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Portrait of Jos?� Bov?�, ex-rebel now MEP
As far as the French go, Jos?� Bov?� is no ordinary Frenchman. At times he has come across as larger than life, stirring up a crowd in Seattle… interfering with construction of a MacDonalds deep in France… trampling biotech corn… cuffed off to jail… leading protest sit-ins at multinational companies. He’s a farmer. But two years ago he went from herding sheep in southwest France into fulltime politics. The former farm union leader from Larzac is now a member of the European Parliament. Bov?� told euronews: “I don’t feel I’ve sold my soul to the devil. I’m here where decisions are taken, I’m here to take part. I’m not turning my back on battles in the field, which are also important for me. At the moment, for example, I’m fighting multinational shale oil prospectors. It’s crazy to let them do that. For me it’s essential to go into battle locally, but also to mobilise at a European level and internationally.” Now nesting in the treetops of power, the ex-agitator has come to grips with the institutional rigging, studying it acutely. We spent a day with Bov?� during a parliamentary full sitting in Strasbourg. In the close quarters of his office, the elected member and his two assistants scan and parse the day’s programme, early in the marathon to which he has become accustomed. Bov?� said: “You have to understand the way it works if you’re going to be efficient. Otherwise you could just talk a lot of hot air at the European Parliament, it’s true. We really are called on to deal with a pile of subjects. If you don’t set yourself specific goals you can just flap around. When I arrived here I had a clear objective: questions about agriculture and international trade. Those are my main activities.” It is not easy to keep up with Bov?� as he goes about his business, bent on changing the system from the inside, as much as that’s possible. He was elected under the flag of the Greens in 2009 and then slipped naturally into the vice-president’s seat in the agriculture committee, a strategic position to defend Europe’s farmers. Leaving the assembly chamber, we find Bov?� with Greens veteran Daniel Cohn-Bendit. These two were diametrically opposed in 2005 over the referendum in France on the European constitution. But they say that’s now water under the bridge. Cohn-Bendit said: “Some of his criticism was not wrong. We chose to go a different way. We said that in spite of what he was against it’s a step forward. He said that in spite of the progress we cannot vote in favour. The problem isn’t to agree on everything; the problem is to be in the same political area, where we can wage battles together, and discuss our diverging points of view.” Jos?� Bov?� in 2005 opposed a model of ever-increasing productivity, but he said that does not make him anti-European. Bov?� said: “I’m a federalist first, because I really think that the biggest obstacles for Europe today are the nation-states, which prevent Europe from evolving. We see that where the budget is concerned. The European budget is less than 1% of GDP of all the EU countries put together. That’s ridiculous. Countries have to understand that the future of Europe’s 500 million people rides on having a real budget, and therefore depends on a federal Europe.” Scene change for lunch: we move to one of Strasbourg’s traditional taverns, bearing various hallmarks of the Alsace region. Bov?� is hosting a debate attended by local and European journalists. 6’48 Genetically modified food, commodity speculation and climate change top the discussion menu. He’s happy to announce that he has been officially designated to write the parliament’s position paper on products used in agriculture such as pesticides and fertilizer. He is in his element, though he admits that media exposure has a double edge. Bov?� said: “If you’re not out there, people say you’re not where things are happening and they hold it against you. But if they see you on television a few times, they say ‘oh, it’s him again, we see nothing but him.’ Striking a balance is very tricky. What I try to do is be present in relation to current events, with what I do.” Bov?� is also here to talk about a new book he has written with French journalist Jean Quatremer. It is about Bov?�‘s vision of Europe. It is hard to shake the image of the eternal rebel. Quatremer said: “There’s the side Asterix the Gaul, with the mustache, and the man whose actions really grab the media’s attention — like dismantling a MacDonalds, spoiling GM experimental fields… It’s very simple, black and white. The media doesn’t like grey areas. But we have to see things clearly. He has used this caricature. It has been very useful, because perhaps people also like someone they can identify with, who is really simple, not complicated. It’s hard to relate to complexity.” Back in the parliament Bov?� wants to sit in on a meeting of the working group on the Middle East that. A French former ambassador to the United Nations, decorated diplomat St?�phane Hessel, is guest of honour. He and ecologists like Bov?� enjoy a long, close acquaintance. Hessel said: “The way I see it, we have too many well-behaved people who accomplish nothing. But we have a few upstarts, and when you get one of those you have to hang onto him, because his unmannerly intrusion shows us the way towards true values.” At eight in the evening the upstart was not done yet. He quit the broadloomed parliament for linoleum in a Strasbourg poor neighbourhood, to lend his support to local election candidates in the Europe Ecologie party. He can let his hair down here, speak frankly — as he always has. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Diageo hopes Turkish deal will delight
Britain’s Diageo has agreed to buy the Turkish spirits group Mey Icki for the equivalent of one and a half billion euros. The deal will give the world’s biggest spirits maker access to a fast-growing emerging market. Mey Icki is number one in Turkey and the clear market leader in raki, the country’s most popular spirit. It also has an extensive nationwide sales and distribution network. Diageo, which makes Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka, is buying Mey Icki from investment firms TPG Capital and Actera. The deal is expected to be completed in the second half of 2011. The company said it aims to resolve Turkish tax issues that had delayed a deal in the next few weeks. “Turkey is seeing rapid growth of its middle classes, so there is growth in local raki and vodka, while the deal provides a fantastic platform for Diageo’s international brands in Turkey,” the head of the firm’s Europe business, Andrew Morgan, told a conference call. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Gunners blast Barca twice for victory
Arsenal came from behind to beat Barcelona 2-1 in the champions League first leg last 16 at the Emirates.?�Barca took the lead in the first half thanks to David Villa and looked composed and in control.?�Still, the second half told another tale and Arsenal drew level on 78 minutes when Robin van Persie beat keeper Victor Valdes at the near post for 1-1?�Substitute Andrej Arshavin swept in the winner following a slick move worthy of Barca at their best to give the home side a 2-1 advantage going into the second leg at the Nou Camp on March 8. Copyright © 2011 euronews

UN facing calls for action over Libya
The focus of attention is also on the UN in New York where anti-Gaddafi protesters have already been making their feelings known outside the building. The Security Council is to meet in closed session amid calls for international action to protect Libyan citizens from the wrath of their rulers. Libyan diplomats who have broken away from the regime have been explaining their decision. “We have never been with Gaddafi, we are with the people,” said Ibrahim Dabbashi, deputy ambassador to the UN. “We just made a statement to ask the international community to intervene to do something to help the Libyan people who are facing genocide in Tripoli. Also (they are) facing crimes against humanity in all the eastern cities of Libya.” The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he spoke to Gaddafi yesterday and urged him to stop the violence. “I have seen very disturbing and shocking scenes where Libyan authorities have been firing at demonstrators from warplanes and helicopters,” he said. “This is unacceptable. This must stop immediately. This is a serious violation of international humanitarian law.” The Arab League is also holding an emergency meeting in Cairo today. The international community is voicing concern but it is facing calls for immediate measures, such as a no-fly zone above Libya to stop mercenaries from coming in. If you are in Libya, contact us and tell us what you see and witness. witness@euronews.net, twitter@euronews or facebook Copyright © 2011 euronews

Israel kills 8 in deadliest day for Gaza in months
At least eight Palestinians, including children, have been killed in Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip in the deadliest day of conflict in the enclave for months. Palestinian medics said three youths playing football, including a child of 12, died along with an adult relative when Israeli shells struck a house. Israel says it was responding to mortar fire and expressed regret for any civilian casualties. Elsewhere in Gaza, four militants from the Islamic Jihad group were killed in an air strike. Israel claims they had been preparing a rocket attack. Gaza’s rulers Hamas have vowed a tough response. Tension has risen on the Israeli-Gaza border in the past few weeks. The Israeli military says more than 130 rockets and mortars have been fired into Israel this year from Gaza, around 60 of them since Saturday. Copyright © 2011 euronews

German minister gives up doctorate
German defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenburg is under pressure to quit amid allegations he plagiarised parts of his PhD thesis. In an attempt to defuse the controversy the politican has given up his doctorate. Despite the backing of his CSU party his position is far from secure as crucial state elections loom. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Five dead in Iraqi ‘Day of Rage’
Thousands of Iraqis have staged a ‘Day of Rage’ inspired by similar movements elsewhere in the Arab world. At least five were killed in towns and cities throughout the country from Kirkuk in the north to Basra in the south. They marched to the governor’s building, their anger fuelled by shortages of jobs, food and clean water, and frequent power-cuts. Thousands poured into Liberation Square in the capital too despite a virtually total security clampdown. Some protesters still managed to vent their anger on the concrete blast-wall leading to Baghdad’s green-zone, where there are many government buildings and foreign embassies. Demonstrator Malik Abdon said: “We are educated young people. There are a number of masters university students among us. The government have stolen our dreams. We are young men without dreams.” Iraqi soldiers and police were deployed en masse in central Baghdad enforcing a vehicle curfew and searching protesters. Eight years after the US-led invasion to topple Saddam there is fury at government corruption and that life is not easier. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Merkel forced into cabinet reshuffle
Germany has a new defence minister after Angela Merkel was forced to reshuffle her cabinet. Thomas de Maiziere replaces Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who resigned on Tuesday following a scandal over plagiarism. The shake up sees Hans-Peter Friedrich move to the interior ministry to fill De Maziere’s shoes. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Merkel’s CDU routed in Hamburg state election
Germany’s ruling Christian Democrats have suffered a worse than expected defeat in a crucial regional election in the northern city-state of Hamburg. Exit polls show the CDU capturing just 20 percent of the vote, a massive drop of 22 percent points and the biggest reversal in the party’s history between elections. If confirmed, the result will make life more difficult for Angela Merkel’s coalition at a national level as it will lose control of the parliament’s upper house. The leader of Hamburg’s Social Democrat party, Olaf Scholz, now looks set to secure an outright majority. In contrast, Merkel’s Christian Democrat ally, Christoph Ahlhous, appeared to be relying on the good weather to galvanise his support. Since taking over as mayor of Hamburg last year the CDU’s popularity has plunged. The election in Hamburg is the first of seven regional tests for Merkel this year, with the SPD riding high in polls nationwide. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Soldiers corral protestors in parts of Tahrir
Soldiers have moved in to form a cordon around the protestors who still occupy parts of Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The Army says it respects the demonstrators’ demands. But today is the start of the working week in Egypt and it has urged them to go home so that normal life can resume. Despite toppling the Mubarak regime, many say they plan to stay in the Square to hold the newly-installed army council to account. There was some pushing and shoving and sporadic scuffling. It has been claimed that dozens of protest leaders have been taken away and are being held near the Egptian Museum next to Tahrir Square. There has been no comment from the military. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Deutsche Telekom dials up a deal for T-Mobile
Deutsche Telekom seems to have dialled up a good deal with an agreement to sell its US mobile phone division T-Mobile for the equivalent of 27.5 billion euros. That money will be used to buy back shares and pay down debt. The buyer is AT&T, which will pick up around 34 million customers and become the largest mobile phone operator in the states. Its shares rose as did those of Deutsche Telekom in Frankfurt. The German company’s stock was up 11.3 percent, hitting a two-year high: Oliver Roth, a market strategist with Close Brothers Seydler Bank gave his assessment: “The financial markets welcome the decision of the Deutsche Telekom to get rid of the American branch simply because now they can concentrate on their first goal to get bigger in the multimedia-internet market and they get also a lot of money for their American branch and that is definitively a success.” Deutsche Telekom said that it now plans to focus on organic growth but the reduced debt will give it an advantage in bidding for European assets, for example in Poland and Serbia. As part of the deal, which now needs to approved by regulators, Deutsche Telekom will become an eight percent shareholder in AT&T. Copyright © 2011 euronews

European markets at close: 17.03.11
A roundup of the days markets data from euronews.net, brought to you as video on demand. Copyright © 2011 euronews