United for Peace of Pierce County, WA - We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy.

On Sat., Jun. 14, George W. Bush paid his last visit to Paris as president of the United States. -- Below is a translation of Paris Match's account of two events held at the American embassy.[1] -- Ironically, Bush dedicated a 12-and-a-half-foot $1,268,400 monumental bronze sculpture in the gardens of the American embassy that was paid for by some of the wealthiest individuals in the world and dubbed "The Flame of Liberty." -- This burlesque event left not a trace in U.S. media, though it offers such a nice figure of how in neo-Orwellian fashion two formerly revolutionary nations celebrate their hubris....

** Before the end of his term the president of the United States said good-bye to Europe. In Paris, he unveiled a statue to Franco-American friendship in the embassy's garden. Match was there **

[PHOTO CAPTION: Sat., Jun. 14, after a cocktail party in the enormous garden of the American ambassador's residence on the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. One of the wings is decorated with the American flag for the occasion. Photos by Patrick Bruchet.]

[PHOTO CAPTIONS: On Sat., Jun. 14, in the presence of Nicolas Sarkozy, George Bush inaugurates a work by Jean Cardot in the American embassy gardens. The 12-and-a-half-foot bronze, representing the flame of liberty, symbolizes Franco-American ties. In front of the still veiled sculpture, they shake hands (above, middle) with Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, Fimalac CEO and president of the Fondation Culture et Diversitë (on the left) and Craig Roberts Stapleton, U.S. ambassador, to general applause. After the unveiling, the French head of state exchanges a few words with Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state (above, right), then embraces his American countepart (below), who barrages him with compliments, calling him, notably, a man who is "interesting and full of energy."]

[PHOTO CAPTION: Though they need an interpreter, the two presidents have no trouble making jokes.]

WHILE GEORGE BUSH READS A SHORT SPEECH, AN ENTHUSIASTIC NICOLAS SARKOZY IMPROVISES

From his tour of old Europe last week George Bush will certainly carry away a memory of a little ceremony that was friendly, very *cool*, and intimate. It took place Saturday at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Paris. At 12:10 p.m., the American president, who is always punctual, arrived in the company of Nicolas Sarkozy. Their compatibility was obvious. Laura Bush was already there, waiting. The absence of Carla Sarkozy was regretted on all sides. Craig Roberts Stapleton, the American ambassador, an extreme Francophile, knows that George Bush's departure in eight months will imply his leaving the sumptuous Parisian dwelling. Before departing, he wanted to symbolize in a spectacular way the intensity of the ties that bind his country and France. So he had the idea of having a monumental statue made to be erected in his residence's magnificent garden. So that George Bush could inaugurate it in person, the project was finished in four months. The ambassador designed it with the help of a Frenchman, Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière. The president of Fimalac is, for Americans, someone who counts. Owner of 80% of the American group Fitch, the third-largest financial ratings agency, he is very wealthy. Forbes Magazine recently listed him as the tenth-richest Frenchman. That's something Americans adore. It was he who chose the sculptor, Jean Cardot, a Frenchman known and recognized for his statues of De Gaulle, Churchill, and Jefferson.

Almost thirteen feet tall, executed in bronze in the Coubertin foundries, his new work bears an incandescent name: "The Flame of Liberty." Jean Cardot confided: "The flame is a reference to the flame that is carried by the Statue of Liberty, executed by the Frenchman Bartholdi. It symbolizes the struggle for liberty in which the United States and France have always found themselves shoulder-to-shoulder in history's great ordeals."

Before lifting the white sheet that covers the sculpture, George Bush read a brief speech. Nicolas Sarkozy preferred to improvise. Enthusiastically. Which resulted in this, more or less: "It's my wish that beyond George and myself, our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren remember when they see this statue that one day two men sealed in bronze the friendship between our two peoples . . ." Laura Bush, whose admiring and loving gaze for her husband everyone observed at dinner Friday night at the Élysée palace, seemed in heaven. Which was watching in the person of the senior pastor of the American Church in Paris, Rev. Zachary Fleetwood, who came to bless the sculpture. The Americans, who are very Christian, lowered their eyes as they prayed. Nicolas Sarkozy, for his part, looked up at the sky. On the French side, only the Élysée diplomat, Jean-David Levitte, well-bred, lowered his head so as to be in perfect harmony with his neighbor, Condoleezza Rice. A moment of silence, then it was recess. The American president, whose tour had taken him from Rome to London and from Berlin to Northern Ireland, seemed in fine shape. Forgotten was his sorry 28% score in the Gallup Poll at the end of April, the lowest presidential rating in the seventy years this barometer has existed. He joked with his compatriots at the embassy. With the microphones off, of course. To one listener, he confided that at the Berlin embassy residence, Laura and he had slept poorly. They had to choose between air conditioning and mosquitoes. To another, he lingered over the differences between the French and American flags. With, in the end, a slight preference for the latter. He pretended not to know that European leaders are already in the post-Bush period, that their attention is already concentrated on McCain and Obama.

The French president, who had spared him no testimonies of sympathy, seems a little more hurried this time. Still, he bestowed a rather long private conversation on the generous tricolor donors: the statue cost 800,000 euros [$1,268,400], half of which was paid by Frenchmen: Antoine Bernheim, president of Generali, Serge Dassault, and also Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière and Henri de Castries, president of AXA, who contribued, in part, from their personal fortunes.

Tout-Paris met in the evening for a dinner at the American embassy. There, notably, were Ministers MAM [Michèle Alliot-Marie], Rama Yade, Rachida Dati, but also Simone Veil, Patrick Devedjian, Alain Minc, Philippine de Rothschild. On the menu, a charlotte of Avruga caviar, a sauté of braised veal with summer truffles, a pear caramel douceur envolée à la feuille d'or. Washing it all down, a Dom Pérignon, a 2005 Newton chardonnay, a 1990 Opus One, and a 2005 Moët & Chandon rosé. The prime minister, François Fillon, was missing because of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. So history marches on.

--
Translated by Mark K. Jensen
Associate Professor of French
Department of Languages and Literatures
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447-0003
Phone: 253-535-7219
Web page: http://www.plu.edu/~jensenmk/
E-mail: jensenmk@plu.edu