Guido bows to no one in his admiration for French food, he summers in France, his favourite restaurant in the world is Club Gascon and I am known to be partial to the odd bottle of Margaux. But the French President, Chirac is a different kettle of poisson.

Chirac’s joke that “After Finland, it’s the country with the worst food” may have swung the Olympics for London. The two Finnish members of the IOC, Jari Kurri and Peter Tallberg voted for London, if they had not the score would have been 52-52 with the deciding vote to be cast by the International Olympic Committee’s president – a Belgian.

First his EU constitution is torn up, then the Olympics goes to the ancient enemy, his German pal looks likely to be kicked out by the voters and after the G8, much of the world thinks the French attachment to the Common Agricultural Policy is the key reason trading with Africa is so unjust. Chirac has just run out of luck.