Economist.com Cities Guide: Paris Briefing - July 2005

News this month

A talent for headlines

Nicolas Sarkozy, head of the ruling UMP party, has become even more prominent after France's no vote on the European Union constitution. Not only is he the Interior Minister, but also a government reshuffle put him in the number-two spot. “Sarko” is clearly relishing the moment. First he railed against EU enlargement. Then he intervened in the election of the French Council for the Muslim Religion, to head off a split in France's most powerful Islamic body. He also weighed in on a matter of the courts, saying that a judge should “pay for his mistake” for releasing a known killer who is now suspected of murder.

All this populist rhetoric prompted President Jacques Chirac—Sarko's boss, nominally—to call for reforms that make it harder to release serial killers, while carefully reaffirming the independence of the judiciary. Mr Sarkozy would not be humbled: “I wanted it to act, the government decided to act.” Still, many believe that he will hew closer to the centre as the 2007 presidential election approaches.

Rough welcome

Dominique de Villepin, a former Foreign and Interior Minister, made famous by his fiery speech at the UN against the Iraq war, is now prime minister. Almost immediately after assuming office, he began working to restore jobs and confidence. He decried unemployment as “the true French disease”, and promised results within 100 days, in keeping with his hero, Napoleon. His efforts to push through labour reforms kept him so busy that he even missed seeing his father, Xavier, a former senator, get the Légion d'Honneur.

But his real bugbear is Nicolas Sarkozy. A cartoon accompanying a full-page editorial in Le Monde depicted the pair shaking hands—with guns at the ready behind their backs. They need each other, but only until January 2007, when the ruling party picks its presidential candidate. They crossed paths recently when Mr de Villepin’s plan to consult opposition parties about a response to the EU referendum ended with the Socialists refusing to attend. They were angry at Mr Sarkozy’s conservative rhetoric, and at the invitation extended to the far-right National Front (FN). The FN, meanwhile, were pleased to be invited back to Matignon—their last visit was in 1993.

Waiting breathlessly

The Brits think it is between Paris and London. The Spanish think it is between Paris and Madrid. Regardless, Paris seems to be a favourite. The host city of the 2012 Olympic Games will be announced in Singapore on July 6th. President Jacques Chirac will be there to support Paris's bid in front of the 115-member panel of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Paris campaign slogan—“L'amour des jeux” (Love of the Games)—capitalises on the city's reputation for romance. It has a nice ring to it, particularly when compared with London's rather plain “Back the Bid”.

An IOC report in the run-up to the vote gave Paris top ratings. It emerged as the only city without areas of weakness. If Paris does win, celebrations will kick off with bursts of confetti from two fountains in front of the Hôtel de Ville. If the bid is defeated, the “Paris 2012” signs plastered all over the capital will still be swiftly changed to read: “Merci!” In the run-up to the announcement, the Paris bid did lose some of its lustre, owing to the resignation of Guy Drut, France's former Sport Minister, because of involvement in a corruption case.

Some like it hot

The world’s first nuclear fusion site has been awarded to France. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) will be based in Cadarache in southern France, 60 kilometres inland from Marseille. President Chirac said it was “a big success for France” and went to the site to make his celebratory “cocorico” (cock-a-doodle-do). France won the bid after it agreed that a large portion of the project's research would be done in Japan, which had also been vying for the project.

Some Greens groaned: Dominique Voynet, a former Environment Minister, said ITER was “costly, dangerous, and anti-ecological”. But supporters say a successful ITER will produce far less nuclear waste than existing fission reactors, and its fuel can be derived from water. Costing around €10 billion ($12 billion, to be split among several nations), ITER should come into operation in 2015. If it succeeds, it will generate temperatures above 100mºC—several times hotter than the sun's centre. The announcement came as the EU approved the development of the Galileo satellite navigation system, to rival the America's Global Positioning System—good news for leading French technology firms like EADS, Thales and Alcatel.

The heat is on

June's heat wave has many fearing a repeat of August 2003, when torrid weather killed 14,802 house-bound elderly people without suitable air conditioning. “Heat wave: the first deaths”, bellowed a June 28th headline in Le Parisien, the city paper. There is now an emergency number to call at the Health and Solidarity Ministry; many seem to be worried that the heat has come early this year.

Legislation introduced in September 2004 obliges town halls to create lists of elderly people liable to risk from heat waves (in August 2003, 55% of those who died were living alone). Certain elderly residents will get regular phone calls to ensure they are okay. Xavier Bertrand, the Health Minister, says retirement homes are encouraged to take on extra help, with new subsidies for hiring people.

Catch if you can

July 2005

Poussin, Watteau, Chardin, David: French Painting in German Collections, 17th and 18th Centuries

Until July 31st 2005

The 180 paintings that make up this show have been gathered from 30 German museums by Pierre Rosenberg, former director of the Louvre. After 20 years of consideration, it took him three years to organise. There are a number of extraordinary works here, such as “Girl With Her Puppy”, a rather startling painting by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, in which the subject plays with a dog on her bed. There is something awkwardly intimate about the girl's position, carelessly on her back, with her bare legs raised. Other French masters on display here include Boucher, Greuze, Largilliere, Valentin.

Alas, the exhibit has a downside: few seats, low lighting and hard-to-read caption. Perhaps these quirks will be resolved when the exhibition travels to Munich's Haus der Kunst, from October 5th to January 8th.

Grand Palais National Gallery, Square Jean Perrin entrance, 3 avenue du Général-Eisenhower, 8th arrondissement. Tel: + 33 (0)1 44 13 17 17. Métro: Champs-Elysées-Clemenceau or Franklin Roosevelt. Open: Wed-Mon, 10am-8pm (until 10pm Wednesdays). Entry: €10.3 before 1pm with reservation, €9 after 1pm (no reservation needed). For more information visit the museum's website.

More from the Paris cultural calendar