"The real occupation of universities is by the political class, in defiance of autonomy and scientific freedom [..] There's a political harnessing and a disconnection from the facts."
#GazaProtests: The 60 days a Paris university was at the heart of the national political debate
"‘We fight on’: fears for France’s Sunday paper over editor with far-right ties - Bitter strike at Journal du Dimanche ends with staff exodus – and arrival of Geoffroy Lejeune, a supporter of leading xenophobe Eric Zemmour"
"More than half the journalists at France’s only standalone Sunday newspaper have resigned after failing to prevent the arrival of an editor with far-right ties in a bitter dispute that has fanned fears of a further US-style polarisation of the country’s media.
...
"In particular the company refused to contemplate committing not to publish “racist, sexist and homophobic statements and, more generally, any discriminatory or hateful content”, a guarantee the association had demanded given Lejeune’s past record."
“We didn’t win,” said Antoine Malo, a roving foreign correspondent at the Journal du Dimanche (JDD) and member of its editorial association. “We didn’t stop him, and now there’s a mass exodus. But the bigger fight will go on – from outside.”
The mainstream paper’s 100-odd journalists ended a 40-day strike – the longest media strike in France since the 1970s – on Tuesday after Geoffroy Lejeune, previously editor of the far-right weekly Valeurs Actuelles, took up his post as editor-in-chief.
The 34-year-old is a leading supporter of the xenophobic polemicist Eric Zemmour, who ran for the French presidency in 2022, promotes the racist “great replacement” theory, and has been investigated 16 times – and convicted on three occasions – for hate speech."
Although I've lived in the USA for many years, I'm a Brit who doesn't want to take US citizenship. I liked living in France but have to stay in America. I miss the NHS!
Soft left politics, still enraged about Brexit, worried that Starmer is being overcautious.
Books I've enjoyed recently:
Junichiro Tanizaki "The Makioka Sisters"
David Andress "The Terror"
Raymond Chandler "The Big Sleep"
Atheist with an interest in religion.
I drink huge quantities of builder's tea, but treat myself to Darjeeling from time to time.
I also enjoy Campari, IPAs, and White Horse whisky.
Favourite food: quiche lorraine, Central Texas barbecue, smoked salmon. I miss roast lamb, Aero, and Bovril on toast.