*** RAYMOND CHASLE: Qui a peur de la culture? Une théorie scientifique de la culture. Editions Publisud (15 rue des Cinq-Diamants, F-75013 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 45807850 - Fax: 45899415 - edipublisud@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http: //http://www.publisud.fr ). "L'Observatoire des sociétés" series. 2003, 753 pp, 60 euros. ISBN 2-86600-947-9.
Many people in Brussels and in European circles in the world at large remember Raymond Chasle. From 1976 to the end of July 1993, this man from Mauritius, an arts graduate from London University, was an ambassador to the European Community. His diplomatic longevity gave him the status of a guru among OAU and ACP ambassadors. He remains in many people's memories for having been the indispensable spokesperson for ACP states during the negotiations over the Sugar Protocol and various other important chapters and legislation (human rights, the environment, etc) of the successive Lomé Conventions. This exceptional statesman passed away following a heart attack in 1996. He was more than a diplomat, being the main negotiator for the cultural and social cooperation chapter in the third Lomé Convention and a recognised poet, an intellectual with knowledge extending to the entire globe. He was also a genuine humanist for globalisation.
In his last years, Raymond Chasle focussed on getting culture accepted as the indispensable catalyst for development which he wanted to be more than simply business oriented and have humanist ends, targetting people's welfare. Someone who worked with him, Alain Brezault, explains that in the face of the threat of humanist values being turned upside down and accompanied by obscurantist manipulators, Raymond Chasle launched a long-term battle for culture to be used for development and rediscovering a common area of understanding and dialogue between the different communities that share this planet. He adds that in this perspective, he was active for many years in attempting to convince Community bodies and politicians of various views to adopt new cultural strategies for development that were more than simple cultural development policies, too often assimilated with production and the distribution of cultural goods and services, rather than encouraging development based on humanity and the values it expresses through its own culture.
This book is the final account of this battle, which is both magnificent and terrifying, given its scale. Raymond Chasle had begun writing a Theory of Culture, designed as an epistemological tool for demonstrating that the currents of thought that have traversed philosophy and science have hindered the emergence of a unified concept of culture.
Whence the need, in his view, to embrace approaches as diverse as philosophy, psychology, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, history, epistemology, biology, ethics, theology and anthropology, to name but a few. He wrote that only a theory of culture that sheds light on the problems of tradition and modernity, philosophy of language, the theory of needs, both tangible and intangible, the demand for a new cultural order, can enable the decompartmentalisation needed to consider an objective analysis of North-South relations in a globalising perspective at the service of the blossoming of all humanity, rather than of a few individuals as at present to the detriment of the majority, who are abandoned.
Death prevented him from finishing his titanic work, but his wife and friends did not give up. They have marshalled, brought together and classified his manuscripts so that the erudition already accomplished could be published in this posthumous volume rekindling feelings of loss and the spark of original thought.
Michel Theys
*** PIERRE LELLOUCHE: La lente agonie fiscale du marché européen de l'art. Rapport sur les obstacles fiscaux et réglementaires qui pèsent sur la défense du patrimoine culturel européen. Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (Kiosque de l'Assemblée nationale, 4 rue Aristide-Briand, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40636121 - Internet: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr ). "Les documents d'information de l'Assemblée nationale", No. 639. 2003, 67 pp, 3.50 euros. ISBN 2-11-116374-0.
This report by French deputy Pierre Lellouche is extremely interesting since it sheds light on the little known size of the Euroeaan art market. It is important from the economic point of view, having an annual turnover of EUR 12 billion, the equivlanet of 12% of the EU budget. It is made up of 28,600 companies and directlu employs 73,600 people. It is important also from the social point of view for the various pofessions - artists, antiques dealers, auctioneers, experts, galery owners, decorators, specialist publishers, etc, that depend on it. Above all, it is a cultural issue and, to an even greater extent, a political issue since cultural diffusion is a vital factor of power (the author also points out that the influence, if not the hegemony, of Anglo-Saxon culture plays a great role in US dominance). All this notwithstanding, the state of the European art market gives rise to serious concerns, and the authors reviews its structural handicapts - VAT on imports which tends to send art work out of Europe, follow-on sales rights which are a discriminatory surtax and provide inadequate protection against illegal exports. He then sets out various ways of remedying the situation.
(MT)
*** IRENE INCHAUSPE, REMY GODEAU: Main basse sur la musique. Enquête sur la Sacem. Calmann-Lévy (Paris. http://www.calmann-levy.fr ). 2003, 239 pp, 17 euros. ISBN: 2-7021-3367-3.
The two authors of this book, one a journalist on Le Point and the other a journalist for Le Figaro, have undertaken investigative journalism, providing a wealth of juicy detail in this book on this ins and outs in recent and more distant history of the "Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique", seen by some as one of the most highly prized institutions in France. Sacem for short is a private company with a public service mission, at the confluence of all powers - cultural power, financial power (collecting more than 60% of music rights in France, totalling nearly EUR 610 million a year), economic power and political power. Spice in the form of who succeeds Ravel (who is entitled to the rights to the still very lucrative Bolero?) or the sage of Jewish composers during the war… Also and more importantly answers to more up-to-date questions like where the huge costs of this technical structure arise - very high operating costs given the fact that Sacem refuses to accept the logic of profitability on the grounds of legal logic, feeling it has failed if it discovers a sales outlet where music has been broadcast without rights being paid. Which leads the authors to look at the question of the transparency required of companies in this day and age. In a very interesting part of the book the authors explain how the European Community, mainly through competition law, has come to play the spoilsport in the strategy of the powerful leader in days gone by, Jean-Loup Tournier. To conclude, a book which reads like a novel, despite losing some dramatic tension at the end. A good introduction to a subject matter that will change in the light of the rapid changes in technology, sales techniques and legal matters currently underway. (ASD)
*** JEAN PERROT (Ed.): L'Europe, un rêve graphique ? L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - Fax: 43258203 - diffusion.harmattan@wanadoo.fr). "Références critiques en littérature d'enfance et de jeunesse" series. 2001, 192 pp. ISBN 2-7475-1718-7.
Coordinated by Patricia Pochard, this book is the outcome of a conference of researchers and specialists from European children's literature centres, meeting under the auspices of the Institut international Charles Perrault in 2000. The progress in children's books in terms of quantity and diversity, facilitated by technological breakthroughs, cannot be denied. Comparative exploration of illustrations, aesthetic trends and cultural representation present in European children's books is still underdeveloped, hence the merit of this initiative shedding plenty of light on the range of national heritages, concepts of the child end user, the messages being sent to young people (in the direction of either ethics or aesthetics) and the connection between words and images. The avowed aim of this book is to use all the above to get a better idea of the importance of children's literature for the future of Europe and to understand what could by this means become a genuine European spirit. One regret - total absence of Dutch language literature (Belgium and the Netherlands) despite it being awarded several prizes and generally well translated into all the other EU languages.
(ASD)
*** KAMAL SALHI (Ed.): French in and out of France. Language Policies, Intercultural Antagonisms and Dialogue. Peter Lang (32 Hochfeldstrasse, Postfach 746, CH-3000 Berne 9. Mail: info@peterlang.com - info@peterlang.com - Internet: http: //http://www.peterlang.com ). Collection "Modern French Identities" series, No. 18. 2002, 487 pp. ISBN 3-906768-47-3.
The fact that a remarkable book about the position of the French language in the world has been published in English and conceived and developed by members of Anglo-Saxon academia, mainly from the UK, is only an apparent paradox since linguistic matters often by nature raise passions so being uninvolved guarantees a pure scientific approach leading to clinical results untainted by any partisan assumptions. This is the immense virtue of this collection of essays headed by the Director of the Centre for French Studies at Leeds University, launching long research involving universities in the UK, Ireland, Australia and France. It provides a rigorous and often searching fresco of the French language and its relations with other languages in three European countries (France, Belgium and Switzerland), North Africa (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) Western and Southern Africa, three Middle East countries (Egypt, Lebanon and Syria), North America (Canada and the United States) and Australia. In their very rich and highly rigorous essays, the authors shed light on how openness in the French language was developed by the end of the colonial period and the extent to which it was able to form part of the state construction process. The roots of the “Francophone” world are exposed by Gabrielle Parker (Middlesex University) who is merciless towards France ("It was no coincidence that this term was adopted at the same time as the independence of Algeria in 1962", she explains…), since Algeria also served as a tool in defending French against the onslaught of English, arguments that France turns a deaf ear towards when they come, in France, from defenders of regional languages. The influence of the European institutions on imagined means for defending the French language, and the weight of French in European and international organisations are also considered in this very detailed and instructive book. (MT)
*** MICHEL HERBILLON: Les langues dans l'Union élargie: pour une Europe en V.O. Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (see above). "Les documents d'information de l'Assemblée nationale" series, No. 902. 2003, 144 pp, 5 euros. ISBN 2-11-117030-5.
The author of this report mentions the duo Brussels-Babel in connection with a detailed examination of linguistic diversity in the European Union - threat or promise? To find out, you have to read this excellent document written from the point of view of French language zealots in the context of a deafening concert where the French language, once a dominant and creative force, is no longer generating, and this is the case ahead of enlargement which will probably not work in its favour with two fifths of documents being written in English. In fact, cutting back to three major, compulsory pivot languages would be in the interests of France (currently on the defensive). That said, the analysis provides plenty of information, illustrative figures and a wide variety of solutions respecting the positions of all and sundry, both large and small states in both the here and now or in the future. They are presented in the most impartial manner that is possible for a deputy of the French national assembly in such a sensitive context as the defence of its mode of expression.
Michel Herbillon also turns himself into the advocate of a multilingual European Union where children would all have to learn at least two EU languages in addition to their mother tongue (this would work in the favour of French, since English is usually chosen as the first foreign language), describes the numerous dagger blows in agreements by speakers of English, highlighting the potentially excess weight that full multilingualism would have in a European Union where there is not yet a Maltese interpreter who speaks Finnish. In the absence of a French-speaking European Union, and in the face of fear of an EU where only English is used, is it necessary to try and reconcile the impossible multiplication of languages, dialects and idioms, exercising damage limitation by selecting only a handful of languages or convincing everyone to pay the costs of translating original documents into their own language, which would perhaps only work to the benefit of English? Issues burning with actuality and which are very interestingly dealt with in these 144 pages, an excellent bargain. (FOc)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following document:
*** Acheter des biens et services au sein du marché unique européen. DG Internal Market (Tel: (00-800) 67891011 - Internet: http: //europa.eu.int/citizens). "Europe Direct" series. 2003, 34 pp.
The Single European Market enables consumers to benefit from a wide variety of goods and services. In order to protect consumers from abuse or unpleasant surprises hidden away in the small print, operators are subject to EU rules and consumers have rights (outlined in this brochure). The rules cover product safety, sales conditions, taxation, protection of personal data and opportunities to enforce consumer rights in the event of dispute.
*** Europa a debate. European Parliament (Eur-Op, PE - Débats sur l'Europe, BP 2201. L-1022 Luxembourg. Internet: http: //http://www.europarl.eu.int/press/form_spain.htm ). 2003, No. 1, 15 pp.
This issue of the European Parliament review (published in all EU languages) begins with an editorial by Pat Cox outlining the need for healthy economic growth. Several pages are devoted to a dossier on enlargement and special treatment is given to the European Convention. There is an article on the everyday work of parliamentary committees at EU level and a biography of the new “defender of the people”, Nikoforos Diamandouros, elected as Ombudsman on 15 January 2003.
*** Régions et Communes d'Europe. Committee of the Regions (92-102 rue Montoyer, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2822155 - Fax: 2822085 - Internet: http: //http://www.cor.eu.int ). July 2003, No. 40, 8 pp.
The Committee of the Regions welcomes the fact the draft Constitutional Treaty has granted it the right to forward certain cases to the Court of Justice. The CoR is preparing to hold its fiftieth plenary session. The brochure gives an account of the Leipzig Conference on combatting the economic and social gap between regions in the enlarged European Union.
*** Bulletin de jurisprudence constitutionnelle. Venice Committee (Editions du Conseil de l'Europe, F-67075 Strasbourg cedex. Tel: (33-3) 88412581 - Fax: 88413910 - Internet: http: //book.coe.int - publishing@coe.int). 2002 issue, May 2003, No. 2-2002, 398 pp, 30.48 euros. Annual subscription: 76.22 euros.
The "European Committee for Democracy through Law”, better known as the Venice Committee, is an independent constitutional think tank in the widest sense. Composed of 45 members of the Council of Europe, it works with a dozen other countries from other parts of the globe. This newsletter aims to rapidly inform magistrates and constitutional law specialists about important constitutional rulings with a view to encouraging exchanges of information among magistrates and help them solve difficult issues.
*** Actualité des Industries de Réseaux en Europe. Editions ASPE Europe (56 rue de Laborde, F-75008 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 43876014 - Fax: 43876891 -muriel.dubois@aspe-europe.com - Internet: http: //http://www.aspe-europe.com ). April 2003, No. 13, 16 pp. Annual subscription: 490 euros.
Calling for transparent management of funding for decommissioning nuclear power plants, this issue includes an article on 2003, International Sweet Water Year, and looks at railways in Europe at a historic junction.
Reviews in brief
*** IOM News. International Organization for Migration (Tel: (41-22) 7179111 - Fax: 7986150 - Internet: http: //http://www.iom.int - info@iom.int). June 2003, 24 pp. This magazine looks at recent NGO operations in Iraq and in Kosovo over the past four years.*** Slovenia. Government PR and Media Office, Ljubljana, No. 26, July 2003. Magazine to promote Slovenia. *** Défis Sud. SOS Faim Asbl (Tel: (32-2) 5112238 - info@sosfaim.be - Internet: http://www.sosfaim.be ). May/June 2003, No. 57, 48 pp, 3 euros. Annual subscription: 15 euros. Défis Sud includes a dossier on commodity markets, from African cocoa to Saudi Arabian oil. The publication also looks at crisis in South America and the situation facing the Guantanamo Bay prisoners.