that gritty 1996 film about Scotland, Trainspotters, in which one of the characters says that Scotland is ruled by effete arseholes.
Fintan O’Toole applies exactly the same expression to the troika, with deadly effect, to described their totally cack handed approach to the Cypriot financial meltdown. The featherbrains of these three institutions made a total and absolute cockup of their handling of the situation in Cyprus. These days, it’s
Germany that sets the pace and makes the decisions in the EU, which it now seems to regard as the old German empire made new. Funnily enough,in the time of President Sarkozy of France, both France and Germany maintained an illusion that they formed a duopoly to mastermind the EU, but since Sarkozy was ousted, this illusion has been totally shattered. Present day France under President Hollande seems to have no part to play in keeping the Germans in check and this is the way Germany likes it. As a result, Germany has been treating Cyprus like some World War II vassal state, humiliated in defeat.
The whole deal with Cyprus seems brainless in another respect, too, since it’s clear that Russian investors in Cypriot banks are going to be the ones who lose out big time, with the haircuts on their deposits. Since when was it a good idea to offend the Russians in this manner?Western Europe is lucky that Russian President Putin doesn’t retaliate by turning off the gap taps.
There are plenty of other effete arseholes around elsewhere, especially in governments across Europe. Look at the coalition government in London and the way in which it has been able to impose cruel and callous cuts that affect people least able to survive them, like people who worked in the Remploy factories or people who are going to start suffering from the so-called bedroom tax from the start of April. These are just two of the cuts that remind so many people of the uncaring Tories at their historical worst. In Ireland, too, many thoughtless cuts have been imposed on people least able to cope with them and it’s typical that here in Ireland, despite the unseasonably cold weather for the past few weeks, not a thought has been given to how to protect vulnerable people, like the elderly, by
those in government. It’s as if all they want to do is cut, cut, cut, without a notion of what the consequences will be. But at least, even if people in Ireland and the UK seem quite ready to take all this lying down, the people of Cyprus have shown a really determined attitude towards what’s being done to their country.
After the unwise precedents set in Cyprus, imposing levies on bank deposits, and the chaos left by the troika in the wake of their decisions imposed on Cyprus, it’s a relief to contemplate another trip we did in France, this time to Biarritz in the south-west. It’s very easy to get to Biarritz by air from Ireland, the UK and elsewhere in Europe, direct to Biarritz airports, or if you’re in France, to take the train. It’s a five hour journey from Paris. We took the train from Bordeaux, travelling across the dreary sandy terrain of Les Landes, to the south of Bordeaux.
As for Biarritz, we found the town itself no great shakes; the town centre isn’t particularly interesting. There’s a limit to how many 19th century villas or examples of Art Deco architecture that you can look at. The place is best known for its beaches, especially the spectacular Grande Plage. Just south of this beach, there are many rocky outcrops, most notably the Rocher de la Vierge (The Virgin’s Rock), and lots of walkways that make for interesting strolls.
The town is of comparatively recent construction. In 1854, the Empress Eugenie, wife of the
then French head of state, Napoléon III, had a palace built by the beach; this vast building is now the Hotel du Palais. Other royals took up the idea of recuperative trips to Biarritz, including Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, as well as royalty from other parts of Europe, such as King Alfonso III of Spain. This royal patronage quickly made Biarritz fashionable. Many English people with money took to travelling to Biarritz and so too did many wealthy Russians; one of the results of that Russian interest was the construction of the 19th century Russian Orthodox church in the town, which is still one of the most spectacular buildings in Biarritz. Another outstanding landmark on the town is the lighthouse, the subject of a famous Picasso painting; it shows the lighthouse on its headland, in the background, while the middle ground is occupied by a sailing boat and the foreground by three women in bathing costumes.
It also has other places of interest for tourists, including Le Musée de la Mer (museum of the sea) with no less than 25 aquaria, a Caribbean lagoon, seal feeding and lots of sharks. Biarritz also has a museum of chocolate. The first casino in Biarritz opened in 1901 and now the town has two. Even if the beaches are spectacular and the town itself very missable, we did bring home a unique souvenir. Someone we met there presented us with a model of Bibendum, the Michelin man. It’s a fine looking model, standing close to 30 cm tall. It’s a reminder of one of the legends of tourism in France, the Michelin guides. It’s amazing how Michelin was entirely dependent for the best part of 100 years on printed products,maps and guide books; it then switched effortlessly to its digital offerings and the Via.Michelin.com website is still an invaluable way of finding your way around France,indeed the world.
When we stayed in Biarritz, it was in a small hotel close to the main beach, where guests had to share space with the various dogs owned by the lady who owned and ran the hotel, but it was comfortable and reasonable enough. Today, there’s a great variety of hotels in the town, about 50 in all, such
as the well-equipped Le Windsor, which charges around €130 a night for a room in low season, rising to about €230 in high season. You’ll also find thalassotherapy facilities in abundance in Biarritz.
My suggestion for Biarritz is not to make the town your sole destination in the region. It is however a great place for exploring other nearby seaside towns, like Bayonne, and the French Basque
country. The inland areas of the Pays Basque have much riveting scenery, such as mountains, forests and quiet rural villages, a delightful terrain indeed. The Basque country includes of course much of north-eastern Spain and between the Basque lands in France and Spain, some 2.5 million people live there. You’ll find many examples of the extraordinary cultural and historical heritage of the
Basque region, not least the Basque language, the oldest in Europe. It also pre-dates the Indo-European languages that make up all the other languages in Europe, making it the only language in Europe not of Indo-Europsen origin, so the Basque language is a very unique heritage indeed.
When we left Biarritz, by train, we travelled through two particularly interesting towns. The
inland town of Pau, about 100km from the coast, is much more interesting than Biarritz. Wellington left a garrison there after his battles in the Napoleonic era and English tourists began arriving in Pau long before the railway arrived. There are many reminders in Pau of this 19th century English
influence, similar in many ways to what was happening on the French Riviera. Another very interesting place, especiallyif you are a believer, is the town of Lourdes, visited by an estimated 200 million tourists and pilgrims since 1860, shortly after the appearance of the visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today, many pilgrims still consider that the spring water in Lourdes has many exceptional healing properties, so these days, the drawing power of Lourdes as a place of pilgrimage for the faithful, including the disabled, is as strong as ever.
Such belief in faith and the power of prayer is a welcome relief to the sheer scale of incompetence in modern secular life; here, deep in south-west France, you can safely get away from the ubiqitous clots who run life in modern day secular Europe.