8A WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016
MiamiHerald.com MIAMI HERALD
INTERNATIONAL EDITION
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
What lies behind French conservatives’ love of Putin?
BY CELESTINE BOHLEN
The New York Times
PARIS — It is not too hard
to explain the love affair between the Kremlin and the
National Front, the far-right
party in France. They share
positions on a wide range
of issues — national sovereignty (for), the European
Union (against), Russia’s annexation of Crimea (for) and
an American role in Europe
(against).
There is also the noteworthy fact that the National
Front received a ¤9 million
loan, about $10.1 million at
current exchange rates, in
2014 from the Moscow-based
First Czech Russian Bank,
now defunct, which had ties
to the Russian elite.
That makes for a cozy
relationship, not unlike the
Kremlin’s rapport with other far-right groups across
Europe.
More difficult to explain is
the infatuation among members of France’s mainstream
conservative party not just
with Russia, but specifically
with its leader, Vladimir
Putin.
Here is a paean by Nicolas Sarkozy, the former
French president who is angling for a comeback and
battling for the nomination
of his conservative party, the
Republicans, in next year’s
presidential elections: “I am
not one of his intimates but
I confess to appreciating his
frankness, his calm, his authority. And then he is so
Russian!”
The praise in Sarkozy’s
book, France for Life, did
not end there. He added
that he could detect in Putin the same “Russian soul”
shared by Tolstoy, Gogol and
Dostoyevsky.
Fascination with the “Russian soul” has a long history
in France. In the Soviet era,
Moscow was a source of
inspiration, and influence,
among members of the
French left.
IVAN SEKRETAREV/AP POOL
Nicolas Sarkozy, the
former French president
who is looking to make a
comeback, has praised
Russian President
Vladimir Putin in his book,
France for Life, writing, ‘I
am not one of his
intimates but I confess
to appreciating his
frankness, his calm, his
authority. And then he is
so Russian!’
Amid rift, Putin postpones trip to France
MOSCOW — (AP) — Amid a bitter rift
over Syria, Russian President Vladimir
Putin indefinitely postponed a trip to
France after Paris had revised its program
for the visit and said it would talk about
nothing else but the Syrian crisis.
French President Francois Hollande
said Tuesday that Putin put off his visit
set for next week after he let him know
he wouldn’t take part in the opening of
the new Russian Orthodox church and
was only interested in talks about Syria.
Over the weekend, Russia blocked
a U.N. Security Council resolution proposed by France and Spain on ending
the hostilities in the war-torn country,
This has been amplified
by a vigorous, well-funded
effort by Russia to woo the
French political elite and
Russian emigre groups, as
described in a recent book,
The
Kremlin’s
Networks
in France, by Cecile Vaissie, a French university
professor.
blaming Paris for the refusal to discuss
a compromise version. And on Monday,
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called on the International Criminal
Court to investigate Russia for possible
war crimes in Syria.
“France has a major disagreement with
Russia over Syria,” Hollande said. “And
the Russian veto to the French resolution
at the U.N. council has prevented the
cessation of the bombings, as well as the
proclamation of a cease-fire.”
At the same time, he added that he
believes that a dialogue with Russia is
essential for ending the massacre.
“The main victims are the civilians who
The book details the
Kremlin’s sponsorship of
organizations, conferences,
blogs and media outlets that
support its policies. “The
Russian effort works best
on issues that already have
traction in France,” Vaissie
said in an interview. “They
are feeding a certain distrust
live and die under the bombs,” Hollande
said. “That’s the reason why I consider
that a dialogue with Russia is necessary.
But it should be firm and open. Otherwise . . . it’s a mockery.”
Putin’s trip to Paris, which was planned
for next Tuesday, envisaged the opening
of a Russian cultural center and an exhibition, but the French side had revised
the program, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry
Peskov said.
“Regrettably, those events dropped
out of the program,” Peskov said, saying
it’s up to the French side to explain the
reason. “The president decided to cancel
the visit.”
in the European Union, in
American imperialism and in
representative government,
generally.”
One example was a nonbinding resolution in the
French Parliament that called
for a lifting of EU sanctions
against Russia, adopted on
a 55-44 vote last April at a
sparsely attended session of
the 577-member body.
That vote — which has
had no influence on French
government policy but was
widely reported in the Russian news media — was
“incontestably” the work of
parliamentary deputies who
have been assiduously court-
ed by the Kremlin, Vaissie
said.
The Russian message,
which blames Washington
for the crisis in Ukraine,
has found an audience in
those French political circles
where anti-Americanism is
never far below the surface.
“When French politicians
speak warmly about Russia,
that gives them an opening
to talk badly about the United States,” said Thomas Gomart, director of the French
Institute of International
Relations.
Once known as Sarko
l’Americain because of his
pro-Washington
views,
Sarkozy now says his first
foreign policy initiative, if
reelected, will be to go to
Moscow.
Earlier criticisms of Russia’s human rights violations
have been dropped from his
2016 playbook.
“He is trying to outflank
the hard right,” said Francois Heisbourg, a French
foreign policy analyst. “It is
political opportunism writ
large.”
Among other center-right
politicians, some have detected a strong whiff of admiration for Putin’s strongman image, one bolstered
by Russia’s aggressive use of
force in Syria.
But in Gomart’s view, Russia is playing a long game,
bolstering the National Front
and dividing the center right
to sow discord in a major
European democracy and
gain influence in the next
government.
Vaissie said the Russian
effort had a double purpose.
It both echoes back to Russia
as a European endorsement
of Kremlin strategies, and it
undermines French faith in
a European Union, now in
crisis.
“It is a P.R. coup,” she said.
“It has had no impact on policy, but it feeds a negative
opinion of Europe that exists
in France already.”
Miami REALTORS® Showcase South Florida Real Estate in India
he
MIAMI Association
of
REALTORS® (MIAMI) promoted
South Florida at India’s largest
real estate event, NAR-INDIA, to
advance the growing trend of
local Indian buyers and investors.
MIAMI met and provided printed reference
materials with important South Florida market
facts to top Indian and global brokers at the 8th
annual event held Aug. 13-14 in New Delhi.
MIAMI also participated in a FIABCI India
program in Bangalore, the center of India’s hightech industry, from Aug. 15-16. FIABCI is the
International Real Estate Federation that helps
real estate professionals conduct international
business with each other.
“India is one of the fastest growing economies
in the world and ranks among the largest foreign
buyers of U.S. real estate,” MIAMI CEO Teresa
King Kinney said. “Indian home buyers and
investors are increasingly purchasing Miami real
estate because of our growing job base, robust
technological hub, diversity and world-class
educational opportunities.”
Indian Investment
in U.S. Real Estate
India is the third-largest foreign buyer of United
States residential real estate, according to the
2016 Profile of International Activity in U.S.
Residential Real Estate conducted by the National
Association of REALTORS® (NAR). India spent
$6.1 billion in 2016, which trailed only China
($27.3 billion) and Canada ($8.9 billion).
Florida had the largest share of international sales
(22 percent) in the United States. An impressive
50 percent of all foreign transactions in Florida
take place in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Indian buyers are not concentrated in one
American state, the study found. Most Indian
buyers purchased properties to use as a primary
residence where they most likely found jobs and
many also invest in commercial and investment
properties.
Miami’s Growing
Indian Community
South Florida has long been one of America’s top
regions for international home buyers, and Indian
consumers are becoming a larger part of it.
Asian Indians are the second largest nationality
within the Miami Asian population (Chinese rank
first with almost 13,000 residents). Asian Indians
(9,512 residents) account for 23.2 percent of the
total Miami Asian population, according to 20102014 U.S. Census Bureau data.
Miami has added local Indian restaurants and the
demographic has increased its representation at
local universities. The student population at the
University of Miami, which is ranked among the
top 45 colleges in America by U.S. News & World
Report, is 5.6 percent Asian. UM offers a semester
abroad for students in Manipal, India.
India’s interest in South Florida is also evident
in foreign property searches on www.Miamire.
com, MIAMI international search portal. India has
ranked among the top-10 international countries
searching for Miami real estate for the past 34
months.
The last time India didn’t finish among the top
searchers was September 2013. India had the
ninth-most web searches of Miami real estate in
July 2016, according to the most available data.
India had its highest finish in February 2014,
when it had the fourth-most web searches.
NAR-INDIA and FIABCI India Bangalore Program
The 8th annual NAR-INDIA convention, held Aug.
13-14 in New Delhi, had quality programming,
educational
sessions
and
networking
opportunities. NAR-INDIA, an independent body
formed seven years ago, represents 28 member
associations and more than 20,000 brokers in
India.
The FIABCI program, held Aug. 15-16 in Bangalore,
attracted Realtors and stakeholders from 24
countries. Developers and Realtors visited
tech parks and residential and commercial
complexes.
Participating at NAR-INDIA and the FIABCI
program in Bangalore is part of MIAMI’s increased
efforts to promote South Florida around the globe.
In 2016, MIAMI has participated and/or exhibited
and presented at MIPIM in France, FIABCI World
Congress in Panama, Gran Salon Inmobiliario in
Colombia, China North America Global Summit
in China and NAR-India in India. This fall, MIAMI
presented to top brokers at FIABCI France. It will
exhibit at the Salon National de l’Immobilier in
Paris and InmoExpo in El Salvador.
Growing
Tech Industry
India’s home buyers and investors are purchasing
Miami real estate because of the region’s growth
in technology companies.
An increasing number of companies, including
Microsoft, are working to turn Miami into America’s
next tech hub. Venture capitalists and technology
incubators have invested in the community and
are encouraging more tech companies such as
Miami-based social media startup Everypost.
Latin American technological companies see
Miami as a more accessible economic entry point
for business compared to other American cities
such as Silicon Valley.
Miami and Fort Lauderdale have the No. 1 and
No. 3 highest rates of foreign born high-tech
entrepreneurs -- 37.4 and 25.8 per 10,000
workers respectively, compared to, for example,
tech hubs like San Francisco, 21.5, New York,
15.8 and Austin, 9.8, the report showed.
Most International
City in the U.S.
With the highest concentration of foreign-born
residents of any major U.S. city, Miami residents
are multilingual, diverse and qualified to work for
national and international businesses seeking
to connect with foreign consumers. About 51.3
percent of Miami residents are foreign born
and the Miami-Dade County population speaks
a staggering 100 languages, according to the
U.S. Census. Miami’s concentration of foreignborn residents is more than double the national
average of 19.4 percent.
Miami’s annual eMerge Americas, a large-scale
technology conference, is growing each year. It
focuses on connecting revolutionary startups,
cutting-edge ideas, and global industry leaders
and investors across North America, Europe, and
Latin America.
The recent growth in Miami technological
businesses is becoming represented in national
studies. South Florida has grown faster than
all other top metro areas in immigrant tech
entrepreneurship, according to a recent report
by Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The
foundation’s research also shows immigrantowned businesses are more likely to locate in
ethnically diverse metro areas that have high
foreign-born populations like South Florida.
Representing More Than 42,000
Real Estate Professionals
Property Information in 20 Languages
miamire.com
[email protected]
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