Chirac hypocrite, Pope Catholic

French President Jacques Chirac used his Bastille Day interview to criticize Israel’s response as “totally disproportionate.” Yet in a speech earlier this year, Chirac announced that France was prepared to nuke any country that sponsored a terrorist attack against its interests. In the interview Chirac also declared: “But I have the sentiment, if not the ...

607068_Chirac5.jpg
607068_Chirac5.jpg

French President Jacques Chirac used his Bastille Day interview to criticize Israel's response as "totally disproportionate." Yet in a speech earlier this year, Chirac announced that France was prepared to nuke any country that sponsored a terrorist attack against its interests. In the interview Chirac also declared: "But I have the sentiment, if not the conviction, that the Hamas, the Hezbollah could not have taken these initiatives completely alone. And therefore, that there is support somewhere from this or that nation." So, logically he couldn't call even an Israeli nuclear strike on Iran and Syria disproportionate. Unless that is, there's one rule for France and one for everybody else. Guess those French principles aren't so universal after all.

French President Jacques Chirac used his Bastille Day interview to criticize Israel’s response as “totally disproportionate.” Yet in a speech earlier this year, Chirac announced that France was prepared to nuke any country that sponsored a terrorist attack against its interests. In the interview Chirac also declared: “But I have the sentiment, if not the conviction, that the Hamas, the Hezbollah could not have taken these initiatives completely alone. And therefore, that there is support somewhere from this or that nation.” So, logically he couldn’t call even an Israeli nuclear strike on Iran and Syria disproportionate. Unless that is, there’s one rule for France and one for everybody else. Guess those French principles aren’t so universal after all.

James Forsyth is assistant editor at Foreign Policy.

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