THE WATERBOY:

France faces war on sidelines (Hugh Schofield, 3/18/03, BBC)

France awoke on Tuesday torn between two emotions.

A proud sense of righteous indignation, on the one hand.

But on the other, a fearful recognition that - in the world of human reality as opposed to the sphere of moral abstractions - control of events has slipped entirely from its grasp.

Being typecast as the whipping-boy of the pro-US camp has deepened the feeling of outrage at the imminent invasion of Iraq. [...]

President Chirac's ratings have shot through the roof in the last days, after he made clear he meant to carry his opposition to the US to its conclusion.

According to a poll in the Catholic magazine, Le Pelerin, a whopping 86% of the public support the president in his showdown with the US.

Astonishingly his popularity is even higher among left-wing voters - 94% of Communists for example - than among voters for his own conservative Union for a Popular Majority (UMP) party.

In our book, any war where Frenchmen don't end up renting out their sisters, wives, and daughters to German soldiers for a fistful of cigarettes should be considered a near victory. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 18, 2003 8:16 PM