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Nobody Will Speak ''FROGGY''
Campaign launched for French as 'legal language of Europe'
French legal and language experts on Tuesday (12 October) launched a campaign to establish the French language as ''the legal language of Europe'', according to Le Figaro.
A manifesto to this effect will be sent to the European Council and has been written by Maurice Druon, from the Academie francaise, Jean-Francois Burgelin, the procurer-general of the Supreme Court and the President of the bar, Jean-Marie Burguburu.
But the linguists and lawyers have also recruited other non-French personalities to their cause, including a former Italian Foreign Minister and the Romanian Prime Minister.
Their aim is to arrest the decline in use of French in the European institutions.
According to a report drawn up last year by a French MP, the use of French has been steadily declining since 1995.
In 1986, well over half of EU documents (58 percent) were initially drafted in French. By 1997, this figure had declined to 40 percent and is now 30 percent.
The French foreign ministry has declared that ''the defence of French in Brussels calls upon all our energy''.
By It Is Becoming A Dead Language
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French get a rude French awakeni
French get a rude French awakening
The French are arrogant, rude and surly to foreign visitors, said a leading French politician behind a scathing report on how the Gallic welcome leaves much to be desired.
''Our bad image in this area, the arrogance we are accused of, our refusal to speak foreign languages, the sense we give that it's a great honor to visit us are among the ugly facts of which we should not be proud,'' reads the first paragraph of Mr. Plasait's report, which was commissioned by the government.
France is still the world's No. 1 tourist destination in terms of numbers. But the report concludes that this is meaningless because a considerable proportion are just passing through on their way somewhere else.
''To claim we are the 'number-one tourist destination in the world' doesn't count for anything,'' says the report. ''Among the 75 million visitors counted in 2003 were those who were only crossing the country, once on their way to Spain or Italy and a second time to return home.''
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The French government particularly was alarmed by the 21 percent, or $6 billion, drop in spending by visitors from the United States.
By What Have They To Be Arrogant,
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More Data
Pennsylvania ?— a near-must win for the Democrats ?— is a dead heat, new polls released yesterday show. Bush, is maintaining a nationwide edge of 48 percent to 45 percent,
Bush also bests Kerry in national daily tracking poll 50 to 46 percent.
Huge double-digit margins in two categories ?— ''strong leader'' and ''takes clear stands'' ?— fuel Bush's advantage over Kerry
Bush's leads in both the race is a statistical dead heat.
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In Wisconsin Bush leads 49 to 44,
Meanwhile, the number of swing states up for grabs 10, a study of presidential advertising has found.
Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin round out the top 10 states in terms of targeted advertising from the candidates.
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oonbat clans
November 2 when I see an observer from Tajikistan trying to make sure I?’m following the rules.
But the moonbat clans are not happy about Annan?’s decision. Not happy at all.
Seven American activist groups asked the United Nations on Monday to provide international observers for next month?’s presidential election.
A petition delivered to the U.N. Economic and Social Council said that only the U.N. can ?“give us recourse to international bodies beyond those within our own national and state governments?” in case of a repeat of the problems seen in the 2000 election, which President Bush won after a protracted ballot fight in Florida.
Grace Ross of the Economic Human Rights Project, based in Somerville, Mass., said the non-governmental groups decided to seek action from the Economic and Social Council, known as ECOSOC, after U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan turned down a request for international observers from 13 members of Congress, led by Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Tex. Annan said the U.N. needed an invitation from the U.S. government, not Congress.
Ross claimed that while governments need to go through the U.N. General Assembly, non-governmental organizations could request observers through ECOSOC. If its 54 elected member nations approve, the ECOSOC president could then ask Annan to send observers, she said. The United States would have to grant permission to any observers that the ECOSOC wanted to send. ...
But the seven groups say it?’s not clear that the European observers will have the force of international law behind them since they are invited guests.
Other organizations signing the petition include the Women?’s International League for Peace and Freedom, based in Philadelphia; the National Welfare Rights Union and the Michigan Welfare Rights Union, based in Detroit; the Independent Progressive Politics Network, headquartered in Bloomfield, N.J.; Seacoast Peace Response, based in Portsmouth, N.H.; and the North Shore Massachusetts chapter of the Alliance for Democracy.
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