Il s’est souvenu d’un livre que je lui avais montré et comme nous nous reverrons vendredi prochain, 1er avril, il veut offrir sa version de la rascasse volante à sa mère comme poisson d’avril (non, freudiens et freudiennes, je ne crois pas que ça soit un reflet de ce qu’il pense de sa mère; davantage une question d’attraction à l’aspect spectaculaire de la bête, j’en suis sûre). Il m’a demandé de préparer les “ailes” de la rascasse; il se débrouillera pour le reste dit-il. (Hier, il a dessiné un hippocampe plutôt réussi, question proportions.)

J’étais contente de passer du temps avec lui et la séance lui a plu.

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De certains avantages de la lecture attentive : le président français, Emmanuel Macron, a salué la décision du fabricant d’automobiles Renault de suspendre ses activités sur le marché russe. Il considère cette décision comme “cohérente” nous rapportent la plupart des médias.

Ce qu’ils (et le président) omettent de dire se trouve sur Médiapart: oui, Renault a annoncé suspendre les activités de son usine Renault à Moscou. Ce que la firme ne suspend pas c’est sa participation à 60% à sa filiale AvtoVAZ, sans préciser non plus qu’il s’agit d’une co-entreprise avec la firme russe Rostec, géant de l’industrie militaire russe. (Soit dit en passant, l’Etat est actionnaire à 15% du groupe automobile Renault.)

À bien des égards, les ‘petites phrases’ et les titres sur les communiqués de presse sont l’équivalent de la lecture que fait ce gamin de la première lettre des mots alors que c’est la suite du mot qui nous apprend s’il s’agit d’un papillon ou d’un poisson ‘rascasse volante’ (dit ‘poisson scorpion’ en anglais).

Entretemps, Auchan (supermarchés), Leroy Merlin (bricolage, déco) et Décathlon (vêtements de sport), propriétés de la si-tant-catholique famille française Mulliez poursuivent leurs activités en Russie, comme si de rien n’était – tout par souci du bien-être de leurs employés, n’en doutons pas, les bénéfices étant entièrement consacrés à la plus grande gloire de Dieu, amen. (Question: Dieu accepte-t-il des paiements en roubles ? en euro ? en dollars ? en bitcoin ? Et sa banque se trouve où ? Dans notre galaxie ou dans une autre, plus loin en terme de ‘offshore’ ?)

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Close to two years of various confinements had interrupted our weekly sessions of school ‘catch-up’. He is now eleven years old, attending a school with adapted programs. He’s much more settled than he was and insists on keeping a “clean” notebook. He now recognizes the letters of the alphabet – for example, he can locate the bit of paper with the word ‘papillon’ (butterfly), but he might also pick up the one that reads ‘poisson’ (fish). (We’ll work on ‘extending’ the second letter or the second syllable of a word into the recognition of the word. So, next week, only words beginning with the letter p – first, the image + the word, then remove the images and find the word without it.) He manages quite well in adding single digit numbers; not so well in subtracting them.

He remembered a book I had shown him and as we will meet again next Friday, April 1st, he wants to offer his version of the flying scorpion fish to his mother as his gift for April Fool’s day. (No, Freudians, I don’t think this reflects his views on his mother – more a question of being impressed by the spectacular appearance of the beast, I’m sure). He asked me to prepare the “wings” of the fish; he’ll handle the rest, he tells me. (Yesterday, he did a good drawing of a sea horse, proportion-wise.)

I was glad to spend some time with him and he enjoyed the session.

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Of certain advantages of attentive reading: French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the decision announced by Renault to suspend activities on the Russian market. A decision he considered ‘coherent’, as quoted by most media.

What they (and the President) do not say, you find on Médiapart: yes, Renault has announced suspending the activities of its Renault factory in Moscow. What the firm is not suspending is its 60% share in the firm Avto-VAZ, without specifying either that Avto-VAZ is a co-ownership with Rostec, the Russian giant in the manufacturing of military weapons. (By the way, the State is a 15% shareholder in Renault).

In many ways, the little ‘sound bites’ and headlines on press releases are the equivalent of the kind of reading done by this boy which consists of latching on to the first letter in a word, when the rest of the word is what tells you if you’re dealing with a butterfly or a scorpion fish.

Meanwhile Auchan (supermarkets), Leroy Merlin (hardware and home deco) and Decathlon (sports wear) owned by the French and oh-so-Christian Mulliez family, carries on ‘business as usual’ in Russia – needless to say, all for the love of their Russian employees, all benefits being dedicated to the greater glory of God, amen. (Question: does God accept payment in rubles? euro? dollars? bitcoins? And where oh where is his bank? In this galaxy or another, further offshore?)