InfoAnda - France's puppet rulers turn 20

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Cubans wonder about military's growing role | International | | 10 March 2009
U.S. fails to describe wireless industry as competitive | 21 May 2010
Iraq in 'open war' with Qaeda after Baghdad bombs | 7 April 2010

NYC house explosion shakes block; 1 dead, 6 hurt | 25 April 2009

">Forum Views () ">Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : France's puppet rulers turn 20

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail Yahoo! Search Search: Sign InNew User? Sign Up News Home - Help Navigation Primary Navigation Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Secondary Navigation Asia Pacific World Search Search: France's puppet rulers turn 20 AFP - Sunday, March 15 PARIS (AFP) - - It is a world where clones of Sylvester Stallone rule the planet, a happy-clappy Mickey Mouse sits on Barack Obama's White House team, and Jacques Chirac is a caped and masked anti-hero. ADVERTISEMENT France's longest-running comedy show, "Les Guignols de l'Info," a satirical 10-minute newscast peopled by latex puppets, is celebrating 20 years of cutting stars and the political elite down to size. Some three million people tune in daily to watch the show, a mirror-image of France's most-watched evening news show, hosted by a puppet of its long-term anchor Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, which has taken on cult status in France. "It is a badge of honour for a politician to have a puppet on the show, the sign you've finally made it," said media commentator Jean-Louis Missika. France's favorite Guignols puppet, and the all-time star of the show, is the former president Jacques Chirac, caricatured as a roguish, beer-guzzling Gallic everyman. Speaking to AFP, Chirac paid the Guignols a wry tribute and said he still tunes in to watch the show, which chronicled his political rise and two terms as president -- and which some credit with getting him elected in 1995. "They are very clever, very political, very fierce," said the 76-year-old Chirac. "It's true they weren't always tender with me... But mostly I find my puppet pretty likeable." During his 12 years in power, the cloud of corruption allegations dogging Chirac and his wife became a running joke on the show. One episode cast the pair as geriatric gangsta rappers, thumbing their noses at the law, and wallowing in a swimming pool full of banknotes. Skewering her alleged penchant for luxury, another had Bernadette drawing the plush curtains of the Elysee, and working herself into an orgasmic frenzy as she caressed a luxury handbag. And at one stage Chirac's puppet took to dodging tricky questions by changing into a cape-wearing anti-hero: "SuperLiar". But popular legend also suggests the show's sympathetic portrayal of Chirac's election campaign in 1995 -- showing him as the victim of backstabbers -- helped him to victory. "I would hope that wasn't the only reason I won!" Chirac quipped. Giant posters went up across France to flag a special anniversary edition of the Guignols, to be broadcast Monday. On one of them Chirac haughtily exclaims: "I won't go!" "That's absolutely right, I won't go," Chirac joked. "But I send them my best wishes nonetheless!" For producer Yves Le Rolland, who heads the Guignols' 300-strong team of writers, artists and puppeteers, Chirac's successor Nicolas Sarkozy is just as much fun to imitate. -- It's the primary source of "news" for many -- Lampooned for his flashy tastes, the puppet Sarkozy is the "bling-bling" president, a jug-eared, diminutive figure who jabbers on about the price of his Rolex watch and the beauty of his husky-voiced first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Sarkozy's character made his entrance in the 1990s as a young upstart, scheming to succeed his mentor Chirac, and was portrayed on the 2007 campaign trail as a pill-popping hyperactive, plagued by nervous tics, as he battled a schoolmarmish Segolene Royal for the presidency. France's domestic spy agency reportedly once warned Sarkozy, who was interior minister at the time, that his Guignols puppet risked derailing his bid for the presidency. Experts are divided over its real influence, but the Guignols has become a primary source of "news" for many young French people, according to sociologist Denis Muzet, whether tarring politicians or attacking US foreign policy. Modelled on Britain's 1980s puppet show "Spitting Image," the Guignols took off during the 1990-1991 Gulf War. As Western news coverage of the war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq went into overdrive, the Guignols countered with mock reporting, hosted by a flak-jacket wearing Sly Stallone. "France was at war, and suddenly no one was allowed to joke any more," said Rolland. "We were the only ones with a critical take on the conflict." From then on, in the Guignols' world, matters of war and peace were decided by the "World Company," a sinister emblem of the US military-industrial complex, run by clones of the US action film hero Stallone. On September 12, 2001, as the Western world rallied behind a shell-shocked America a day after Al-Qaeda's strike on the twin towers, the Guignols sparked outrage with a prediction of the shape of things to come. "We've got the keys to the world! From now on we can do whatever we want!" crowed Stallone's puppet. Since Obama's historic election, the show's coverage of US politics has changed tack. "Right now, with Obama, we are in a sort of cuckoo-land where nothing can possibly go wrong. The White House has been taken over by Mickey Mouse and his chums," Rolland said. "But don't worry, leave it a few weeks and the World Company will be back." Email Story IM Story Printable View Blog This Recommend this article Average (0 votes) Sign in to recommend this article » Most Recommended Stories » Related Articles: Entertainment & Lifestyle In bad economy, TV news turns to average AmericansReuters - Monday, March 16 France's puppet rulers turn 20AFP - Sunday, March 15 Sammy Davis Jr.'s widow dies at age 65AP - Sunday, March 15 Chaos erupts in crowd at NYC 'Top Model' auditionsAP - Sunday, March 15 Rare Superman comic sells for $317,200 on InternetAP - Sunday, March 15 Enlarge Photo File photo shows an employee working for the French TV chanel Canal +, introducing the rubber puppet of the French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, in a studio in Saint-Denis, outside Paris. France's longest-running comedy show, "Les Guignols de l'Info," a satirical 10-minute newscast peopled by latex puppets, is celebrating 20 years of cutting stars and the political elite down to size Most Popular – Entertainment Viewed Arrest warrant issued for Lindsay Lohan For sale: nagging wife, very high maintenance Bailed-out AIG plans bonuses worth millions: report World Bank warns of "very dangerous" year ahead Iran says oil market oversupplied View Complete List » Search: Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Community - Intellectual Property Rights Policy - Help

Other News on Sunday, 15 March 2009
Kidnapped aid workers freed in Darfur | International |
Arrest warrant issued for Lindsay Lohan | Entertainment |
Bollywood's Shilpa Shetty to visit sick Jade Goody | Entertainment |
Bolivia passes land from rich to poor | International |
West lowers sights in Afghanistan: diplomats
U.S. couples accused of buying babies plead not guilty
Israel's Olmert makes final effort to free soldier
Wife of Gabon's President Bongo dies: report | International |
NASA readies for Sunday space shuttle launch
Populist Iraqi Shiite falls victim to power, money
Bailed-out AIG plans bonuses worth millions: report
British NATO soldier, five Afghans killed
Arrest warrant issued for Lindsay Lohan
Olmert makes final effort to free soldier | International |
Sudan says kidnapped aid workers freed
OPEC facing output cut choice at key meeting
Iraqi security leader wants 'war of intelligence'
Madagascar president denies rival power grab
Bin Laden: Arab leaders 'complicit' with Israel
Skull found at suspected mass grave in Turkey
Facebook fun goes mobile with iPhone applications
Journalism evolving, not dying: science author
Mexico extradites 2 homicide suspects, 5 others
Obama creates special panel on food safety
Obama, Lula to focus on economy
Four questioned over N. Ireland soldier killings
Six hurt in crowd for Next Top Model audition | Entertainment |
Pakistan puts ex-PM Sharif under house arrest
Oil spill ship's owners misled us: Australia
US: 5 militants killed in Afghan raid
NKorea's Kim says regime is 'invulnerable'
Macau denies Hong Kong lawmakers entry
Pakistan opposition head Sharif under house arrest
China recovers $1.2 bln embezzled in coal region
Sri Lanka war zone hospital out of supplies
OPEC oil cartel set for crucial output meet
Pakistani opposition leader Sharif detained
Macau still worth a gamble: analysts
Beijing sends patrol ship to South China Sea
G20 bridges differences before key finance summit
China's last eunuch spills sex secrets
Obama soothes China on US debt
Chaos erupts in crowd at NYC 'Top Model' auditions
Iran, China firms sign 3 bln dollar LNG deal: report
Rare Superman comic sells for $317,200 on Internet
Satyam gets 'adequate bid response'
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Iran, China sign $3.2 billion gas deal
California court issues warrant for Lindsay Lohan
No dancing in public in Dubai: report
British film stars pay tribute to Minghella
Ex-WWE champ, Andrew Martin, found dead in Fla.
Comic Relief raises record $79.6 mln
Bollywood's Shilpa Shetty to visit sick Jade Goody
Pakistani protesters clash with police in Lahore | International |
2 Israeli envoys make final push to free soldier
Madagascar opposition leader says controls army | International |
Four NATO soldiers killed in Afghan blast
Kidnapped aid workers freed in Darfur | International |
N.Ireland's police chief says militants number 300 | International |
Netanyahu woos Livni in secret talks
Bomb kills four NATO soldiers in Afghanistan | International |
Turkey failing on minority property rights
Rival Islamist groups clash in Somalia, 11 killed | International |
U.N. takes over Chad force amid growing Darfur fears | International |
Crunch time for Hamas prisoner swap talks: Israel
Bureaucracy, clashing rules hinder Iraq investment | International |
French in show of force in deadly Afghan valley
Pope to Africa to urge world not to forget neediest | International |
China's last eunuch spills sex secrets | International |
Merkel wants tighter gun control after school deaths
In bad economy, TV news turns to average Americans | Entertainment |
No Tibet freedom without Communist Party: Panchen Lama
Afghan NATO supply terminal attacked in Pakistan
Surgeries stop at Sri Lanka's war zone hospital
China sends large patrol boat to South China Sea
Protests against Pakistani government turn violent
Pakistan police battle protesters as crisis grows
SKorea: NKorea's border-crossing ban 'regrettable'
Chinese airline suspends flights on financial woes
Police: Separatist rebels kill Indonesian soldier
Malaysia cuts foreign worker permits by 70%
In bad economy, TV news turns to average Americans
Washington protester who outlasts presidents
France's puppet rulers turn 20
Sammy Davis Jr.'s widow dies at age 65
Dead 'unable to rest in peace' in Singapore
Report: Separatist rebels kill Indonesian soldier
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01