Chirac upset by English address
President Chirac is a proud defender of his native language
French President Jacques Chirac showed his temper at the EU summit when a French business leader addressed delegates in English.
He stormed out of a session when Ernest-Antoine Seilliere said he chose English "because that is the accepted business language of Europe today".
Mr Chirac told reporters on Friday he was "deeply shocked" that a Frenchman chose to address the summit in English.
Protectionism has emerged as a hot topic at the Brussels summit.
Mr Chirac's protest came when Mr Seilliere, the French president of the employers' association UNICE, said he would address the meeting in English.
ik - things must be going awfully well in France that they have no bigger issues to worry about.
Friday, March 24, 2006
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1 comment:
Maybe English wasn't necessary, but that's not the point. What's wrong with choosing to speak English? Is there any reason for Chirac - or anyone - to be "shocked" by someone choosing to use one language over another? Seems pretty childish to me. And hey, I live in Québec where language politics are a national sport!
But thanks for clarifying...
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