Re: ...yet when I look at the number, 57%, against 43%, I would not describe that as "handsomely".
Well, it is "handsomely" when compared to previous scores by French presidents under the Fifth Republic regime that started with Gen. de Gaulle in 1958... The exception being the freak 80% achieved by Jacques Chirac in 2002 against populist runner-up J.-M. Le Pen:
lepoint.fr
Re: It seems to me there is a very large opposition, and as you know, the electorate is rightfully fickle, and can change their minds very very quickly.
The electorate, however, is unlikely to change its mind over "security" --keep in mind that President-elect Sarkozy spent most of the past five years as France's SuperCop #1 (as Interior Minister). The French were a bit traumatized by the nationwide riots of Oct/Nov 2005...(*) Curfews were enforced in several cities! And the 2005 social unrest came on top of four years of anti-Muslim, anti-Arab propaganda spun by both US and European media.... There are probably a few hundred or thousand Frenchmen who, like me, never bought the official crap about 9/11, Bin Laden, al-qaeda, etc. YET the overwhelming majority DOES believe that every bomb, every terrorist carnage that breaks out anywhere in the world is yet another Islamic scheme, courtesy of US and Israeli Judeofascists and their media mouthpieces... Put it all together and it doesn't take a French political scientist to figure out how the French eagerly voted for a rightwing populist like Sarkozy. Now, I believe that other factors were crucial in clearing the way for Mr Sarkozy... After all, the latter was not the ONLY rightwing candidate talking about restoring law and order, checking immigration, etc.
(*) Message 21882206
Message 21872366
I believe that Sarkozy ended up the unchallenged candidate of the UMP party because France's bankrollers wanted it so! That's why each and every one of Sarkozy's challengers were, one after another, eliminated: Alain Juppé got embroiled in a lawsuit about "fictitious jobs" in Paris' public services; current PM D. de Villepin got blackmailed in the Clearstream affair; etc. Money talks louder than politics --clue:
France's 1Q Budget Deficit Widens To EUR24.7B Vs EUR6.7B '06
Wed, May 9 2007, 07:16 GMT
djnewswires.com
France's 1Q Budget Deficit Widens To EUR24.7B Vs EUR6.7B '06
PARIS (Dow Jones)--France's budget deficit almost quadrupled in the first quarter of 2007 compared with a year earlier, as expenses rose, tax revenue fell, and there were no exceptional items.
The deficit widened to EUR24.7 billion from EUR6.7 billion in the first quarter of 2006, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
Last year, France's public accounts had benefitted from the privatization of state-owned motorways Autoroute Paris-Rhin-Rhone and Sanef.
"Comparisons with last year are not very significant at this stage," the ministry said. "The worsening of the budget should be progressively minimized."
Compared with the same period last year, expenses rose 9% to EUR61.7 billion from EUR56.7 billion. Revenue, excluding exceptional items, fell 6.9% to EUR48.8 billion.
The general budget balance, or the difference between revenue and expenses, showed a deficit of EUR12.9 billion in the first quarter of this year, compared with a deficit of EUR4.2 bln in the same period of 2006.
Corporate tax fell 4.7%, while revenue from income tax dropped 1.8%.
-By Gabriele parussini, Dow Jones Newswires; 33-1-4017 1740; gabriele.parussini@dowjones.com.
fxstreet.com
PRIMARY DEALERS
Primary dealers missions
SVTs are the market counterparties of choice for the Agency France Trésor and the Caisse de la dette publique. Their role is to advise and assist the AFT on matters related to issuance policy and debt management, as well as on questions of a more general nature pertaining to workings of the market.
The composition of the SVTs has evolved over time. From 13 in February of 1987, their number has gradually swelled to adequately represent the diversity of the institutions active in the French government bond market. SVTs include large banking networks and capital market specialists, as well as organizations based in France and abroad. On January 1st, 2007, 4 French institutions and 16 non-resident institutions counted among the SVTs. The latter included seven US-based organizations, three British, two German, two Swisses, one Dutch and one Japanese. They rank among the biggest players in the global bond markets. The makeup of the SVTs reflects the diversity of the French government debt market and the lasting appeal of the “label” that guarantees the quality of the SVTs.
Primary dealers (SVT) are subject to certain obligations, which include participating in auctions, placing treasury securities and maintaining a liquid secondary market. The Agency France Trésor maintains the relationships with them required in the furtherance of their stated missions. The SVTs agree to comply with the specifications drawn up annually since 1986. These specifications were the subject of intense discussions with the SVTs, which led to the development of a new charter of the relationship with the Agency France Trésor (available in summarized form on the AFT web site). This charter seeks to fully reflect the implications of the establishment of the Agency and changes in bond market trading activities.
Under the terms of the new charter, effective since the summer of 2006, French primary dealers are obliged to:
· help ensure that the auction process runs smoothly. Specifically, their role is to estimate overall market demand before each transaction, generally issue by issue, and communicate their evaluations to the AFT at meetings called by the latter prior to the principal auctions. They are required to participate in all auctions, and to account for, at least, and on average over any 12-month period, 2% of the total volumes auctioned.
· maintain a perfectly liquid secondary market in government securities. They agree to account for a significant (2% appears to be a reasonable minimum) percentage of the secondary and gray market transactions in these securities, and to ensure relatively homogenous coverage for all products issued by the AFT, as well as the repo market.
For each segment of the market, they agree to permanently display the bid and offer prices on the main issues. They develop the liquidity of these issues on the various electronic trading systems.
· keep the AFT regularly informed of market developments and their own transaction volumes.
Updated on 31 Jan 07
aft.gouv.fr
Footnote:
Message 23490587 |
