France, a nation in the dark about much -- sometimes by design, sometimes by incompetence, sometimes by wilful indifference, sometimes by calculated denial -- was literally in the dark yesterday. A routine safety operation performed on the German grid is thought to be responsible. Imagine had it been carelessness and not a safety exercise.

POWER CUTS PLUNGE WESTERN EUROPE INTO DARKNESS

BERLIN November 5, 2006 (Reuters) - A massive power outage temporarily plunged millions of homes across western Europe into darkness and initial findings suggested a routine safety operation in Germany may have been to blame, authorities said on Sunday.

A spokesman for a French union said the outage was the worst in France in 30 years. Some European train services were disrupted.

French media estimated some five million people were affected, while authorities in Germany said at least one million there were left without power. The outages, most of which lasted for less than an hour, were also widespread in northern Italy.

Italian Prime Minister* Romano Prodi said the blackout showed the need for a common European energy authority and policy.

"It's a rich contradiction that we depend on each other but we can't help each other without a common authority ... we still don't have a European energy policy," he told reporters.

Oh yes, very rich indeed, Sig. Presidente. The EU is touted as a sort of super-state, a "counterweight" to America, yet it is governed like a street bazaar.

* Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri.

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