Word: raffarin
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...national identity with immigration is an error," says conservative legislator and former Interior Minister François Baroin, who is one of several politicians on the right calling for the debates to be ended. "It's opening Pandora's box." Former conservative premiers Alain Juppé and Jean-Pierre Raffarin have similarly questioned the "utility" and "intellectual rigor" of the debates. And Sarkozy's own commissioner for ethnic diversity, Yazid Sebag, admitted to being "not very comfortable" with the initiative...
Some conservatives are worried enough that they're taking action. In early November, former conservative Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin led a revolt in France's upper house of parliament by refusing to back Sarkozy's pet bill that would have ended a particular tax on businesses. Though Raffarin agrees with lower taxes in principle, he's been joined by two other former conservative leaders - and most of the 37,000-plus mayors of France - in ridiculing the idea of eliminating one of the main sources of income for regional and local governments before a more general reform of those...
...majority vote by board members - entirely logical. "Jean Sarkozy has been elected at every step of his career," Education Minister Valérie Pecresse noted on the television channel i-Télé Tuesday. "No affirmation is more democratic than an election," echoed former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a conservative, as he defended Jean Sarkozy...
Increasingly, however, influential French voices see "diversity as an opportunity, not a problem," says Hakim El-Karoui, who along with Rachida Dati - President Nicolas Sarkozy's Justice Minister - founded the 21st Century Club for minority movers and shakers. A former speechwriter for Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, El-Karoui recalls working lunches during Ramadan when he'd cover his plate with his notebook, so Raffarin wouldn't notice he wasn't eating. Occasionally, he'd face the prejudice of exceptionalism: colleagues would refer to him as "a good Muslim," adding that "not all of them are like...
...Bulgarian medics held on trumped-up murder charges by Tripoli. All that left even some Sarkozy allies inclined to interpret Gaddafi's visit at least in part as a quid pro quo. "The Bulgarian medics were certainly worth a visit," argued former conservative French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin...