So where are they and what are they doing? (page 30 of 33)

Excellent 😄😏 All claws out for our new president!

if you want travel impressions, here you go: and if you can avoid Schiphol or London Heathrow, you’ll be better off.

Schiphol has improved a lot over the past year. I haven’t been through LHR in at least 25 years.

Michel

Hello,

I find it shocking, even quite serious. In my opinion, the justice system shouldn’t interfere or interpolate like this as a precaution or in anticipation of voters' potential choices. The people are sovereign.

A choice must be made. The fundamental alternative is the Berlusconi model in Italy, Netanyahu’s Israel, Trump’s USA... Rushing headlong, with urgency, to take refuge in the immunity granted by democratic preference. Even a scoundrel anointed by your people—which is a very abstract entity, nonexistent in reality—let’s say by a majority of voting citizens, remains a scoundrel. It’s fascinating, by the way, to see how the absolute power this grants them intoxicates and galvanizes them, to the point of caricaturing themselves. Objectively, it’s a captivating spectacle, that of this kind of individual.

Catherine

Hi Catherine,

What would Machiavelli have thought about that? You see justice as the guarantor of virtue, like a moral and superior overseer, an arbiter tasked with judging who is or isn’t a scoundrel? Who do you see in the European political sphere as a model of virtue without being the secular arm of puritanism?

Michel

There are plenty of good Samaritans around:

.

Oh, upright ministers! Virtuous advisors! Here’s how you Serve—servants who plunder the house.

Great find! Now we just need to find the photo of François de Rugy’s lobsters too! !

hi Jojoone, is this a photo of you?

I didn’t really pay much attention to the legal case [..../...] Anyway, maybe the worst isn’t a sure thing after all.

Thanks for this delightful mishmash.

Thanks, I tried to match your level. Breaking down complex ideas or summarizing them isn’t easy.

Anyway, in your opinion—where are they now, and what are they doing? Will the old VF crew ever come back?

Thanks for this delicious...

...mishmash that shifts—or expands—the Overton window.

hi,

every weekend, the Gulf monarchies lend us hundreds of millions to balance our banks' books—otherwise, one fine Monday morning, we'd wake up to some very big surprises.

I'd really like to know where you got this information... French banks are the ones with the largest market capitalizations in the world. BNP Paribas alone has over 3,000 billion euros in assets, so there’s plenty of room. And debt is actually considered a financial asset in accounting. The problem arises if the debtor can’t meet their repayment deadlines. Contrary to what people think and the common misconceptions, the French banking system is very solid. Don’t listen to those doing "French bashing" in YouTube videos—they’re just pushing a liberal lobbying agenda. And you’re forgetting the Silicon Valley Bank case, the Credit Suisse affair, and the Chinese real estate developer Evergrande, which went bankrupt—so financial risks aren’t unique to the French economy.

Weren’t we on a first-name basis?

You need to contact Jean-Pierre Chevallier, a business economist.

Since I don’t have time to dig deeper, here’s something I found on page 5: https://chevallier.biz/banksters-francais-derives-comptables-et-produits-derives-le-cas-bnp-paribas-au-25-mars-2025/

That leaves 619 more pages... happy reading and good luck with the calculations! 😉

On another note: https://www.courrierinternational.com/article/finance-les-pays-du-golfe-sont-plus-que-jamais-les-banquiers-du-monde Sorry, by the way, for not having the exact source—I didn’t know Mathews would ask me for the link 8 to 10 years later.

Assuming YouTube is my source of information isn’t exactly a compliment, but no worries. Meanwhile, I notice quite a few people seem to get their info from *Picsou Magazine*. No big deal—at the rate things are going, soon nobody will know how to read anyway, and all these problems will fade away. 😎

You need to contact Jean-Pierre Chevallier, a business economist.

Alright, but this big bank has a lot of assets, doesn’t it? After that, if there’s any accounting misconduct, either Bercy or the Financial Markets Authority might step in and sue BNP. Okay, but what should be done, and what do you want to do? Put the bank’s employees and management in prison?

Besides that: https://www.courrierinternational.com/article/finance-les-pays-du-golfe-sont-plus-que-jamais-les-banquiers-du-monde

Alright, but on one hand, Saudi state-owned Aramco has a smaller market cap than BNP Paribas. Plus, we can’t read the full article—it’s for subscribers only. And besides, BNP Paribas isn’t the only European bank; there are others.

I notice quite a few people get their sources from *Picsou Magazine*.

That’s not very nice, I think. You’re basically saying I have the logic and reasoning of a middle schooler, and I’ll take that. But in case you have no accounting logic, I see a problem coming: you’ve got a hole in the bank’s books and a urgent call from your advisor. I obviously don’t wish that on anyone ;)

Oh no, I wasn’t thinking of Mathews at all 😉

hello,

Every weekend, the Gulf monarchies lend us hundreds of millions to balance our banks' books—otherwise, one fine Monday morning, we’d wake up to some very big surprises.

I’d love to know where you got this information... French banks are among those with the largest market capitalizations in the world. Take BNP Paribas, for example—it has over 3,000 billion in assets, so there’s plenty of wiggle room. And debt is actually counted as a financial asset in accounting. The problem arises if the debtor can’t meet their repayment deadlines. Contrary to what people think and the common misconceptions, the French banking system is very solid. Don’t listen to those doing "French bashing" in YouTube videos—they’re just pushing a liberal lobbying agenda. And you’re forgetting the Silicon Valley Bank case, the Credit Suisse affair, and the Chinese real estate developer Evergrande, which went bankrupt—so financial risks aren’t unique to the French economy.

Be careful with a bank’s balance sheet: in the assets column, there are doubtful receivables that will eventually need to be provisioned to acknowledge that some are unrecoverable.

Above all, you have to look at the off-balance-sheet items, which I believe include commitments related to derivative products. A few years ago, I noticed that Deutsche Bank’s commitments were several times Germany’s GDP.

Otherwise, I think it’s the state that borrows from the Gulf countries. If they’re understanding with us, it’s our turn to be understanding with them—like giving the Qatari sultan a preferential tax regime or not being too strict about the hijab or issues related to Islam in France. The same thing happens with the U.S., which asks us to buy Treasury bonds.

The time for "French bashing" is over—it’s time to realize that our financial situation is extremely serious and that our economy is MECHANICALLY heading for disaster. Next year, will we have an interest burden of 100 billion? That’s impossible to pay unless...

I hope you’ve read *Uncle Scrooge Magazine* and followed Uncle Scrooge’s advice: gold bought by all central banks has seen its price soar. Some expect it to triple again. It’s no longer being manipulated by short selling and seems to be a safe haven for USD holders—a fiat currency. "Fiat" means trust, but what if that trust disappears?

In the assets column, there are doubtful receivables that will one day need to be provisioned to acknowledge that some are unrecoverable.

Uh, don’t say that to me, with all due respect. I’m just a long-term Sunday traveler, not a bank director, ha ha. But when it comes to doubtful receivables, do you dare say that the accounting of a major bank is overvalued? The answer is certainly contained in the question.

And that our economy is MECHANICALLY heading for a crash: will we have an interest charge of 100 billion next year?

I was sure someone would bring up France’s public debt. But it’s the perfect example of a non-issue ;) Because it costs the French government’s public finances nothing, zilch. Since the public sector has golden geese like highway concessions, railways, etc... Just the right to use highways, paid by motorists, brings in billions every year to the state’s coffers. So, since small streams make big rivers, a revenue stream plus another revenue stream eventually cancels out the debt charge. QED

It’s impossible to pay unless......

By "unless," should we understand IMF intervention? That’s unfortunate because France is a contributor to the IMF’s budget.

Villepin sold off highway concessions; toll revenues end up in private pockets.

"It's impossible unless"... the State dips into your pockets to help itself. That would only be a short-term fix because the deficit keeps growing mechanically if nothing is done.

France’s economic situation is catastrophic despite having the "Mozart of finance" at the helm. You’ll see for yourselves in 2026-27.

"You say 'the economic situation in France is catastrophic,' but the country keeps getting loans—why? Because it has resources and plenty of reserves.

On the other hand, facing France are the French, who aren’t poor for the vast majority.

Villepin sold highway concessions; tolls end up in private pockets. .

Uh, and what about the VAT you pay when using the highway?

Otherwise, I agree with Poste42

Otherwise, in your opinion, where are they and what are they doing?

I’ve already shared my thoughts on this topic, here and elsewhere. Some are on a neighboring forum that’s starting to claim it’s the top French-speaking one. They talk about... travel there.

Will the old VF members come back?

Maybe when you start causing trouble over there. (You can totally return the compliment 😎)

Thanks, I tried to match your level.

Your message was aimed at Zorba. To reach me, you’ll have to aim lower (I know you can) or higher.

Simplifying complex ideas or summarizing them, if you prefer, isn’t easy.

And it seems like an impossible task when the “ideas” themselves aren’t well understood.

If you don’t like the *gloubi-boulga*, try *salmigondis*—it’s the same ingredients. And from those ingredients, I’ll highlight this spice:

That’s why it’s pointless to hope for a dialogue with opponents, especially since some seem quite out of touch based on the style and substance of their replies.

To me, it’s the women who’ve dominated recent debates here—is it because they’re out of touch, or is there something else going on?

@ Kola

... gloubi-boulga that shifts or expands the Overton window.

Like a bow-window?