Word: french
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...tennis' championship surfaces have a distinct character that shapes a certain style of play. The French Open's clay courts - which are actually pulverized brick - slow the ball and reward long, grinding rallies of attrition. The medium-paced hard courts of the Australia and U.S. Opens provide a neutral surface for a variety of styles. But grass has the most profound influence on style of play. In 2001, Goran Ivanisevic beat Pat Rafter in a Wimbledon final that featured 38 service aces; both players favored the fast-court tactic of heading to the net to volley. A year later, however...
...French step toward NATO would have be in line with the European Union's efforts to build up its own fledgling security and defense capacity, Heisbourg said. If France - the fifth largest contributor to NATO - becomes a more co-operative transatlantic ally, it is likely to find stronger backing for E.U. defense projects among NATO's European members. "If and when it happens, it would reflect the strides that had been taken in European security and defense policy," he says, adding that further steps on that policy are anticipated during the French presidency of the E.U., from July to December...
...strategy also reflects how defense and security challenges have changed. Sarkozy said terrorism was the biggest threat to French security, and he pledged to create a leaner, more mobile and better-equipped army. He called for a doubling of the intelligence budget for new satellites, drones and other surveillance equipment - but plans to offset that by trimming the army, navy and air force from 271,000 troops to 224,000, with the army alone set for a 24% cut in personnel. Some 50 military bases, garrisons and other defense facilities are to be closed in a move that has already...
...necessity has already pushed the French establishment to accept closer cooperation, public opinion lags behind. "This is much easier for the state and the military than it is for French public opinion," said Daniel Korski, senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He said the powerful idea of France's military independence, enshrined in De Gaulle's walk-out, was belied by the depth of cooperation between Paris and NATO that had developed since the 1990s...
...Korski says other factors are forcing Sarkozy's hand, as his defense budget cuts suggested. "It is generally acknowledged that the French state is close to scraping the barrel on finance, so cuts have got to be made. Policy and money go hand in hand," he says. In other words, if France is dropping its much-vaunted posture of independence on defense, it is - at least partly - because it cannot afford it anymore...