Chirac Flees Summit in Fury Over Use of English

[liberalpragmatist]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2101032,00.html

PRESIDENT CHIRAC stormed out of the first session of a European Union summit dominated by a row over French nationalism because a fellow Frenchman insisted on speaking English.

President Chirac and three of his ministers walked out of the room when Ernest-Antoine Seillière, the leader of the European business lobby UNICE, punctured Gallic pride by insisting on speaking the language of Shakespeare rather than that of Molière.

<snip>

When President Chirac had a one-to-one dinner last year with President Bush, he insisted on speaking his mother tongue the whole time, even though the US President could understand him only through an interpreter.

At one UN summit where there was no translation, President Chirac pretended not to understand questions in English and demanded that Tony Blair, who speaks French, act as his interpreter.

[baldguy]

1. America's cultural xenophobia isn't laughable - it's dangerous.

France isn't about to bomb a country just because it doesn't speak French.

About the only remaining justification for the war in Iraq is that they don't speak English there.

[ccpup]

4. I think

baldguy was referring to France and Chirac, in particular, when he mentioned "cultural xenophobia". I happen to love the French language and speak it whenever I have a chance ... which is only when I'm in Paris as most Americans speak only English, Spanish or the knee-slappingly stupid, nearly indecipherable language "Freeper" (no translation possible for that one, guys. In fact, I think you have to have less than three brain cells to speak or understand it!). :evilgrin:

[liberalpragmatist]

7. See below

I moved the last part of the message to this reply precisely because it would be a distraction.

I'm not a French-basher. I think much of the infantile French-bashing of three years ago was extraordinarily embarassing for all Americans. I also speak French, though not fluently and I think that their opposition to the Iraq War was eminently justified. Plus, they have a great health care system. But I also find Jacques Chirac to be insufferably arrogant and I find this cultural xenophobia laughable.

And yes, I find American cultural xenophobia just as unappealing.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

2. The article is dated March 24, 2006. Old news....no longer LBN.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

3. Ooops. My fault...I was on the wrong board. Sorry!

[bahrbearian]

5. So Blair's a French Poodle too?

[maxsolomon]

6. the british have a longstanding tradition of hating the french

we have no such excuse. the french funded our independence from britain.

in amurka, anything to the left of mussolini must be incessantly ridiculed & attacked or our citizens might wake the fuck up.

please delete this entire thread. i grow weary of this.

[liberalpragmatist]

8. See reply #7

I'm not a French-basher. I just found this article to be funny and I find Chirac to be insufferably arrogant (not that our dear leader isn't).

[Mass]

9. Do not fall for British anti-French feeling.

As for an UN meeting without interpretor, I would be very surprised. This story is totally made up, IMHO.

Why do you assume his English is good, anyway? Bush could learn French. This is cultural arrogance coming from English speakers here, who want that everybody speaks English.

(And I dont like Chirac for plenty of GOOD reasons, so it really irritates me that I have to defend him against idiot as the Times writer, May be he wants to start the 100 Year War again?).