"......Donald Rumsfeld's reference to 'Old Europe'
Sarah Left and Gwladys Fouche
Friday January 24, 2003
The following is an excerpt:
guardian.co.uk
"The French press was fuming after the US defence secretary,
Donald Rumsfeld, dismissed France and Germany as Old
Europe, no longer the leading players on the continent.
"Old Europe. So what?" says Michel Schifres in the rightwing
newspaper Le Figaro. "When it comes to conflict resolution,
French and Germans are not to be given any lessons: both
passionately worked towards lasting peace in Europe."
Schifres says that Mr Rumsfeld's comments "should be taken
for what they are: as much a gross insult as the expression of a
diplomatic manoeuvring which is getting worse the more
possible a war with Iraq becomes".
The left-leaning daily Libération for its part was full of references
to comments by the French environment minister, Roselyne
Bachelot, who was quoted as saying she wanted to say
"Cambronne's word" to Mr Rumsfeld. The reference is to the
Napoleonic general who apparently pioneered the use of "merde"
(shit) as an insult.
In a leader headed "M...", Patrick Sabatier writes that Ms
Bachelot's answer to Mr Rumsfeld was "an appropriate response
to the US defence secretary's provocation".
"Washington hawks' insults against France and Germany, and
through them against everyone who opposes a war in Iraq, will
isolate the US further and will fuel an already strong
anti-American feeling, therefore validating all the stereotypes
about 'cowboys' and their warmongering and imperialistic
arrogance," Mr Sabatier wrote."
guardian.co.uk |
