Free Republic

With his farewell speech, French President Jacques Chirac wanted to show the French one last time that his heart and values are in the right place. His people, however, have had enough of big words. Jacques Chirac went out just as he had come in -- big words and passionate pleas dominated the ceremonial television address at the end of his second term. The 74-year-old president emphasized the country's grandeur, its values and its role in the world -- and announced, as expected, that he would not be seeking a third term.

PUTIN FAILS TO ATTEND CHIRAC BIRTHDAY BASH- The daily "Moskovsky komsomolets" on November 30 noted an unsuccessful attempt by French President Jacques Chirac to invite Russian President Putin to celebrate Chirac's 74th birthday in Riga on November 28 after the summit. "The Washington Post" and some other Western media on November 30 described the move as a ham-fisted effort by Chirac to "upstage" NATO, U.S. President George W. Bush, and the Latvian authorities. After Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga reportedly let it be known that Putin was welcome provided his visit included a bilateral meeting with her, Putin informed Chirac that...

Saudi Arabia has given Britain 10 days to halt a fraud investigation into the country's arms trade - or lose a £10 billion Eurofighter contract. The contract supports up to 50,000 British jobs and there are now fears that the deal may go to France. The Saudi government is on the verge of cancelling the contract - an extension of one brokered by Margaret Thatcher 20 year ago - because of a Serious Fraud Office investigation into allegations of a slush fund for members of the Saudi royal family, according to authoritative sources. Tony Blair has been told that the...

Oh Gerhard...Hold me! +++++++ Don't veerie, my socialist partner, we will realize our utopian dream one way or another!

John Kerry met with France's President Jacques Chirac last Friday, part of the senator's fact-finding mission to Europe and the Middle East. Details of their talk weren't revealed, but there is little doubt both men felt a sense of disappointment that Mr. Kerry hadn't won November's election. As a French official loved to point out to me last year, the French government was looking forward to a president with French relatives addressing the French Parliament in French.

CLASSIC CLINTONFormer President Bill Clinton was advised not to speak with the BBC about the tsunami tragedy by several staffers, according to one knowledgeable source. Clinton was told to coordinate with the White House and the Bush Administration, but chose not to. "He just went and did his own thing," says a former staffer. "There haven't been many times when he has wanted to make a public appearance like this, but given the world attention and the criticism of Bush, he couldn't help himself. Classic Clinton." The Bush Administration has been taking a public relations pummeling from the press for...

(excerpt of article copied from hard copy edition of FT) - SNIP - These testimonies to irrelevance recalled themselves on the eve of this week’s Nato summit in Istanbul. As we gazed sout-east over the Bosphorus in the direction of Iraq, one of those charged with drafting the leader’s communiqué remarked that the outcome had been another bad-temepered compromise. Nato ambassadors had sweated long and hard to gloss over their differences. But, though thickly applied, the gloss was patchy. The ambiguities of the text, this official said, had left room for the obligatory public spat between France and the US....

ATHENS (Reuters) - French President Jacques Chirac, who outraged east Europeans in February by slamming their support for the U.S.-led war on Iraq, warned the new EU members on Wednesday to do more to find common European stands....