Nicolas Sarkozy during a ceremony to pay homage to the three soldiers killed by Mohamed Merah.
Nicolas Sarkozy during a ceremony to pay homage to the three soldiers killed by Mohamed Merah.

Politics of French tragedy cannot be ignored



MARSEILLE, FRANCE // The voice quivers with emotion. The words are dignified, statesmanlike and strong. Come the hour of crisis, come the man.

Only a harsh observer, it may be thought, would detect cynical opportunism in the demeanour of Nicolas Sarkozy during the extraordinary events in France this week.

But the past five years have left many in France with precisely such harsh feelings about their president.

And perhaps only the naive would see no political dimension in the handling of the murderous campaign of Mohamed Merah that came to end when he was shot dead on Thursday to end a 32-hour siege of his flat.

In the first opinion poll after the killings of three children and the father of two of them at a Jewish school on Monday, Mr Sarkozy was shown to have overtaken François Hollande in voting intentions for the first round of France's presidential elections on April 22. Up until then, the socialist candidate had been clear favourite.

If the poll is accurate, and there is some dispute because of the methodology used, it may herald significant movement in public opinion.

The killings that Merah boasted of carrying out, with more targets already chosen, sent a collective shiver down the nation's spine. The deliberate choice of small children among his seven victims seemed especially repellent.

But when tragedy occurs, common feelings of outrage, shock and grief tend to fracture along partisan lines once explanations are sought and conclusions drawn.

Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right Front National (FN) and scourge of what she calls the "Islamification" of France, was quick to seize on security issues, accusing Mr Sarkozy of presiding over glaring lapses in law enforcement in which extremism has been dangerously underestimated.

In a bad-tempered presidential campaign, it is inevitable that such terrible events, and the differing responses of candidate to them, have a potential effect on voters' thinking.

And the motives proclaimed by Merah - Muslim grievances with France in particular, the West in general - widen public discussion to cover questions of community relations, racism and immigration.

Yet it is not inconceivable that many who feel Mr Sarkozy has generally been a poor or disappointing president may now be reconsidering. Among the candidates, is he at least the one who stands out as a character who looks and behaves like a head of state.

Mr Hollande may feel this unfair, since he was the first to suspend campaigning in the aftermath of the Toulouse school shooting and - despite subsequent carping from the Sarkozy camp - has cut an equally decent figure throughout. He will know, however, that the man he seemed on course to defeat with ease has emerged from an unspeakably bleak episode with credit that could win votes.

There are qualifications to be made. Some suspect Ms Le Pen stands at least as much chance as Mr Sarkozy of increasing her support, especially if voters share her belief that he has failed to live up to his tough-on-crime mantra.

And there are questions about the role of French intelligence in tracking Merah's transition from petty criminality to dangerous radicalism. Any credible argument that one or more of the three attacks might have been avoided would be highly damaging to Mr Sarkozy.

As for the president's image among French Muslims, estimated as between five and seven million, the possible implications are more difficult to calculate.

Many deplore the criminalisation of wearing the face-covering niqab, bitterly oppose French involvement in Afghanistan and feel alienated by routine exposure to discrimination and prejudice. The president's recent assertion that there were "too many foreigners" in France, and his promise to halve the number of immigrant entries, was seen with good reason as aimed predominantly at Muslims, from the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa.

Dismay, even disgust, at government policy leads to extremist action, or even tacit support for violence, in very few cases. But it makes voting for Mr Sarkozy an even less attractive proposition than it was already.

The president's allies feel he has shown France he alone carries the authority and resolve to deal with - his phrase - a "national tragedy".

"It is incontestably a turning point," Jean-François Copé, general secretary of Mr Sarkozy's UMP party told Le Monde newspaper. "A tragedy of this magnitude shows what we stand for and have been arguing for a long time: a rejection of amalgams [confusion of Islam and radical violence] and firmness in the war against extremists."

Against this party line is the concern felt by a number of observers that Ms Le Pen has also won favour. "There is absolutely no doubt that [her] share of the vote will increase because of this outrage," wrote the Franco-Algerian journalist and academic Nabila Ramdani in UK's The Guardian.

If what Ramdani calls Mr Sarkozy's "huge security failures" loses him votes to the far right, any success in regaining the confidence of more moderate, but disillusioned supporters of his own centre-right approach could count for nothing.

And his chief problem remains, in any case, the sting in the tail of this week's otherwise encouraging opinion poll that has also been a feature of every poll before it: the prognosis for second-round voting. Mr Sarkozy's general unpopularity remains deep-rooted enough to translate, on current voting intentions, into a comfortable victory for Mr Hollande in the May 6 decider.

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A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

Section 375

Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat

Director: Ajay Bahl

Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL

Rating: 3.5/5

23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees

Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

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Three ways to limit your social media use

Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.

1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.

2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information. 

3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

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How to apply for a drone permit
  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
  • Fly it within visual line of sight
  • Never over populated areas
  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
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  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
  • Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series

All matches at the Harare Sports Club:

1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10

2nd ODI, Friday, April 12

3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14

4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16

UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed

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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.