European topics

I know that Paris is the city that so many people have either visited or seen in films, so if I simply describe what I saw there, I doubt if those of you who read this blog on Google Reader or similar will click on the link. However, there are many angles to look at Paris, and, interestingly enough, its not-so-touristic objects are much prettier and more interesting than those we know of. One interesting thing I noticed was that Paris gives you an impression of being eclectic and artsy, while in fact it is built and kept up in precise order and follows a set of rules. We have already talked about overplanned urban spaces, remember? I guess the key to the success that Paris demonstrates in avoiding something like this is the fact that it is so old, and its shapes have developed and been tested over time.

Last month the European Union was shook up by expulsions of the Roma from France, shedding light on equally or even more criminal actions in Italy (at a local level though) and invoking such concepts as 'crime', 'stigmatisation', 'security', 'rights' - as always. Before we notice, 'big politics' is facing realignments and populations in Europe are fed with daily portions of fear and distrust. Sarkozy, a former minister of interior, is doing his best to perform his brutal acts wearing white gloves: the way he and his followers present the issue is almost flawlessly politically correct and taps into the fears that lurk in many Europeans, while other powers than the extreme right fail to address those. But as we discuss, people are being sent away, and the European dream, embodied in the fundamental treaties of the EU, is convulsing in its agony, abandoned.

I'm back from Serbia, where I went for my summer school (it was a part of the programme). We went there to study how various aid from international donors impacts (or not) media development. What we saw was, however, different than expected.