French police drinking on the job.

I recently heard a news story, while driving my car, about police trade unions being up in arms that the government was trying to ban policemen from drinking on the job.  I snorted and shook my head, once again challenged by the surprising nature of French society  Then, I forgot all about it until I saw that the British press had picked up the story. French Police drinking ban.
The French have a very special relationship with alcohol.  Society is very laid back in its approach.  Wine is a part of every meal, and farmers in the Alps take a glass of white wine at the local bar in the morning.  Motorway service stations serve alcohol but only if you are having a meal.  Once, I was eating at a counter when a truck driver entered and asked for a beer.  The waitress refused and told him he had to have a meal to be served alcohol.  He looked at me, saw I was not drinking anything, and asked for my beer! 
Despite this attitude, I can't remember seeing the excesses of drunken violence that are witnessed most Friday and Saturday nights in the UK.  That is not to say there is no binge drinking, it is on the rise, but it tends to be at the fringes of festivals.  When I was at University in Brighton, I experienced the difference between the British and French in terms of alcohol.  The young English students were elated to discover cheap subsidised alcohol,  and I could, shamefacedly, recount some of my own exploits.  The French exchange students, however, were much calmer and rarely got very drunk.  They did have a vice though, Mariuana, some of the most notoroious dealers on campus were French.  I think these two juxtasposed attitudes were due to the repressive attitude to alcohol in the UK and the repressive attitude to Mariuana in France.  Getting caught with some grass is considered far more serious in France than in the UK.
My point is that while it seems to be shocking to hear of French policemen swigging beer, in reality the arguement is really over a glass or two with their meal breaks.  My experience has been that French people have a more sensible attitude to alcohol than the English.  The unrepressive laws concerning alcohol have not made it the forbidden fruit it is in the UK, and therefore the French do not drink to excess.  That being said the idea of the famous CRS riot police have a few drinks before kitting up to confront demonstraters does seem little odd, but that's France.

The UN does have teeth

Well, doesn't that prove me wrong the United Nations has shown its teeth in Ivory Coast.  Just when I was beginning to wonder whether the UN was any use they step up to the base and actually take action.  True, the French played an important part; no doubt in view of the economic interests; and true, Russia says they are going to look into the legality of the action, but at least they acted.  As I've said before, they've stood by so many times that I was beginning to wonder what it would take to make them act.  There are those who will say this action endangers UN employees who will now be seen as legitimate targets, but surely the recent attacks in Afghanistan show that they are already.  The diference now is that before they were seen as a soft target, today would be attackers might think twice as the UN could bite back.  Anyone who doubts the futility of the UN's neutral position should read the excellent Shake Hands with the Devil : The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda- Romeo Dallaire's book about his UN mission in Rwanda.  He, with all his military experience, felt that a stronger force with the permission to fight back could have prevented the genocide.
Let us hope that the UN action in Ivory Coast is the beginning of a new era where the UN is not viewed as a weak and indecisive organisation that can be ignored.

April Fool's

Here in France April Fool's day is known as 'Poisson d'avril', literally 'April's fish'.  The origins of linking the 1st of April to a fish seem obscure.  Perhaps it is to do with the christian symbol of the fish.  One thing that is for sure is that one practical joke played on this day is to stick a picture of a fish on the back of your victim, without them knowing of course.  A bit more gentle than the 'kick me' sign we used to stick on our friends backs at school.
During the day the various media run fake stories mixed in with the regular news, just like in the UK.  Here is one example concerning our upcoming  Royal wedding 
I wonder what others they will come up with?