more or less Brexit?

[mint]

I don't apologise for banging on about Brexit!  I am following everything closely because I find it a thoroughly gripping subject........Yes, I even followed hours of parliament debate live yesterday!

If you are not interested, as some on here have indicated, then tough but you don't have to read my posts, do you?

[url]https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/13/government-cannot-trigger-brexit-without-mps-backing-court-told-article-50[/url]

I just wish his name wasn't Pannick[:D]

[woolybanana]

In truth, Nimt, nobody knows what is legal or not as this is an entirely new situation and everyone is feeling their way.

Which is why the government has taken so long to come up with a clear, coherent public strategy as nobody in their right mind anticipated a Brexit vote.

It may be that this particular horse has been taken to the water but cannot be made to drink.

As you say, we shall just have to wait and see.

Meantime, make the Marmite last!

[idun]

When we have caught the ferry we have often seen Marmite containers, and we thought that it was made in Belgium.

Who could have imagined brexit, me, I am not off my rocker, well no more than anyone else on here. I have no idea why anyone would believe that the EU is so 'good', it is a dreadful institution on so many levels and I do believe that some efforts were made to improve it, but the self serving legislators are not interested.

And yes, I expect things to get worse. I think that this family's lives could be made particularly complicated and we could have battles on our hands to get fonctionnaires to understand exactly what they should be doing. But in the grand scheme of things, I know that all will sort itself out eventually and I truly believe it will be for the better and I may even be dead and gone by then. At least in the future, any betisse will be ours and not from Brussels or Strasbourg and that means a lot to me.

Please stop inferring that anyone who is anti EU is racist. I really do not know what that means anyway, and something I never ever considered when making my decision in voting. If there is a word for being a bureaucratphobe, then that is me.

[NormanH]

I would prefer to see more posts about French politics, as that is even more likely to impact on those of us who live here, but I see no reason for anyone to think there should be fewer posts on any topic.

As you say no-one has to read them.

There used to be very frequent postings about stray dogs.

That is not something that I have anything to contribute to, so I just let them pass.

[mint]

[quote user="idun"]

Please stop inferring that anyone who is anti EU is racist. I really do not know what that means anyway, and something I never ever considered when making my decision in voting. If there is a word for being a bureaucratphobe, then that is me.

[/quote]

Id, I certainly have never inferred or indeed concluded that anyone who is anti EU is a racist.  AND, I am not sure that I have seen such inferrence on here, the Forum.

I do agree with you that there is a strong feeling generally that "Europe" is run by bureaucrats who make things difficult and unnecessarily complicated for the general public.

I do get that the very word EU arouses strong feelings for those that are for or against.  As is the case for all sorts of concepts, the facts are almost irrelevant; emotions take over.  Note I don't say that "emotions", gut feelings, whatever you like to call them are bad.  Au contraire, they are perfectly legitimate and could enable survival.

Norman, it's not that I am uninterested in the French political scene.  In fact, it was only Monday night when I talked to my neighbour about next year's election.  I have only met perhaps one French person who likes to talk politics.  I even get the feeling that many of the people I walk with are avoiding talking to me because of my regrettable propensity to ask political questions!

[NormanH]

Not in our local café..[:)]

Don't forget the programme I have mentioned before.

It is on France 5 each day at 5.45.p.m, but can be watched at any time on the French equivalent of iPlayer (pluzz) C'est dans l'air

here is a recent one:

http://pluzz.francetv.fr/videos/c_dans_lair_,146949427.html

[Patf]

Mint - have you watched the Debate on France 24 at 7.30 pm?

There's always an interesting discussion on there. I don't know how balanced or biased it is, but it's worth watching. They often discuss the EU and have French topics mainly.

[mint]

Perhaps us politico junkies should start a thread just for us?

My father liked to give his political opinion to all and sundry, particularly to any audience he could manage to get together.

OH's father was an activist of some standing.

I guess, as the current expression goes, it's in our DNA.

Brexit is top of the agenda for us living in France.  Our very continued existence here could be in the balance. 

It's not something you could ignore............

[NormanH]

Actually what worries me more than the personal implications for me of Brexit is the wave of far-right sentiment that has been sweeping across Europe.

UKIP is known to Brits here, but many may not be aware of the quasi-certainty that Marine LePen will be one of the last two in next spring's Presidential elections.

I have previously posted her 'manisfesto' but to get a flavour of the supporters of her party you only have to look at Tuesday's controversy in Béziers, where the Maire has posted this all over the town.

[URL=http://s253.photobucket.com/user/bfb_album/media/14706810_908075189298163_5209104086787167038_o_zpspc8z3k7p.jpg.html][IMG]http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh80/bfb_album/14706810_908075189298163_5209104086787167038_o_zpspc8z3k7p.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Two replies are here

https://www.clionautes.org/spip.php?page=article&id_article=3751

and here 

[URL=http://s253.photobucket.com/user/bfb_album/media/14604858_1460326733984290_3070391100074683464_n_zpsxzqgcpmy.jpg.html][IMG]http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh80/bfb_album/14604858_1460326733984290_3070391100074683464_n_zpsxzqgcpmy.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I now see that the story has broken in the Independent

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/anti-migrant-poster-they-are-coming-beziers-refugees-robert-menard-french-town-calais-a7358186.html

I went to have a blood test opposite that very poster yesterday and am pleased to report it had already been smashed!

[Chancer]

To answer the question asked in the thread title.

 

Less for me please!

 

I found the initial outpourings amusing while people were in shock but now want to fast forward a few years till its all in the past, que sera, sera!

[lindal1000]

It's your choice to ignore it..no one forces you to..

But in relation to Norman's point, bad things happen when good men stay silent. More for me please.

[Chancer]

I have that printed on a protest T shirt!

Il suffit que les gens de bien ne fasse rien pour que le mal triomphe.

[alittlebitfrench]

Will that replace your 'I ran the world T-shirt'. LOL

[Chancer]

Ran as in gérer or courir? 

 

You must be very lonely for playmates if you are trying to get a rise out of me.

 

The fish dont often bite on this forum ALBF.

[mint]

Norman, the mayor of Béziers has made it into the media, even British newspapers and tv, so I think he is now more or less ignored other than by the organisations named in your articles.  For all I know he's not just against migrants and refugees, he seems to like making life difficult for the homeless too.  Didn't he have cages put up around public benches so that down-an-outs couldn't sleep on them?[:'(]

I've also heard that "hate and racially-motivated" crimes have gone up by 41% in the UK.  Now I don't know how these stats are collected.  Who decides what type of crimes these are, using what criteria and are there prosecutions and, if so, how many are successful?

Don't know if these are just "raw" data but even so, nobody can deny that there seems to have been some sort of seismic shift as to what kind of public discourse is allowable or desirable.

Other related news show Boris Johnson, stretching the truth at a commons select committee, boasting that he could get an even better deal after Brexit than what we have currently.  I only saw a clip so haven't heard him actually say that he "could have his cake and eat it"!

Of course, diplomacy and finesse with even the tiniest nod of acknowledgement to the sensibilities of others are not qualities you'd expect to find in the character of BJ.

So, it was not surprising that these statements of Johnson have provoked a counter-attack by Tusk that it is now going to be a "hard Brexit or no Brexit".  He further went on to say go and buy a cake and eat it and see if there is any cake left afterwards.

To think that this important debate has now sunk to these ridiculous remarks .............Where are the diplomats and negotiators when you need them?

[Patf]

deleted by me.

PF