Chirac mocks Britain for mad cow, bad food
French president cracks jokes to Russian, German leaders
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Reuters[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Updated: 7:29 a.m. ET July 5, 2005[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]PARIS - French President Jacques Chirac cracked jokes to Russian and German leaders about bad British food and mad cow disease, a Paris daily said on Monday, in comments that could further strain Anglo-French relations.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Chiracs office said the comments in Liberation did not correspond at all with the tone or the content of the meeting he had with Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Sunday in Kaliningrad.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Liberation said Chirac was overheard making the jokes on the sidelines of the meeting in the Russian city. Its Moscow correspondent, who covered the meeting, reported journalists overheard an unsuspecting Chirac making the remarks. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The only thing they (the English) have ever done for European agriculture is mad cow, Chirac quipped, according to the paper, prompting laughter from Schroeder and Putin.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Relations between France and Britain were already at a low point, with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chirac blaming each other for the failure of June talks on the European Unions long-term budget talks.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Blair, who took over the EU presidency last week, has particularly irked Paris with his drive to cut EU farm subsidies that mainly benefit France.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]'Country with the worst food'
Chirac took the opportunity of a receptive audience to snipe at British food. You cant trust people who cook as badly as that, he joked, the paper said.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]After Finland, its the country with the worst food.[/font]
French president cracks jokes to Russian, German leaders
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Reuters[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Updated: 7:29 a.m. ET July 5, 2005[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]PARIS - French President Jacques Chirac cracked jokes to Russian and German leaders about bad British food and mad cow disease, a Paris daily said on Monday, in comments that could further strain Anglo-French relations.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Chiracs office said the comments in Liberation did not correspond at all with the tone or the content of the meeting he had with Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Sunday in Kaliningrad.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Liberation said Chirac was overheard making the jokes on the sidelines of the meeting in the Russian city. Its Moscow correspondent, who covered the meeting, reported journalists overheard an unsuspecting Chirac making the remarks. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The only thing they (the English) have ever done for European agriculture is mad cow, Chirac quipped, according to the paper, prompting laughter from Schroeder and Putin.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Relations between France and Britain were already at a low point, with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chirac blaming each other for the failure of June talks on the European Unions long-term budget talks.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Blair, who took over the EU presidency last week, has particularly irked Paris with his drive to cut EU farm subsidies that mainly benefit France.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]'Country with the worst food'
Chirac took the opportunity of a receptive audience to snipe at British food. You cant trust people who cook as badly as that, he joked, the paper said.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]After Finland, its the country with the worst food.[/font]