In a report commissioned by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, former Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine urged a new "modesty" in the country's economic and foreign policy, saying that France somehow had acquired an international reputation for arrogance.
"As surprising as it might seem, just as our country is emerging from a long period of self-doubt and underestimates itself as a 'middle power,' France continues to be perceived as 'arrogant' in a great part of the world," Mr. Vedrine concluded.
Is that a bug? I thought it was a feature.
"While we are sincere when we say it, is it really necessary to recall without ceasing that France is the 'birthplace of human rights'?" The United States and Britain have just as good a claim, he noted.
Better, since our claim includes religious liberty, she mutters under her breath. However.
"A little more modesty would be in conformity with reality and would not weaken us at all in our concrete efforts to improve human rights," Mr. Vedrine wrote, adding, "Our capacity to listen [to others] is insufficient."
The French are listening and the Germans are saving our necks. It's the Bush re-alignment!
