The Maximum Leader of the Fedayeen Chirac says France should come up with its own version of CNN to combat the influence of worldwide broadcasters from the Anglosphere (i.e., CNN and the BBC). He wants the channel to broadcast around the world, eventually. First of all, it’s very French indeed to decide the way to create an international broadcast news service ex nihilo is by government fiat. But never mind that; Chirac’s got a much bigger problem: Fewer and fewer people speak French. English is by far and away the most popular language in the world, with about 2 billion speakers (350 million of them have it as a first language). Then comes Spanish, with 450 million speakers. Only 130 million speak French, perhaps the world’s most beautiful language, but one falling further and further behind in influence.

Still, I’m sure the Quebecoix, the Walloons and the Monegasques will appreciate the gesture.