Chirac Orders End Of Malaise

(Paris) Two weeks of rioting in France has prompted President Jacques Chirac to take action to reach out to angry youths. Chirac believes that the rioting is caused by a "profound malaise" brought on by the "poison" of discrimination in French society. Consequently, he ordered the creation of a corps of volunteers to train 50,000 young persons by 2007.

The report of Chirac's speech was naturally translated from French so I might be misinterpreting the meaning, but it sure sounds like he's saying "Don't worry, be happy."

Frankly, Chirac is not exhibiting the strongest of leadership skills. Right now, he's got a law enforcement problem and he needs to clamp down on the rioters first. Then, and only then, should he focus on the touchy-feely "malaise" thing.

As an aside, I recall that President Carter gave a "crisis of confidence" speech to America in 1979 to explain double-digit inflation and double-digit interest rates. It has been described as his "malaise" speech. The "malaise" angle didn't work for Carter but maybe it'll work for Chirac.

Yeah, and maybe I'll win the lottery.