Friday, August 03, 2007
Bienvenue aux Etats-Unis
I was very excited to read that the president of France, Nicholas Sarkozy, will spend his summer vacation in New Hampshire. Yes, Sarko is coming to America.
Now, we have said before that French jokes are banned on this blog until Sarkozy does something to make them, er, apropos. The TigerHawk community is delighted that Sarko has decided to blow his country's grossly overvalued Euros on our soil.
Based on the activity of security personnel, Wolfeboro residents believe Mr. Sarkozy is staying in a lakefront estate that boasts a 15-seat media room, private beach and 11 bathrooms. It rents for $30,000 a week and is owned by Michael Appe, a former Microsoft executive.
That comes to around 17 Euros a week at current exchange rates, so Sarko is actually doing French taxpayers a favor by coming here. A couple of weeks in New Hampshire probably costs him a bit less than an afternoon and dinner at Cap D'Antibes.
My first impulse was to translate the New Hampshire state motto, "Live Free Or Die," into French. Since my high school French has degenerated into the ability to order a croque monsieur from only the most forgiving waiters, I turned to an online translator, which reported that the French for "live free or die" is "libre de phase ou matrice." That did not strike me as quite correct, so I ran it back through the translator in reverse and got "free of phase or matrix."
I actually think "free of phase or matrix" are words to live by. You could sell a few bumper stickers with that slogan.
Anyway, Sarko is an accomplished politician in a very vocal democracy. He would not be so overtly pro-American if the average French voter were as anti-American as is often imagined on this side of the pond. French anti-Americanism is a habit, but it is only skin-deep. Indeed, it is probably less treacherous for a French president to show genuine affection for America and Americans than the reverse.
6 Comments:
By 
, at
Fri Aug 03, 12:19:00 PM:
Pictures, pictures:
Live WELL or die?
By 
Assistant Village Idiot, at
Fri Aug 03, 11:42:00 PM:
The full quote, from my distant relative Maj. Gen. John Stark, which my state uses part of as its motto: "Live free, or die. Death is not the worst of evils."
I blogged briefly on the Sarkozy vacation, as you suggested.
By , at
Sat Aug 04, 12:48:00 AM:
And he will know why the state motto of NEW HAMSHIRE is LIVE FREE OR DIE
By lgude, at
Sat Aug 04, 03:29:00 AM:
Mon Dieu! I have a NH license plate in the other room when the slogan was (nausea warning) PHOTOSCENIC NEW HAMPSHIRE. Maybe this PR campaign has finally attracted a tourist. Then again, maybe not.
By , at
Sat Aug 04, 10:44:00 AM:
...per Wikipedia article, "Live Free or Die:"
...A medal struck at Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint, as tokens of exchange for the Paris firm of Monneron Freres, 1791-92, has on its obverse the motto Vivre libres ou mourir (Live free or die in French).
By Unknown, at
Sun Aug 05, 07:02:00 AM:
