Chirac leaves summit as Frenchman speaks English

[Said1]

Mon dieu, hoiste du tabarnac, zut alors! De gaul!

Chirac leaves summit as Frenchman speaks English

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - French President Jacques Chirac briefly walked out of a European Union summit on Thursday when the French head of the EU's industry lobby addressed leaders of the bloc in English.

A French official said Chirac, Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and Finance Minister Thierry Breton left the room when Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, head of the UNICE business lobby, began speaking in "the language of business" at a summit session with the EU's so-called social partners -- employers and unions.

He missed the former head of the French employers' body urging the leaders to "resist national protectionism in order to avoid a negative domino effect" in the EU's internal market -- a veiled criticism of France and others who have sought to block cross-border takeovers.

Chirac returned after Seilliere had finished to hear another Frenchman, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, addressing the leaders in French.

Trichet, a former Bank of France governor, almost always speaks English at the Frankfurt-based ECB.

English, French and German are the working languages of the 25-nation bloc which has no single official language. All 20 languages of the member states are used at summits, ministerial meetings and in the European Parliament.

French once dominated the EU, but English has overtaken it since the bloc expanded to take in Nordic countries in the 1990s and east European members in 2004.

Paris has fought a rearguard battle to preserve French as a main working language in Brussels, sparing no expense to offer free or heavily subsidised language courses to officials and diplomats from the new member states as well as journalists.

Link

 

[CSM]

This is just too funny. The issues the French decide to take a stand against are just so irrelevant (of course, anything anti-US is sure to have the French seal of approval).

 

[dmp]

This is just too funny. The issues the French decide to take a stand against are just so irrelevant (of course, anything anti-US is sure to have the French seal of approval).

The FRENCH are irrelevant.

 

[Annie]

Looks like he didn't impress the English. Does anyone else note the definate parallels to 1911-13?:

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

March 24, 2006

Chirac flees summit in a fury over use of English
By Anthony Browne

Chirac only returned to the summit when it was the turn of a French speaker to address the delegates (Yves Herman/Reuters)


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.

When M Seillière, who is an English-educated steel baron, started a presentation to all 25 EU leaders, President Chirac interrupted to ask why he was speaking in English. M Seillière explained: “I’m going to speak in English because that is the language of business.”

Without saying another word, President Chirac, who lived in the US as a student and speaks fluent English, walked out, followed by his Foreign, Finance and Europe ministers, leaving the 24 other European leaders stunned. They returned only after M Seilière had finished speaking.

The meeting was furnished with full interpretation services, and anyone in the room could speak or listen in any of the 20 official EU languages. Embarrassed French diplomats tried to explain away the walk-out, saying that their ministers all needed a toilet break at the same time.

In the absence of his President, M Seillière gave warning about the dangers of the “economic nationalism” being pursued by the French Government. The summit, aimed at restoring confidence in the future of the EU, has been overshadowed by a row over the tide of protectionism sweeping the continent, with Tony Blair and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, cautioning about the danger of raising barriers to foreign competition.

President Chirac, who recently denounced British food as the worst in the world after Finnish, has led an increasingly eccentric campaign to try to turn back the growing dominance of English in the EU and across the world. French and English are equal official languages in the EU, but the enlargement of the Union has entrenched the dominance of English.

Jacques Delors, the former President of the European Commission, used to ban journalists from posing questions in English in the press room.

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.

President Chirac has announced plans to start a French version of CNN to promote culture. He was furious when its managers disclosed that most of the output would be in English because otherwise few would understand it.

 

[Annie]

Here's one take on the episode:

http://www.chicagoboyz.net/archives/004028.html

March 24, 2006
Can You Imagine if Bush Did This?

Shannon Love

From Times(UK) via Samizdata:

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.

Einstein was right: Nationalism is an infantile disease: :shocked:

When M Seillière, who is an English-educated steel baron, started a presentation to all 25 EU leaders, President Chirac interrupted to ask why he was speaking in English. M Seillière explained: “I’m going to speak in English because that is the language of business.”

Without saying another word, President Chirac, who lived in the US as a student and speaks fluent English, walked out, followed by his Foreign, Finance and Europe ministers, leaving the 24 other European leaders stunned

But it gets better:

Embarrassed French diplomats tried to explain away the walk-out, saying that their ministers all needed a toilet break at the same time.

LOL or even ROTFL doesn't quite cover it.

[update 2006-03-24 14:58:13: Commenter veryretired makes a very good point below that the very fact that we view this episode as merely funny says a great deal about the standing of France in the world. It just doesn't matter anymore if the leader of France is a fruitcake or not ]
March 24, 2006 02:58 PM

 

[Said1]

Jacques Delors, the former President of the European Commission, used to ban journalists from posing questions in English in the press room.

In light of their hissy fit, he probably meant ban them fromt he room altogether.

This is more remnicent of Canada during the 60's 'we must protect our french heritage' not the same unless you hear the accent, but bs still the same.