Obama-mania in France

I’m back! Back in France that is (after July and August in Minnesota) and back (finally) to my blog with a post that has to be done NOW, before the upcoming election!

France is wild about Obama (that may be true in many other parts of the world but I think it’s particularly intense in France. This was evident even last spring, long before the convention – books and magazine articles on Obama started to appear (in French by French) and in early June I went to a lecture/panel discussion at Sciences Po (the Harvard equivalent for political/social sciences in France, one of the Grandes Ecoles) on ‘The Obama Effect in France’. While the panelists were mostly white, male and of a ‘certain age’ (e.g. not young) the audience was much younger and more mixed. And in listening to the discussion, two things seemed prominent – a certain amazement that a black man could become a presidential candidate let alone president but also a feeling of hope – if it’s possible in America, maybe, maybe, eventually the same thing could happen in France…

The discussions, lectures, etc. have only multiplied and intensified, not just about Obama but about the US. A sampling for this month at a major bookstore: America and us; The president is…The U.S.: ruptures and continuity, The Sources of American Culture. A sampling of books published in France recently: ‘Obama, the American Dream Returns’ , ‘Obama’s America’, ‘The Little Book of American Elections’. And there’s a French Committee for Support of Obama in France (again, this is a French and not American group) and a blog www.FranceforObamaBlog.com and another site www.Pour-Obama.fr if you’re curious.

I bought the buttons in the photo at an art gallery with an exhibit devoted to Obama-themed works by a variety of artists, French and American. The art work on the buttons was pulled from two of the works. If you’re interested in seeing more they have a web site www.dorothysgallery.com . Interestingly enough, it was a French friend from my exercise class who found the gallery and told me about it! And since I’ve started wearing my button I’ve been getting lots of positive nods and comments!
So, while I know that the campaign is much more intense and present in the states, it’s not at all invisible here!