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Switzerland

From Gontran To Adolf, The Influence Of Name Choice

Some believe names represent more than just a matter of taste, that they destine people to certain fates. But most everyone can agree that certain names are simply bad choices.

What's in a name?
What's in a name?
Marie-Pierre Genecand

-Essay-

GENEVA — They thought about "Agathe," but they chose "Romane" instead because it's more combative, more defiant. An empire for a little girl, that should be enough. We all know one or two Lucies, which is a luminous first name, nice in all seasons, and even more radiant in winter. Who's met a Gontran? Or a Gonzague?

First names. If you're like me, introducing acquaintances to your loved one, even people who have been longtime friends, can be hellish. You recognize and appreciate the person, but then you go blank. You just can't remember their name. I have a theory about this inexplicable handicap. It's not age, but instead something more Freudian. I think I forget first names because I don't like my own. It's too long, too bossy, and there are too many Rs. When I was little, I dreamt about being called Sonia. Or Lina, like my grandmother.

I swore that my first child's name would have at least three As, whether I had a daughter or a son. It seems like a good way to introduce a newborn to the world and to ensure an a cappella life. This is indeed how it's been. "My little one is like water, she's like flowing water. She runs like a stream that the other children chase," as the opening lyrics to French singer Guy Béart's song "L'Eau expand=1] vive" go. In more concrete terms, my oldest child studies socio-anthropology in a European capital that has just been shaken by a tragedy. I couldn't have hoped for a better name.

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Photo: Quinn Dombrowski

Now comes the question that every future parent thinks about with a mix of anxiety and excitement. Does a name shape a person? Does it have the power to influence the course of life? I think it does. And all the first-name dictionaries think so too. An Irène won't live the same life as a Lola. A Jean-Albert will simply have a different trajectory than a Matteo. Or, as Quebec singer Linda Lemay sings in "Alphonse," "an Alphonse won't launch into business/He will be fooled/Even if daddy was successful, Alphonse will start from scratch."

Of course, rational people will say that there can be coward Pierres and brave Pierres. Expressive Alexandres and discreet Alexandres. Joking Bernards and serious Bernards. I don't disagree with them. But there is one truth we can all agree on: There are forbidden names. The superb film What's in a Name? proved it brilliantly with "Adolf," which is indeed difficult to bear.

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Geopolitics

Yes, Xi Jinping Is Now More Powerful Than Mao Zedong Ever Was

After being re-elected as head of the Communist Party last year, the Chinese leader has been unanimously re-elected to another five-year term as head of state. Now, wielding more power than any other past Chinese communist leader, he wants to accelerate the rise of Chinese influence around the world.

Photo of huge portrait of Xi Jinping

Huge portrait of Xi Jinping is displayed in the National Day mass pageantry celebrating the 70th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China

Yann Rousseau

-Analysis-

BEIJING — Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping has been re-elected to a third five-year term at the head of the world's second largest economic power. Nobody was surprised.

The vote took place during a legislative assembly convened to rubber stamp decisions of the authoritarian power, during which 2,952 parliamentarians unanimously approved Xi's re-election before rising, in perfect choreography, to offer a prolonged standing ovation to their leader. As usual, Xi remained completely neutral in the face of the enthusiasm.

His victory was a mere formality after his re-election last fall as the head of the all-powerful party, which controls all of the country's political institutions, and after legislative amendments to erase term limits that would have forced him out.

Xi Jinping, who took over the presidency in 2013, "is now the most powerful leader in the history of the People's Republic, since its founding in 1949. Institutionally, he holds even more power than Mao Zedong," says Suisheng Zhao, a professor and Chinese foreign policy expert at the University of Denver.

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