CHIRAC’S ISOLATION:

Under the headline “Splendid isolation”, France’s Le Monde says the Iraq issue is confronting President Jacques Chirac with “a highly difficult diplomatic equation”.

The president, it says, has to work out a way of “maintaining his opposition to the war without appearing to be shamefully nostalgic for Saddam Hussein”.

His dilemma is “how not to oppose the reconstruction of a ‘sovereign’ Iraq without reneging on his original position”.

As a result, at the Nato summit in Istanbul “France found itself isolated in its refusal to accede to America’s requests and in its blunt criticism of George W. Bush’s public pronouncements.”

I’ve noticed this myself on occasion. But then, InstaPundit and Le Monde are soulmates. (First link via Judith Klinghoffer).

UPDATE: But don’t worry, Europe — France is offering its nuclear umbrella! Now that is sure to be a comfort. Or maybe Chirac has been reading Ken MacLeod novels.