Volume 2, Issue 20- May 20-26, 2011
International Tribune
Finally, it is about time that he got caught! The International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director, Dominique Straus Kahn, was arrested in New York City for sexual misconduct against a hotel chamber maid this week. It is not his first or second sexual harassment complaint. There were many more in the past. The right actions finally took place, thanks to the NYPD. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a Frenchman and 62 years of age, heralded as one of the most powerful politicians in the world and in his country is sitting at Rikers Island today. He was one of the biggest contenders who could beat incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy in the next presidential election in France. We are probably seeing the end of Strauss-Kahn’s public career. And I am glad of it. Infidelity and abuse of power from men (rich, middle, or poor) are the buzz in the cafés of Paris today. For the first time, the French circle is actually discussing this subject with apprehension and I am shocked. This is not the norm. After the impeachment trials of President Clinton, the French were the first to criticize America for being too puritanical. “Leave the poor man alone”, exclaimed the French when Clinton was being tried for staining an intern’s blue dress in the Oval office. C’est la vie! One can only discern that probably the French’s approach to sexual scandals or infidelity, in general, is that it is just a part of life. But who am I to judge?
Today, a national discussion has opened up. And it is not about the role of powerful men, it is whether French women in general are more tolerant and accepting when it comes to infidelity of their philandering partners. As an accidental observer of French society who happens to be living and working in Paris, I am beginning to believe that perhaps infidelity is probably just part of the French joie de vivre. How did I arrive to this conclusion? For starters, the reputation of the French men and their approach to romance and l’amour historically has the reputation known as "la galanterie Française," it just comes with the package. Indeed, we cannot account every Frenchman to be this way but there is something very true about their self perception and entitlement that flirtation and engaging in seductive play is a never-ending game. And for the French women, this is almost the same but with a different twist. Competition with other French fatale is also almost a natural pastime, they are raised to be weary of this and to be able to pre-empt should a situation arise. In other words, learn from Madame Bovary and use your sexual prowess and collect as many lovers. Or the typical female territorial approach, of hold on tightly to your man. French sisterhood is almost non-existent, it is all about competition (to keep your man, look sexy, stay thin, etc.).
From Moliere to Zola, Truffaut to Godard, there is always something scandalous happening behind closed doors. In almost every French literature and cinema, both from the classics to the contemporary, there is always a love triangle or an illicit affair taking place. When former President Mitterrand’s love child was discovered by the public, the society did not really care much about it. And when Mitterrand died, both the mistress (Anne Pingeot) and the former First Lady Danielle Mitterrand sat very close from one another during his funeral. It was not seen as a big deal. Moreover, the discovery of the love child (Mazarine Pingeot) was hot news for one day, and the next day, regular business as usual. It was not the same media circus compared to how American society treated and reacted to Bill, Hillary, and Monica. Even Mrs. Anne Sinclair (Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s wife) in 2006 said during an interview, “My husband is a politician; he needs to be a good seducer.”
Believe it or not, French society remains to be very conservative, exclusive, and traditional in practice. Women stay at home to raise the family, and men are the bread winners and go to work to bring home the ‘baguette’. Women remain as mid-level professionals or assistants and men are the executives. With all that said, women cannot help but to maintain their family and lifestyle intact. In order to save their reputation and to avoid the inconvenience of changes, traditional roles still is the most common approach. Indeed, it is a totally ironic world.
Oh la la! What can you do, the French seems to be happy with the status quo. Change is something too risky for some people or certain society. This is definitely a very peculiar notion for my Asian-American values and upbringing from New York City. Bottom line is I was raised never to settle. Perhaps, settling is not difficult for some. But then again, who am I to judge?
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