The Village and DSK

The Village
I blather on about the village and so far have shown no photo of it; so here are two. The one above is taken from the south, from the road between Entrechaux and Buis which by-passes the village. The one below is from the east, from the terrace of my friend Daniel's house. The view from his terrace is at its best when the sun goes down and you can see the lights come on one by one in the houses on the chateau hill across the river.




The DSK Affair
Developments in the case against Strauss-Kahn in the USA have confirmed what all my French friends think: that, one way or another, it was a put-up job. The initial suspicions of Sarkozy's involvement have dissipated but my friends still believe it was a trap. According to Daniel, who considers himself something of an authority on crime literature, you have to look for whoever has the most to gain. However, that would appear to be Francois Hollande, the new hope of the Left, although no one is suggesting he was involved.

Strauss-Kahn is not out of the woods yet. A French writer, Tristane Banon, is accusing him of a similar assault. This complaint goes back some eight years, though, and seems likely to be nothing more than an irritant. However, it militates against what has been suggested as a future career for Strauss-Kahn: as Finance Minister in a Francois Hollande-led government. To have credibility with the electorate, a left of centre coalition would need a strong financial figure among its ministers and Strauss-Kahn would fit the bill. However he will need to keep out of the French courts if this is to happen.