Lightning strikes Hollande's 7x

When I was very young, our family embarked on one of those road trips that became so popular in the 1950s.  There were six of us so my father had decided to strap a luggage carrier to the top of the car.  Because my father was by far the most technologically graceless person in our whole extended relationship, it wasn't attached properly and about six miles out of town, it flew off and landed in the ditch.

My very religious mother was absolutely convinced that this mishap wasn't so much a sign of my father's ineptness as a sign that God did not want us to take the trip.  It required a day to convince her to get back into the car.  So today, when I read that France's new president's aircraft was struck by lightning on his way to meet with Frau Merkel, I could only imagine how certain my mother would have been that he was NOT "supposed" to meet with her.

Well, at least I got to read a lot of info on the Dassault Falcon 7x.  It may not be Air Force One, but it is a superb biz-jet Dassault will be happy to sell you for $50 million. (This is not a picture of the official presidential airplane.)

Lightning strikes Hollande's plane en route to Berlin, forces return to Paris

15 May, 2012

The newly inaugaurated French President has struck out on his very first official trip. Forces of nature stopped Francois Holland on his way to a symbolic and much-anticipated meeting with German Chancellor Merkel.

According to news reports, Hollande had a change of planes, but not plans, as he headed out for Berlin once again. There, he will meet with Angela Merkel and try to overcome their differences on how to resolve the financial crisis that's been ravaging the eurozone for months.

During his inauguration speech, the French President called for "a compromise" over the German-led focus on austerity.

The two leaders are expected to discuss the broad outlines of a new growth pact to complement Merkel's fiscal pact that cracked down on overspending and was signed by the eurozone member states.

Hollande has said that the fiscal pact must be renegotiated to include a greater emphasis on measures to stimulate growth, while Germany insists the treaty must be respected.

Their differences and the ongoing eurozone crisis will put them under huge pressure to compromise.

As the eurozone's two biggest economies – and biggest contributors to its bailout funds – Germany and France are key decision-makers over the strategy supposed to pull Europe out of crisis.

European Parliament member Richard Ashcroft told RT that Hollande may find it hard to keep his campaign promises – but Angela Merkel will also have to take the French position into account, as Berlin depends on Paris, its closest ally, in these tough times.

"It is absolutely true that Hollande did promise the French people that he would continue government to expenditure but at the same time follow a policy which was aimed at reducing the national budget deficit. Unless you going to print money, unless you are going to rise taxes significantly, that is not going to happen," Ashcroft said.

"The markets will tell Hollande what he can and can’t do but in the meant time Angela Merkel will have to listen very closely to France, which is their closest ally, because between them they have to determine how to resolve the crisis in the eurozone." more