Word: francos
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Since coming to power three decades ago, Juan Carlos and Sofia have enjoyed a generally wide popularity. Franco's hand-picked successor, Juan Carlos surprised the nation when the dictator died in 1975 by lending his support to parliamentary government - basically writing himself out of power - and later, in 1981, by courageously appearing on the floor of Congress to disavow an attempted military coup. "Juan Carlos played such a sterling role during the Transition [to democracy] that it basically shelved questions about the nature of the new political regime," says Paul Preston, professor of Spanish history at the London School...
...Among the prime directors of Italian Westerns (most of them shot in Spain, by the way) was Sergio Corbucci, who vaulted to prominence with the 1966 Django. It was The image of star Franco Nero coming into town not on horseback but on foot, dragging a coffin, was an instant sensation that cued more than 50 Django films, all unrelated to the original. Its theme song, by composer Luis Bacalov, remains one of those melodies that worms its way into a listener's brain and, as I can testify, can't be extracted for weeks. The Corbucci film also inspired...
Since taking office last May, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has repeatedly shown that he wants to make France a major mover in international affairs again - and that a key part of that effort is to repair Franco-American relations undermined by the war in Iraq. But to his critics in France and abroad, Sarkozy's reinvigorated Atlanticism looks disturbingly similar to the views of Washington hard-liners, including those hankering for a military strike to take out Iran's nuclear development program. On Sept. 16, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warned that the international community had to "prepare...
...wowed almost everyone. At home, he rammed through reform legislation aimed at encouraging work, cutting taxes, fighting crime and clamping down on immigration. Abroad, he helped break the logjam over the European Union's institutional setup, negotiated the freedom of six Bulgarian medics imprisoned in Libya and strengthened Franco-American relations over a vacation lunch with U.S. President George W. Bush...
...relentless pace in attacking challenges both at home and abroad. He has smoothly guided through several contested legal and economic reforms in France; he's meanwhile staged diplomatic coups by brokering an agreement on European Union construction, engineering the freeing of seven Bulgarian medics held by Libya, and improved Franco-American by establishing a warm personal relationship with President George W. Bush. But despite that excellent start, coming months may be considerably more turbulent for both France and its president...