Terror Attack: 130 Dead in Paris

**HopAlongBunny** · 11-20-2015, 18:41

It's the Popes fault.

http://wonkette.com/596232/pope-fran...r-on-christmas

**Brenus** · 11-20-2015, 21:06

"Remember - France is run by an aristocratic elite." I am now fully confident in your sources of knowledge and powers of analyse. For more insight, can you give the names of this elite?

**Montmorency** · 11-20-2015, 23:37

Originally Posted by Brenus

"Remember - France is run by an aristocratic elite." I am now fully confident in your sources of knowledge and powers of analyse. For more insight, can you give the names of this elite?

Isn't it a bit premature to be asking for a prosopography?

**Papewaio** · 11-20-2015, 23:46

Originally Posted by Brenus

"Remember - France is run by an aristocratic elite." I am now fully confident in your sources of knowledge and powers of analyse. For more insight, can you give the names of this elite?

I think the correct quote was "Remember - France was run over by a non-aristocratic elite rugby team 62-13"

**Philippus Flavius Homovallumus** · 11-20-2015, 23:48

Originally Posted by Brenus

"Remember - France is run by an aristocratic elite." I am now fully confident in your sources of knowledge and powers of analyse. For more insight, can you give the names of this elite?

A rather surprising number of French Presidents and other senior politicians are members of either the class of landed gentry or the lower aristocracy. Mostly recently Sarkozy, though in his case the aristocrats were Hungarians. Even in the case of Hollande, though hardly nobles or gentry his parents were wealthy and he has a privileged background.

I'll grant you these are not the sons of Kings, even their illegitimate ones, but they're not bastards born out of wedlock of the sons of school teachers, or members of an ethnic minority subject to prejudicial linguistic legislation either.

So, when I said "aristocratic elite" I did not mean they were all blue blooded, perhaps "intellectual and social elite" would have been more apt.

**Pannonian** · 11-21-2015, 00:01

Originally Posted by Philippus Flavius Homovallumus

A rather surprising number of French Presidents and other senior politicians are members of either the class of landed gentry or the lower aristocracy. Mostly recently Sarkozy, though in his case the aristocrats were Hungarians. Even in the case of Hollande, though hardly nobles or gentry his parents were wealthy and he has a privileged background.

I'll grant you these are not the sons of Kings, even their illegitimate ones, but they're not bastards born out of wedlock of the sons of school teachers, or members of an ethnic minority subject to prejudicial linguistic legislation either.

So, when I said "aristocratic elite" I did not mean they were all blue blooded, perhaps "intellectual and social elite" would have been more apt.

Isn't that the case for most countries though? Among the post-war UK PMs, I can only think of Major who wasn't from the traditional academic (and thus social, cf. Cameron) powerhouses.