Monday, May 07, 2012

It’s been fun watching the RW blogs’ reaction to the election of the *ZOMG!!!! SOCIALIST!!!!* François Hollande to the French presidency—and in particular the startling revelation that President Obama has reached out in cordial terms and invited President Hollande—did I mention he’s a SOCIALIST!!!!?—to the White House for a bilateral meeting later in the month.

I’m glad to see the back of Sarkozy. It’s not politics, it’s personal. I nearly got arrested in 2007 because of him. Ms. YAFB and I were on holiday in southwest France during the election that saw him take power. This had a couple of drawbacks, as we discovered that the French take their politics seriously, and on the final election weekend, pretty much every shop in the local towns was closed for the duration. Visiting Pau to stock up with some provisions, we made the best of it by going our own ways to explore the old town, planning to meet up in one of the few open cafes later on.

Mooching around the near-deserted streets, I noticed this closed campaign headquarters for the Royal campaign, the sense of desolation of the morning after an unsuccessful bid heightened by the fact that some thoughtful soul had flung a sizeable rock through the window.

I was quite taken with the poster in the background inside, reading “Stop Violence” (which, as any phrasebook will tell you, translates into English as “Stop Violence”), juxtaposed with the smashed glass, so after reaching the endstops of what seemed worth exploring on the streets, on my way back I stopped to take a few photos. I’d have framed the shot a bit better, but I was just positioning myself to find an angle from which the jagged edges of the pane would show up in the sunlight when a woman clutching a phone to her ear darted out of the door and lunged towards me.

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Posted by YAFB on 05/07/12 at 09:42 AM
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