Kiosk newsbites
by Marc Heberden

Le Nouvel Observateur Rarely mentioned in tour guides, Paris prostitution has nevertheless always been a part of la vie parisienne and in the steamier quarters of the city, tourists mingle with prospecting clientele in hopes of spotting Irma La Douce. But fatuous as the myth of the happy Parisian hooker ever was, Le Nouvel Obs relates how the times are a-changin'. In a near flood of human misery, young women from Eastern Europe, lured into virtual slavery by unscrupulous advertisements, are creating an alarming new underworld on Paris’ mean streets. But given the complex root of the problem, the solution is not deportation. Prostitution, after all, is the world’s oldest vicious circle of supply and demand. Le Nouvel Obs tries to untangle the knot, but acknowledges that sheer numbers (25% of men admit to having “adventured” at least once), reflect the extremely deep-rooted, intimate and complex nature of prostitution. And unfortunately for these Eastern European women, their home country mafias have discovered the gold lining Paris’ shadowy side.

Lire In a country where prime time TV can include literary talk shows and the national Spelling Bee, it’s no surprise that Lire is one of France’s most successful magazines. This month, the book mag showcases the intense French method actress, Isabelle Huppert, who describes how her meticulous approach to acting was deeply influence by author Nathalie Sarraute, an icon of literary individualism famous for her precise and nearly scientific approach to defining character.

L'Optimum In trying to cobble together a war-torn community, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, chosen by the UN to be the organization’s special representative in Kosovo, has found himself at the heart of European darkness. L’Optimum reports that Kouchner (the most famous of France’s “French Doctors”— a founding member of Médicins Sans Frontières), in his struggle to cauterize the post blood-bath mess of the most recent Balkans crisis, is now faced with a personal stuggle as well: to continue to believe in his deepest conviction that polical will can have a positive role in relieving human distress. Kouchner’s description of daily life in Kosovo is harrowing. But in L'Optimum's profile of the former French Minister of Health, chosen for this role because of his unquestioned sense of humanity and highly-tuned organizational skills for rescue and relief operations, there is room for hope: “Reconciliation, that’s for later. Here, there is little love. But I’m a pessimist who acts, [despite it all]. And everyone can see independence is not far away.”

Le Point Over the last decade or so, French tourists have begun discovering that being French in a foreign country does not mean automatic immunity from being kidnapped, held for ransom, or worse. In response to certain French travel companies which develop "high-adventure" vacations to places like North Korea, Iraq, Yemen, Eastern Turkey — or the warlord-run islands of the South Pacific — the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (a.k.a. the Quai d'Orsay) has finally boiled over in frustration. French tourists who go for sand-buggy rides in the Libyan desert, or personal “photo-journalism” jaunts into Eritrea, are getting chilly receptions once rescued by the nearest viable embassy. Worst non-obvious tourist ideas: Colombia and Haiti. Worst obvious places to avoid: Bhutan, Tadjikistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, the Balkans... Greatest source of problems caused by tourists, according to the Quai d'Orsay: disrespect of native customs and a lack of (monetary) discretion.