Paris
France’s new ambassador to Israel caused a diplomatic storm this week after he reportedly described the Jewish state as “paranoid” and called Prime Minister Ariel Sharon “a lout.” The ambassador, Gerard Araud, allegedly made the comments while chatting with other French diplomats at a cocktail party in Paris, where he was overheard by an Israeli correspondent for the Tel Aviv daily Yedioth Ahronoth. When the Israeli identified himself as a reporter, Araud tried to dissuade him from printing the comments because it was a private occasion. It isn’t the first time a French diplomat has inadvertently revealed anti-Israeli sentiments in a social setting. Daniel Bernard, the former French ambassador to Britain, was overheard at a dinner party in 2001 calling Israel “that [expletive] little country.” He was forced to resign.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
The daily business briefing: December 1, 2023Business Briefing Tesla starts Cybertruck deliveries, the Dow surges to end November at a 2023 high, and more
-
Three-quarters of mosques in China have been altered or destroyed
Under the radar Chinese authorities step up Xi Jinping's "sinicization" policy by removing Islamic architecture
-
Security minister defends royals at centre of racism row
Speed Read Tom Tugendhat dismisses 'rumour' and 'hearsay' in new royal book
