Pave: Government Announces Plan To Announce Plan

Le jour 253 de Sarko

If you are a poor disenfranchised minority condemned to live in a banlieue, take heart the French government has settled on the name for a program to fix things right up. The name of the program is Espoir Banlieues (Suburban Hope). That's a keeper. The program that makes good on the title, well, that isn't settled yet.

But that's just details. The government was anxious for you to know the program title tout de suite, double-quick. Chop-chop.

As you can imagine, the good news that another government program to save the banlieues has been given a snappy name has upended the usual delegation of the announcement, which properly belonged to Fadéla Amara* (secretary of state for urban affairs, secrétaire d'État chargée de la politique de la ville). First Mdm. Amara's boss, Christine Boutin, (minister of housing and the city, ministre du logement et de la ville), muscled out Mdm. Amara. Then Mdm. Boutin's boss, Sarko (chef de l'État, princeling, chevalier, and ecclesiatical person) muscled out Mdm. Boutin.

A VAULX-EN-VELIN, CHRISTINE BOUTIN
FAIT SES PROPRES ANNONCES POUR LA BANLIEUE
[IN VAULX-EN-VELIN, CHRISTINE BOUTIN
MAKES HER OWN ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE SUBURBS]
22 janvier 2008 (Le Monde)

BANLIEUE : AMARA ET BOUTIN EN PLEIN PLAN EMBROUILLES
[SUBURBS: AMARA AND BOUTIN PUBLICLY MUDDLE PLAN ]

23 janvier 2008 (Libération) - Officiellement, il n’y a «pas de problème» entre elles. Fadela Amara et Christine Boutin travaillent de façon très «complémentaire», et s’entendent toujours bien. Mais n’en laissent rien paraître. En visite hier à Vaulx-en-Velin (Rhône) pour présenter les grands axes du plan espoir banlieue que prépare la secrétaire d’Etat à la Politique de la ville, elles n’ont cessé de se contredire, et de prendre leurs distances.

Officiellement, il s’agissait d’une «restitution» de la consultation engagée depuis six mois par Fadela Amara. Mais, prenant la parole en première, la ministre en titre a défloré les principales annonces.

[Officially, there is "no problem" between them. Fadela Amara and Christine Boutin work in a very "complementary" manner, and always get along well. Or so it appears. In yesterday's visit to Vaulx-en-Velin (the Rhone) to outline the Suburban Hope plan prepared by the secretary of state for urban affairs (scil., Amara), they did not cease contradicting, and keeping their distance.

Officially, it was for "feedback" on the six-month study by Fadela Amara. But, speaking first, the minister in name (scil., Boutin) spoiled the principal announcements.]

FADÉLA AMARA ANNOUNCES PROGRAM TITLE, "ESPOIR BANILEUES"
The Rest Is Details
[Photo source: Le Monde/AP/Laurent Cipriani]

AMARA'S SHOW ROLLS ON
DESPITE SARKOZY BLOW TO SUBURBAN PLANS

VAULX-EN-VELIN January 23, 2008 (Scotsman) - Yesterday was meant to be Fadela Amara's big day, the unveiling of a key part of president Nicolas Sarkozy's vision for France: a so-called Marshall Plan for suburban housing schemes, which exploded in a three-week burst of anger in November 2005.

Mr Sarkozy stole his minister's thunder – deciding to announce the plan himself next month. But he did not dent her determination to attack the ills plaguing France's housing schemes and bring their residents, many of them Arab or black children or grandchildren of immigrants long cloistered in blight, into the mainstream

Details suggest a plan, but a government program is not so much dependent on a plan as it is on money. Ha ! Not to worry, there's money aplenty to be conjured -- from somewhere.

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* Fadéla Amara, a Socialist culled from the ranks for François Fillon's government, is also a life-long feminist who helped found Ni Putes Ni Soumises, a feminist advocacy group that fights violence against women, espeoially the maghrébines of the banlieues. Mdm. Amara is currently the NPNS president. Along these lines she has written, co-written, or contributed to several books. She maintains two blogs, one high-talk, one low-talk.

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