Kerfuffles

He was so SHOCKED, SHOCKED to hear another Frenchman speaking the disgusting foreign tongue of English, that he had to leave the room. If only President Jacques Chirac could be as shocked to hear himself use his own forked French tongue to lash out at leaders of non-Francophone lands, perhaps he would leave the world stage - for once and for all!

“The Hindu”, Brussels: French President Jacques Chirac led a French walkout from the opening session of the E.U.’s annual spring summit on Thursday night when a fellow Frenchman committed the grave offence of speaking English.

Highlighting France’s acute sensitivity towards the decline of the language which once dominated the E.U., Mr. Chirac led three Senior Ministers out of the talks when Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, French head of the European employers’ group Unice, abandoned his mother tongue on the ground that English is “the language of business.'’

Mr. Chirac quickly packed up his paper airplanes and spitballs and ceremoniously fled the chamber, dragging both his Foreign Minister and Finance Minister by the scruffs of their still intact necks. Gallic pride was soon restored when the Chiracistas finally found a French businessman who had never learned English, nor any other foul and foreign tongue, and they commanded this particular ignoramus to address the meeting in pure and unadulterated French or face the guillotine. At the restoration of his most favored lingo, Mr. Chirac haughtily returned, accompanied by his lackey Ministers.

The meeting had been between France and Germany who are at loggerheads over the economic future of Europe, and no English speaking states were present. Besides, the British who do not consider themselves to be European, could not care less about the economic future of Europe. Recollecting that the Germans and French used to constantly fight, with the Germans always victorious, it was believed that English would be a more neutral and less offensive language in which to communicate. Everyone would be able to understand each other, because, after all, everyone understands English. However, the French saw communication as a one way street - if one is not a Francophone, one has nothing of value to communicate. It came to pass, because few other than the French could really understand what was being said, that the infamous French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, pledged to support “economic patriotism” and named eleven French business sectors which would henceforth and forevermore be protected from any foreign bidders who speak with foreign tongues.

French is NOT the Lingua Franca - English is!

Dymphna at “Gates of Vienna” reports that in response to Chirac, other European leaders shrugged off his attempt to defend French pride. Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, a staunch Francophile, said “Europe has other worries and it’s a waste of time to have responded to such questions“.

The Battle of El Alamein: 23 October - 5 November, 1942
‘’Before Alemein we never had a victory. After Alemein we never had a defeat.” ~~Winston Churchill

As I was reading about Prince Charles and Camilla’s emotional visit to an Egyptian cemetery as reported in the BBC NEWS | UK | Camilla in emotional WWII tribute, I was struck at the bravery of the generation of my parents, and most people’s grandparents and great grandparents. Wonderment it is that their bravery and courage genes did not pass down to the generations of today’s British diaspora.

After the Duchess of Cornwall laid flowers at the graves of her father’s comrades in the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery on Egyptian soil, she said “I’ve got a huge lump in my throat.” Her own father, still living, Major Bruce Shand, had been wounded and captured in the aftermath of that 1942 battle.

I got a huge lump in my own throat when I read further of the 7,367 tombstones and a memorial bearing the names of 11,874 soldiers and airmen whose remains were never found. The twelve day battle that ensued around the desert village of El Alamein claimed 23,500 UK and Commonwealth soldiers’ lives (*note), according to the BBC.

One twelve day battle and 23,500 men killed defending their free lands. No free land would allow that to happen today. No free land values freedom as much as did their forebears. Wonderment it is that desire to preserve freedom has so waned in the passing of the sixty-four years since 1942.

*(note) I noted that the 23,500 number given by the BBC varies with numbers given by other sites. Sad it is that after sixty-four years, history has forgotten the real cost in lives of the battle. Another British Site gives the number of British and Commonwealth casualties as 13,500, and states that during the El Alamein campaign half of the enemy’s 100,000 man army was killed, wounded or taken prisoner. An Australian Military Site gives the 13,500 number as killed, wounded or missing from the 8th Army and it adds that the 9th Australian Division casualties totaled 2,694, including 620 dead, 1944 wounded and 130 taken prisoner. Yet if the graves in the El Alamein cemetery number more than 20,000, as stated in the BBC article, perhaps the BBC figures are closer to the correct number of the slain. Whatever the true number be, Freedom is one precious commodity.

Linked at Don Surber’s “Best of Sunday” and Mudville Gazette’s Open Post.