Desperation time in France

Jim Hoagland has a nice piece on the latest problems facing the French elite — a massive trial of 47 political and business leaders charged with conspiracy and corruption, and the possible defeat of the EU constitution by French voters. These events occur against the backdrop of an economy that just won’t grow much, and the mass influx of a hostile, or at least sullen, immigrant population
Peter Schramm at No Left Turns expects Chirac to resort to an “innovative” foreign policy gambit to prop up support for his beleaguered regime. Not a bad prediction. But the usual ploy, some new opposition to U.S. interests, surely is worn out by now.