Elysée Palace denies Chirac insulted Tuomioja
Erkki Tuomioja
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According to the French weekly L'Express, French President Jaques Chirac has questioned the competence of Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.
On Thursday, the magazine reported that Chirac had sharply criticised Finland's performance as the holder of the EU Presidency.
According to the story, Chirac had asked Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy during a government meeting last week, if Blazy had told Tuomioja that he is "a zero, and incompetent".
Douste-Blazy reportedly responded "I did, but not in so many words".
"Are you sure that he understood?" Chirac asked.
"Yes, at least the Prime Minister did", was the Foreign Minister's response. To that, Chirac is said to have commented that the Finns have one thing going for them: "they are far away."
Chirac is on record as looking down on Finland before.
Last summer he said that Finland had the worst food in the world. His comments were not intended for publication, but he was overheard by a journalist from the newspaper Libération, which published them.
On Thursday, the office of the French President said that it "absolutely denies" the report in L'Express.
The Elysée Palace said that Chirac has often praised "the exemplary way that Finland is handling the Presidency of the European Union, especially with respect to the crisis in Lebanon."
France's Minister of European Affairs, the President's former spokesperson, Catherine Colonna also told Helsingin Sanomat earlier this week that Chirac has not criticised Finland's handling of the EU Presidency.
On Thursday, the magazine reported that Chirac had sharply criticised Finland's performance as the holder of the EU Presidency.
According to the story, Chirac had asked Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy during a government meeting last week, if Blazy had told Tuomioja that he is "a zero, and incompetent".
Douste-Blazy reportedly responded "I did, but not in so many words".
"Are you sure that he understood?" Chirac asked.
"Yes, at least the Prime Minister did", was the Foreign Minister's response. To that, Chirac is said to have commented that the Finns have one thing going for them: "they are far away."
Chirac is on record as looking down on Finland before.
Last summer he said that Finland had the worst food in the world. His comments were not intended for publication, but he was overheard by a journalist from the newspaper Libération, which published them.
On Thursday, the office of the French President said that it "absolutely denies" the report in L'Express.
The Elysée Palace said that Chirac has often praised "the exemplary way that Finland is handling the Presidency of the European Union, especially with respect to the crisis in Lebanon."
France's Minister of European Affairs, the President's former spokesperson, Catherine Colonna also told Helsingin Sanomat earlier this week that Chirac has not criticised Finland's handling of the EU Presidency.
Helsingin Sanomat