The problem with France

As this excerpt from an editorial in the Taipei Times shows, the Taiwanese are none too happy with France:

As France tries to pressure the rest of the EU into lifting the arms embargo on China, some readers might remember that Christine Deviers-Joncour -- the erstwhile mistress of former French foreign minister Roland Dumas whose tell-all books played a serious role in clarifying details of the scandal surrounding the kickbacks involved in Taiwan's purchase of Lafayette frigates in the early 1990s -- once wrote a book about herself called The Whore of the Republic.

The former lingerie model's right to this title is now under severe challenge from France's Defense Minster Michele Alliot-Marie, who last week said -- and you should probably reach for your sick bags now -- "France has the strictest, most stringent rules applying to the sale of weapons of the European Union and probably in the world." As the American writer Fran Lebowitz once said: "To the French, lying is simply talking."

The real problem with France? It's full of French.

Seriously, the editorial does make sense, anything for a Franc:

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) broached the issue twice on Thursday, and it is a shame that he was not a little stronger in his condemnation of lifting the EU arms ban. The plain truth is that for purely commercial motives, France is prepared to collude with the Chinese dictatorship in the stamping out of Taiwan's liberties.

Nothing new here.