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Articles: Chirac upset by English address

Posted by admin on Friday, March 24, 2006 - 01:20 PM

French President Jacques Chirac's showed his Gallic temper at the EU summit when a French business leader addressed delegates in English.

President Chirac is a proud defender of his native language

He stormed out of a session when Ernest-Antoine Seilliere said he chose English "because that is the accepted business language of Europe today". Protectionism was expected to be a hot topic at the Brussels summit. Mr Chirac returned to hear the French president of the European Central Bank address the leaders in French. Mr Chirac's protest came when Mr Seilliere, the French president of the employers' association UNICE, said he would address the meeting in English. Business language A French official said Mr Seilliere he was interrupted by Mr Chirac, who asked him in French why on earth he was speaking English. He replied that English was the working language of that particular session and the accepted business language of Europe today. Mr Chirac, Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and Finance Minister Thierry Breton left the room. The French president is a staunch defender of the French language - which used to be the lingua franca for most EU business. With the expansion of the EU to 25 member states, English is becoming even more dominant. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who often switches between languages in speeches and press conferences, later stuck to French in his address to the meeting.

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