BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL
Translation More Douste-Blazy-like Than Himself

That is the sense -- as the AP and newspapers have reported it -- of M. Douste-Blazy's* comments on the recent Nork bomb test.

In fairness, here, in its entirety, is the official French version of what M. le Ministre said:

« Je condamne l’essai nucléaire effectué par la Corée du Nord aujourd’hui. C’est un acte d’une très grande gravité pour la sécurité internationale. Le Conseil de sécurité avait mis en garde la Corée du Nord, vendredi 6 octobre, contre un tel acte.

Je rappelle l’engagement de la France en faveur du traité sur la non-prolifération et du Traité d’interdiction des essais nucléaires. Il appartient maintenant à la communauté internationale de réagir à cette nouvelle situation et d’apporter une réponse ferme à Pyongyang.

Nous allons sans délais engager des consultations avec les autres membres du Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies ainsi qu’avec les pays de la région. »

The official English version, in its entirety:

"I condemn the nuclear test carried out by North Korea today. It is an act which is extremely serious for international security. The Security Council had warned North Korea, on Friday, 6 October, against such an act.

I reiterate France’s commitment to the treaty on non-proliferation and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. It is now for the international community to react to this new situation and make a firm response to Pyongyang. We are immediately going to begin consultations with the other members of the Security Council and the countries in the region."

Not that this feeble French mush will faze Kim Jong-il, but it is not quite the feeble mush reported in the papers. Ah, M. Douste-Blazy has become such a familiar object of fun that the papers render better Douste-Blazyisms than le Ministre in this case has delivered.

* The dimmest bulb in the dark Chirac marquee™.

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