It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, February 26, 2021
Myanmar coup: Protesters accuse China of backing military junta
Riot police in Myanmar on Friday dispersed hundreds of anti-coup protesters who have rallied daily in the country's largest city against a junta that toppled civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar's giant neighbour China, which has traditionally taken a soft line, said any international action should contribute to stability, promote reconciliation and avoid complicating the situation. Is Beijing backing the military junta as some protesters suspect? FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin tells us more.
UN rights chief hails US shift from Trump migration policies Issued on: 26/02/2021 -
Trump mounted a hardline effort to halt illegal immigration, slash legal immigration and drive out undocumented immigrants
Luis ACOSTA AFP/File
Geneva (AFP)
The UN rights chief on Friday celebrated the shift in the United States under President Joe Biden away from a range of immigration policies introduced under his predecessor Donald Trump.
In her annual global overview of the human rights situation around the world, Michelle Bachelet voiced deep concern over violations committed in a wide range of countries, but was upbeat when her attention turned to the United States.
Speaking in a video message to the UN Human Rights Council, Bachelet said she welcomed "new steps to end several migration policies that violated the human rights of migrants and refugees".
Trump mounted a hardline effort to halt illegal immigration, slash legal immigration and drive out undocumented immigrants, even those in the country for decades.
Bachelet highlighted in particular Biden's executive orders ending a widely criticised Trump policy which separated children from thousands of migrant families.
She urged Washington to "tackle remaining issues, such as the massive detention of migrants" and hailed "broad new measures to tackle structural inequalities and systemic racism," including executive actions by Biden "to redress racially discriminatory federal housing policies (and) combat xenophobia."
- Xinjiang 'assessment' needed -
In her speech, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights meanwhile was less optimistic about the rights situation in Washington's top rivals China and Russia.
She voiced concern over China's curtailment of "fundamental rights and civic freedoms... in the name of national security and the Covid-19 response."
"Activists, lawyers and human rights defenders, as well as some foreign nationals, face arbitrary criminal charges, detention or unfair trials," she said.
The former Chilean president highlighted in particular abuses in Hong Kong since the introduction of a controversial new national security law, pointing out that more than 600 people there were "being investigated for participating in various forms of protests".
Bachelet also voiced concern about the situation in China's northwestern Xinjiang region, where rights groups believe at least one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in camps.
After initially denying the camps existed, Beijing later defended them as vocational training centres aimed at reducing the appeal of Islamic extremism.
"Information that is in the public domain indicates the need for independent and comprehensive assessment of the human rights situation," Bachelet said.
She said her office was continuing to "assess the alleged patterns of human rights violations, including reports of arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and sexual violence in institutions, coercive labour practices, and erosion of social and cultural rights." - No mention of Navalny -
As for Russia, Bachelet voiced particular concern over new legal provisions that took effect last year that "further limit fundamental freedoms, including the constitutionally guaranteed rights to free expression, peaceful assembly and association."
At the same time, "existing restrictive laws have continued to be harshly enforced, including during recent demonstrations across the country," she said.
However, Bachelet made no mention of Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponent who was transferred Thursday to a penal colony after being sentenced this month to two years and six months there for breaching parole terms while recovering in Germany from a poisoning attack.
THE NEW BOND VILLAN Powerful Georgian oligarch looms over political crisis
Issued on: 26/02/2021 -
Bidzina Ivanishvili lives in a lavish mansion overlooking Tbilisi, where he keeps a priceless collection of contemporary paintings and a giant aquarium with sharks
VANO SHLAMOV AFP/File
Tbilisi (AFP)
A simmering political crisis in Georgia came to a head this week, with the surprise resignation of the prime minister and the dramatic arrest of an opposition leader in a police raid.
For government critics, this turning point in unrest sparked by disputed elections last year had the hallmark signature of one enigmatic figure towering over the ex-Soviet country's political landscape.
Reclusive billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who formally resigned from politics this year, lives in a lavish glass-and-steel mansion overlooking the capital Tbilisi, where he keeps a priceless collection of contemporary paintings and a giant aquarium with sharks.
He insists he is no longer a political stakeholder in the country that has weathered revolutions and civil war since it broke from the Soviet Union three decades ago. But many believe otherwise.
"Ivanishvili's former bodyguard is interior minister. The defence minister and head of secret service are former managers in his bank," said Salome Samadashvili, a leader of the opposition United National Movement (UNM).
"He is in full control of the government and owns the country like other oligarchs own companies or islands," the seasoned former diplomat told AFP. - 'Mission accomplished' -
Born into poverty in the village of Chorvila in western Georgia, Ivanishvili made his fortune in Russia during the cutthroat 1990s when oligarchs amassed huge wealth in privatisation deals.
But his Cartu Bank founded in 1996 along with the luxurious Paragraph hotel on the Black Sea are his only businesses in Georgia where he has bought up property and land worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Ivanishvili, 65, now with a splash of grey in his neatly coiffured hair, cemented his position on the Caucasus country's political landscape in 2012 when his party Georgian Dream ousted the ruling UMN party.
Having removed the party of then-president and flamboyant reformer Mikheil Saakashvili, Ivanishvili stepped down as prime minister in 2013.
In January, he unexpectedly announced his departure from politics entirely and even removed himself as chairman of the party that he named after a song written by his rapper son.
"I have made the decision to finally retire from politics and fully distance myself from the reins of power," he wrote at the time in an open letter, where he also declared that his "mission has been accomplished".
Georgian Dream leaders have since flatly denied claims that he retains a hidden influence over the country's politics.
But with the government mainly composed of his loyal lieutenants, many believe Ivanishvili is ultimately responsible for the latest dent in Georgia's reputation as a democracy among former Soviet countries.
- 'Strong grip on power' -
"All the key positions in the executive and legislative branches, as well as in the judciary system are held by Ivanishvili's people," said Gela Vasadze, an analyst with Georgian Strategic Analysis Centre think tank.
"His grip on power is as strong as it was before his so-called resignation," he added.
Georgia's three decades of independence since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 have been marked by a civil war, separatist conflicts, and a series of political upheavals.
The current political crisis was sparked by the elections, which opposition parties said were rigged, leading them to boycott the formation of the new parliament.
The standoff took on dangerous dimensions on Monday when police used tear gas to raid the UMN's headquarters and arrest party leader Nika Melia.
Melia, 41, a charismatic politician who united Georgia's traditionally divided opposition against Georgian Dream, has said his prosecution on "spurious" charges of "organising mass violence" during anti-government protests in 2019 was "Ivanishvili's whim".
On Friday, prime minister Giorgi Gakharia resigned over plans to arrest Melia and was replaced by Ivanishvili's former personal assistant, an ex-prime minister and defence minister Irakli Garibashvili, whom Ivanishvili calls "my beloved boy."
Samadashvili said that Ivanishvili's system, where private interests permeate politics and opposition leaders are either in jail or exiled, "is undoing Georgia's democratic achievements and derails the country from its pro-Western trajectory".
Thousands rally in Georgia after opposition chief's arrest
Issued on: 26/02/2021
The opposition has staged mass rallies since October
Vano SHLAMOV AFP
Tbilisi (AFP)
Thousands of anti-government protesters rallied in the Georgian capital Friday to demand early elections after the arrest of a top opposition leader.
Protesters marched through the city's main street, led by the leaders of all of Georgia's opposition parties waving Georgian, EU, and US flags, before staging a rally outside parliament.
Georgia plunged deeper into political crisis following this week's arrest of Nika Melia -- the leader of the country's main opposition force, the United National Movement (UNM), and a violent police raid on the party headquarters.
"I am in prison, but I am free," Melia wrote in an address to demonstrators read out at the rally.
"We are fighting for freedom and we will prevail in this struggle."
Supporters said they were energised by Melia's resolve.
"Nika's example inspires all of us," 20-year-old student Tornike Beridze told AFP.
"We will not stop until he is set free, until Georgia is free from Georgian Dream's authoritarianism," he said referring to the ruling party.
Nata Shavishvili, 46, said Melia had become "an icon of Georgians' aspirations to build a democratic, European country."
Ex-Soviet Georgia has faced political turmoil since parliamentary elections in October that the opposition said was rigged to give the ruling party a narrow victory.
Opposition members have refused to enter the new parliament in a boycott that weighs heavily on the ruling party's legitimacy. - 'Democratic setback' -
Melia, a 41-year-old who has united Georgia's traditionally divided opposition forces, his prosecution on charges of "organising mass violence" during anti-government protests in 2019 as politically motivated.
A court in Tbilisi last week ordered Melia to be placed in pre-trial detention after he refused to pay an increased bail fee in the case.
Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia resigned over plans to arrest Melia, warning it would escalate tensions, but police moved in anyway and detained him on Tuesday.
Friday's rally was the latest in a series of mass protests the opposition has staged since October, to denounce what it says is political repression and to demand fresh polls.
More protests have been announced for the coming weeks.
The United States led a chorus of international condemnation against Melia's arrest, saying the move was a setback for pro-Western Georgia "on its path toward becoming a stronger democracy in the Euro-Atlantic family of nations".
Armenia opposition supporters rally in Yerevan, demand Pashinyan's resignation
Issued on:
Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan defied calls to resign and accused the military of an attempted coup on Thursday, as divisions over his handling of last year's war with Azerbaijan brought thousands to the streets. Several hundred opposition supporters were camped out in tents outside Armenia's parliament on Friday demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation.
Armenian protesters camp outside parliament demanding PM’s resignation
Issued on:
Several hundred opposition supporters were camped out in tents outside Armenia's parliament on Friday demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation over his handling of last year's war with Azerbaijan.
The small South Caucasus nation plunged Thursday into a fresh political crisis as Pashinyan defied calls to resign, accused the military of an attempted coup and rallied some 20,000 supporters in the capital Yerevan.
The opposition gathered some 10,000 of its own supporters, who put up tents outside the parliament building, erected barricades and vowed to hold round-the-clock demonstrations.
On Friday morning, opposition supporters blocked streets near the parliament building as they prepared to stage a new rally set for 0900 GMT.
A leader of the opposition Dashnaktsutyun party, Gegham Manukyan, told reporters that opposition parties would only speak with Pashinyan about "his resignation."
Pashinyan has said he is ready to start talks with the opposition to defuse tensions, but also threatened to arrest any opponents if they violate the law.
Pashinyan has faced fierce criticism since he signed a peace deal brokered by Russia that ended the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian region that broke from Azerbaijan's control during a war in the early 1990s.
Fresh fighting erupted over the region in late September with Azerbaijani forces backed by ally Turkey making steady gains.
After six weeks of clashes and bombardments that claimed some 6,000 lives, a ceasefire agreement was signed that handed over significant territory to Azerbaijan and allowed for the deployment of Russian peacekeepers.
The agreement was seen as a national humiliation for many in Armenia, though Pashinyan has said he had no choice but to agree or see his country's forces suffer even bigger losses.
Armenia's military had backed Pashinyan for months but on Thursday the military's general staff joined calls for him to step down, saying in a statement that he and his cabinet were "not capable of taking adequate decisions".
(AFP)
Thousands march in Armenia to demand PM's resignation
Issued on: 26/02/2021 -
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has defied calls to resign
Karen MINASYAN AFP
Yerevan (AFP)
Several thousand opposition supporters marched through the capital of Armenia on Friday to demand Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation over his handling of last year's war with Azerbaijan which many see as a national humiliation.
Columns of people angry with the prime minister flooded the streets of central Yerevan, waving Armenian flags and chanting anti-government slogans, hours before a planned meeting with the ex-Soviet country's president.
Former Prime Minister Vazgen Manukyan, who has been put forward by the opposition to replace Pashinyan, called on all Armenians to join the protest.
"The people must take to the street and express their will so that we can avoid bloodshed and turmoil," he said at the rally.
"Either we get rid of them," Manukyan said, referring to Pashinyan and his allies who control parliament, "or we will lose Armenia."
The small South Caucasus nation plunged Thursday into a fresh political crisis as Pashinyan defied calls to resign, accused the military of an attempted coup and rallied some 20,000 supporters in Yerevan.
But the opposition gathered some 10,000 of its own supporters, who erected barricades and set up tents and stoves outside the parliament building and vowed to hold round-the-clock demonstrations.
The crisis spilled into a second day after Pashinyan's critics spent the night, then blocked streets near the parliament building in preparation for Friday's rally.
The march led them to the presidency and then to the prime minister's residence, ahead of a meeting with President Armen Sarkisian at 15:40 local time (1140 GMT). - War with Azerbaijan -
A leader of the opposition Dashnaktsutyun party, Gegham Manukyan, told reporters that opposition parties would only speak with Pashinyan about "his resignation."
Pashinyan has said he is ready to start talks with the opposition to defuse tensions, but also threatened to arrest any opponents if they violate the law.
France on Friday urged talks based on the legitimacy of President Armen Sarkisian, who holds a largely ceremonial role but has vowed to resolve this crisis peacefully, and Pashinyan himself.
"France would like that a dialogue takes hold in this country," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said after talks with Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.
"The elements of Armenian democracy must be able to be preserved," he added.
Pashinyan has faced fierce criticism since he signed a peace deal brokered by Russia that ended the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian region that broke from Azerbaijan's control during a war in the early 1990s.
Fresh fighting erupted over the region in late September with Azerbaijani forces backed by ally Turkey making steady gains.
After six weeks of clashes and bombardments that claimed some 6,000 lives, a ceasefire agreement was signed that handed over significant territory to Azerbaijan and allowed for the deployment of Russian peacekeepers.
The agreement was seen as a national humiliation for many in Armenia, though Pashinyan has said he had no choice but to agree or see his country's forces suffer even bigger losses.
"Nikol's time is over," Grigor Airapetyan, a 68-year-old pensioner, told AFP at Friday's rally.
Armenia's military had backed Pashinyan for months, but on Thursday the military's general staff joined calls for him to step down, saying in a statement that he and his cabinet were "not capable of taking adequate decisions".
Chinese coronavirus jab brings relief, and concern in Hungary
Issued on: 26/02/2021 -
Laszlo Cservak, a 75-year-old pensioner, receives his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinopharm company and approved by Hungarian authorities ATTILA KISBENEDEK AFP
Budapest (AFP)
"We should be happy to get any vaccine," said Laszlo Cservak, a pensioner queueing in Budapest for China's Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine shot after Hungary became the first EU member to start using it. The inoculations began Thursday as some Hungarian doctors fret that Sinopharm's Chinese maker has provided only minimal information on clinical trials of its vaccine, particularly for those aged over 60.
Neither Sinopharm nor Russia's Sputnik V jab, which Budapest also started rolling out this month in another EU first, are approved by the EU's European Medicines Agency (EMA). In surveys of preferences among the five vaccines now used in Hungary, Sinopharm ranks last behind three western-developed vaccines -- Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca -- as well as Sputnik V.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban and health officials have urged citizens to put aside concerns about the Chinese vaccine while pro-government media have promoted its benefits.
For Cservak, waiting restlessly to be called into a vaccination centre -- a pensioners club near the river Danube -- scepticism about the Chinese drug is unwarranted.
"We are a country of 10 million virus experts, and some media are guilty of raising doubts in people who then hesitate to choose non-western vaccines," the 75-year-old told AFP. - "Can't wait" -
The first batch of 550,000 Sinopharm jabs from China arrived earlier this month accompanied by fanfare in public media.
Hungary expects to get a further one million doses in March and April in total, with 3.5 million more doses arriving in May, a senior minister said Thursday.
Some 50-55 doses each have already been dispatched to family doctors, who have been tasked with arranging appointments with patients on their roster.
"About 70 percent of the 67 patients on my list accepted to come in for a shot," Dr. Emese Bone told AFP while staff helped arriving patients to fill out forms.
"But several elderly heard that there is not enough data on its effects on their age group, and while they think anything is better than getting Covid they decided to wait," said Bone.
"A few worried about the lack of EMA approval, while three changed their mind about coming after hearing they might not be able to travel in Europe if they get non-EU jabs," she said.
According to Szilvi Eszes, a nurse administering the jabs, those in the queue unsurprisingly had few reservations about the Chinese vaccines as they had already registered on a government vaccination website signed so far by around 2.5 million people.
"They might prefer Pfizer or Moderna but this is what is here now, they are free to say no, although who knows what will be available later and when," she told AFP.
After receiving her shot Ilona Mester, 59, said she "can hardly wait" for the second dose in a month's time.
"When they told me yesterday it would be the Chinese vaccine I wasn't worried, I had read good things about it, and only had to think for a bit before accepting the appointment, I would have taken any vaccine, to be honest," she said. - Inoculation drive -
So far, almost half a million Hungarians have received at least one vaccine dose, mostly Pfizer shots, but officials said Thursday that the pace of inoculations will double with the newly procured Chinese jabs.
All those who have registered on the government's website can be vaccinated by early April, said the country's chief surgeon.
The inoculation drive comes as an extension of a partial lockdown in place since November until March 15 was announced Thursday following a steep rise in new infection cases.
"Without the Chinese and Russian vaccines we would be in big trouble," Orban said Friday in an interview, while criticising the "slow" pace of deliveries from the EU.
"Hungary can be the most vaccinated country in Europe by Easter," he said, pledging to receive his own Sinopharm jab next week.
Critics have accused the 57-year-old premier of pressuring health authorities to green-light non-EU vaccines to win favour from China and Russia.
A government decree last month drastically loosened approval criteria of vaccines worldwide.
A leading doctors association said it could not recommend the Chinese or Russian drugs to colleagues "in good conscience" due to inadequate documentation.
But among those leaving the vaccination centre relief was the main emotion.
"A year ago I felt myself a young man, now I am an old man, I horribly miss not going to the pool or gym, and travelling, so I came here to get liberated and my old life back," said Laszlo Cservak.
British gymnasts to begin legal action against governing body over alleged abuse
Issued on: 26/02/2021 -
Britain's Jennifer Pinches performs at the 2012 Olympics in London
BEN STANSALL
London (AFP) A group of 17 former gymnasts including three Olympians are to launch legal action against British Gymnastics for alleged "systemic physical and psychological abuse" by coaches targeting children as young as six.
The athletes have served a letter before action on the sport's governing body in the UK. The letter says athletes were aged between six and 23 at the time of the alleged abuses, which included "widespread inappropriate use of physical force" by coaches and enforcement of "baseless" weight-management techniques.
An independent review to look into complaints of mistreatment within the sport is currently under way.
Jennifer Pinches, who retired from international competition after helping Team GB reach the final at the 2012 London Olympics, said British Gymnastics had spent too long prioritising "podiums over people".
"It is a heart-breaking truth to face, knowing the level of abuse that we and so many others were subjected to," added Pinches, who is now the community director of the Gymnasts for Change group.
"This is just the beginning of the sweeping changes that we are demanding, and the justice that we will fight for."
Gymnasts for Change campaign director Claire Heafford said: "This is not and has never been about a few bad apples, this is about decades of systemic abuse, encouraged and covered up by those at the top.
"The hopes and dreams of countless children and young adults of competing as professional gymnasts have been destroyed and their love for the sport is now shrouded in fear and suffering."
The group is demanding a response from British Gymnastics, which includes a formal apology, compensation and improved coaching guidelines.
Charlotte Gainsbourg says Serge would struggle with today's censorship
Issued on: 26/02/2021 -
Serge Gainsbourg and British actress and singer Jane Birkin in Nice - AFP/File
Paris (AFP)
Charlotte Gainsbourg didn't like discussing her father, the pioneering troubadour Serge Gainsbourg, as she struggled to share her personal grief with a public that still reveres him as the epitome of French libertine cool.
Now, on the 30th anniversary of his death, she is finally letting go, throwing open his home and able to enjoy the flood of tributes coming from artists and fans, young and old.
"I held back from giving interviews about him for a long time," she told AFP from her Paris home. "I told myself the anniversaries were too painful.
"But people weren't waiting for me, which is good. The statements are so beautiful. I told myself: 'Maybe I can speak about it, too.'"
A flood of album reissues, documentaries, books and podcasts have underlined the reverence with which Serge Gainsbourg is still held as France marks the anniversary of his death on Tuesday.
Charlotte was just 19 when her father suffered a fatal heart attack, but if there is one consolation, it is perhaps that he would have been an awkward fit in today's easily offended world.
"He had so many facets. He expressed his dark side. He kept no secrets," she said.
"Today, we live in a world that is so censored -- I wonder how he would have coped with that. Would he have been banned from television? He was such a rich personality, who married a great sensitivity with a great taste for provocation. We don't see that at all anymore." - 'Such class' -
Charlotte, now 49 and a hugely successful actor and singer-songwriter in her own right, says she has been "incredibly moved" by the tributes, especially from young artists.
"I find that incredible. It's only today that I really realise it. Before I was in my grief, my pain. Now, I realise the impact that he has had on generations and generations, and that it hasn't stopped," she said.
"My father was not trapped in one era because he touched on so many styles, and with such class. He was a master of classical and modernist writing, and he did it with humour. It's what one dreams of being able to do, this refinement, such agile gymnastics. It set the bar very, very high."
Time and distance have also allowed her to complete a long-delayed project to open the family home on rue de Verneuil on the Parisian Left Bank to the public.
"It was all I had left of him, so I held on to it like a treasure," she said.
"But when I left for New York six years ago, I had some distance and I understood that it had to be done -- for the public, but also for my mental health, I need to let go. It needs to be a place of French heritage, that is accessible."
- Stuff everywhere -
The opening of the house, where Serge lived from 1969 until his death, was due to happen in March but has been pushed back towards the end of the year by the pandemic.
"It's him, his personality," Charlotte said of the home.
"We have an image of artists in immense, luminous spaces, but this is fairly modest. It was a former stables so the ceilings are not high -- it's not a classic Parisian apartment. There's a miniscule kitchen.
The atmosphere has been immacutely preserved, from the baroque statues to the ashtrays still brimming with Gitanes cigarette butts.
For Charlotte Gainsbourg, the most moving item is a bust of her mother, the actor Jane Birkin: "It's a cast of her body, it's very, very beautiful.
"During my mother's time, there were not many things. Later, there was more and more stuff everywhere. He transformed it into a museum packed with objects. It became difficult to walk around without breaking something."
As for her own music, she confirms she is deep into her new album, which she started during the first lockdown a year ago.
"I'm very happy. It's starting to take form, finally. It should come out in 2022 -- it must!"
THE NINTIES ARE BACK; RETURN OF THE YUPPIE SANDAL Birkenstock steps into big league with new luxury owners
Issued on: 26/02/2021 -
German sandalmaker Birkenstock goes high-end after an LVMH-backed
company and the French group's billionaire owner snaps up the iconic brand.
John MACDOUGALL AFP
Berlin (AFP)
Germany's unabashedly frumpy but comfortable flat sandal maker Birkenstock stepped into the luxury league on Friday, with an LVMH-backed company and the French group's billionaire owner snapping up the iconic brand.
No details were given about the sum paid by LVMH-linked equity firm L Catterton and Bernard Arnault's family holding fund Financiere Agache, but analysts have put the price tag at around 4.0 billion euros ($4.9 billion).
"For the next 250 years we need partners sharing the same strategic and long-term vision as the Birkenstock family," brothers Christian and Alex Birkenstock said in a statement.
The new co-owners "bring both a deep understanding of the details of a manufacturing business that is all about quality and a respect for brands with a long heritage like ours," said the two brothers, who will retain a stake in the company. The ownership switch marks a watershed for the company which was founded in 1774 to make orthopaedic shoes. By 1897, Konrad Birkenstock had made the first flexible sole fitting the contours of the feet. The company remained in family hands and the flat sandals were given an international push when they were brought to the United States in the 1960s. They were quickly adopted by hippies who took to their no-frills comfort but also saw their utilitarian look as an anti-fashion badge. But a new era dawned in the 1990s when supermodel Kate Moss donned them for a fashion shoot.
Soon, the wide-strapped flat sandals became standard footwear for Hollywood stars in the summer.
And brands from Paco Rabanne and Valentino to Celine have customised their versions of Birkenstocks, even putting them on runways.
Actress Frances McDormand padded on stage at the Oscars in February 2019 in a yellow pair -- vindicating the idea that footwear does not need to be painful to be glamourous.
- 'Casualisation trend' -
With hippies and stars alike all making up its customers, Birkenstock sold 23.8 million pairs of shoes in the financial year through September 2019, with revenues rising 11 percent to 721.5 million euros.
The pandemic has also appeared to give it a boost, with the company reporting record revenues in 2020 even though much of walk-in retail was shuttered across the world as governments scrambled to halt coronavirus contagion.
Fflur Roberts, analyst at Euromonitor International, said Birkenstock had benefitted from the fact that home working was pushing people to opt for more casual dress.
"This casualisation trend is expected to continue for the short- to medium-term at least," she said, noting that the fashion industry was "already going through a transitional period where 'athleisure' and a more relaxed approach to dressing was becoming increasingly popular" even before the pandemic.
Further, the company which employs 4,300 people around the world will also seek to get a firm footing in the huge Asian market through its new connections with Arnault's luxury empire.
"We will get excellent market access and contacts in Asia through the new co-owners, and can push on with our growth at an accelerated pace," Birkenstock chief executive Oliver Reichert told business weekly Handelsblatt.
Spider-Man star caught in Indian Twitter storm mix-up
Issued on: 26/02/2021
British actor Tom Holland is caught in an identity mix-up on Twitter in India
Jesse Grant
GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
New Delhi (AFP)
"Spider-Man" star Tom Holland was grappling with an angry Twitter storm in India on Friday in a case of mistaken cyber identity.
A historian with the Twitter handle @holland_tom tweeted a post mocking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday after a huge cricket stadium was renamed after him. "I'm a huge admirer of the modesty Modi showed in naming the world's largest cricket stadium after himself," the tweet said.
The post prompted an angry backlash in India, where people mistook the Twitter account with that of another Tom Holland -- the 24-year-old British star of the "Spider-Man" series of Marvel movies -- whose handle is @TomHolland1996. Soon the hashtag #BoycottSpiderMan started trending in the country of 1.3 billion people.
"This is India's internal matter. We will teach you a lesson of lifetime. #boycottspiderman," said one user in response to the historian's tweet.
"You conspirator, conspiring against global leader (Modi). You just wait, Delhi police is coming for you," said another.
The actor has been active on Twitter this week, teasing fans with possible titles for the newest film in the series.
The #BoycottSpiderMan hashtag then gained further traction as Twitter users mocked others for their misdirected vitriol. Historian Holland later apologised, tweeting: "Oh dear -- I seem single-handedly to have destroyed prospects for the next Spider-Man in India."
"I should have remembered that with great power comes great responsibility," he said, echoing a famous Spider-Man quote.
Tongue-in-cheek, he added: "Just for the record, & to save Marvel's profits in India, I freely acknowledge that Narendra Modi is a man of immense humility, and that his naming the world's largest cricket stadium after himself is in no way quite hilariously immodest."
The stadium in Ahmedabad in Gujarat state was renamed on Wednesday from Motera to Narendra Modi.
The 110,000-seat venue was the pet project of Modi who was the state's chief minister before becoming India's prime minister in 2014.
Bidzina Ivanishvili lives in a lavish mansion overlooking Tbilisi, where he keeps a priceless collection of contemporary paintings and a giant aquarium with shark
