WHITE HOUSE SECURITY DETAINS FRENCHMAN

WASHINGTON March 23, 2006 (AFP) - A French national was arrested after tossing a package over a White House gate, sparking a security alert, although the object was found to be harmless, the US Secret Service said Thursday.

Cyrille Mourotte, 36, who was arrested for "disorderly conduct" immediately after Wednesday's incident, had been arrested and deported following a similar occurrence in June 2004, Secret Service spokesman Jonathan Cherry said.

Mourotte is accused of tossing a package over a gate at the White House on Wednesday, causing security forces to call in a bomb squad and cordon off the surrounding area, Cherry said.

So what are you about, M. Mourette? Was there some purpose behind le geste other than your one-day page-six headline? Have you come to shore up America's flagging animus toward France or to remind us of France's perduring animus toward America? M. Mourette, you are 36. Are you a career jackass?

Yes, the big and the small, there is room for them all in Jackass Heaven.

PFFT (What is this?): DIY diplomacy 3 | Rayonnement français 0