“I am from Paris and am the US correspondent for Mediapart newspaper in France. I am here to try to understand Roy Moore. The people of France think he is a crazy guy and he is strange to the French audience. We have our own crazy guys, just not the same way. Moore is a guy who belongs to the past because he has been in politics for a long time but now he is back in fashion. I want to explain the connection with Moore and Trump’s agenda. Why is this guy in the center of attention of U.S. politics and the world? This election is important because if he wins or loses affects decisions in the Senate and symbolizes a lot of things about what is going on in America today. I have been in Alabama for a week. I have been living in New York for the past few months and when I told people I was going to Alabama, they told me not to come here because the people are backwards and have guns. All of the cliches, but every place has cliches. I wanted to go further than that and find out about being entrenched in religious values. In France, we have more separation of church and state. It is interesting to be in a place where religion is so important. I interviewed the new mayor in Birmingham who was elected with a left program. I went to Roy Moore’s church and talked to his pastor who said the law of God is beyond the law of humanity. That is interesting. I also learned that there are a lot of people who won’t vote. I could have spent less days in Alabama to do this story and that would have been easier but I wanted to get to know the people. Alabama is a complicated place.”
I’m a banista
“‘Come get a snack, friend. Happy Funday Monday. We're manifesting that it's Friday.’ Those are a few things I say...
The thing about Alabama as a State is that it is about 50 years behind the rest of the nation and they seem to like it that way. I tell everyone that visiting here is like time traveling.
We don’t all like it that way, but there are other reasons to live here. I came back to Mobile, Alabama because I missed the Southern people. Here in the south, you can have a conversation with a complete stranger any time you are waiting to get your driver’s license renewed or your phone repaired. The friendliness of Southerners makes life a lot more interesting here.We are not reserved. We love to talk and we enjoy being around friendly people. Everybody has a story to tell and even if I never see him or her again, my life is richer having heard a little piece of their history. I felt relieved when I moved back to Mobile, where striking up a conversation is as easy as breathing. I’m glad I raised my children here. They are Mobilians, and can talk to anyone.