A French View of “Yes We Can”


Historique! [Source: Paris Match]

Le Monde published Robert Solé ‘s response to the American presidential election in English, followed by a French translation. Thanks to Daniel B. Suits, who would have translated it otherwise.

Sorry we can’t
by Robert Solé  LE MONDE | 05.11.08

Sorry. No column today. The keyboard is not responding. History is a page being turned. Three words on the screen: “Yes we can.” While it is impossible to joke with genocide or disaster, it is equally impossible to joke with an event that makes you weep for joy. The first worldwide good news since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 needs more than a pirouette or an amused wink. At this moment - but for how long ? - we can say with far more conviction than on 11 September 2023 : we are all Americans.

According to NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley, champagne corks popped across Paris in the wee hours of Wednesday morning when the election was called for Barack Obama .

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