Zoo Station

There is nothing more annoying that a formerly big-ticket nation refusing to accept that ground realities have changed and that the sun has more or less set on their imagined greatness. This disease, which I call irrelevanceitis, is typified by the protagonists making up with bombast, narrow chauvinism, and exaggerated nationalism what they lack in terms of real clout. Of course, noone typifies this attitude more than some Parisians and none more so that Jacques Chirac. Here's his latest stunt, courtesy of the BBC.

French President Jacques Chirac showed his temper at the EU summit when a French business leader addressed delegates in English. He stormed out of a session when Ernest-Antoine Seilliere said he chose English "because that is the accepted business language of Europe today". Mr Chirac told reporters on Friday he was "deeply shocked" that a Frenchman chose to address the summit in English.

There you have it: a case of irrelevanceitis that fits all the classic symptoms. This is not to say that only the French suffer from the disease. 50 years of moral high-groundism displayed by India, especially through that classic of irrelevanceitis, the Non-Alignment Movement, is another great example. The perfect analogy would be a small yap dog (think poodle, chihuahua etc) which is all bark and no bite.

I digress. Chirac bashing is so much more fun. So, here we have the French president getting his knickers into a twist over something meaningless like someone's choice of language, while on the streets of France, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are protesting (at times, violently) against the French government and its new labour laws. Serves as a reminder that utterly misplaced priorities are not a uniqely Indian trait. While we're at it, will someone also explain to me why it is that France is still a permanent member of the security council?