Misery

October 2025

WIKIPEDIA

Misery is a 1990 American psychological horror thriller film directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by William Goldman. It is based on Stephen King’s 1987 novel and stars James Caan as famed novelist Paul Sheldon, who is held captive by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), an obsessive fan. ….

Sheldon writes Victorian romance novels featuring a character named Misery Chastain. Though the books are profitable, Paul despises the series and wishes to focus on writing more serious literature. He has just left the hotel in Silver Creek, Colorado, where he completed a manuscript he hopes will launch his post-Misery career. En route to New York City, he is caught in a blizzard and crashes his car over an embankment. Annie Wilkes finds him and brings him to her remote home.

Paul awakens to find himself bedridden with broken legs and a dislocated shoulder. Annie, a nurse who claims to be his “number one fan,” says she will care for him until telephone lines are reconnected and the local roads are cleared following the storm. Annie’s disturbing behavior gradually emerges, culminating when she reads the newest Misery novel and discovers that Misery dies at the end. Flying into a rage, she reveals that she never informed anyone about Paul, and no one knows his whereabouts.

The fact that the main character in Sheldon’s novels should be named Misery strikes me as a very interesting twist. The novelist himself is clearly having a miserable experience, and he ends up fleeing for his life at the end of the movie.

Numerous topics are addressed in this psychological horror thriller, including the dilemma of artists caught between their desire to create according to their own inspiration and fans who are adamant that they do not like the changes! The audience sees the victim’s consternation when he realizes that this woman, who appears to be an outstanding member of the community, is a hardened criminal, although the help she provided initially seemed motivated by kindness and sincerity.

How is it that a bully can influence freedom of speech, as Annie does to Sheldon’s? How long does it take people to realize how awful such people are after they initially present themselves as so nice and supportive?

Enlarging on this title, I believe more and more people are living in poverty or facing poverty in France and the USA. I chose this title thinking of them, the French word “misère” means dire poverty, whereas the English word “misery” is more about sad emotions. I have little hope that the lives of the poor in these two countries will get any better anytime soon.

ON OCTOBER 12, THE EU ENTRY/EXIT SYSTEM STARTS 
I have copied and pasted most of the front page of an official website below. I do not see a better way to give accurate, critical, and easy-to-understand information about the new system.

Starting on October 12, 2025, the European Union (EU) will begin rolling out the Entry/Exit System (EES), with full implementation by April 2026

This new digital border management tool will replace traditional passport stamping with biometric records, transforming the way millions of eligible travelers experience border crossings. As part of the EU’s broader modernization efforts, the EES works hand-in-hand with the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), making travel more secure, efficient, and transparent for visitors. This guide walks you through EES’ purpose, application process, and frequently asked questions, ensuring that you’re prepared by launch date.

What is the EES?

The EES is a new digital border control system being rolled out across the EU starting in October 2025, with full implementation by April 2026. It replaces traditional passport stamping with a secure process that records biometric data, entry dates, and exit dates, making border checks more accurate and efficient for travelers.

Defining the EES

At its core, the EES is an automated IT system designed to register non-EU nationals traveling for short stays at Schengen external borders. Instead of relying on manual passport stamps, the system electronically records personal details and biometric identifiers, such as facial images and fingerprints, each time you cross into or out of Schengen territory. This modernization ensures greater accuracy in tracking travel movements and helps prevent overstays.

Who Does the EES Apply to?

The EES applies to two main categories of travelers:
 Visa-exempt travelers: This includes nationals from countries exempted from applying for a Schengen visa for short stays.
 Short-stay visa holders: Those who require a visa to enter the Schengen Area for a limited duration.

If you fall into either group, you will be registered in the EES when entering a participating European country. Citizens of EU member states or Schengen-associated countries, however, are not subject to the system.

What Counts as a Short Stay?

Under the EES, a short stay is defined as a maximum of 90 days within any rolling 180-day period. This rule applies across all Schengen states, meaning the days you spend in France, Spain, or any other participating country are counted together, not separately. The system will automatically calculate how many days remain for your stay, removing the guesswork from the process.

Countries Using EES

Once fully operational, the EES will cover 29 European countries, including all Schengen member states and associated nations. This ensures consistent travel rules and streamlined border checks across much of Europe.
https://etias.com/articles/eu-entry/exit-system-everything-travelers-need-to-prepare-for

In short, once the entire EES system is in place, it will not be possible to overstay a visit to the EU, or the slightly larger Schengen area, without being caught. For several months, I have been warning people that the coming procedure for registering non-EU tourists’ entry and exit dates will immediately mean that overstays have legal consequences. It will not matter what scheme you choose to try to sneak out without being caught. Once all participating countries install the EES equipment at all airports, train stations, and border crossings, there will be no way to leave any of those countries after an overstay without being discovered. I know several people who will have to drastically change their French lifestyle if they want to avoid the related consequences. I expect the EU administration to issue guidelines regarding fines and other penalties for overstaying. I will publish them as soon as they are established.

A YOUNG EASTERN EUROPEAN’S REACTION TO THE TITLE “CRY FREEDOM”
While preparing the September issue, I worked on it with a Romanian citizen. After she read the lyrics of the title song, “Cry Freedom,”
But just as I was leaving
A black car came into view
And waiting there
They could hear me breathing
They knew that I knew, cry freedom

She told me that when she was in elementary school, there was still a strong push on children, especially girls, to train to become gymnasts. Parents had seen that this could be a way for their children to flee Romania, giving them a better life in the West. She spoke at length about the champion gymnast Nadia Comăneci. My assistant was 3 years old when the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu was ousted, sentenced to death, and executed, all in just over a week. The unrest started on December 17, 1989, and he was executed by firing squad on December 25.

WIKIPEDIA

Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (née Comăneci; born November 12, 1961) is a retired Romanian gymnast. She is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0 at the Montreal Olympic Games. …

On the night of November 27, 1989, a few weeks before the Romanian revolution, Comăneci defected with a group of other Romanians, crossing the Hungary-Romania border around Cenad. They were guided by Constantin Panait, a Romanian who later became an American citizen after defecting. Their journey was mostly on foot and at night. They traveled through Hungary and Austria and finally were able to take a plane to the United States.

Here are the recollections of my reader:

My mother has two brothers and a sister. Sport is practiced for pleasure. Her older brother loves fencing and won a bronze medal. My mother followed in his footsteps for six years, but after being beaten once by her teacher, she decided to give up. Violence is common in Romanian sports, as evidenced by an article found on the internet about Nadia Comaneci, the “abused star,” in which we learn that she and other girls were often beaten during training. We also learn that she sought political asylum in the US after becoming world champion at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and refused to work with her coaches after that. My father played competitive hockey from the age of 10 until he joined the Navy. He was at the ice ring with his friends when the team coach asked him to come and play hockey. He traveled to Europe for a competition, but he was too young to think about emigrating, and his family did not want to leave Romania because my grandfather was of good social standing.

I was 3 and my sister was 5 when we were in nursery school, and we had to prepare well-coordinated greetings dressed in patriotic costumes to welcome President Ceaușescu’s visit. The rehearsals were brutal; we were scared of the teachers; they were scared of what would happen if we performed poorly.

Official recruiters for the national sport of gymnastics visited elementary schools to recruit motivated children. Since it was no longer the communist regime, just a small minority signed up for it. Romanian society was experiencing freedom without much idea of what to do with it. After my mother’s description of how violent some coaches were, I definitely had no desire to get involved in any of the official sports clubs. The previous generations had found appeal in sports activities, as it was a way to escape many hardships. My generation grew up with a very new sense of freedom of choice, such as whether to participate in sports or choose which foreign language we wanted to study. It was no longer mandatory to learn Russian at a young age. Most of us chose English, reacting strongly to what had been imposed before. It was also seen as the language of freedom associated with the USA.

The old methods from the communist regime were still popular among the teachers. This meant physical and verbal abuse to coerce children in school. I remember that the religion teacher (Orthodox faith) used to hit us on the head with the Bible, and the math teacher used to hit us with a ruler. This also meant we were severely humiliated in front of the class.

Sport in the 1960s and 1970s was important in Ceaușescu’s communist regime, as it was used for propaganda inside the country as well as to show the rest of the world how powerful the country was. So it was, of course, totally controlled by the party. People were encouraged to participate in sports, especially in those that already had Romanian international athletes, as it was a safe bet our country would continue to have champions in these sports.

The international competitions were very closely monitored for professional and amateur athletes alike. They were denied visas for international competitions if there appeared to be even a slight risk they would try to leave the country. This applied even to the best champions. Their allegiance needed to be total; they needed to be obedient members of the Communist Party.

There was also another very sad aspect to this situation. If a close relative of a family lived in a Western country, every other member of that family living in Romania was not permitted to travel abroad. This included exceptional athletes or those who needed to travel for professional reasons. For example, naval officers who had family abroad could not leave the country for professional sea voyages. My father was an oil tanker captain, and he was checked to ensure he could sail internationally. He explained that one of his colleagues sailed only in Romanian waters because he had family in the West. Consequently, family members who remained in the country while it was still under the Communist regime after the defection of a family member were mercilessly persecuted by the police and the rest of the Romanian administration.

A SERIOUS POLITICAL CRISIS
Measuring the severity of a political crisis differs among countries. France is certainly going through a serious one, even if it does not really feel like it. Even the impressive demonstrations in the streets on the weekdays of September 10 and 18 were not huge enough to illustrate the seriousness of the situation. Foreigners joke that it’s impossible to live in any major French city and never encounter a demonstration in the streets. That idea is both folkloric and ironic, but it is true that demonstrating is a very French way of expressing opposition to government policies.

In my view, the true crisis has been almost silent; no one has really detailed the depth and severity of it. The Bayrou government fell on September 8 when it lost a vote of confidence in the National Assembly. That is rare enough that it should arouse people’s interest as to why it happens, who benefits from it, and so on. It was a minority government, so it knew it was in a fragile position.

Given how many weeks President Macron took to choose François Bayrou as prime minister, it came as a surprise when the new prime minister was named the next day. He is Sébastien Lecornu, a close ally and perhaps even a close friend of Macron. However, as of this writing, the rest of the Cabinet has not been nominated, so the old team is still in place until they are replaced, if indeed that happens.

Thus, three times in a row, Macron has refused to follow the practice of allowing the party or coalition with the most representatives (députés) to choose the prime minister. It is then up to that nominee to rally enough députés to form a majority so that the government can govern. The progressive coalition called the Nouveau Front Populaire has 192 députés (out of a total of 577). The far-right Rassemblement National has 140. Many thought there should be new elections, since the current Assembly cannot come up with a stable majority. In short, President Macron has chosen none of the normal democratic solutions, preferring to abuse his power and choose a member of his inner circle.

Maybe one consequence of this is the growing attendance at demonstrations, with another strike day scheduled for October 2. The message is that the unions are having a hard time controlling the grassroots organizations that have started expressing their anger in this way. As I have heard several people say, when the president does not listen to the people, the people find a way to express their anger against what they see as an illegitimate leader.

AT LEAST ONE THING WORKS IN FRANCE: FORMER PRESIDENT SARKOZY IS GOING TO JAIL
On September 25, a court handed down a verdict against Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 financing of his presidential campaign. He was found guilty of criminal conspiracy to prepare acts of corruption with representatives of the Libyan state, along with his associates Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux. He received a five-year prison sentence. The whole judicial process took eight years, as Sarkozy had a long practice as a lawyer and used every maneuver possible to delay the proceedings. He will know on October 13 when his imprisonment is to start. It is a first in modern French history.

I CANNOT COMPLAIN WHEN OTHERS ARE TRULY DISABLED
I received many messages expressing concern for my well-being after I published the September issue, mentioning my fall and the sling I wore for five weeks. Once again, I want to thank all of you for caring and reaching out to me. I also want to point out that when people who ordinarily live without disabilities are incapacitated for a little while, they immediately feel frustration and discomfort. They want to go back to normal, their normal.

Such incapacities, though, are minuscule compared to real disabilities, and the norm of the truly disabled cannot be compared with these little temporary inconveniences. I have some familiarity with both sides now, as I have long been a member of a non-profit group helping patients with ataxia, which is a degenerative disease of the nervous system caused by damage to the cerebellum, the part of the brain that is responsible for coordinating movement.

Hence, this month I want to write a sequel to the previous column, which was about thanking people from the bottom of my heart. I have belonged to the non-profit Connaître les Syndromes Cérébelleux (CSC) for 30 years, having joined in 1995, the year it was established (which explains why my membership card has the number 5). I have seen firsthand the disconnect between what non-disabled people go through when, say, they break a leg or are recovering from surgery, as opposed to people who have to live with a physical handicap that restricts them to a wheelchair, and who will need help for the rest of their lives with the most basic things in life.

Those whose condition is temporary rarely manage to stay philosophical about it, even though they know it just requires time, medical supervision, and physical therapy. I myself was impatient, frustrated, and unsettled by this relatively tiny thing that happened to me, even after all those years as a member of CSC. The difference was that I was aware of how small the inconvenience was compared to someone who has a degenerative disease; their losses are permanent, and they have to rebuild their life from that point.

Societies, and especially cities, would be organized quite differently if everything were planned and constructed using wheelchair users as the standard. People would have more personal space in public and private buildings and in public transportation, and, most importantly to me as a city dweller, cities would be accessible for everyone, disabled or not. That would be true inclusion, and it would enhance peaceful living together to heights that can hardly be envisioned.

THOUGHTS ON TAIWAN’S POLITICAL SITUATION
I would like to preface my thoughts on Taiwan by quoting excerpts from a recent article by Tessa Wong, Asia digital reporter for the BBC:
It was just another Friday morning on the Taiwanese island of Kinmen, a few kilometers from the coast of China, when an air raid siren pierced the calm.

At a local government office, people switched off their lights and dove under tables. Others fled to an underground car park. At a nearby hospital, staff rushed to treat people staggering in with bloody injuries.

But the blood was fake, and the casualties were volunteer actors. Together with the government workers, they were taking part in mandatory civil defence and military drills held across Taiwan last month.

The purpose? Rehearsing their response to a possible attack by China.

…There are myriad ways China could attack. Besides landing on Taiwan’s beaches or launching missile attacks, it could also announce air and sea blockades or sever undersea communication cables. Many of these scenarios are illustrated in a Taiwanese government-funded TV series depicting a fictional Chinese invasion.

But some, particularly the Taiwanese government, believe a subtler invasion may already be taking place: one where China is trying to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Taiwanese in the hopes they would one day choose unification.

Officially, China has been encouraging trade and economic ties with Taiwan, as well as cultural links.

Unofficially, though, according to analysts and Taiwan officials, Beijing has also invested in disinformation campaigns and influence operations. One study by the V-Dem Institute of Sweden’s University of Gothenberg found that for many years, Taiwan has been the most targeted place in the world for disinformation campaigns initiated by a foreign government.

In March, Lai warned of China’s deepening influence in Taiwan’s economy, culture, media, and even the government, and announced several measures to tighten security.
www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp94v42gmg9o

 

Few people are aware of the interesting evolution that Taiwanese political life has been undergoing. It started some 30 or 40 years ago, depending on what is considered the first definitive move toward a democratic system. The Kuomintang (KMT) is the party representing the people who fled mainland China after the government fell to the communists under Mao Zedong. The KMT ruled Taiwan by martial law until 1987. The democratization of the political system continued with the second election of President Lee Teng-hui in 1996. That vote was considered fully open and fair, and thus the final step in the process. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), representing about 70% of the population who were there before the Kuomintang invaded the island, won the presidential election for the first time in 2000.

At first, the KMT was vehemently anti-mainland China, and the DPP did not really have a strong stand either way. Both parties alternated in winning the presidency until 2016. Since that election, the DPP has won all the time. The reason many give is that the KMT has gradually shifted closer to mainland China, while the DPP has moved more toward independence and distanced itself further from mainland China. Thus, for a long time, the mainland had no ally in Taiwan, but now there is a party dedicated to closer ties with China. Beijing interferes with elections as much as it can, to the extent that it is obvious to all. Sadly, little can be done against them, since the KMT executes all the orders it gets from Beijing.

Mainland China will soon have the military capacity to conquer Taiwan, even if US military forces are there trying to protect it. The strengthening of the armed forces is the driving force behind the mainland’s growing influence in the South China Sea and several small islands belonging to Vietnam and the Philippines. It is also a catalyst for those Taiwanese who are ready to vote for the KMT out of fear or indifference. Sadly, this is a common reaction from those faced with a powerful bully.

The most probable scenario for the takeover of Taiwan by mainland China would be that the KMT, fully backed by Beijing, wins the next presidential election, due to be held in 2028. Then everything would be ready for a slow and steady change in policies, leaving Taiwan no longer independent; this would resemble the Hong Kong transition.

The unknown factor, which in many ways is a lot scarier, is what would happen if the DPP continued to win presidential elections and remained on the path to complete independence. What would be the step too far that would lead mainland China to annihilate Taiwan, destroying everything to assert its full authority? Would the USA send enough troops to protect Taiwan in such a case? Objectively, a soft takeover is more likely than a military one. But China’s President Xi Jinping is not a patient man and wants it to happen sooner rather than later.

THE FRENCH POST OFFICE SUSPENDS PARCEL DELIVERIES TO THE USA
American political decisions sometimes have unforeseen consequences which are not anticipated by the US government. As private individuals, we send gifts, which are always defined as personal when it comes to customs. Many of us have made the mistake of ordering a gift online and having the merchant send it overseas.

When the destination country is France, such a gift will almost always come with a huge duty bill, as it is considered an import. Legally speaking, it is not, but the tax code states that the legal assumption is that everything shipped that enters France is commercial and is subject to duty unless proved otherwise. A person in the USA initiates the transaction by purchasing something. When it is delivered to a third party in France, Customs assumes it is a commercial transaction because there is nothing indicating otherwise.

When a person sends a gift directly, they mark the box as a gift, which normally prevents taxation. Since the French postal system does not know what to do with US tariffs applied to European goods, it blocks everything worth $100 or more. For many, this is a low amount when giving a meaningful gift for Christmas, a birthday, an anniversary, etc. It will be interesting to see how this situation gets fixed.
www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2025/08/22/la-poste-suspend-l-envoi-de-colis-vers-les-etats-unis_6633516_3234.html

THE SHIP STUDIO IS AVAILABLE FOR RENTAL IN NOVEMBER
The SHIP studio is currently available on November 1st. I am finally getting a lot more requests and have had to refuse a few lately as it was already rented. When people contact me about renting it, I send them to the website. I hope it shows how cozy the accommodations are. The monthly rent of 1,400€ is all-inclusive. While I continue to favor rentals lasting between two and six months, under certain conditions I have accepted one-month rentals.
https://www.jeantaquet.com/home-in-paris

OFFICE CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS VACATION
The office will be closed for three weeks over the Christmas vacation, from the evening of Friday, December 19, to the morning of Monday, January 5. As always, I will be reachable by email for emergencies and important matters. The service I offer of receiving mail for clients will continue while the office is closed, and Sarah or I will honor prefecture meetings already scheduled, as well as a few other engagements. Like last year, I should be away from the office for most of the time, but I will stay in France.

Best regards,