Politics Lost in Translation

France has a new socialist president! Said that way, even granola-eating Brooklyn is getting uneasy and is wondering if the French riviera is still a smart vacation destination.

Meanwhile in France, confusion persists regarding why “libéral” Obama would support “liberal” policies like gay rights or women’s rights (click on the link if you are still perplexed).

Clearly, decades of isolationism and confusing political vocabulary haven’t help the frogs and burger-eaters to understand each other.  Visits by French political officials don’t help either. There was the high-profile DSK disaster that we all know about but also, more benign, visits that went under the radar—for example, the recent visit of a French minister to NYC included very little face time with actual Americans and lots of time in French Cobble Hill (including a visit to your favorite Francophone bookstore).

However, a group of courageous journalists have taken upon themselves to educate their readers on what American and French politics are really about.

The genesis of this movement coincided with, and perhaps even derived from, the emergence of Obama, who frankly was more exciting than George W. Bush. And, if you really want to know, no, we didn’t really appreciate the never-ending French bashing. Thank you very much! The movement also owes its origins, in part, to Sarkozy who was also electrifying—but for different reasons.

The three main French newspapers all have blogs that chronicle American politics from the inside: Obamazoom is hosted by the right-wing French newspaper Le Figaro, Great America is written by the left-wing Liberation, and The Big Picture is  the center-left Le Monde’s take on the subject.

Other interesting political blogs include I love Politics, which analyzes the videos created by or about the American candidates, and Le blog de Fabienne Sintes, which is associated with French public radio and is a bit more reflective and analytical.

These French blogs joyfully scrutinize the American presidential campaigns, report the latest gossips and poke fun at Romney’s videotaped blunders. The tone is witty yet serious and offers an interesting view on events or cultural facts that need a French translation.

Such breadth of coverage does not seem matched by American interest in French politics. However, one American writer, Arthur Goldhammer, is trying to fill this gap with his blog (descriptively) called French Politics. His posts are thoughtful and informed. However, if you are not familiar with the names of French politicians, you might want to take a make-up class at Wikipedia!

Suggested reading: La preference nationale by Fatou Diome and the world best-seller Indignez-vous by Stephane Hessel.

Suggested movies: The conquest, The minister, and Pater.