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Yoan Valat / Pool via Reuters
President Nicolas Sarkozy visits a cheese factory in Vallieres in the French Alps on Feb. 16.
It’s a matter of (spurious) debate if France’s president is a “surrender monkey,” but one thing seems clear: He is no longer cheese-eating.
Nicolas Sarkozy decided to stop savoring "le fromage" after meals, the AFP reported in an article on the kitchens at the presidential Elysee Palace. His chef said Sarkozy was trying to eat healthily, preferring "light, balanced meals and poultry to red meat," AFP added.
The term “cheese-eating surrender monkeys” was first used on "The Simpsons" and was popularized by National Review journalist Jonah Goldberg, who claimed he had made it “an accepted term in official diplomatic channels around the globe.”
Most French people would surely object to the idea of being “surrender monkeys,” but they would likely embrace the term “cheese-eating” wholeheartedly.
National pride
The variety and flavor of cheeses to be found across France is a matter of national and regional pride, a subject that can fire considerable passion.
As the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper noted, Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French forces during the Second World War and later president, once declared, “How can anyone govern a nation that has 246 different kinds of cheese?”
It remains to be seen if a non-cheese-eating leader is acceptable to the French electorate, who will decide whether Sarkozy remains in the Elysee in presidential elections in just three weeks’ time.
It's been a tough reelection fight for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been trailing in the polls, but the recent Toulouse terror attacks and Sarkozy's sharp swing to the right have given him at least a temporary boost. ITV's James Mates reports.
Presidential chef Bernard Vaussion, who has cooked for five French presidents, may have made an inadvertent intervention into the world of politics by declaring that cheese was “too much” for Sarkozy, as reported by the Telegraph’s Paris correspondent Henry Samuel.
Samuel also noted Sarkozy had caused a minor diplomatic incident in October last year when he remarked to another European leader that German Chancellor Angela Merkel “says she is on a diet and then helps herself to a second helping of cheese.”
An anti-cheese French president? Quelle horreur!
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Leave a Comment:
I wonder how I might get back the minute or so I wasted reading this non-newsworthy article!
You read the headline, chose to read the article, and then chose to further waste time by commenting on it. You don't get time back for your own poor choices, truesaid.
So very true, and I wasted even more time reading your response and posting to it. The world is coming to an end ---- an end I tell you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh yeah, well I have more votes than you so go suck some goat cheese!
lmao, exactly what I was thinking. This is news?
No, it is not about the "cheese". The French masses will line up to support someone who has a "mistress".
I am an American student currently studying in Caen, France. And let me tell you, nobody is talking about this. Nobody cares what the president eats after his meals; the president's detractors are largely upset about his policies, which is where the conversation should be focused.
@Ido,
God if we could be more like that. A good portion of the US rallies behind someone who insultingly claims to be "Christian", as if just saying so would matter to a person with any intelligence or street smarts whatsoever. And what's worse, usually everything about that person, his or her personal life, their policies, etc. runs the most contrary to the biblical teachings of Christ. To be a country mature enough to just look at policy and performance, and not care about personal issues, or especially phony personal claims, is just too good of a dream for a country with so many flyover states.
OMG!! Look at those cheese wheels in the background! That's like porn for me! NSFW!!!
Mmmmmm...... cheeeeeeeeeese.....
I don't know what you all are talking about. It is only natural to question the sanity of anyone who does not eat cheese. I mean what us the world coming to? The French are right to be concerned.
truesaid "I wonder how I might get back the minute or so I wasted reading this non-newsworthy article!"
Here's a clue from the Victorian era;
"Lost: one golden hour, studded with sixty diamond minutes. No reward offered, for it is GONE FOR EVER!"
Hellohowareyou " It is only natural to question the sanity of anyone who does not eat cheese. I mean what us the world coming to? The French are right to be concerned."
As a lifetime lover of cheeses, I have to concur. I couldn't imagine a world without a bit of cheese and wine. The "French Paradox" would also seem to indicate that it's the 'healthy' thing to enjoy.
I wonder if they discovered that Sarkozy is lactose intolerant. And, THAT's why he's been surly all these years!
Excellent reporting. Great article.
I must say, I've been following the French press lately and this is definitely a matter of great debate. This particular topic is stirring waves of unrest across the Hexagon. It is a bone of contention that greatly divides the French society in general.
Thanks to msnbc for sending their reporters at the risk of their lives to bring us news that truly matters and help us understand how the world of tomorrow is taking shape!
Exactly the kind of hard-hitting journalism we've come to expect.
Having traveled across Europe last year for 2 1/2 weeks for our honeymoon, I couldnt get over the lack of fat people over there.
On paper, their diets look worse than ours...France in particular. Lots of bread, pastries for breakfast every morning. The rich meats, cheeses, and wine for lunch and dinner.
The main two differences I attribute their lack of girth to? Portion size and the fact that everything is prepared fresh and there are very little fast food establishments.
They tend to walk more also. When my wife immigrated from Russia the first thing she noticed was how spread out our cities are. Yeah D.Man, I hear the same thing from her all the time regarding weight differences (as I suck in my stomach and smile).
yeah, as someone who spends about 1/4 of my time in Europe for work, I think walking has a lot to do with it. Your average American has to drive just to get a pack of cigarettes or a gallon of milk, which is crazy to a European (or a Latin American for that matter). That's a lifestyle we probably only share with Canadians. In Europe, the inner city is exactly where you want to be, it's the exciting sophisticated place, whereas the suburbs are seen as much less desirable.
Europeans also put a much higher premium on socializing and flirting. They are much more concerned (on average obviously) with how they look. They spend their money on going out, whereas Americans spend their money on possessions for the home. Kind of changes your priorities as far as eating and body image.
Your so right. My wife always makes comments about how people dress here and how she wouldn't be caught dead looking like that. The funny thing I noticed when we visit her parents in Russia is when you meet someone on the street they tend to look at your shoes first. No matter how poor they are, they want to look good.
This is very interesting information for someone who wants to lose some pounds.
Thank you.
I thought the article was amusing. Heck France does have so many varieties of CHEESES and BOY are they TASTY and SO GOOD !!! Especially with their BAQUETTES. YUM !! Can't beat that FOLKS !!
VIVA LA FROMAGE !!
Sacrebleu !!!!......unacceptable.
It's good to live in Wisconsin and be a Packer fan.
They have cheese in Wisconsin?? Wow!
I need a job where I get paid to write useless nonsense....
Take a screen shot of your reply here and make it part of your resume. Should help. Oh wear a suit and tie and leather shoes also.
The point of the article is Sarkozy is not being reelected.
Sar-dozy is already "cheesy" enough for more than one lifetime.
Apparently he feels its *To Binding*.
This is the news I want. Cheese eating surrender Monkeys vs Meat & potato shock & yee-hawers. Sarkozy's ancestors must have traveled over the Alps with the Ice Man, unable to digest milk products.
What a great news story. Everyone should be on the edge of their seats awaiting the earth shattering follow-up. With stories of this importance how can people say the media is stupid, shallow, biased, useless? Keep up the good work Mr. Johnston, there's bound to be a Pulitzer for you in the future.
This is news,because this man won't eat cheese? Maybe he gets constipated, or maybe when he eats it he cuts the cheese.
bmblb is 100% correct where do I sign up to have a dream job like this one,for writing nonsense!
"Cheese eating surrender monkeys" may be the best cultural, national and sociological put-down of all time! I've been using the phrase for years and go out of my way to work it into conversations.
Perhaps because you are a clueless idiot. Do you find that people turn their back to you when you try to engage them in conversation?
It's like a Wisconsin politician saying they wont eat cheese... I think it's a crime there...
I don't blame him one bit. Cheese often smells and looks like the bottoms of white people's feet. Why so many people love it, in spite of that...I'll never know.
If their past is any indication, the French can stomach just about anything.
The French president choosing not to eat cheese is kind of like the U.S. president choosing not to eat at McDonald's. Would that be considered "un-American?"
To the so-called journalist who wrote this toilet fodder: "Healthily" is NOT a word.
I Googled "Possibly could give less of a s*** about this than <my real name>" and I got 0 results.
"Let them eat French fries"
A French president who doesn't eat cheese is like an American president who doesn't love war.
When I read "diplomatic incident", I thought it might have been caused by one of the intestinal effects of eating too much cheese...as in "cutting" the cheese.
jonah goldberg is a jerk and his statements and commentaries prove it.
cheese is very rich. maybe he's just trying to give the cows a break.