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Sole, Robert
5 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Recipe for a happy divorce
In the large cities of Europe one in every two marriages ends in divorce. The daily Le Monde reviews business models meant to facilitate separation and divorce: "Business is always well ahead of the law with its clever innovations, as amply demonstrated by two interesting initiatives. You want to divorce your spouse but daren't tell them to their face? Bernd Dressler, head of Berlin's 'trennungsagentur' will do it for you, offering several formulas. A simple telephone message ('I'm sorry to inform you ...') costs 29.95 euros, while a written break up will cost you an additional ten euros. In the UK, Debenhams department store now has divorce lists. Friends and relatives can choose the present they will offer one or the other of the separated partners. There you can get everything but another kindred spirit as a replacement, but that too will no doubt come with time."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Europe
Robert Solé on France's sleeping record
French satirical journalist Robert Solé writes in Le Monde his own explanations for why the French hold the record for sleeping and eating: "France eats and sleeps, we learn from a study by the OECD. Of all the rich countries France spends the most time at the table and in bed. At the table, fine, that's only normal (130 minutes a day). ... And it's only understandable that the poor Brits (80 minutes) make short work of their boiled meat. But why do the French also hold the record for the most time in bed? Even the Spaniards, famous for their siestas, don't match our daily eight hours and 50 minutes. Three hypotheses: 1. The home of human rights is sleeping the sleep of the just. It plugs its ears and puts its faith in the government. 2. Sleeping is not everything you do between the sheets. France is having a good time... Or it's worried and sleeps with one eye open like a gendarme. 3. France is out cold from sleeping pills and antidepressants which give it a second record - this time one that can be measured."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Weltanschauung, » France
Too many days of remembrance
In France November 11 is a public holiday commemorating the armistice that ended World War I. Le Monde newspaper writes that it's possible for a country to have too many days of remembrance: "Within the space of half a century the number of days of remembrance in France has doubled. A committee led by the historian André Kaspi has warned about this 'remembrance inflation' and proposed retaining only three national days of remembrance: November 11 (anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I), May 8 (victory against the Nazis) and 14 July (French Revolution). This provoked an immediate storm of protest. On the contrary, new remembrance days should be introduced to take account of recent developments in French society. That's right. Then we would have a really impressive number of public holidays. ... But how can we squeeze in all these dates? 365 day will hardly suffice."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Cultural Policy, » History, » France
The French touch
The newspaper Le Monde publishes an ironic piece on the Scots' love of the French language: "They love the French accent. This is clearly observable at a train station in Edinburgh, where a certain Vincent Houplain announces train arrivals and departures. The female travellers are crazy about him. ... It seems nothing is as sexy as this trace of a French accent, which they find exceedingly romantic. ... If the Scots want, we can offer them something even better: announcements in Corsican, Breton, Alsatian, Basque, Catalan and Occitan. Neither the Académie Francaise nor the Senate would have anything against exporting these regional languages."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » France, » United Kingdom
An army with a human face
In view of the planned reform of the French military, the daily Le Monde calls for an army with a human face: "The French army is in for a diet. ... and our defence profile will change. The weight loss is to be achieved by downsizing the staff. ... To put it bluntly, military doctrine will no longer be limited to the four traditional pillars of prevention, deterrence, protection and intervention. The military has been assigned a fifth function: knowledge and anticipation. Intelligence, in other words, not to say espionnage. ... All the armies of the world, starting with the American troops in Iraq and the Russian troops in Chechnya, have been assigned these five missions. But one forgets to give them a sixth: repairing damages and comforting crying children."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » France
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