Beach Blanket Brawl!

ILLUSTRATION for TIME by ROBERTO PARADA

As he put the final polish on his draft European Union constitution last week, former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing suggested a new motto for Europe: united in diversity. Some day, maybe. But not this summer. divided in anger would be more like it, or perhaps take your beach and shove it. Just when the E.U. is trying to forge a coherent identity, national pride is threatening to swamp the whole enterprise as the leaders of two of the Union's biggest members jump headlong into the summer silly season.

It was bad enough when Italian Prime Minister Silvio...

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