Pointer / Tirer

Every mène of pétanque asks the same question, and every parliament does too: do we point, or do we shoot?

Pointer — to roll your boule so it comes to rest near the cochonnet. It is the politics of proximity: nudge the system, adjust the rate, amend the bill, réformer à la marge. The pointer’s virtue is reversibility. Nothing breaks. The board looks almost the same, only slightly better for you.

Tirer — to strike the opponent’s boule out of the game. It is the politics of removal: repeal, abolish, abroger. The shooter’s virtue is clarity. Something was there; now it isn’t. The risk, every pétanque player knows, is the contre: miss, and you’ve cleared the path for the other side.

America is a nation of pointers who occasionally, dramatically, shoot — a healthcare tweak here, a court decision there that rearranges the whole board overnight. France is a nation of shooters who are forced, grumbling, to point — the grand reform announced on Monday becomes, by Friday, a gentle nudge with a press release.

The wise capitaine knows what Washington and Paris keep forgetting: pointing wins mènes, shooting wins matches, and you cannot win a match without winning mènes.

Reform is pointing. Rupture is shooting. Every government does both and admits to neither.