Airstrip One

Franco-German Day

Today was Franco-German day, a state mandated celebration of the postwar alliance. However, the peoples of both countries are now more likely to converse with each other in English than in their own tongues.

The Americans won their prize for Franco-German co-operation:

Ironically, the company awarded the Adenauer-De Gaulle prize -- named after the French and German leaders who signed the original Elysee Treaty -- Thursday for the biggest corporate contribution to Franco-German understanding, was the American oil giant Mobil, whose Mobil-France and Mobil-Deutschland units shared the prize.

(23.23, 22nd January 2004)