Latest news with #EmileZola
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
We have learnt nothing from the treatment of Alfred Dreyfus
On a winter morning in 1895, Captain Alfred Dreyfus was brought to the Ecole Militaire in Paris. Convicted of treason, he was sentenced to deportation and life imprisonment; his epaulettes were torn off, his sword broken, and he was paraded before a jeering mob of onlookers. Dreyfus was Jewish, and virulent anti-Semitism within the army and wider society was central to his conviction on flimsy evidence. Despite a campaign by his supporters, including the novelist Emile Zola, Dreyfus was convicted a second time. He was not fully exonerated until 1906. At the end of An Officer and a Spy, his 2013 novel about the Dreyfus Affair, Robert Harris added an epilogue in which the newly exonerated Major Dreyfus meets General Picquart, the minister of war, to ask for promotion to lieutenant-colonel – the rank he should have achieved had it not been for his wrongful conviction. Picquart refuses: 'It is politically impossible.' Last week, the lower house of the French parliament unanimously approved a bill put forward by the former prime minister Gabriel Attal to grant Dreyfus retrospective promotion to the rank of brigadier general. Attal made it clear that the gesture was symbolic. 'The anti-Semitism that targeted Alfred Dreyfus is not in the distant past,' the legislation noted. 'Today's acts of hatred remind us that the fight is still ongoing.' But over this belated promotion there hovers the question that attends all symbolic gestures of political regret. Public acts of contrition are not a new phenomenon. In 1174, King Henry II did penance for the murder of Thomas Becket, entering Canterbury barefoot, where he was beaten by the attendant bishops and monks, and spent the night in prayer at Becket's tomb. Such acts might seem theatrical, but they do at least acknowledge that contrition needs to take some tangible form. Words are not enough. This is something that modern politicians struggle to grasp. Their enthusiasm for making grand, frictionless expressions of regret for historical wrongs (the slave trade; the Amritsar massacre) seems to have grown as their appetite for taking responsibility for injustices that have occurred on their own watch (the Post Office and infected-blood scandals, to name just two) has dwindled. Lord Carrington's resignation as foreign secretary in 1982, over Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands, may have been the last recorded example of a politician resigning from a sense of noblesse oblige. Since then, we have become more accustomed to the spectacle of our legislators clinging like bindweed to office, until the glyphosate of public opinion finally withers them. In 2009, the then foreign-office minister Lord Malloch-Brown artlessly admitted that 'British politicians don't know how to say sorry'. But they've upped their game since then, perfecting a virtuoso repertoire of blame-shifting, quasi-apologies ('I'm sorry you feel that way') and rhetorical flourishes that imply change, while retreating into impenetrable thickets of administrative complexity when it comes to reparation. Back in Paris, perhaps Dreyfus's promotion, long after it might have done him any good, may bring some comfort to his descendants. Beyond that, will this gesture deter a single act of anti-Semitic aggression? Or advance in the slightest degree the universal proposition that the systematic tormenting of a particular group of people – in whatever guise it may occur – is profoundly reprehensible. And if not, what on earth is the point? Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
We have learnt nothing from the treatment of Alfred Dreyfus
On a winter morning in 1895, Captain Alfred Dreyfus was brought to the Ecole Militaire in Paris. Convicted of treason, he was sentenced to deportation and life imprisonment; his epaulettes were torn off, his sword broken, and he was paraded before a jeering mob of onlookers. Dreyfus was Jewish, and virulent anti-Semitism within the army and wider society was central to his conviction on flimsy evidence. Despite a campaign by his supporters, including the novelist Emile Zola, Dreyfus was convicted a second time. He was not fully exonerated until 1906. At the end of An Officer and a Spy, his 2013 novel about the Dreyfus Affair, Robert Harris added an epilogue in which the newly exonerated Major Dreyfus meets General Picquart, the minister of war, to ask for promotion to lieutenant-colonel – the rank he should have achieved had it not been for his wrongful conviction. Picquart refuses: 'It is politically impossible.' Last week, the lower house of the French parliament unanimously approved a bill put forward by the former prime minister Gabriel Attal to grant Dreyfus retrospective promotion to the rank of brigadier general. Attal made it clear that the gesture was symbolic. 'The anti-Semitism that targeted Alfred Dreyfus is not in the distant past,' the legislation noted. 'Today's acts of hatred remind us that the fight is still ongoing.' But over this belated promotion there hovers the question that attends all symbolic gestures of political regret. Public acts of contrition are not a new phenomenon. In 1174, King Henry II did penance for the murder of Thomas Becket, entering Canterbury barefoot, where he was beaten by the attendant bishops and monks, and spent the night in prayer at Becket's tomb. Such acts might seem theatrical, but they do at least acknowledge that contrition needs to take some tangible form. Words are not enough. This is something that modern politicians struggle to grasp. Their enthusiasm for making grand, frictionless expressions of regret for historical wrongs (the slave trade; the Amritsar massacre) seems to have grown as their appetite for taking responsibility for injustices that have occurred on their own watch (the Post Office and infected-blood scandals, to name just two) has dwindled. Lord Carrington's resignation as foreign secretary in 1982, over Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands, may have been the last recorded example of a politician resigning from a sense of noblesse oblige. Since then, we have become more accustomed to the spectacle of our legislators clinging like bindweed to office, until the glyphosate of public opinion finally withers them. In 2009, the then foreign-office minister Lord Malloch-Brown artlessly admitted that 'British politicians don't know how to say sorry'. But they've upped their game since then, perfecting a virtuoso repertoire of blame-shifting, quasi-apologies ('I'm sorry you feel that way') and rhetorical flourishes that imply change, while retreating into impenetrable thickets of administrative complexity when it comes to reparation. Back in Paris, perhaps Dreyfus's promotion, long after it might have done him any good, may bring some comfort to his descendants. Beyond that, will this gesture deter a single act of anti-Semitic aggression? Or advance in the slightest degree the universal proposition that the systematic tormenting of a particular group of people – in whatever guise it may occur – is profoundly reprehensible. And if not, what on earth is the point?
Business Upturn
26-05-2025
- Business
- Business Upturn
Caisse Française de Financement Local EMTN 2025-9
By GlobeNewswire Published on May 27, 2025, 01:18 IST Paris, 26 May 2025 Capitalised terms used herein shall have the meaning specified for such terms in the Caisse Française de Financement Local base prospectus to the €75,000,000,000 Euro Medium Term Note Programme dated 8 July 2024 (the 'Base Prospectus'). Caisse Française de Financement Local has decided to issue on 28 May 2025 – Euro 10,000,000 Callable Fixed Rate Obligations Foncières due 28 May 2055. The Base Prospectus dated 8 July 2024 and the supplements to the Base Prospectus dated 13 September 2024, 30 September 2024, 26 December 2024, 27 February 2025 and 2 April 2025 approved by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers are available on the website of the Issuer ( at the registered office of the Issuer: 112-114, avenue Emile Zola, 75015 Paris, France, and at the office of the Paying Agent indicated in the Base Prospectus. The Final Terms relating to the issue will be available on the website of the AMF ( and of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange ( at the office of the Issuer and at the office of the Paying Agent. Attachment CAFFIL EMTN 2025-9_Communiqué Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. GlobeNewswire provides press release distribution services globally, with substantial operations in North America and Europe.
Business Upturn
20-05-2025
- Business
- Business Upturn
Caisse Française de Financement Local: EMTN 2025-8 SOCIAL
By GlobeNewswire Published on May 20, 2025, 19:43 IST Paris, 20 May 2025 Capitalised terms used herein shall have the meaning specified for such terms in the Caisse Française de Financement Local base prospectus to the €75,000,000,000 Euro Medium Term Note Programme dated 8 July 2024 (the 'Base Prospectus'). Caisse Française de Financement Local has decided to issue on 22 May 2025 – Euro 500,000,000 Fixed Rate Obligations Foncières due 22 May 2037. The net proceeds of this issue will be used to finance and/or refinance, in whole or in part, the Eligible Social Loans as defined in the Sfil Group Green, Social and Sustainability Bond Framework as published as of the Issue Date which is available on the website of the Issuer. A Stabilisation Manager has been named in the applicable Final Terms. The Base Prospectus dated 8 July 2024 and the supplements to the Base Prospectus dated 13 September 2024, 30 September 2024, 26 December 2024, 27 February 2025 and 2 April 2025 approved by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers are available on the website of the Issuer ( ), at the registered office of the Issuer: 112-114, avenue Emile Zola, 75015 Paris, France, and at the office of the Paying Agent indicated in the Base Prospectus. The Final Terms relating to the issue will be available on the website of the AMF ( and of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange ( ), at the office of the Issuer and at the office of the Paying Agent. Attachment Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. GlobeNewswire provides press release distribution services globally, with substantial operations in North America and Europe.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Caisse Française de Financement Local: EMTN 2025-8 SOCIAL
Paris, 20 May 2025 Capitalised terms used herein shall have the meaning specified for such terms in the Caisse Française de Financement Local base prospectus to the €75,000,000,000 Euro Medium Term Note Programme dated 8 July 2024 (the 'Base Prospectus'). Caisse Française de Financement Local has decided to issue on 22 May 2025 – Euro 500,000,000 Fixed Rate Obligations Foncières due 22 May 2037. The net proceeds of this issue will be used to finance and/or refinance, in whole or in part, the Eligible Social Loans as defined in the Sfil Group Green, Social and Sustainability Bond Framework as published as of the Issue Date which is available on the website of the Issuer. A Stabilisation Manager has been named in the applicable Final Terms. The Base Prospectus dated 8 July 2024 and the supplements to the Base Prospectus dated 13 September 2024, 30 September 2024, 26 December 2024, 27 February 2025 and 2 April 2025 approved by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers are available on the website of the Issuer ( at the registered office of the Issuer: 112-114, avenue Emile Zola, 75015 Paris, France, and at the office of the Paying Agent indicated in the Base Prospectus. The Final Terms relating to the issue will be available on the website of the AMF ( and of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange ( at the office of the Issuer and at the office of the Paying Communiqué ENError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
