(Strauss-Kahn) Questions raised about code of silence in France

[somone]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/world/europe/17secrecy.html

Questions Raised About a Code of Silence
By ELAINE SCIOLINO

PARIS — The ritual follows a clear script: a scandal threatens to destroy the reputation of a powerful figure in France. Politicians say they are shocked. Friends say they are incredulous. Journalists debate whether they should have investigated rumors and revealed secrets. The dust settles. The status quo returns. Private life is protected. When, for example, François Mitterrand was asked by a journalist during his presidency whether it was true that he had a daughter outside his marriage, he replied: “Yes, it’s true. And so what? It’s none of the public’s business.” The French have been complicit in accepting this sort of secret-keeping: they do not enjoy ugly revelations that could tear apart the social fabric. What shocked them more than the existence of Mr. Mitterrand’s mistress and their daughter was the revelation after his death that the French state had financially supported them and even provided police protection.

Now, the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn is once again challenging the assumption that the private lives of the rich, famous and powerful are off limits to public scrutiny. That the most serious accusation against Mr. Strauss-Kahn is attempted rape, and not just an indiscretion involving a consensual sexual relationship, only adds to a sense on the part of some people in France that the curtain of privacy needs to be lifted. “We felt that we were superior to the Americans and the British by upholding the principle of protecting private life,” Pierre Haski, one of France’s leading political commentators and co-founder of the political Web site Rue89, said in an interview. “But we journalists haven’t done our job properly. We were used and abused in keeping secrets. We need to define our role in a more aggressive way — and say that not everything private is private.”

Mr. Haski said he had been wrong to withhold information in the past about French political figures that could have compromised their ability to carry out their duties. “I knew that when Roland Dumas was foreign minister, he was romantically involved with the daughter of Syria’s defense minister,” he said. “I didn’t write it because it was a matter of his ‘private life.’ I was wrong. It had an impact on France’s foreign policy.” He also chided himself and the French media for keeping secret that the Socialist politician Ségolène Royal and François Hollande, her longtime partner, father of her four children and head of the Socialist Party, were no longer a couple while she was running for president in 2007...

But historically, the French have traded in rumors and secrets, and there are several reasons why they can be passed around in private circles but not put into public discussion. First, the French have long been accustomed to unconfirmed stories about powerful figures and politicians. This dates from the era of the royal court — when information was power, yet had to be handled carefully. Salacious stories, whether true or not, made for good entertainment. That makes the French tolerant of other people’s private behavior, especially sexual behavior... There was no public outcry or journalistic investigation, for example, when Mr. Sarkozy named Frédéric Mitterrand, the nephew of François Mitterrand, as minister of culture, even though he had written a memoir describing in graphic detail how he had paid for sex with “boys” in Thailand...

[izquierdista]

1. Oh, those backward French!

When are they going to learn that Presidential hummers (and anything else that titilates the public for ratings) belong on the nightly news?

[Canuckistanian]

2. First off, the French don't care for "sexual scandals" where it involves consenting adults

And if their politicians do it? Big yawn. The public aren't "complicit", they just don't give a damn.

But when it devolves into coercion or rape, THEN they start to take notice.

BUT, the writer is right - the culture of secrecy in France needs to be broken in the cases of sexual violence. And that's what this is - violence. It has nothing to do with "romantic passion".

There are no grand conspiracies here to keep sex off the front pages. But "L'affaire DSK" is NOT going to be treated well by the French press.

[JDPriestly]

3. The French just have a very different attitude toward sex than we do.

Americans can't understand that. The Germans have (or at least had when I lived there) a very different attitude toward nudity. That was kind of tough on me because I would get embarrassed by things that did not embarrass them. But those are small things really, just a small part of what makes each culture unique.

The traditional French attitude toward marriage, sexual relationships, etc. was very, very different than ours, especially in elite circles, whether elite due to wealth, intellect or political power. Just read a little French history and find out for yourselves.

Different strokes for different folks. But I assure you, the differences can make for huge misunderstandings and some very uncomfortable situations.

On the other hand, actual rape -- is not accepted anywhere in Europe that I know of.

[Canuckistanian]

4. Even here in Canada

The press here will not go after a politician for their personal lives. People don't care. I remember most people's reaction to Jack Layton's "massage parlor" incident. Most people were saying "What's this got to do with anything?" If anything, we were disgusted by the obvious political ploy of bringing this up in the final week of the election.

We've had many major politicians cheat on their wives or otherwise behave badly, but you never heard it on the nightly news.