Yves "Fusion Man" Rossy's personal jetpack flight over the English Channel was just about the only good thing that happened in the world today:

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Rossy, a pilot who normally flies an Airbus airliner, crossed the 22 miles between Calais and Dover at speeds of up to 120 mph in 13 minutes, his spokesman said.

When the white cliffs of Dover came into view, he opened a blue and yellow parachute and drifted down in light winds to land in a British field where he was mobbed by well-wishers.

"Everything was perfect," he said afterwards. "I showed that it is possible to fly a little bit like a bird."

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With the forceful gallantry of a modern-day Errol Flynn, French President Nicolas Sarkozy sent in a unit of French troops to rescue two French natives who were captured by pirates while vacationing on their yacht earlier this month. This is the second such rescue operation France has initiated in the last five months.

Even more rousing than Sarkozy's heroic flair was his loud call for a crackdown on global piracy. Sarkozy's announcement of the sailors' safe return came with a stern warning and a little dig:

This operation is a warning to all those who indulge in this criminal activity. France will not allow crime to pay. I call on other countries to take their responsibilities as France has done twice."

Illegal activity is on the rise and increasingly impeding humanitarian efforts to bring food and supplies to Somalia. The waters off the region's coast are said to be the most dangerous in the world and the number of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden --54 this year alone -- have recently increased. Somali pirates are still holding some 150 hostages and 15 ships in Eyl.

The EU announced yesterday that it will be establishing a maritime unit whose task will be "supporting the surveillance and protection activities carried out by some member states off the Somali coast." 

Once again Sarkozy has managed to nab the foreign policy spotlight, last week as Middle East mediator, this time as sheriff of the high seas. Where will his savvy policy-making take him next?

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Remember Jean-Marie Le Pen, the ultra-nationalist French politician who shocked the world by reaching the second round of France's 2002 presidential election? The leader of the anti-immigrant, anti-semitic, anti-everything Front National is more or less a Ku Klux Klan member who was born on the wrong continent.

That's why it's so beautifully ironic that, faced with millions of Euros worth of debt after voters apparently didn't respond so well to his "Keep France for the French" motto in the 2007 legislative elections, Le Pen's party is selling its lavish Paris headquarters to a Chinese university. Perhaps the Front had trouble finding a pure-blooded French buyer willing to be associated with them.

The Guardian writes that the well-known building next to the Seine was "a symbol of the upward mobility of the party when it was purchased 18 years ago." I guess the sale is a symbol of the party's future drowning in the neighboring river.

These are tough times for Le Pen. He already had to sell his bulletproof car on eBay to try to pay off debts. Hopefully the dear leader of French neo-Fascism will be able to keep his white hood and robe.

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Rwanda's government ruffled some French feathers yesterday with the release of a 500-page report alleging that senior French military and political leaders had prior knowledge of the country's 1994 genocide and that French peacekeeping troops actively participated in the killings. Among those accused are the late former President François Mitterand and former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. The French foreign ministry described the accusations as "unacceptable."

Given that the Rwandan government began work on the report just a few months after President Paul Kagame was accused by a French judge of assasinating the Rwanda's former president -- the event that precipitated the genocide -- the report is going to be read with a pretty large grain of salt. Rwanda broke off diplomatic ties with France after that indictment. Even Rwanda's own minister of justice seemed a bit wishy-washy about what the report actually means:

This is a report of inquiry; it is not a criminal file. It is not a statement of guilt but on the basis of this report, other things can follow."

As the accusations between the countries continue to fly, it will be interesting to see what these "other things" entail.

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When Nicolas Sarkozy appointed Medecins-Sans-Frontieres founder and lefty human rights activist Bernard Kouchner as his foreign minister, it seemed to many like an odd fit. But the Times' Charles Bremmer's report from an afternoon spent with the minister at the Quai d'Orsay makes it clear what the two men share: hyperactivity bordering on attention deficit disorder and a massively inflated sense of their own importance:

Ever passionate in his speech, Kouchner says working for Sarko is "exaltant" -- thrilling -- and fulfilling even if he does not always agree with him. He believes that he and Sarko have revolutionized French diplomacy. Gesturing across the lawn at the grand ministry, he said: "We have broken with the immobilisme -- the passivity -- of the past. We have imposed deep change on the state of mind of this great house... The era of diplomacy without policy is over."

If choosing a U.S. president were up to the French, the Germans, and the British, Barack Obama would have a lock on the presidency. As Gallup reports today, large majorities in three countries the Illinois senator plans to visit this week would rather see Obama elected than John McCain. They also say that which candidate wins "makes a difference" to their country.

This poll fits well our intuitions about Europe's big three: They tend to favor Democrats, and they don't like George W. Bush. In 2007, Gallup found that approval of U.S. leadership in those countries had sunk to disturbing depths: -- reaching just 8 percent in Germany, 9 percent in France, and 20 percent in Britain. Gallup attributes the low numbers to the Iraq war, the U.S. stance on climate change, and anger over Guantánamo.

The differences between Obama and McCain on these issues, at least on a superficial level, appear to be narrowing. Both Obama and McCain have pledged to withdraw troops from Iraq -- they are now arguing over whether to set an explicit timetable for doing so or whether to allow "conditions on the ground" to be the determining factor. Both Obama and McCain want to join international efforts to combat global warming, though Obama would push for greater emissions cuts. And both senators would like to see Guantánamo shut down. From a European perspective, either senator would be a step up from Bush (or at least the Bush of 2004).

If Obama does win in November, the great expectations he is setting in Europe could come back to haunt him. As Anne-Marie Slaughter, quoting a German friend, wrote last year, "Underneath every America-hater is a disappointed America-lover." Last week, one European diplomat shared with me his fear that the real Obama can't possibly live up to the hype. (Try, for instance, counting the votes in the Senate for a climate-change bill with real teeth.) This is the moment, then, for Obama to tell Europeans that he is going to let them down. Better they hear it from his own lips now than figure it out on their own, two years down the road.

With Google's latest innovation, you don't even need a bike to participate in the Tour de France. The company has unveiled a cool feature that allows you to follow each agonizing meter of the race's 21 stages using virtual, street-level views of all the routes.

Via Google Maps

You can either click on an individual route (marked by camera icons) or select a stage from the drag-down menu on the left. Then, click on the little cyclist that pops up to select a road. You can rotate the virtual map easily, and can follow whatever road you choose through the French countryside. I'd personally recommend Stage 21, where you can virtually race down the Champs-Elysees and finish by the Arc de Triomphe.

No spandex or performance-enhancing drugs necessary.

Some very interesting diplomacy is definitely afoot in Tehran and Paris. Ali Akbar Velayati (right), the right-hand man of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a former foreign minister, published a letter in France's Libération newspaper Wednesday that leaves no doubt about who's ultimately in charge of the nucelar file. Here's a translation by FP's resident Frenchman, Randolph Manderstam:

A European recently asked me who was leading Iran. The answer is clear. When it comes to essential questions of strategy, the constitution, approved by universal suffrage, confers final decisions upon the supreme leader. It is according to this principle, under which the main decisions taken by Ayatollah Khamenei in the last 20 years were applied, that we can judge the past and forsee the path of our diplomacy.

Despite the vastness of his powers, the supreme leader… only intervenes in extremely important cases, leaving those responsible for the state to solve the other problems themselves. Under Imam Khomeini just as under Ayatollah Khamenei, Iranian diplomacy has worked on developing contacts with other countries.... By receiving the dignitaries and leaders of numerous states and by communicating with them, the leader has given undeniable examples of his crucial presence in Iranian diplomacy.

I spoke this morning with Carnegie's Karim Sadjadpour about the letter, and he told me it was a "very important" signal coming from Velayati.

The main message? Don't listen to the rantings of that Ahmadinejad fellow -- the supreme leader is called "supreme" for a reason. "Khamenei's not necessarily the micromanager, but he's the macromanager, so all important issues go by him," Sadjadpour said.

Why proclaim this in a French newspaper? The backstory here is fascinating. Last year, French President Nicolas Sarkozy reached out to Khamenei in the hopes of reaching a breakthrough in the stalled nuclear negotiations. Velayati was to be dispatched to Paris to lay the groundwork for a possible meeting between Sarkozy and Khamenei, and in November he went to brief Ahmadinjad as a courtesy before heading off on his mission. Not only did the Iranian president humiliate Velayati by scheduling him for a midnight meeting and then making him wait for several hours, but he then sent a letter to Sarkozy that was so rude and condescending, it killed any hope of a France-Iran summit. According to Le Monde, Ahmadinejad said Sarkozy was "young and inexperienced," and French diplomats said the letter contained "veiled threats."

More recently, a civil servant and Ahmadinejad ally named Abbas Palizdar publicly accused a number of top clerics of corruption. Several of them are close associates the supreme leader. Too close, in fact, and Palizdar was arrested for "propagating lies." Rumor has it Khamenei saw this incident as Ahmadinejad crossing the line. So, not only is Khamenei, through Velayati, trying to make clear that Ahmadinejad is not the guy to talk to, he's indicating his disgust with the Iranian president and putting him in his place. "I think Khamenei is frustrated with Ahmadinejad's antics. This may have been the last straw," said Sadjadpour.

As for a détente with France or a breakthrough on the nuclear program? Don't bet on it. Iran's recent diplomatic offensive is most likely a "delaying tactic" intended to "cool the temperature" in light of all the recent news, according to Sadjadpour. But it sure makes great political theater. Pass the popcorn.

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Some may say it was done for profit, but there is a certain cultural je-ne-sais-quoi about the return of the franc for the village of Collobrières.

The town of 1,600, nestled deep in Provence, has re-allowed the use of its country's former currency for everyday purchases, prompting citizens to turn out in droves with fistfuls of francs. Baker Nathalie Lepeltier, who came up with the idea, claims it will convince her fellow townspeople to spend more:

The euro has made life more expensive; prices are much higher... people have lost the concept of the value of money with the euro."

That's a questionable claim, but the franc's reintroduction has helped the villagers of Collobrières strengthen one value -- their French identity. The French public has long shown aversion to EU membership, most notably in 2005 when the country voted "non" on the EU constitution. Now, poised to take the EU presidency tomorrow, the French government has promised a "citizen-centered" approach and to "reconcile Europe with French citizens" during its tenure. Bonne chance: 63 percent of French citizens polled earlier this year do not think that the French presidency will bring Europe closer to the French population.

It'll be especially tough to convince villages like Collobrières, where national and local identity often reign supreme. Some of those interviewed from the town knew nothing about the Lisbon Treaty, the set of EU institutional reforms that Ireland rejected earlier in June. But Collobrières' citizens don't have to know much about global affairs to feel their impact -- inflation has heavily impacted the franc's value. Says Lepeltier:

People remember the price in francs, and they're shocked now when they use francs at how much more everything costs."

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Starting next month, members of the European Parliament will travel in style on their own specially designed high-speed train from their office in Brussels to their other office in Strasbourg, France. The parliament holds its preparatory meetings in Brussels and its plenary sessions in Strasbourg meaning that every month, 377 MEPs and their staff need to be transported between the two cities. The new train is being touted (mostly by the French who built it) as an eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to flying. It will still cost European taxpayers more than $300,000 per journey and won't be open to the public.

Cato's Daniel Mitchell compares the train to the special highway lanes once enjoyed by high-ranking Soviet officials. However, I don't really see why putting them on their own train is that much more egregious than chartering a jet or hiring limos. To me, this says more about the monumental idiocy of putting the parliament's two offices 200 miles apart.

Despite the luxurious accomodations, MEPs are still griping that the train's late arrival in Strasbourg will "deprive colleagues of their midday break and the possibility of a proper lunch." I guess it's hard to pass all those non-binding resolutions on an empty stomach.

Note: The photograph above is of a different train.

Language purists in France are fuming. The country's entry in the Eurovision music contest has English lyrics! (OK, two lines are in French.) Of the 43 countries participating, more than half -- 25 -- submitted songs in English. It sounds like there's a new linga franca.

If you have three minutes of your life to spare, check out France's entry, "Divine," by Sébastien Tellier, here.

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This year's nationalism soup in China smacks of that served in 2005 but with some more eclectic ingredients. Then, it was anti-Japanese sentiment over WWII-era war crimes that stirred up popular unrest. The Chinese government stoked the public's anger, leading to diplomatic facilities getting smashed up and calls for a boycott of Japanese goods. Sensing that things had gotten out of control, the government eventually drew the line.

Now, it is global activism tied to the Beijing Olympics that is fueling national anger. Many Chinese feel that other countries are exploiting the games for political reasons. Howard French of the International Herald Tribune explains the anger is so deep because their government "sold them on the Olympics as a measure of their standing and stature in the world," and they feel the world isn't giving China its due.

The latest country to face Chinese wrath is France, which Chinese netizens singled out as the worst embarrassment in terms of the torch relay over the past week (frankly, things weren't pretty in London or San Francisco either). Citing a human rights banner at Paris city hall and a protestor trying to wrench the torch from a Chinese girl in a wheelchair, grassroots sentiment is again spiraling out of control, though only in cyberspace for now. Calls for boycotts of French companies -- including L'Oréal, Louis Vuitton and Givenchy -- have appeared on Web sites and chatrooms.  Meanwhile, Xinhua ran a story today biting back at the French media entitled "Paris slaps its own face."

The government will likely ride it out as long as is necessary for the people to vent. Then, as with Japan, they will call for a return to social harmony. Many people, including International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, believe the games will still be a success. But with so many potential provocations yet to unfold, it will be interesting to see how this PR mess gets cleaned up.

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The British press has been flooding the zone in covering French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to London this week. But of course, it's not Sarko's promises to beef up the French troop presence in Afghanistan or his calls for Britain to be more active in the European Union that have dominated the headlines. Nope. It's the every move of Sarkozy's Italian-born wife, Carla Bruni, whose supermodel looks have brought the latent prurient impulses of British journalists to the fore.

The tone for the coverage was set early when, the day before France's first couple's visit, Christie's announced it was putting nude photos of Ms. Bruni up for auction. The tabloid Daily Mail and even the ostensibly more respectable Telegraph wasted no time in serving the public interest by publishing one of the photos (find them yourself, folks). The Daily Mail even published closeups of Bruni's legs, hands, and feet and dubbed Bruni a "fully fledged sex siren."

But to really get a sense of how the British have gone ga-ga for Carla, get a load of this sentence in the Telegraph about the Sarkozys' dinner at Windsor Castle:

By that stage, the newlywed presidential couple had already disappeared, according to Mr Roche, no doubt to make the most of their bedroom with a "matchless view over the park".

Or this secondhand report about Mme Sarkozy's appearance at a charity luncheon:

We have it on good authority Miss Bruni has an "incredibly sexy" voice..."

Of course, the occasion would not be complete without indulging in one of the Telegraph's favorite pastimes -- mocking Prime Minister Gordon Brown:

The Prime Minister, not known for public displays of affection, lunged at the glamorous former supermodel as she and husband Nicolas Sarkozy visited Downing Street on the second day of their state visit to Britain.

The Sun adds helpfully, "Mr Brown planted TWO enthusiastic smackers on her."

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This morning's Olympic torch-lighting ceremony in Greece was disrupted by protesters from the Paris-based media rights groups Reporters Without Borders. The bad publicity was exactly the kind of thing that Beijing was hoping (unrealistically) to avoid in the run-up to this summer's games, but also highlights a growing debate in France over whether the country should take action to voice its disapproval of China's human rights record.

RSF (the organization's French acronym) has proposed that France boycott the Games' opening ceremony. A poll published in today's Libération newspaper and sponsored by RSF found that 53 percent of respondents liked the idea of President Nicolas Sarkozy skipping the event. A separate poll in the sports magazine L'Equipe had nearly identical results. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he found the idea "interesting" last Tuesday but then quickly backtracked several hours later:

There are a lot of good ideas that can't be put into practice [...] When you're dealing in international relations with countries as important as China, obviously when you make economic decisions it's sometimes at the expense of human rights," he added. "That's elementary realism."

Sounds like somebody got a talking to. This isn't the first time that Kouchner's idealism has taken a back seat to his boss's more pragmatic priorities, and it raises some questions over whether the left-wing, former head of Doctors Without Borders is only in Sarkozy's government as liberal-internationalist window dressing. Sarkozy, for his part, has offered to make France a facilitator for negotiations between China and the Dalai Lama. It's a start, but as the protests inevitably grow throughout this spring, it's going to get harder to stick to the middle ground.

Update: Speaking on Tuesday, Sarkozy would not rule out the possibility of boycotting the ceremony, saying, "All options are open and I appeal to the Chinese leaders' sense of responsibility." Perhaps he's keeping an eye on the polls.