Highly amusing incident in l'Assemblée Nationale yesterday, where opposition deputés ambushed the government to defeat a law which would have criminalised illicit downloading. The parliament chamber was virtually empty during the debate on the law (an indication of a certain lack of enthusiasm for the law amongst the government's own rank and file), but the UMP majority saw that they outnumbered the opposition by two to one, so called for the vote. Whereupon, a dozen or so opposition MPs, who had been lurking outside, suddenly rushed into the chamber, giving them a 21-15 majority. The law was duly rejected. This morning the opposition are gloating over inflicting a bloody nose on the government, Sarkozy has denounced the 'derisory manoeuvre', and internet users throughout France are rejoicing. The glee will be short-lived, as the unpopular law has already been put on the parliamentary agenda for later in the year.
Today sees the appearance of the 20000th edition of L'Equipe, the venerable French sports newspaper. Founded in 1946, the paper remains among the most widely read daily papers in France, and maintains a consistently high quality of sports journalism that the media in the UK could learn from. Pity its like has never been established across La Manche...
