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Cannes prizewinner sparks parliamentary battle
2008-05-27
Ruling rightwingers clashed with opposition Socialists Tuesday in France's parliament over "The Class," a film shot in a rough Parisian classroom that picked up the Palme d'Or top prize at Cannes. "You are trying to exploit a film that shows the dedication of teachers," said Education Minister Xavier Darcos in response to Socialist taunts that his government was damaging France's schools with job cuts. Based on the bestselling novel by French teacher Francois Begaudeau, "The Class" on Sunday became the first homegrown French movie in two decades to claim the coveted Palme d'Or at the world's top cinema showcase. The film takes a hard look at a year in a multicultural school through the eyes of a teacher. Its relevance has been pointed up by ongoing street protests by French school students and teachers against cutbacks. Socialist deputy Michel Menard, who asked the minister a question about the education job cuts, said "this film shows the diversity of the profession of teachers, don't discourage them!" Darcos accused the Socialists of trying to make political capital out of a film that he said was "co-financed by the services of Fadela Amara," who serves in the government as urban policy minister.
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