In a rare moment of whimsy, former French Premier Raymond Barre has compared this year's presidential race to the La Fontaine fable in which a fast- starting hare loses a race to a tortoise by making the fatal mistake of stopping for a nap. "Allow me," Barre added waggishly, "to be the tortoise." Ever since, cartoonists have relished drawing Barre with a turtle shell around his ample midsection and planting rabbit ears on his opponent for the center-right nomination, Premier Jacques Chirac. Last week, after waiting in true-to-tortoise form for 23 days after Chirac announced his candidacy, Barre, 63, threw his...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
