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December 22, 2024
 

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Andre Fontaine
COMMENTARY
Dec 30, 2005
Decline of three EU leaders
PARIS -- At the end of last May, French and Dutch voters rejected by a strong majority the draft European constitution worked out by a convention chaired by former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing. Since all 25 member-states of the European Union had to approve the treaty, the chances of it...
COMMENTARY
Dec 2, 2005
Influence of French violence
PARIS -- No use telling Japan Times' readers about Beaujolais. Most of them surely have had the opportunity of tasting this refreshing, though somewhat acidic, wine from France. The day in November when new production went on sale used to be celebrated in many places by popular feasts, as a tribute to...
COMMENTARY
Nov 3, 2005
Curtain falling on Chirac?
PARIS -- For decades it was widely assumed that Europe needed an engine to go forward, and that France and Germany were best qualified to play that role. For the time being, however, this has ceased to be true. If any member aims to lead the European Union, it's Britain, which holds the EU presidency...
COMMENTARY
Oct 10, 2005
No 'Koizumi power' in Europe
PARIS -- As the London Economist wrote, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's "Revolution" was a "very Japanese" one indeed. What European politician today could dream of calling a general election designed to punish Parliament for having rejected his legislation and being rewarded with an electoral victory?...
COMMENTARY
Sep 3, 2005
Europeans sing the blues
PARIS -- According to the latest Eurobarometer, a regular survey published by Harris, less than a third of European Union residents are "very satisfied" with their lives, and only 44 percent expect things to improve in coming months.
COMMENTARY
Jul 30, 2005
Chirac sees his fortunes slip
PARIS -- After a majority of French voters handed President Jacques Chirac a defeat by voting no in a referendum on the proposed EU constitution, he kept his fingers crossed in the hope that Paris would be chosen to host the 2012 Games. You can imagine his disappointment when the International Olympic...
COMMENTARY
Jul 2, 2005
A clash of European visions
PARIS -- The latest EU crisis could be one of the worst the European Union has known, and nobody can say if, when and how it will be overcome.
COMMENTARY
Jun 2, 2005
Chirac gambled and lost big
PARIS -- The polls, for once, were right: Sunday the French rejected the draft European constitutional treaty by nearly 55 percent. This outcome was all the more significant because no less than 70 percent of eligible voters took part.
COMMENTARY
May 7, 2005
Grim outlook sways voters
PARIS -- On May 13, Jacques Chirac will celebrate the 13th anniversary of his first election to the presidency of the French Republic. Will he run for office again in 2007?
COMMENTARY
Mar 7, 2005
Bush narrows U.S.-EU gap
PARIS -- "Forgive the Russians, ignore the Germans, punish the French." U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice didn't appreciate being reminded of this famous statement, which she made in 2003 while serving as U.S. President George W. Bush's national security adviser. The purpose of Rice's recent visit...
COMMENTARY
Feb 5, 2005
A question mark for Chirac
PARIS -- With a growth rate of 2.4 percent, France's performance was a bit higher than the euro-zone's average 1.8 percent but not enough to dispel the gloom that presently characterizes the national mood. Unemployment remains at 9.9 percent, close to the Belgian, German and Spanish figures, and far...
COMMENTARY
Dec 29, 2004
Turkey's long march to an EU wedding
PARIS -- Although a wedding date has yet to be set between the European Union and Turkey, the two parties managed to conclude what several participants at the Dec. 17 European summit have called a formal "engagement."
COMMENTARY
Nov 6, 2004
French divide over Turkey
PARIS -- On Dec. 17 leaders of the 25 European Union states will consider Turkey's request to join their club. That doesn't mean Turkey is set to be admitted anytime soon. For budgetary reasons, it's not likely to happen before 2015.
COMMENTARY
Oct 4, 2004
Can Chirac remain on top?
PARIS -- Has French President Jacques Chirac sufficiently weighed the possible effects of his decision to hold a referendum next year on the draft EU constitution, which was approved last June by the European Council?
COMMENTARY
Aug 30, 2004
Cooler summer for French intramurals
PARIS -- "Chaotic all over the territory," warned a French weather forecast recently. This was not, however, the remake, feared by so many, of the August 2003 heat wave, which contributed to 15,000 extra deaths that month.
COMMENTARY
Aug 1, 2004
Mideast role challenges EU
PARIS -- France and Germany no longer make the law in Brussels. In spite of a long fight, they failed to get their Belgian candidate elected to head the European Commission and could only accept the appointment of Jose Durao Barroso, who, as prime minister of Portugal, backed U.S. intervention in Iraq....
COMMENTARY
Jun 4, 2004
A celebration and reckoning
PARIS -- The European Union should figure heavily in the headlines this month. To start with, U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, Russian President Vladimir Putin and many other heads of states, including German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder,...
COMMENTARY
May 3, 2004
EU constitution no shoo-in
PARIS -- Now 78, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing managed at the end of last year to achieve two major successes: He was elected to the Academie Francaise, which for more than three centuries has been France's most prestigious intellectual institution; and the Convention of the Future...
COMMENTARY
Apr 5, 2004
Angry French voters hit back
PARIS -- An old French proverb says "only the stupid never change their mind." In that case, the French certainly aren't dumb. In the first round of last April's presidential election, Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin got only 16 percent of the vote. Extreme rightist Jean-Marie Le Pen won more...
COMMENTARY
Feb 28, 2004
Rough sailing ahead for EU
PARIS -- On May 1, eight former communist countries, plus the islands of Malta and Cyprus, will join the European Union, expanding its membership from 15 to 25 countries.
Freed anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson arrives in France
U.S.-Canadian anti-whaling environmental activist Paul Watson, who was released from prison in Greenland's capital Nuuk after five months in detention, arrives with Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy-en-France, near Paris, on Friday.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

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