What the French are saying about Roman Polanski

Though it's admittedly rusty, The Chief still knows enough French to be able to say that the French-speaking press is much more interesting to read when it comes to whole Roman Polanski arrest. Here are some DIY translations, complete with the original French below.

Feel free to correct any grammatical and/or vocab mistakes in the comments section. There will likely be many.

Henri Bernard-Levi, widely considered to be France's pre-eminent public intellectual, signed a petition that read in part:

We ask the federal Swiss justice system to release Roman Polanski immediately and not to make this brilliant film-maker into a martyr of a dubious judicial-political mess between two democracies such as the Switzerland and the United States. Good sense, as much as honor, suggest as much. [1]

Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the ultra right-wing National Front:

The support which [French Foreign Minister] Kouchner and [French Culture Minister] Mitterrand gave to this criminal pedophile, in the name of the rights of the politico-artistic clique, is scandalous and justifies that one asks their resignation. [2]

"Politico-artistic clique" is an awkward French conservative version of "Liberal Hollywood."

There's a petition being circulated by various French and European film-makers that sort of suggests that Polanski's arrest will have repercussions on artists' ability to speak and travel freely in the future.

Oddly enough, the best answer to the question "Why now?" in any language I've read thus far gets answered in a blog post post in L'Express, which is sort of like the French Time or Newsweek. Here's the whole translation:

By becoming the first DA in California history to be re-elected three times in a row in 2008, Cooley knew how to flex his muscles, particularly in cases which appealed to the popular conscience. His office -- 1000 prosecutors, 800 administrative civil servants, supported by an annual budget of some 350 million dollars -- became famous for tracking down Mexican criminals who had returned to their country after committing murders in California. For instance, diplomatic pressures originating in California contributed to the abolition of an amendment in the Mexican constitution forbidding the extradition of Mexican nationals back to the United States. The lawyers in the DA's office in Los Angeles appear among the best specialists in extradition. [3]

_________
1. "Nous demandons à la justice fédérale helvétique de remettre en liberté immédiatement Roman Polanski et de ne pas transformer ce génial cinéaste en martyr d'un imbroglio juridico-politique indigne de deux démocraties telles que la Suisse et les Etats-Unis. Le bon sens, autant que l'honneur, y invitent."
2. "Le soutien qu'ont apporté MM. Kouchner et Mitterrand à ce criminel pédophile, au nom des droits qu'aurait la caste politico-artistique, est scandaleux et justifie que soit demandée leur démission."
3. "Pour entrer dans l'histoire californienne, en devenant, en 2008, le premier District Attorney de l'Etat réélu trois fois de suite, Cooley a su montrer sa poigne, en particulier sur des dossiers qui marquent la conscience populaire. Ses services, 1000 procureurs, 800 fonctionnaires administratifs, soutenus par un budget annuel de quelques 350 millions de dollars, se sont illustrés dans la traque des criminels mexicains réfugiés dans leur pays après avoir commis des meurtres en Californie. Les pressions diplomatiques émanant de Californie ont contribué par exemple à l'abrogation d'un amendement de la constitution mexicaine interdisant les extraditions de ressortissants de ce pays vers les Etats-Unis. Les juristes du D.A. de Los Angeles figurent parmi les meilleurs spécialistes en matière d'extradition."