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Swipes across the English Channel are as old - and often as nasty - as the centuries-old Franco-British rivalry itself. But few barbs have caused as much annoyed bewilderment as the recent remarks by the French Minister of State for European Affairs, Pierre Lellouche, who called officials from the British Conservative Party "pathetic" and "autistic" and said they were guilty of having "castrated" Britain's influence in Europe. Good thing Lellouche is known as a staunch Anglophile, or he might have really gotten ornery...
...elections in Britain, but also to wrest back political and economic powers previously ceded to Brussels. The pledges by Conservative leader David Cameron came at the very moment E.U. integration took a huge step forward with the final ratification of the Lisbon Treaty earlier this month. (See pictures of French President Nicolas Sarkozy in London...
...spokesman to suggest that his comments had been poorly translated (a feeble dodge once the Guardian noted that the interview had been conducted in English). Still later, Lellouche, who is perfectly fluent in English, explained that he had used terms like "autism" and "pathetic" in a flippant, colloquial French manner. By the end of last week, however, Lellouche took a significant step back, calling himself "the most Anglophile politician" in France and saying that he respects British sensibilities on Europe...
Lellouche's status as an unabashed Anglophile and ardent ally of both Britain and the U.S. is well-known in France, which makes his outburst all the more surprising. He was one of the few French politicians to back the U.S.- and Britain-led war in Iraq, and he has long championed both countries' relatively pro-Israel positions in the Middle East. A foreign policy wonk and NATO enthusiast, Lellouche has become a familiar figure in London, Washington and New York over the years, huddling with British and American politicians to influence decision-making on both sides of the Atlantic...
...anti-Conservative Party remarks, Sarkozy did not give his Europe Minister a public tongue-lashing. One reason may be that Lellouche's comments - although bombastic - hardly misinterpreted the ferocious hostility that the Tories have toward Europe, which most of the E.U. views with revulsion and disdain. Still, as French centrist European parliamentarian Mireille de Sarnez points out, insulting the Conservative position is counterproductive. (Read "Q&A with David Cameron: Why Britain Needs a 'Compassionate Conservative...