Hands down, you win! Sunday, May 6, 2007: Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president of France scoring fifty-three percent of the vote in the second-round ballot. Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, presented himself as the "candidate of work," promising to loosen the thirty-five-hour work week by offering tax breaks on overtime and to trim fat from the public service, cut taxes and wage war on unemployment. President Sarkozy proved his genius by his appointments of Madame Fadéla Amara as junior minister of city policy and Madame Ramatoulaye Yade-Zimet (referred to as Rama Yade) to the new post of junior minister for human rights, joining his current minister, Madame Rachida Dati who is of is of North African origin. Madame Amara is the founder of Ni Putes, Ni Soumises ~ “Neither a Whore nor Submissive” ~ an outspoken group fighting to improve the lot of Muslim women and girls in impoverished neighborhoods similar to the one where she grew up with her Algerian immigrant parents. Madame Yade-Zimet, the Senegalese-born French politician had been the national secretary at the Union for a Popular Movement in charge of Francophonie. At thirty, she is the youngest member of the new government. The present diverse cabinet is unprecedented in France, where previous governments had few nonwhites.

A raging controversy among French intellectuals and other critics regarding President Sarkozy's passion for le jogging ('le jogging,' originally known as 'le footing' and now more fashionably as 'le running' as the French have no word for jogging) has erupted across France. The criticisms range from "sweating is crass and un-French" to "is jogging is right-wing?" (Libération, a left-wing newspaper) and "it is a ploy to brainwash his citizens." Philosopher Alain Finkelkraut pleaded with President Sarkozy on the main state television channel France 2 "to abandon his 'undignified' pursuit" Mr. Finkelkraut suggested 'Speedy Sarko' "take up walking like Greek philosopher Socrates, French poet Rimbaud and other great men." Jogging in a N.Y.P.D. tee-shirt certainly does not help his infuriated critics! Although eight million French citizens claim to jog, President Sarkozy has rekindled a French suspicion that the habit is for self-centered individualists such as the Americans who popularized it. Sports sociologist Patrick Mignon noted that "French intellectuals had always held sport in contempt, while totalitarian regimes cultivated physical fitness." Media critic Daniel Schneidermann said "Mr. Sarkozy uses the video images of his jogging as 'a major weapon of media manipulation.'" There is also snickering as to Sarkozy's form. Champion athelete coach Renaud Longué told L'Equipe sports newspapers (one of France's largest selling national newspapers and its only sports daily) that "Mr. Sarkozy bends too far forward, his stride is off, his arms dangle and his feet hit the ground the wrong way." The coach also suggested the President to "check your diet because it seems you are carrying a slight excess of weight." MON DIEU!

In sharp contrast on the other side of the pond, America has Senator and Presidential Hopeful Hillary Clinton, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, and Senator Dianne Feinstein. We certainly cannot omit Charlottesville's self-appointed maven of French culture and "Founding President" of the local Alliance Française from our gallery. Franco-PHONY Madame Andrée King obviously does not involve herself with the graceless, unsophisticated and socially awkward (gauche) habit physical exercise. We doubt Hillary, Nancy and Dianne spend much time on physical activities producing perspiration but believe they take the acceptable leisurely walks of Socrates and Rimbaud. As well, the graceful, sophisticated, socially adept Madame King dines on rich French food at L'Pomme and expensive French wine, working it off several times a week in the boudoir with married men. We are wondering how many barrels of sweat (uh oh, that's crass), pardon us, perspiration exuded from Madame's hot body? SEXE EN SUEUR; AINSI UN-FRENCH!

As a matter of fact we at Charlottesville-Besançon believe CHARLOTTESVILLE and the United States of America are getting the proverbial "short-end of the stick" comparatively to BESANÇON and France. To that point, a bit of humour ~ CHARLOTTESVILLE (large bee hanging on for dear life) getting RAILED by BESANÇON (small bee gripping like a vise from below) in the Garden of Evil ~ O-o-o-la-la . . . OUCH!