back to article Sarkozy: Microsoft represents all that is great about France

French president Nicholas Sarkozy delivered a profound judgement on Microsoft yesterday, declaring that the company personifies the values of France and Europe. While such a declaration would quicken the heart of US artists and filmmakers, it might not be the sort of endorsement that a nakedly capitalist, (sometimes) bleeding …

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  1. DAN*tastik
    Paris Hilton

    France related post

    HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY PARIS!!!

  2. Anomalous Cowturd
    WTF?

    Diminuitive dick head!

    All the French people I know, (several), think he's a twat!

    I'm inclined to agree...

    Cue the down votes in 3,2,1....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Jobs Horns

      indeed

      As a French you most probably do not know, I would agree too (I am not sure he would distinguish a keyboard from a mouse, nor the Internet from a DRM), but I am too busy vomitting right now...

      Remember one minister of his claiming her computer was safe from malware thanks to OpenOffice's firewall?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Upvoted

      Well, I'm French, and I sadly couldn't agree more. But there is one good thing to be said about our president: he embodies every single thing that is wrong with "the French", so he's a pretty easy target. Oh well, I suppose the DCRI is already on my case, so I'll just pack up my things and move to Dunedin, I guess.

      1. John 62
        Gates Halo

        Sarko?

        Isn't his family Hungarian?

        1. Levente Szileszky

          RE: Sarko

          His name - Sárközy, in Hungarian - is 100% Hungarian (fairly common name) but he is not: his Catholic father is a Hungarian aristocrat, left Hungary right after WWII, fearing Commies/Soviet deportation but his Jewish mother is Greek if I remember correctly.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      He is not original either

      Tony Blair used to do that with Bill before every election.

      Demonstrated how much he cared about British Industry and British companies and taxes (with MSFT EU registered in Ireland).

      So what?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Title

    "declaring that the company personifies the values of France"

    Making it generally difficult to efficiently communicate with anyone who doesn't use their proprietary language?

    Sorry just joking, France

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Joke

      don't forget....

      ..arrogant and indifferent.

      Or is that us Brits?

    2. Ian McNee
      Linux

      To be fair...

      ..."Non, je ne regrette rien" could well be the M$/Ballmer theme tune given their attitude to the multitude of legal assaults on their monopolistic practices.

      As for Sarko, to (mis-)paraphrase Dubya: The French have no word for "putain de merde"

      p.s. Surely it can be only a matter of time now before Napoleon the Turd honours the gurus of their own home-grown OS, Mandriva! </sarcasm>

  4. The Fuzzy Wotnot
    Coat

    "Microsoft represents all that is great about France"

    I'll get my flak-jacket and some popcorn, this is probably "set if off" around here very soon!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Harsh

    I'm no Microsoft fanboi but damn Sarkozy, any poor company that gets your endorsement is losing some serious credibility.

    Ballmers only option here is to curse Lil Nic in French and then say it was a mistranslation.

    Paris: Cuz she hates little peckers (and it's in France)

  6. Chad H.
    WTF?

    Insulting....

    French president Nicholas Sarkozy delivered a profound judgement on Microsoft yesterday, declaring that the company personifies the values of France and Europe.

    ---

    Rather insulting to the French isn't it... Calling them a bunch of bullies and CopyCats.

    1. Dr. Mouse
      Joke

      Or to Microsoft...

      calling them a bunch of "Cheese-eating surrender monkeys"

      1. hplasm
        Happy

        I think the term you're looking for-

        Is ' Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkey-Boy'

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        You are misreading the likelhood

        It is not Frenchness per-se, it is "short person" and french together which makes a rather dangerous mix... Something about conquering the whole world...

        1. John H Woods

          Yeah but ...

          ... Napoleon wasn't short!

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Yeah but , well yeah your right, but...

            It is hard to define short, but for some trivia..

            Napoleon's height was 5 ft 2 French inches according to Antommarchi at Napoleon's autopsy

            Whats a French Inch?

            Well its 1.066 * 1inch so he was 5 ft 6in in imperial measurement, close to Sarkozy's height

            Napoleon also achieved quite a bit, Sarkozy, well we will see.

  7. James 5

    He'll be claiming....

    ... that it's actually Stéphane Bellemere rather than Steve Ballmer.

  8. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse
    FAIL

    I can't imagine...

    That many French would agree with this, or be overly happy with his anointment with the Legion D'honneur. But to be honest I think to most, this would just past them by as another embarrassing stunt by another small and unpopular French "leader".

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Indeed

      They really do give it to anybody these days.

  9. TeeCee Gold badge
    Headmaster

    Arise Sir Bill?

    "....meaning he can hang out with Paul McCartney and assorted British MPs."

    No he can't. They're the real deal, Bill's only a KBE. Colonials and other shifty foreign types only get honorary titles.

    He still gets to look down his nose[1] at Sarko though, as I don't think *he's* got one.

    [1] But then, so do most people unless they are sitting down or standing in a hole.

    1. David Webb
      Gates Halo

      Ahem

      KBE is a higher "rank" than MBE (Knight vs Member), Gates cannot call himself "Sir" because he is American and Americans are not allowed titles (everyone is equal or whatever) so while Gates cannot be called Sir William Gates he can be called William Gates KBE which is a higher rank than Sir Paul McCartney MBE, albeit honorary.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Ahem

        Apart from presidents, of course. To the extent that ex-presidents are also titled President.

        "All men are created equal" except for the ones who are better - pretty much sums up the US mentality.

    2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Happy

      @TeeCee

      Phew. For a moment I thought WTF, "Lord Gates"?

      Thanks for the clarification.

  10. NonFlyingDutchman
    Joke

    The French defeated by the mighty Microsoft?

    Sarkozy appeases Microsoft. Ref:

    http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/victories.html

  11. stim
    Thumb Up

    très bien

    good work steve :)

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    One more honour to decline then

    Not that anyone's going to offer me any such. Which is nice. Saves having to make tripe-y acceptance speeches. On the downside, I won't get to decline with a big fat NON. Oh well. Can't have everything.

    Can't help but wonder, though. Why now? Did Sarko just sign a hundred years contract locking them into ooxml at inflated prices or something?

  13. LuMan
    Coat

    Microsoft represents all that is great about France

    So, Microsoft are a bunch of arrogant, smelly, queue-jumping, onion-selling, hooped-jumper-and-beret-wearing, bicycle-riding, wine-swilling, shoulder-hunching sex maniacs?

    Based on that I'm upgrading to Windows 7!!

    Mine's the one with Clarkson's Guide To Provence in the pocket....

    1. Matthew 3

      RE: Microsoft represents all that is great about France

      Were you expecting that the French ambassador would be asleep when you said that?

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Dead Vulture

    Microsoft more like Italy

    Corrupt and dishonest.

  15. Robert E A Harvey

    Legion D'Honneur ?

    There is another French Tradition I think they should honour Mr Balmer with.

    And he would be lying down when it was awarded.

    I'll get me knitting.

  16. gnufreex

    Are french really that lame?

    This is worst insult nation leader can do to his country. French people should revolt and sack the dictator. Unless they are really that lame.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Non

      the French aren't that lame, don't judge the population by the actions of a few misguided fools

  17. Dazed and Confused

    Did the French

    courts declare that M$ were pirates?

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'm sure these Legion D'Honneur....

    ...are up for sale. How else to explain it. Ballmer le merde.

  19. disgruntled yank

    LdH

    Some British historian quoted an Italian jingle on the Legion d'Honneur, written about the time the order was started. As I recall, the translation ran

    In olden days they balanced losses

    By hanging thieves upon the crosses,

    But our humaner age believes

    In hanging crosses on the thieves.

    And I don't really care that they honored Jerry Lewis. I just resent the fact that they did at about the time that the culture minister, Jack Lang, convened a conference to discuss just how awful American culture was.

  20. Dest
    Joke

    Sacrebleu!

    While I tend to like a lot of things about the French people, especially French girls who if you soak them in soapy water long enough often clean up very nicely, their government unfortunately leaves a lot to be desired.

    This is just another example of that.

    Big disgusting loud and obnoxious fat man who is disliked by just about everyone in the world other than the people he pays to like him is now synonymous with the country of France.

    Yes, now when you think of Steve Ballmer and his buffoonery and his duplicitous and Machiavellian way of doing business you can associate that with the so called "Values of France".

    What an embarrassment!

    But we shouldn't blame the French people just because the politicians who run their government are a bunch of schmoozing boot licking fools.

  21. Willington

    Disappointed

    I read through all of those comments and not one made a joke about port blocking. I expected more.

  22. Shane Kent
    Joke

    and in other news....

    most of France's politicians jumped ship and work for the British government now... and now I see the resemblance.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Is this why ...

    The French government and public services have been instructed to use free, open software in preference over Microsoft and other commercial offerings?

    They've been doing it successfully for years.

    Sarko is no more representative of France or the French than fly in the air.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The Order vs The Knight Commander

    the KBE is not an OBE, and Bill Gates is not a knight of the realm.

  25. Lars Silver badge
    Happy

    I suppose

    Nicholas Sarkozy has lost faith in France and Europe then.

    On the other hand at a "cat's christening" you have to say something, in this case Microsoft and France, of course. So why not simply add an Equals sign in between and be done with it.

    Perhaps the think tank from Microsoft took part in the great adventure of words.

    Microsoft has been infiltrating European Governments, successfully, for years.

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Google translate sometimes sucks

    Like this time. Microsoft does not *include* the values of France. It *understands* them. Which means something altogether different, ie that it knows how to sell stuff to the French without bothering with said values.

  27. Levente Szileszky
    FAIL

    Legion of Honour to, out of all - BALLMER? How low can you go, France?

    Seriously: what else?

    I was born and raised in Hungary so naturally I was hoping Sarko turns out good at the end but I have to admit Sarko is now literally destroying France...

    ...so that's a payback for Trianon, smelly Frogs. :P

    FAIL because it's an epic one.

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Image that.

    The french have a league of dishonour

  29. Ram Sambamurthy
    Unhappy

    Sarcasm?

    Shit, for a moment i thought sarkozy was being sarkostic....

    1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Coat

      @Ram Sambamrthy

      Surly you know.

      Sarkosm is the lowest form of wit

      Coat already on.

  30. Ascylto
    Big Brother

    23456

    Awarding Ballmer the Legion d'Honneur is a bit like the Vatican giving a Papal Knighthood to the head of News Corp, Rupert Mudroach.

    It's a money thing!

  31. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Pirate

    Microsoft is just like France

    Quoi?

  32. bugalugs
    Happy

    Noddy Stevie B

    as Sarkozy speechified was embarassing. Linguist S.B. best not remarked upon, what ?

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