Opinion

A Tale of Two Cities again: London and Paris!

December 24, 2018
A Tale of Two Cities again: London and Paris!

Hussein Shobokshi

It was as if the famous British novelist Charles Dickens was once again back to write his masterpiece “A Tale of Two Cities” about London and Paris with the famous opening line: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Paris for the fourth consecutive week faced a storm of furious and violent protests with the government still not able to appease the street demonstrators, with many of them calling for the downfall and dismissal of French President Macron himself.

In London, British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing what could be described as the toughest and most difficult challenge in the upcoming parliament vote on a British exit plan from the European Union known as Brexit. The initial signs indicate that she will not receive adequate parliamentary support, and therefore may lose her position and have to resign immediately.

England is the country of the Magna Carta, written in 1215, a document constituting a guarantee of rights and privileges which was a landmark in the development of constitutional government and democracy. France is the country of a revolution that was founded on the three principles of freedom, equality and brotherhood. It inspired the founding fathers of the American Constitution, especially influential figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, to face a democratic challenge of a different kind, and the world is now closely watching how France will deal with its problems today.

Britain is facing an attempt to pass a popular referendum approved in a democratic framework, knowing that the implementation of Brexit will be detrimental to the British economy. There are those who believe that the “delay” in resolving Brexit is a kind of British political drama in an attempt to push for a second referendum, thinking that the British people will now have realized the magnitude of the risk that they are taking.

France is clearly concerned that Macron may have to “sacrifice” himself to maintain the “prestige” of state institutions and to comply with the demands of the street demonstrators, just as happened in the reign of charismatic President Charles de Gaulle.

The late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat once said that democracy has teeth and indeed the British and French experiences will be a vital turning point for democracy in the West in general and Europe in particular.


December 24, 2018
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