Sarkozy coming to visit

[Lasse]

Au revoir Paris, hello Wolfeboro

Although demonstrating against a French president might be a bit silly, here's what he has to say about gun control:

I would like to say one thing, in what is my conception of the Republic, security is the responsibility of the State, I am against militias, I am against the private ownership of firearms, and I'm trying to make you think about that. If you are assaulted by an armed burglar, he'll use his weapon more effectively than you anyway so you're risking your life. If the criminal is not armed and you are and you shoot, your life will be ruined, because killing someone over a theft is not in line with the republican values that are mine. The private ownership of firearms is dangerous. I understand your exasperation for having been burglarized two times, I understand the fear that your wife and daughter may have but the answer is in the efficiency of the police and the efficiency of the judiciary process, the answer is not in having guns at home.

http://www.armes-ufa.org/ufa/campagne2006/rtl-sarko-txt.asp

I know what I would do if I lived nearby -- I'd open carry around this guy and encourage others to do so as well, just to let him know that the country he is visiting does not have French 'Republican values'.

[Braddogg]

That quote is very telling -- because shooting a thief to protect your wife and children would not be in line with HIS values, YOU are not allowed to do it.

[J’raxis 270145]

My life will be ruined because Mr. Sarkozy disapproves of my defending myself? I've seen some self-important politicians before, but man does that take the cake.

[error]

Oh, that sort of crap is common in today's socialist Europe. It's also common here among the socialists in the U.S.

[Dave Ridley]

One of the folks at pelham fish and game shoot suggested inviting sarkozy to drop by a gun range and learn about how we do guns in new hampshire, maybe educate him.  i thought that was a better idea than protesting

also i got interviewed by a french AFP reporter today re: the machine gun event and ron paul

[KBCraig]

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Cameras+send+Sarkozy+into+rage+on+NH+lake&articleId=5dd23bfc-7ba7-40a3-ba3a-79c60a86340e

Cameras send Sarkozy into rage on NH lake

By BEVERLEY WANG
The Associated Press

CONCORD – French President Nicolas Sarkozy lost his temper with two American news photographers covering his vacation yesterday, jumping onto their boat and scolding them loudly in French.

The confrontation came as Sarkozy and companions were headed for open water in a boat on Lake Winnipesaukee when he spotted Associated Press photographer Jim Cole and freelancer Vince DeWitt aboard Cole's boat, which was outside a buoy barrier monitored by the New Hampshire Marine Patrol.

Before Sarkozy spotted him, Cole had driven his boat up to the patrol boat, identified himself and received permission to be there.

"He was happy and smiling and he waved at the security people as he was coming out," Cole said of the president. "And then he noticed us taking pictures and his happy demeanor diminished immediately."


French President Nicolas Sarkozy points toward a photographers boat on Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro yesterday. Sarkozy was objecting to photographers taking pictures of him while on vacation. (AP)

The men said they watched through their lenses as Sarkozy pointed toward them and his boat began moving in their direction. Coming alongside Cole's boat, Sarkozy, clad only in swim trunks, jumped aboard and began shouting at them.

"The president was very agitated, speaking French at a loud volume very rapidly," DeWitt said.

Both men said they repeatedly stated they did not speak French. Cole said that he asked whether any of the other passengers on Sarkozy's boat spoke English, but that no one answered or intervened.

Sarkozy picked up DeWitt's camera but then put it down. A woman then spoke up in English and relayed Sarkozy's request to be left alone, DeWitt said. The woman did not identify herself.

Hours earlier, Sarkozy had spoken to reporters and said in French, "I am naturally ready to answer all your questions, and maybe afterward you will resume covering the news and other topics, and leave me tranquilly with my family." An AP reporter taped Sarkozy's remarks and had them translated, but the photographers did not hear the translation until after the altercation.

After Cole and DeWitt promised to stop shooting photos for the day, Sarkozy calmed down, reboarded his boat and continued out onto the lake with his party, followed by a boat carrying U.S. Secret Service agents.

The French government in Paris had no immediate comment.

Sarkozy and his family have been vacationing at a lakefront estate in Wolfeboro owned by former Microsoft Corp. executive Michael Appe. The president was previously photographed relaxing dockside in his swim trunks.

[LiveFree]

He better be careful just who he gets belligerant with, and just how belligerant.  I hear the natives pack heat, and are actually allowed to defend themselves.

[Nicholas Gilman]

Its real!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_Frenchmen_of_Maine

The "Jumping Frenchmen" seemed to react abnormally to sudden stimuli. Beard recorded, for instance, individuals who would obey any command given suddenly, even if it meant striking a loved one, and repeat back unfamiliar or foreign phrases uncontrollably. Beard also noticed that the condition was often shared within a family, suggesting that it was inherited.

   It must be contagious.