French analysis of America...

"It's transference. The French have transferred their psychology of decline to America, so they feel better," he said. "Now they have a mission: They are going to defend mankind against the United States." And more transatlantic interpretations, at Slate.

"You can't beat The Shark and the Seagull, by former Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, for the author's way with metaphor...(I'll let readers guess which country is which in the book's title.)"