Society & Economy

Grrr! Europe! Vote for me!

How do we live in Europe? What do we really know about our ´fellow countrymen´? With its partners, Franco-German channel ARTE inaugurated an ambitious collection of twenty documentaries which explore the lives of various inhabitants of the European Union. Be they squatters, ministers, farmers or holidaymakers, they were followed by young film-makers from their country equipped only with a basic digital camera. These are entertaining portraits which both arouse our curiosity and encourage reflection, sometimes with a provocative and ironic tone.

Ten candidates from small parties fight for a seat in the European Parliament.
In June 1999, 10,000 candidates representing 303 political parties entered the fray to fight for the 626 seats available in the European Parliament. Ten outsiders who did not belong to any of the big political parties were followed during the elections. The stakes: a salary equivalent to that of a national parliamentary minister as well as some 150,000 euros for secretariat and accommodation expenses, not forgetting travel costs, and business-class flights…