PMitchell
Jan 29th, 2008, 10:44 am
The lawyers for Jérôme Kerviel, France's super-trader, say that he is stunned by his unwanted celebrity. If he takes a look at the internet he may be relieved to find that, mockery aside, he has become a world hero.
Over the past few days fan clubs and tribute sites have sprouted across the net: They include Facebook, dedicated sites such as Jeromekerviel.com, and Wikipedia, Youtube and Dailymotion.
After half a million Google searches yesterday, JK's admirers are singing his praises as "The Che Guevara of Finance", the "James Bond of the Soc Gen". The real JK may have lost his Facebook friends on the day of his arrest, but 11 new Jérôme Kerviels are on Facebook at the moment, with 30 groups in French and English. On one he has over 900 fans, many of whom proclaim their love for the clean-cut Breton whose pals called him Tom Cruise.
The T-shirt above, for sale at 17.99 dollars, features on the "Jérôme Kerviel Should Win the Nobel Prize for Economics" entry.
JK's new stardom comes in two flavours. There is mockery, much of it anti-French, apparently from professionals in the Anglo-American financial world. Within hours of the scandal breaking last Thursday, this lot was circulating the spoof news story about Kerviel being stressed out with his 30-hour working week.
Then there are the real admirers, who are voicing the widespread glee in France at the idea of a young provincial making fools of the capitalist establishment.
"Jérôme, je t'aime..." says a common line from women. For this group, JK is a scapegoat and a Robin Hood figure, the man who made clowns of the Paris money elite.
One female admirer on Facebook writes: "We are many who do not believe for a second the version of the boss of Société Generale. Everyone can blow a fuse some time and everyone has the right to a new start. Whatever happens, you're not alone!.
"Notre Jérôme" has become a hero for the professional comedians too. Nicolas Canteloup, the morning radio impersonator, today made him the star of a new television show: "Who wants to lose billions?". This is a play on Qui Veut Gagner des Millions?, the French version of the British "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?". Canteloup's contestants had to decide to whom they would lend a million to be sure of losing it. Kerviel was one of the choices, along with Patrick Bruel, the poker-playing popular singer.
Canteloup's brilliant imitation of Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday had the President deciding to appoint Jérôme Finance Minister instead of Christine Lagarde. "He only lost five billion euros, but she has run up a deficit of 50 billion," said Sarko-Canteloup.
More Info (http://www.jeromekerviel.com/lestory.html)
???? (http://www.jeromekerviel.com/lhumour.html)
Over the past few days fan clubs and tribute sites have sprouted across the net: They include Facebook, dedicated sites such as Jeromekerviel.com, and Wikipedia, Youtube and Dailymotion.
After half a million Google searches yesterday, JK's admirers are singing his praises as "The Che Guevara of Finance", the "James Bond of the Soc Gen". The real JK may have lost his Facebook friends on the day of his arrest, but 11 new Jérôme Kerviels are on Facebook at the moment, with 30 groups in French and English. On one he has over 900 fans, many of whom proclaim their love for the clean-cut Breton whose pals called him Tom Cruise.
The T-shirt above, for sale at 17.99 dollars, features on the "Jérôme Kerviel Should Win the Nobel Prize for Economics" entry.
JK's new stardom comes in two flavours. There is mockery, much of it anti-French, apparently from professionals in the Anglo-American financial world. Within hours of the scandal breaking last Thursday, this lot was circulating the spoof news story about Kerviel being stressed out with his 30-hour working week.
Then there are the real admirers, who are voicing the widespread glee in France at the idea of a young provincial making fools of the capitalist establishment.
"Jérôme, je t'aime..." says a common line from women. For this group, JK is a scapegoat and a Robin Hood figure, the man who made clowns of the Paris money elite.
One female admirer on Facebook writes: "We are many who do not believe for a second the version of the boss of Société Generale. Everyone can blow a fuse some time and everyone has the right to a new start. Whatever happens, you're not alone!.
"Notre Jérôme" has become a hero for the professional comedians too. Nicolas Canteloup, the morning radio impersonator, today made him the star of a new television show: "Who wants to lose billions?". This is a play on Qui Veut Gagner des Millions?, the French version of the British "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?". Canteloup's contestants had to decide to whom they would lend a million to be sure of losing it. Kerviel was one of the choices, along with Patrick Bruel, the poker-playing popular singer.
Canteloup's brilliant imitation of Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday had the President deciding to appoint Jérôme Finance Minister instead of Christine Lagarde. "He only lost five billion euros, but she has run up a deficit of 50 billion," said Sarko-Canteloup.
More Info (http://www.jeromekerviel.com/lestory.html)
???? (http://www.jeromekerviel.com/lhumour.html)