The breaking of the case DSK both sides of the Atlantic has shattered taboos and some solid revealed publicly what the public perceives as tacit codes in force in the world of French political elites, with the blessing media. It must, of course, essential to distinguish the court record - the criminal charges facing the former Director General of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the United States, the presumption of innocence, the treatment of the alleged victim - and queries that the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn has raised, here as in the United States, our political morality, and social media. The second aspect, since the first notes of justice, three lessons can already be drawn.
The return of the transatlantic dispute in the U.S. media, the French are again at the festival, people of "hot rabbits' predators led by politicians, who claims to have made the Revolution in 1789, but can not bear to see her treated like elites ordinary mortals. At best, in general, we prefer to ignore the criminal behavior of our ruling class: it is a cultural issue.
In France, public humiliation inflicted worldwide by the American justice to the accused is presumed innocent deeply shocked and casts a harsh light on a justice system perceived as more egalitarian and less respectful of democratic principles than proclaim the Americans. In the American judicial system as in the health system, money makes the difference.
The Clinton-Lewinsky affair, the record Roman Polanski and the episode of the war in Iraq have shown: whatever the reason, political, cultural or diplomatic, to any crisis the transatlantic dispute resurfaced, and the gap between us in values reappears, yawning.
This divergence between Europeans and Americans is never as virulent as when it concerns France. On both sides, it wallows in clichés, the nationalist reflex play hard, masking, unfortunately, what could be a real debate.
The French hypocrisy is hard to deny a fact: considering the private behavior of politicians as irrelevant, even when it casts a shadow visible on the personality of the politician or minister, the press is not doing its work. Already suspected of collusion with the elites, the journalists are now only accused, co-leaders of omerta discovers that the general public.
This does not absolve the media. The turbulence caused by the DSK case at least have the merit of provoking discussion in the newsroom, including the World. But journalists are the offshoot of a company, as well as legislation that frames their work in protecting privacy is the product of the elect. If the French press has no tradition of investigation to the Anglo-Saxon, though, unlike many European countries, we do not sensationalist tabloid newspapers, if the media are generally respectful of authority and separation of work-life public, but also because it reflects a widely shared culture in France.
The French press is more likely to view a press release that investigation. The term "investigative journalism" refers more to the work with investigators, police, lawyers or judges, responsible for large criminal records, the investigation of ground raw, deep and tedious. Tedious, because France is a democratic country where state and power centers, including economic ones, to best protect against transparency.
We have a law prohibiting interference with privacy, but we have no law on freedom of information on the lines of that in Great Britain or the United States, forcing the administration to open. When there are developments in this area is under the influence of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. The famous "communicating" pharmacies control the image of politicians and CEOs, have gained unprecedented power in France in the West, bypassing the conventional directions of communication. They created rules of the game ever more restrictive and journalists have complied.
The case Woerth has shown the limits of investigative journalism: the proximity of the former budget minister and his wife with the Bettencourt family opened a timely debate on conflict of interest. Here, the press did its job, but the political class has not taken over - and for good reason. Indignation in public opinion, creating a commission winded by the Elysee. And then? Nothing. One can not both require the press to slay the opacity standard and find that barriers are highest ever objected to his work.
The French hypocrisy is also a way to ridicule American fundamentalism on gender relations, the fanatical egalitarianism, the procedures in place to discourage sexual harassment, then be shocked that we had spent ignore the bad habits of our men of power. Banon Tristane why she did not complain after his violent encounter with DSK, in 2002? Because she did not want to be "the girl who had a problem with a politician." The message is clear: our society disapproves of those - and especially - that destroy the image of men of power.
The requirement of parity Suddenly, people start to speak. Journalists and politicians tell the "seduction" male daily, and especially its excesses. Without falling into Puritanism, there is a remedy for these abuses: the gender.
In trades which are feminine, in the press, in the hospital, the accepted behavior thirty years ago, those of editors towards young female recruits, those of doctors against nurses are less and less tolerated. The men simply dare least where women outnumber and - crucially - the same level of authority than they.
The policy has so far managed to escape feminization. Some key figures are not enough: Martine Aubry and Christine Lagarde alone will not change habits so comfortably settled. If, however, the number of deputies was closer to 280 than 113, 577, the corridors of the National Assembly would be more civilized. And our political and media certainly healthier.
Fancy a conspiracy theory ? The CIA put the maid up to it in order to damage the euro and attract more support for the $US . I wonder if that will do the rounds and come back to us ???
