Quo Vadis, France?

The battle for the future is being fought in the minds of the Western public. It's in those dark and frightening spaces that we will find the answer to the question of the survival of Western Modernity, if it survives, if it survives as something we can recognize. The battle for the survival of the West might already be lost, and we might face the blood-dimmed tide already. Europeans seem to have given up the will to live as free and independent people in favor of sliding into decay and death at the hands of knife-wielding Muslim fanatics bent on world domination and the return to primitivism as World Spirit. Here we look for signs ot the future, signposts along the roadside, as it were, that show us the direction of the West. Below we have two pieces on France, recently visited by Islamic havoc, and we see the mind of the French at work, sort of, if one can call it thought at all.
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(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in France express satisfaction with the way Nicolas Sarkozy faced the recent episodes of civil unrest, according to a poll by CSA released by Profession Politique. 48 per cent of respondents believe the interior minister was as tough as required in dealing with the situation.

Conversely, 23 per cent of respondents believe Sarkozy was too tough, while 25 per cent expected him to be tougher.

On Oct. 27, riots broke out in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois after the death of two teenagers who allegedly were being pursued by police officers. On Nov. 17, French authorities declared a "return to normalcy" in the whole country. Over 20 nights of violence—which spread to 19 French provinces—at least 8,973 vehicles were torched, 2,888 people were arrested, 126 police officers were injured, and one person died.

In the first days of rioting, Sarkozy referred to the alleged troublemakers as "scum." On Nov. 8, French president Jacques Chirac authorized a state of emergency. Sarkozy declared, "For a period of 12 days, searches will be possible every time we suspect possession of weapons (in order to) systematically apprehend troublemakers and systematically prevent a spread of violence."

In mid-November, Sarkozy openly advocated for the deportation of foreigners who were involved in the violence—even if they are in France legally—declaring, "The Migration Act allows expulsion. I am the interior minister and I implement the rules."

[....]

Polling Data

How would you define the attitude of Nicolas Sarkozy in dealing with the problems in the suburbs?

He was as tough as required	48%
He was too tough	23%
He was not as tough as he should have been	25%
No reply	4%

Source: CSA / Profession Politique
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 957 French adults, conducted on Nov.16, 2005. No margin of error was provided.
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Chirac's influence sinks to new low
By Henry Samuel in Paris
(Filed: 28/11/2005)

Jacques Chirac's presidency hit a new low yesterday when a poll revealed that most voters think he now has little or no influence over events at home or abroad.

Of those polled, 72 per cent regarded the influence of their president - who turns 73 tomorrow - over what happens in France as "weak".

	Jacques Chirac: perceived as a lame duck

Two thirds said his clout on the world stage was feeble, while only 36 per cent thought he held any significant sway over European politics.

[....]

The poll, conducted for Le Parisien newspaper by the CSA institute, was all the more humiliating in that the opinion of supporters of Mr Chirac's conservative ruling UMP party was scarcely more favourable than those of voters on the Left. Only 43 per cent of UMP voters thought he still had a leading role to play in France.

With presidential elections not due until 2007, the poll raises serious questions about Mr Chirac's perceived lame-duck status and his ability to maintain his authority.

[....]

Mr Chirac's 10th year in power has been a bad one. He has a notched up an unenviable string of defeats - not least over the referendum on the European constitution.

The poll is also an indictment of his handling of the wave of rioting in the poor suburbs this autumn.

[....]

The pair appear to have gained political credit from the riots - Mr Sarkozy for his tough stance, and Mr de Villepin for his statesmanship.

[T]he fact that he took three weeks to solemnly address the French [after the rioting began] was manifestly a mistake," said Mr Cayrol.

[....]

Some analysts say his absence from the political stage has been carefully orchestrated to allow his protégé, Mr de Villepin, to appear as the nation's de facto leader, and a credible presidential alternative to his rival, Mr Sarkozy, who leads the UMP.

[....]

The prevailing view is that the president will stop at nothing to block Mr Sarkozy's rise to power - even if it means backing a socialist candidate.

[....]
Chirac's influence sinks to new low
Telegraph.co.uk
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The French can vote for anyone they like, and not too many people would care, as a rule, even the French. But there is a concern when we read that the miserable Chirac will stop at nothing to block Sarkozy's rise to power. We read above that Chirac is unloved by the French, that he's a lame-duck leader, and that he's on his way out anyway. Why does he think he has the power to stop Sarkozy? Who cares what Chirac's opinions are these days? Muslims do. Obviously Chirac has nothing but contempt for the French people, even those who voted for him, for his own party members. He'll sell out his own for his vanity. What more might he do in the time remaining to him as leader of France? What more might he do to secure his place in the world of Islam? What might that slimey little bastard do to the French people in favour of Islam?

Above, according to one poll, about 73 percent of the French people are roughly in favour of Sarkozy's appraoch to law and order in France regarding the recent Muslim rioting. Chirac seems happy enough to sabatoge Sarkozy. Will Chirac dismiss the opinions of 73 percent of the French people? Ten percent are Muslim. At what point does Chirac slide across the pit from being a scum-bag to being a dictator and a traitor?

If the mind of the French public is a dark and empty space of moods and anti-Anglo hysteria, and if Chirac sells them out to the Muslim world from spite and vanity, what's left for us in the West? Might we, in a fit of outrage, find ourselves in a state of genuine hostility toward the French? And might the French, in a state of rage at the betrayal of their own nation not find themselves divided between fascsims? If Islamic fascism prevails in France thanks to Chirac's dirty dealings, and if the French Right goes to extremes against both Islam and America, then what do we do?The survival of the West isn't just a French matter. If France goes Islamic, thanks to Chirac, we are in serious trouble.