This is cool - I get to reuse all my old pictures

Gimme some cafe culture!

I think Drudge had it first, but here's the AFP report at Expatica - Chirac warns of 'catastrophe' of world 'choked' by US values:

French President Jacques Chirac warned Thursday of a "catastrophe" for global diversity if the United States' cultural hegemony goes unchallenged.

Speaking at a French cultural centre in Hanoi ahead of Friday's opening of a summit of European and Asian leaders, Chirac said France was right to stand up for cultural and linguistic diversity.

Good choice of location, Cheese Whiz.

The outspoken French president warned that the world's different cultures could be "choked" by US values.

Who has been force feeding them when I wasn't looking?

This, he said, would lead to a "general world sub-culture" based around the English language, which would be "a real ecological catastrophe".

I'm sure it made sense to him. Meanwhile, he also took the opportunity to demonstrate some more of those "French values:"

French President Jacques Chirac asked Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi not to be unduly concerned by France's push to lift the arms export ban on China by the European Union when they met in Hanoi on Friday.

"It's like this Junichiro. One of our major customers in the Mideast ran into a problem and we need someone else to provide us with some walking around money."