France...
...has to be the most annoying country in the world. They still think that they live in the during the age when they were actually the center of the economy. Hello France! You are no longer the center of issues. You are one voice among many, and I hate to break this to you, but others may actually differ with you!! Go to France sometime. You can't win. They won't speak to you if you try to speak French because "you're slaughtering the language" and they won't speak to you if you give up and speak English because "you should respect my country and language and attempt to speak French." Although I have always felt this (and don't think I'm biased to them, I do have quite a bit of French in me), I couldn't keep it in when I read this article. Granted, Chirac knows he's on a losing end, however, that doesn't give him any right to "bully", as to article so eloquently states, the smaller and newer EU aspiring members. What is this? You don't agree with all of our political statements so you can't be in the EU? Maybe these aspiring EU members will help some very old EU "sit back if it doesn't directly affect me" attitudes. Peace is good. Long term peace is even better.