The Sarkozy 'reforms' continue apace. Le hyper-président is currently zooming round the country presenting his voeux to various sectors of work and society. Earlier in the week it was education, where reforms have been less than widely welcomed, though protest marches this week by high school students and teachers were somewhat less well attended than those before Christmas. The cold weather gets to us all.
Then it was the health service and more widely denounced reforms. Yesterday it was the world of culture, and the one reform that has received unanimous approval - free entry to museums for all under-25s and teachers. A cultural reform that has been somewhat less applauded has been the banning of advertising on all channels of state owned France Televisions, and the appointment of the head of France Televisions by the president himself. Sarkozy wants a completely publicly funded TV service 'following the BBC model'. Hmm, good idea or not...?
Advertising hasn't been completely banned yet - it's being phased out between now and 2011, but since le 5 janvier, there have been no ads on France 2, France 3, etc between 8pm and 6am. Protesters say the eventual outcome will be a decrease in funding and decline in quality, and with le Président decreeing who the France Televisions boss should be, independence will disappear too. The government counters that the idea is to channel money towards higher quality programming, documentaries and the like. One thing is for sure: privately owned TV channels, in particular TF1, the most widely watched channel in France, have been rubbing their hands in anticipation. France 2 is the second most popular channel: no ads on France 2 equals more advertising revenue for TF1. Sarko-detractors point out that the owner of TF1 is a close chum of Monsieur le Prèsident...
In Lyon, it was the weather causing headlines this morning. Freezing rain in the small hours, falling on frozen ground, caused the entire region to virtually grind to a halt. Road traffic accidents caused 2 deaths & several serious injuries, the three main autoroutes were closed, traffic was snarled up all around the city, lots of people didn't make it into work, and pedestrians were slipping, sliding, falling and breaking limbs all over the place. Apparently. When I went out at about ten-thirty this morning, the pavements in the city centre (perhaps warmed by the rivers) were perfectly negotiable, and the first I knew about it was when the woman on the checkout at the supermarket mentioned the problems she'd had getting there...
