Michael, in regard to the French Prime Minister’s speech in Cambridge, Mass, M de Villepin is always at his most charming when on allied soil. Remember his speech in London during the first week of the Iraq war? “Villepin Refuses To Say Which Side He Supports.”

After the fall of Saddam, I had a conversation with the Byronically coiffed Gallic smoothie (a little too oleaginous for my tastes) in which he attempted to explain that he’d been solidly pro-American all along.But it’s always helpful, when M de Villepin offers advice, to bear that headline in mind.