FRANCE IS ACCUSING the United States of organizing a campaign of lies against it.

Lies? Why bother when the truth has been so damning? I think this is revealing, though, in that it suggests the French establishment can’t conceive of a media wave that isn’t government-directed.

UPDATE: Of course, this effort is only getting the French more negative attention. Steven Den Beste is slamming France for playing the victim card, and notes:

If France is a victim, then it’s a victim of its own delusions of grandeur and its own lack of honor. If the government of France truly thinks that it can paint over the events of the last year and try to pretend they never happened, then we will have to augment that description: The French are decadent, treacherous and incredibly stupid lying weasels.

And that’s not even the mean part. Then there’s this observation, from Porphyrogenitus:

What the French really want is for us to return to the status quo ante, where they worked to undercut America at every turn but “for the sake of good relations” we politely took no notice of it and pretended everything was copacetic. I predicted in several posts that they would try to lull us back into somnolence while continuing to pursue these hostile policies (such as warning the countries of Eastern Europe that they’ll have to choose EUrope and not side with America again). I just didn’t know they’d be so brazen about it.

Yes, we’re not talking Richelieu here, are we?

ANOTHER UPDATE: Ouch. Heh.