Chirac Outraged by Speech in English 

Sacre bleu!

From Telegraph.co.uk:

President Jacques Chirac of France stormed out of a European Union summit last night after a French employers' leader said that English was "the language of European business."

The walk-out, seen by Tony Blair, prompted a sheepish exit by the French foreign, finance and Europe ministers and threatened to derail the summit before it had begun.

The officials were meeting to resolve growing concerns regarding several EU countries erecting trade barriers to inhibit cross-border competition.

As I recall, not too long ago the French passed some sort of resolution which outlawed the term "email" in Internet communications because it was English. Chirac's display yesterday is consistent with the email resolution and indicative of French arrogant nationalism and rejection of homogeneity, diversity and integration.

Chirac subsequently defended his walkout.

"I have to say I was profoundly shocked to see a Frenchman express himself in English at the (EU) Council table. That's why the French delegation and myself walked out rather than listen to that," Chirac told reporters.

So, it comes down to profound shock that a Frenchman spoke English at an EU meeting. I'd guess Spanish and Arabic would also have been out of the question. Or, maybe not. It could be that he only has a boner for the English language.

Companion post at The Jawa Report