Distressing developments in France:
Besides, if a punch of two-bit punks are stupid enough to film their assaults on innocent people, it would make the most sense to get a copy of the assault and use it to put the perpetrators behind bars. But that would require actually going after the perpetrators.
Granted, Sarkozy has shown more willingness to do than pretty much anyone else in the French government, but it looks to me more like he is using is tough-on-crime reputation to push through a law that, should he become president, lays the groundwork for undermining any press that portrays him negatively. I can understand why he would want to do so, especially since he will probably have to take some pretty harsh measures to restore order to the Muslim ghettos of France, where the rule of law has all but collapsed. Still, this law, should it go into effect, would be another milestone on the road to authoritarianism in France.
Oh well. France has had five different constitutions since 1789. That means, assuming republican government for that entire period (to make the math easier), the average French constitution has lasted for 43.6 years. The Fifth Republic has been around since the end of World War II, meaning that it has lasted over fifty years. In other words, it's run almost ten years longer than the average French constitution. If you factor in the Napoleonic era, the time when France was controlled by the Nazis, etc., the Fifth Republic's performance looks that much better (if someone better versed in French history than I could give me better numbers, I'd appreciate it).
Hat tip: Drudge
The French Constitutional Council has approved a law that criminalizesA cynic (and I would place myself in this camp) would say that the French government recognizes that there is a problem with violence in France, particularly in the Muslim ghettos, and that they are incapable of dealing with it. Therefore, it has decided that only professional journalists can film/show acts of violence. Of course, the government ultimately gets to decide who is a "professional" journalist and who isn't, and if a heretofore "professional" journalist films/broadcasts an act of violence of which the government disapproves, what's to stop the government from no longer recognizing the offending journalist as a professional? This is a power-grab, plain and simple, even if it is being proposed by the man I would like to see become France's next president, Nicolas Sarkozy.
the filming or broadcasting of acts of violence by people other than
professional journalists.
Besides, if a punch of two-bit punks are stupid enough to film their assaults on innocent people, it would make the most sense to get a copy of the assault and use it to put the perpetrators behind bars. But that would require actually going after the perpetrators.
Granted, Sarkozy has shown more willingness to do than pretty much anyone else in the French government, but it looks to me more like he is using is tough-on-crime reputation to push through a law that, should he become president, lays the groundwork for undermining any press that portrays him negatively. I can understand why he would want to do so, especially since he will probably have to take some pretty harsh measures to restore order to the Muslim ghettos of France, where the rule of law has all but collapsed. Still, this law, should it go into effect, would be another milestone on the road to authoritarianism in France.
Oh well. France has had five different constitutions since 1789. That means, assuming republican government for that entire period (to make the math easier), the average French constitution has lasted for 43.6 years. The Fifth Republic has been around since the end of World War II, meaning that it has lasted over fifty years. In other words, it's run almost ten years longer than the average French constitution. If you factor in the Napoleonic era, the time when France was controlled by the Nazis, etc., the Fifth Republic's performance looks that much better (if someone better versed in French history than I could give me better numbers, I'd appreciate it).
Hat tip: Drudge
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