France keeps on sucking

[bcholmes]

"We still have a lot of work to do, but I think we've successfully generated interest," Fabre said.

"We're hearing about (the hoax) in the New York Times, in the Quebec media, really everywhere."

The CRIME representatives were joined yesterday by two members of the local Haitian community, Serge Bouchereau and Didier Berry, who said they applauded the group's efforts on behalf of the people of Haiti, many of whom still lack adequate food and shelter after a devastating earthquake rocked the impoverished country in January.

"I think the website is fabulous," said Berry. "Young people in the (Haitian) Diaspora are very happy with it, from what I see on blogs and websites. I think they're very happy to see Westerners interested in this issue."

At issue it the huge sum of money Haiti paid the French government following the slave revolt in 1804 that earned Haiti its independence from colonial rule. In 1825, France demanded that Haiti compensate it for its loss of men and slave labour to the tune of 90 million gold francs. It took over 125 years to do it, but Haitians eventually coughed up the cash.

When asked by reporters why CRIME decided to stage the online hoax to draw attention to Haiti's "independence debt" rather than organize a protest or circulate petitions, Fabre responded, "Well, you're all here, aren't you?"

— "Online hoaxers fight on despite threats of legal action by France", Montreal Gazette

In other news, the Yes Men are considering legal action.

In response to speculation that the Yes Men, a group that carries out similarly elaborate pranks, might have been involved in this ruse, The Lede received this statement from Mike Bonanno, a member of that group by e-mail on Friday:

In the strongest terms we deplore this stunt and are exploring all of our legal options to locate and punish the perpetrators for theft of creative and intellectual copyright, which was clearly Yes Men derived, yet no due attribution has been forthcoming. These amateurs will be hearing from our lawyers soon.

All the same, I was surprised to learn that France spent many years collecting financial damages as part of Haiti’s independence agreement. Money lost from interruption of the slave trade? Wow... free trade in action.

— "Faux French Foreign Ministry Explains Prank", The Lede