You almost have to feel sorry for Monsieur Chirac. Almost. Compared with Blair, he’s not been having a great time of it recently. Unpopular at home; losing the vote on the EU constitution; failing to wring a concession from Blair over “the cheque”; Blair delivering that barnstormer of a speech to the European parliament about the need to modernise and grasp the opportunities of new technology, while Jacques made himself look old and dinosaur-like by defending the indefensible, outmoded Common Agricultural Policy instead; the Battle of Trafalgar celebrations; the backfiring remarks about English cuisine; the UK leading the debate on Africa and global warming; the UK hosting the G8 conference; the UK starting their 6 month chairing of the EU Commission; and now, today, the final humiliation: the 2012 Olympics snatched from the jaws of Parisian victory by yet another inspirational tub-thump by his irritatingly young and articulate adversary from across the Channel.… READ MORE.... …