"Incomprehensible and inadmissible" fumed Anne-Marie Idrac, secretary of state for state for foreign trade. "I am very shocked that one of the last moves by the outgoing Bush administration is this increase in customs duties." Roquefort cheese was among a number of European Union products to be hit with new US tariffs in retaliation for an EU ban on US hormone-treated beef.
Speaking of scandals, a student who is auctioning her virginity to pay for a masters degree in Family and Marriage therapy has seen bidding hit $3.7 million. Natalie Dylan, 22, is auctioning off her virginity to fund her master's degree and claims her offer of a one-night stand has persuaded 10,000 men to bid for sex with her. Last September, when her auction came to light, she had received bids up to $243,000 but since then interest in her has rocketed.
The student who has a degree in Women's Studies insisted she was not demeaning herself and was persuaded to offer herself to the highest bidder after her sister Avia, 23, paid for her own degree after working as a prostitute for three weeks.
And if that wasn't enough good news for this week, in a New Year's address to the arts world, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said under-25s and school teachers would be allowed in to all museums free of charge from April 4, in addition to under-18s who already enjoy free tickets. As part of a raft of announcements aimed at promoting French culture and the arts, Sarkozy said he planned to create a new national history museum, in a "symbolic" site, in a bid to reinforce France's identity.
France's annual national heritage budget will be boosted by 100 million euros, with priority given to preserving "emblematic great monuments, cathedrals, abbeys and small town monuments," he said.
I love the French reaction to a global financial meltdown!!
Some photos of the week:
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