Clement, 145th worldwide, dominated German Benjamin Becker, victor over Nikolay Davydenko in the first round in three sets 7-6, 7-6, 6-3. This will be his first appearance in a Grand Slam since the 2005 US Open. Clement will play Austrian Jürgen Melzer, 72nd in the world, for the first time in his career.
The only Frenchwoman in contention on Thursday lost in the second round in two sets 6-3 6-4 against Israeli Shahar Peer.
Tourists to France discover a hotel in the heart of Provence where they treat you like family
June 24, 2008
One charming hotel in Provence offers more than the perfect location and comfortable rooms - they make you feel at home
Oscar Wilde famously said, “When good Americans die, they go to Paris.” But for many Americans, their heaven would look more like Provence, with its sunshine, fields of lavender, lazy summer days, charming villages and wonderful farm-fresh food. Even with the rising euro, Provence is still a hot destination. Americans and others looking for an exotic yet laid-back vacation are hungry to experience for themselves the beauty, history, culture and relaxation Provence is known for, made even more famous by British author Peter Mayle and his popular book series, beginning with “A Year in Provence,” which topped best-seller lists across the US for months and prompted a surge of tourism. But the charm we Americans seek in Provence can be elusive when one is not moving into an old stone house there, like Peter Mayle, but only going for a week’s vacation. A sterile, cookie-cutter hotel can really ruin the mood.
Luckily, for travellers after a more authentic experience in Provence, there are charming hotels in Provence that offer character to spare. They are often rustic homes or manors converted into comfortable hotels. Many have been fitted out with modern conveniences, including lovely swimming pools, while retaining their Provencal personality. If you’re lucky, you’ll find one where the warm atmosphere doesn’t end with the architecture. Provence is famous for the warmth and hospitality of its people, and some of these hotels have been family-run for decades. The best will make you forget you’re only a tourist and make you feel at home the moment you arrive. Until recently, to find such a charming hotel in the South of France would have been hard for someone without local knowledge or through the recommendation of a friend. But now, some of these charming hotels in Provence, treasures of a simpler time, are finally able to be booked over the Internet, where they await discovery by those of us yearning to soak up the character of Provence as well as the sunshine and local wines.
One especially charming hotel near Nimes is the Hotel l’Enclos des Lauriers Roses. It’s located in a picture-postcard hillside location in Cabrieres, a town of only 1200. This three-star hotel in the Gard region near the famous Pont du Gard stone bridge and its town, has been proudly run by the same family since its inception. While this charming hotel in Provence, built of the famous old golden stones of the region, began as a quaint inn with a couple of rooms to let, the same is not the case today. Over 20 years, the family dealt with the popularity of their establishment –frequented by French, Belgians, Germans and British — by building and expanding, and now Hotel l’Enclos des Lauriers Roses boasts four swimming pools (one for children)surrounded by gardens, 20 comfortable hotel rooms overlooking the pools or gardens as well as a few studios and apartments. But the family was careful not to let the hotel lose any of its character as it grew, and everything has been patiently constructed with taste, authenticity and comfort in mind. The hotel also boasts a fine restaurant where, in addition to a la carte fare, a range of prix fixe menus is offered to suit every taste and budget. Whatever you order, you can enjoy it on a shaded poolside patio that lends a vacation mood by day and a romantic one at night. All this in an atmosphere of friendliness and familiarity that will make you believe your hosts are as happy as you are that you are there. If you can’t relax here, you really don’t know how to relax!
With all this to enjoy “at home”, you might be tempted to linger around the hotel, but the Hotel l’Enclos des Lauriers Roses’ location makes it ideal for exploring the sights of Provence. While in a charming tiny Provencal town, the Hotel l’Enclos des Lauriers Roses is only 15 kms (9.3 miles) from Nîmes, where summer music and art festivals bring the ancient arenas back to life, 30 kms (18.6 miles) from Avignon and 40 kms (25 miles) from the Mediterranean beaches. This charming hotel near the Pont du Gard– another sight well worth a look –is also an easy drive to other Provence favorites like the town of Orange with its old Roman amphitheatre and the picturesque clifftop town of Baux de Provence. But no matter how hard you pound the tourist trail, when you return from your adventures to your charming hotel in Provence, it’s like coming home.
The Hotel l’Enclos des Lauriers Roses, owned and run by the Bargeton family, is centrally located in the Gard region of Provence and has been receiving guests warmly since 1992.
Services
- charming hotel near Nimes
- charming hotel in Provence
- three-star hotel in the Gard
- charming hotel near the Pont du Gard
- charming hotel in the South of France
71 rue du 14 juillet
3010 CABRIERES
Tel : + 33 4 66 75 25 42
Fax : +33 4 66 75 25 21
Web : http://www.hotel-lauriersroses.com/anglais/Accueil_anglais.htm
Contact : reception@hotel-lauriersroses.com
French university raises private funding for the first time
June 21, 2008
France’s University of Auvergne is the first university in France to create a foundation to go after non-government funding.
The University of Auvergne in France unveiled its private foundation today, whose purpose is to raise money for the university from private and corporate sources. French Minister of Education Valérie Pécresse applauded the move and called the Foundation “exemplary.” Among the charter members of the foundation are French tire manufacturer and travel behemoth Michelin and drug company Thea.
The fact that this step is even news in France may seem especially foreign to readers in the US, where universities have received corporate and other private funding for a long time. Previously, state universities in France have been exclusively public. They haven’t been able to receive outside funding from corporations and outside sources. They also had to follow strict government regulations about issues such as tuition hikes because of egalitarian rules that govern French universities. Imposed after the student and worker uprising of 1968, these rules have offered any student in France with a high school diploma a free education, with generous grants for those for whom attending would still be a hardship. There’s also a parallel system of “grandes ecoles” that educates the French elite. With 6 percent of all French college students, the grandes ecoles have difficult entrance exams and charge tuition of up to $6,700 a year, offer small classes and graduate nearly all the country’s business leaders and politicians. They can raise more money from their illustrious French alumni, while the free universities are crumbling from neglect.
Now, as part of President of France Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent reforms, state-run universities have become privatized. This means they will be able to receive donations from outside organizations and can make their own rules about issues such as tuition hikes. Proponents of the system argue this change will make French universities and students more competitive and bring more money into the system. Opponents argue that outside money will taint the quality of education and make education less universally accessible to French students. The new law, which Sarkozy said was aimed at granting more autonomy to French universities, was presented on 24 May 2007 by the minister for research and higher education, Valérie Pécresse was adopted by the French parliament in August 2007. The new French law is set to be implemented in French universities over the next five years. The university of Auverge is the first institution in France to cross the line to receive non-state funding.
Last November, when the EU first urged member states to give universities more autonomy to work with business and Sarkozy’s reforms went public, France’s national student union called for a nationwide movement against the country’s planned university reform, claiming that state disengagement could lead to excessive private sector influence over professorial appointments and what is taught at French universities. French universities will have more autonomy to decide upon their budget and staff (by creating foundations to collect money and devising their own recruitment processes), but for the first time universities are able to open their once-closed administration to external staff, allowing representatives of the business world to take part in university governance in France.
Universities in France are not the only French government institiutions Sarkozy has overhauled since his taking the presidency. In a move that, unlike the university reform, would seem to reduce corporate influence, French state-run TV stations will soon stop running TV commercials.
France soccer dreams dashed in Euro 2008 tournament
June 18, 2008
It’s all over for Les Bleus of France, and if many French have it their way, for coach Raymond Domenech, too.
France entered the Euro 2008 Championship with coach Raymond Domenech predicting his team would beat Germany in the final. Instead, in an embarrassing showing, Les Bleus never even got past the first round. Italy qualified for the Euro 2008 quarterfinals with a 2-0 win over ten-man France, courtesy of an Andrea Pirlo penalty and a deflected Daniele De Rossi free-kick. The loss knocked France out of the tournament. With just one point gained from three games, France finished in the basement of Euro 2008’s so-called Group of Death, a point behind Romania, three behind Italy and eight behind the powerhouse Netherlands team in Zurich.
France needed a win against Italy to stay alive in the knockout round, but in the end, Italy repeated the trouncing of France it meted out in the 2006 World Cup final. While italy played well, luck was certainly not with France in the match, as close calls by referees went against France and then the team lost star player Franck Ribery to an Achilles injury only 10 minutes into the game.
But the lion’s share of blame for the poor showing of Les Bleus in Euro 2008 is being placed by most soccer fans in France and elsewhere squarely on the shoulders of the France team’s coach, Raymond Domenech. Many were outraged at Domenech’s poor squad selection, as the France coach left stars like David Trezeguet, Philippe Mexes, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Mathieu Flamini and Robert Pires, among others, sitting on the bench. Soccer experts even deny him any share of glory for France’s runner-up status in the 2006 World Cup, awarding credit for that to the leadership of players like Lilian Thuram, Patrick Vieira and the legendary Zinedine Zidane, who sat out this year’s Euro championship in international retirement.
The French soccer federation has apparently had enough, and will issue a formal decision on July 3 on whether Domenech will continue with the France team. If fans have it their way, he will be replaced, and Didier Deschamps is already poised to take his place.
Right after France’s loss knocked his team out of the running, Domenech continued to press his luck, proposing to his girlfriend, French TV announcer Estelle Denis. It is still not clear what her answer was.
Finding a hotel in Paris for Paris lovers and control freaks
June 16, 2008
One booking website for hotels in central Paris lets travellers know exactly what they’re getting, exactly where in Paris.
The more you know about Paris, the more you have a clear idea of what kind of hotel in Paris you’d like and where exactly you want to be. A four-star hotel near the Eiffel Tower yet close to a metro? Or a little two-star hotel steps away from Sacre Coeur? Do you need your hotel in Paris to be no more than three minutes’ walk from a railway station? It may be listed as a three-star, but does it include wireless Internet in your room, or only in the lobby? All right, you’ll admit it, you are a bit of a control freak. But why shouldn’t you have exactly the hotel in Paris you want, whether you are visiting on vacation or business?
Unfortunately, many hotel booking web sites are just too general to give such precise detail. They think travellers will have to be satisfied with staying anywhere in Paris, whether it is convenient for what they want to do of not, and that these tourists don’t know Paris well enough to know any better when making a Paris hotel reservation. Every traveller has a story about booking a room listed as being at a hotel in central Paris while the actual location turns out to be somewhere quite out of the way. And while your hotel’s exact location may be vague on these web sites, the rates can be even more so, as many sites do not have complete or up-to-date daily rate information for every hotel in Paris they list. They may also be behind the curve when it comes to current hotel availability in Paris, and with their delayed confirmations it can be days before you discover that your Paris hotel reservation did not go through.
One online booking service for hotels in Paris, however, caters to those who have very definite ideas of where they want their hotel in Paris to be, what amenities it should have and what it should cost, and want a confirmed booking for their Paris hotel reservation right now. The website, called Feel Like Home and run by the Paris-based Atel hotel network, allows travellers seeking a hotel in Paris to search for hotels in central Paris by neighborhood or arrondissement, by proximity to famous monuments or other points of interest, by price and by availability. For example, if you are looking for a hotel near the Eiffel Tower, Feel Like Home gives you a choice of hotels, each with exact distances from the Eiffel Tower and other nearby sites, bus stops (with the specific bus lines listed!), metro stations, public parking…all the things it is really practical to know but no one thinks of until it’s too late. Each listing is full documented with photos and detailed descriptions of the hotel and what it offers, in English, French German and Spanish. What is really different with Feel Like Home is that each hotel listing also gives the exact distance to nearby points of interest, so you know precisely where you are located relative to the places in Paris you want to visit and the neighborhoods you feel most at home in. All the hotels are in central Paris, and run from two to four-star, so there is something for every taste and budget. Another great feature of Feel Like Home is the ability to consult each hotel’s rates in real time, and to make your Paris hotel reservation immediately with a guaranteed confirmation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Feel Like Home has up-to-the-minute information on hotel availability in Paris, so you run less risk of disappointment or wasted time trying to book a sold-out hotel. And even with all this service, the site charges no fees for booking your hotel in Paris.
If you are on your way to Paris and are the type who wants to be in as complete control of your travel plans as possible, you are in luck. When looking for a hotel in central Paris, if you are looking for an exact location, an exact level of accommodation and an exact price, there really is no reason to look elsewhere than Feel Like Home.
Feel Like Home, run by Atel hotels, is an online service for Paris hotel reservations permitting hotel searches by arrondissement, proximity to sights in Paris, availability and price, offering immediate confirmed reservations 24/7.
Services
- Hotels in central Paris
- Search hotel availability in Paris
- Hotels near the Eiffel Tower
- Find a hotel in Paris by exact location or arrondissement
- 24/7 online Paris hotel reservations
10 rue Louis Vicat
75015 Paris
Tel : +33 1 45 31 25 45
Fax : +33 1 45 31 22 21
Web : http://www.feel-like-home.com/gb/
Contact : http://www.feel-like-home.com/gb/contact.htm
The school holidays are coming… trust Logis hotels in France for the perfect family trip
June 10, 2008
Don’t leave your family holiday in France to chance. When you choose a quality Logis Hotel, you’re sure to find the perfect environment designed for the whole family.
Great food, personalized services, all the right equipment on-site and loads of activities, all combined at a truly charming hotel, make a Logis family vacation a guaranteed success with you and your children.
To earn the designation as an official Logis Family hotel, a hotel must attain high marks on a specialized chart of strict criteria, developed by a travel professional who has considered all the special needs of families on vacation.
First of all, the hotel must be of a managable size and a warm and friendly atmosphere. Special attention is given to children in their new enviroment, and many Logis hotels offer a variety of fun indoor activities for kids. These might include a small children’s library, coloring books and crayons or games and TV. Out of doors, some Logis family hotels also offer a fenced playground that meets the highest standards for fun–and for safety.
Rooms in your charming hotel, whether family-size or adjacent with a shared door, are the perfect size for your family, and extra cots or baby-beds are provided free, as are baby changing tables, bottle warmers and other amenities for the littlest members of your family.
Meals at Logis Family hotels have been especially planned with your whole family in mind. Kids have their own child-friendly menu and fun place settings, as well as high chairs and booster seats, and can be served with their parents or on their own. And for the budding gourmets in your family, kid-sized portions and prices let children sample the grown-up flavors of the region just like mom and dad. Of course, adults have all the wonderful gourmet cuisine Logis chefs are famous for, to savor along with good regional wines.
Head off with total confidence: Logis lets your take full advantage of your family vacation, wherever you go.
Explore Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur for example, and enjoy a stay in the heart of this beautiful light-filled country in a charming family hotel from Logis hotels. Stroll through the brightly colored landscapes and let the warm and sunny climate to refresh you and help you make picture-postcard happy memories with your children. The region’s coastline, full of sublime views, make it the ideal setting for excursions and all water sports. The legendary easy pace of life in Provence encourage rest and relaxation, and the area has many natural assets as well. Your charming hotel in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur is the perfect base of operations for fun in the sun with your family.
Lovers of both fine sand beaches and history will find heaven in Languedoc Roussillon. You and your family will love its long expanses of beaches and its cities like Béziers, Nimes, Sètes and Carcassonne, known for their remarkable historical heritage and their dynamic culture. Choose a Logis Family hotel perfect for exploring this region.
Lastly, the small seaside resorts of Pirou, Barneville-Carteret and Granville in Normandy are the destinations of choice for families in search of seaside pleasures and lots of fresh air. Logis hotels has great family hotels in this region as well.
The charming hotels of Logis will guarantee a successful stay to you and your family. Grownups can make the most of their vacation time, with services like on-site babysitting. And in certain Logis de France family hotels, kids are king, with “Les 4 Heures Logis” service: a special, nutritious afternoon snack just for kids; children place their own orders!
Services
- Fishing vacation
- Cycling vacation
- Hiking vacation
- Snowing vacation
- Distinctive vacation
- Wine testing vacation
- Business accommodation
Booking hotline : +33 1 45 84 83 84
Central Reservation : info@logis-de-france.fr
Web : http://www.logis-de-france.fr/uk/
Executive recruitment in France arrives on Second Life, as the virtual world attracts more real businesses
June 10, 2008
Headhunters in France now look for real candidates in the virtual world to solve the needs of HR in France.
Second Life started as 64 acres of virtual real estate in cyberspace. Today, Second Life’s 3D digital world is now the “size” of a small city, where the alter egos of its more than 3 million members, called avatars, interact, socialize at parties, buy and sell virtual goods and run businesses. Members of Second Life, as the name suggests, design a whole parallel universe for themselves where they can have the homes, lifestyles– and especially the careers — that they have always wanted.
But now, the virtual world of Second Life is overlapping and interacting more and more with real life. In France, all of the candidates for President of France had virtual headquarters in Second Life, generating support and some protests for real-world French voters as well as their avatars. Now, the real world of business in France is getting into the act. Companies involved in executive search in France are used to always looking for new places and ways to attract the best candidates. So it’s only natural that GBO, a firm specializing in executive recruiting in France, has just opened up an “office” in Second Life. They’re hoping that candidates looking for employment opportunities in France (the real France, not the virtual one! Confused yet?) as well as those concerned with HR in France and executive search in France will use GBO’s presence on Second Life as yet another way of connecting with GBO. Beyond simple headhunting in France, GBO’s services include executive search in France for iterim employees during a merger or transition, support for buyers of companies in France or for companies opening new offices in France, and just generally helping companies with a French presence manage their HR in France.
But why would a company looking for real flesh-and-blood employees do executive search in France in the virtual world of Second Life? For one thing, having a real business on Second Life means that GBO’s executive recruiters in France can “meet” people when they are having fun and not necessarily looking for work, so they are more relaxed. Second Life is also a place where people design their dream jobs, and what better dream job than to be recruited for an executive position in France? Also, a good deal can be learned about Second Life members’ real skills and interests by looking at their success in the virtual world of Second Life. Businesses in Second Life are big undertakings, exactly mirroring the steps and processes of business in the real world, with manufacturing, distribition, shipping, sales, etc. Being a successful entrepreneur in Second Life might indicate that the candidate could be good at running a company in France. And since Second Life is international, with over 3 million members worldwide and growing, companies like GBO doing executive search in France and companies that manage their HR in France can recruit candidates for executive positions in France from all over the world. And certainly, it doesn’t hurt GBO’s image in France that the executive search firm is current enough with today’s trends to have such a virtual presence.
So if you’re a company looking to recruit executives in France, or are considering working in France, you might just enter the virtual world of Second Life and walk your avatar into their office with your company’s employment roster or your resume. Or, if you prefer doing it the old fashioned way, you could always visit their office in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.
That’s the REAL Paris. In France.
GBO Human Resources35 rue de la Boetie
75008 Paris
Tel : + 33 1 45 63 08 64
Fax : + 33 1 45 63 04 28
Contact : http://www.gbo-humanresources.com/contact.html
Web : http://www.gbo-humanresources.com
Second Life : Visit GBO in Second Life
In France, Americans can escape Paris and travel the wine roads in just one day
June 9, 2008
Private wine tours through Champagne and Burgundy are some of the best Paris day trips on wheels.
For wine buffs and other bon vivant travellers, visiting Paris means drinking lots of Champagne and good Burgundy wine. But for Americans in Paris who want to get closer to the grape than the bottle on their bistro table, but only have a day or so to spare, choices for French wine tours have been somewhat limited. Heading to Burgundy or Champagne to taste the Savigny-les-Beaunes or tour the caves of Reims has usually meant renting a car and finding your way to out-of-the-way vineyards on your own. This can be daunting and time-consuming, when what you really want to be consuming is good wine.
The smartest way for a tourist today to explore France’s wine country is on a private tour. Rather than a large, impersonal bus tour, a private tour of Burgundy or Champagne usually includes just a couple of people up to about 15. Instead of going around in circles looking for a vineyard, guides know exactly where they’re going to make the most of their guests’ travel and wine-tasting time. Speaking both English and French, they smooth the lines of communication almost as well as a good Pommard.
Best of France offers surprisingly complete French wine tours of Burgundy or Champagne as a simple day trip from Paris, a welcome break for travellers from days of making the rounds of sightseeing in the city. With a Best of France wine tour, oenophiles or just amateurs can relax and leave the driving to someone else, as they get premium access to some of the best caves in the Burgundy and Champagne regions. The Champagne wine tours take guests to Moet & Chandon, home of the famous Dom Perignon Champagne, and may also include a tour of the magnificent gothic Cathedral in Reims and a trip to more Champagne cellars, including that of Ruinart, the oldest producer of Champagne. If you’re not already floating away on the bubbles, Best of France can even organize an unforgettable hot-air balloon ride over the Champagne vineyards. One of the advantages of a private Champagne tour like this one is the ability to customize the experience to the individual preference of a small group. The Burgundy wine tour from Best Of France offers a different experience, also only a day trip from Paris. The day is a full one, with an early morning pickup at the guests’ hotel, visits to several wine producers, a chateau or two, a gourmet lunch and a beautiful drive through the vineyards. Guests wishing to visit specific wine producers can be accommodated as well. The English or German-speaking guide is knowledgeable and friendly, the van is air-conditioned, and best of all, you are not driving, so you can imbibe all the Gevrey-Chambertin you like at lunch and during your visits to the wine cellars with reckless impunity. This deluxe Burgundy wine tour experience starts at 795 euros for up to four people.
When you’ve seen Paris’ museums and monuments (also tours offered by Best Of France), why not try a change of pace and devote one day of your vacation to France’s liquid contribution to world culture? A day in the Champagne or Burgundy countryside visiting the birthplace of some of the world’s greatest wines is a welcome respite, and a private tour like one from Best Of France is the best way to experience it, with all of the pleasure and none of the fuss.
Best of France is a company providing cars, vans and knowledgeable guides for private or shared guided tours of Paris and other wonderful places in France.
Services :
- Private wine tours in France
- Tour Champagne
- Explore Paris with your own guide
- Beyond Paris: Tour Versaille
7 passage Foubert
75013 Paris
Tel : +33 1 45 89 51 82
Fax : +33 9 55 79 23 45
Web : http://www.best-of-france.net
Email : info@best-of-france.net
France soccer team arrives in Switzerland ahead of Euro 2008 tournament
June 6, 2008
Soccer training begins for Les Bleus after landing in Geneva, 10 years after 1998 World Cup victory
The French soccer players, affectionately known in France as Les Bleus, arrived in Switzerland Wednesday in preparation for the Euro championship to be hosted by that country and Austria this year. The team touched down under stormy skies which diverted their landing from another airport, as well as clouds of concern over the readiness and health of certain French football players recovering from injuries.
After landing in Geneva under tight security, the French soccer team was transported by bus to their home base for the Euro tournament, the luxurious Hotel Mirador Kempinski, which sits on a hill overlooking the city of Vevey and the picturesque Lake Léman. The hotel was chosen for its isolation as well as for its luxury; it is accessible by only one road and has been closed to other visitors since June 1. Les Bleus attract heavy media attention and passionate fans wherever they go, and the choice of hotel should keep both under control. This was enough excuse for the soccer federation to spend 1 million euros on these accommodations for the French team.
Les Bleus will have their first official training match in Switzerland on Thursday afternoon at the Lussy stadium, which is at Châtel-Saint-Denis, a town neighboring the city of Vevey. The French soccer team’s first match will be in Group C against Romania, in Zurich. But there are fears that France’s soccer players will not all be on the field.
Patrick Vieira’s thigh tear has ruled the midfielder out of the team’s opener against Romania on Tuesday, winger Franck Ribery hurt his ankle in Tuesday’s 1-0 friendly win over Colombia, defender William Gallas says he’s only 70 per cent fit, and fullback Willy Sagnol also appears out of condition.
“The players are not at really at their top level, but there are still a few days left to get there,” striker Thierry Henry said. Coach Domenech has until June 8 to decide whether to drop Vieira, the team captain, from the tournament squad and replace him with Mathieu Flamini, who is a backup. Despite these fitness concerns, Henry remains confident Les Bleus can win the June 7-29 tournament. After the Romania match, France plays Netherlands on June 13 and Italy on June 17.
Sarkozy opens France to Polish workers one year early
June 5, 2008
Visiting Eastern Europe, President of France Nicolas Sarkozy announces lifting restrictions on Polish workers in France beginning July 1
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said that on July 1, 2008 France would open its borders to all workers from eight countries that joined the European Union four years ago. This allows the workers to come to France year earlier than originally agreed. Sarkozy made this announcement when meeting with Lech Kaczynski, in Warsaw.
“All restrictions will be lifted from July 1 this year, in other words one year earlier than planned,” Sarkozy said during a news conference with his Polish counterpart, “I cannot be committed to Europe and not make decisions that are consistent with that political commitment,” he added in comments that were confirmed by his office.
France is behind other countries in Europe in inviting these eastern European workers. Only Britain, Ireland and Sweden opened their borders immediately; France, long known for being protective, has been among the most reluctant. France already hosts a large number of immigrants from former colonies such as Algeria, many of whom are in France illegally and are called “clandestins”. France’s new labor rules will apply to workers from Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. However, France will retain labor restrictions until 2014 on Romania and Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007. Poland is the largest of the new members states with 38 million inhabitants.
Sarkozy’s timing was no accident. The president of France assumes the rotating presidency of the EU on July 1. Sarkozy’s announcement came as France sought to extend an olive branch to countries that could prove to be important allies during the French presidency of the EU. It also came as some French companies complained of labor shortages. Since the eight countries joined the EU France has already twice relaxed border restrictions for eastern European workers for 150 professions suffering labor shortages and accounting for about 40 percent of the labor market. These trial measures quelled fears in France of an influx of cheap labor from eastern Europe. According to government statistics, only 30,000 seasonal workers and 4,850 regular workers came to France from eastern Europe from the beginning of 2005 to the end of 2007. The idea of Polish plumbers invading France, stealing jobs from French workers and bringing down pay has waned, since such fear mongering visions prompted France to reject the EU constitution in 2005.
Spidla of the Czech Republic applauded the French move and urged Germany, Austria, Belgium and Denmark - the only countries that have not yet opened their borders - to follow the example of France before the EU’s final deadline of May 2011. “It bodes well for the French presidency,” said Spidla, showing that Sarkozy’s move is already having the desired effect. In another conciliatory gesture toward Poland, Sarkozy has also said France would use the EU presidency to push for stronger strategic ties with Ukraine, something Poland supports, though he did not mention offering EU membership to the region.
Sarkozy has some big plans for the French EU presidency, which lasts for six months. Among Sarkozy’s pet projects is strengthening Europe’s defense, a plan he hopes to involve eastern European countries in. They have been warming to the idea of participating since Sarkozy said France was ready to rejoin the military command structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Sarkozy’s other main objective is making nuclear energy the cornerstone of Europe’s energy security. Deals for France to buy energy companies in Britain and elsewhere are already afoot. 80 percent of France’s energy is nuclear-based, and Sarkozy hopes to influence the rest of Europe to follow France’s example and produce more of their own nuclear power, freeing them from dependence on resources from the Middle East and other countries.