We are sad to report Jack is sad.

CHIRAC IS FEELING DOWN, A POLITICAL ALLY CONFIDES

PARIS June 23, 2006 (IHT/AFP/Reuters) - Jacques Chirac is down in the dumps, a conservative ally said Thursday, voicing concern about the French president who has been politically hurt by riots, labor protests and missteps by his prime minister.

CHIRAC EST BLEU
Sad Sack Jack Heads Sad Sack Nation

Paul-Henri Cugnenc, a UMP deputy, said Chirac did not appear as vibrant as in the past.

"You can see a certain amount of tiredness in him, which is astonishing because before he was always hyperactive," said Cugnenc, who is also a senior doctor at a hospital here.

"I think he is a little bit depressed," he said in an interview with the newspaper Le Parisien, adding: "It's a case of the blues in the popular sense of the word, not a medical depression requiring treatment."

He should have celebrated a high point in his presidency this week, when he inaugurated the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, a major new museum of non-Western art that he has championed. But the opening ceremony was overshadowed by Villepin's charge of "cowardice" against the Socialist leader, François Hollande, an attack that dominated the newspaper headlines. The newspaper Le Figaro quoted a minister who attended a reception at the presidential palace on Tuesday as saying there was "a lot of sadness" in Chirac's eyes.

The prime minister has played down calls for him to resign from within his own parliamentary majority.

"I don't think that one should confuse the reactions from here and there on the margins with the political reality," Villepin said Thursday.

On ne peut pas mélanger les carottes et les choux-fleurs.

Send Jack a cheering note here. Or if you are a big spender and can afford the postage, send your cheering wishes to:

Monsieur le Président de la République
Palais de l'Elysée
55, rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré
75008 Paris

A sample message:

Your excellency Jack, Mr. President,

We are all sad to hear you are sad. Are you really sad or just mopey? If you are really sad perhaps you should resign. If you are just mopey perhaps you should resign. Should neither alternative make you any less sad, at least much of France will be happy.

A failed life-long career is a hallowed tradition in French politics. You haven't accomplished anything but in your case that is a good thing. So cheer up. Hey, at least you didn't hand France over to the Germans.

We enclose a small present. M. Gélard told us you could use one.

A SMALL BUT USEFUL GIFT

Je vous prie d'agréer, Monsieur le Président, l'expression de ma très haute considération.

Cordialement, votre copain [américain],
[Type or sign your name here]

PFFT (What is this?): Jack turns blue 3 | Rayonnement français 0