France's Top Librarian Attacks Google Online Library

French crisis management in 8 lessons

1. You're very late compared to supposed competitors

2. Whine because the supposed competitor had a great idea first and the means to develop it

3. Attack the supposed competitor for disloyal competition

4. Try to block or stop the supposed competitor using a State or another centralized, collectivist organization (e.g. the EU)

5. If you can't yourself, ask the State or centralized, collectivist organization to finance you to develop a similar product/idea (that's only fair, ya know, disloyal competition, ya know)

6. In order to get those much-deserved, looted tax-financed funds, invoke the protection of a cultural exception - especially the French cultural exception

7. If the competitor is American, imply the ignorance of its representatives, especially regarding anything French

8. Insist on the danger of American imperialism, unilateralism, policies, -- insert your own anti-American criticism here --

We're talking here about France's National Library's head attacking Google.
(Emphasis mine)

As American President George Bush arrives in Europe, the head of France's national library has criticized San Francisco-based search engine giant Google's plans to put books from major libraries and universities online and called for the European Union to institute a program of its own and develop a European Web browser in order to combat the dominance of the English language and American ideas.

The president of the National Library of France, Jean-Noel Jeanneney, believes that Google and its library partners will inevitably tend to choose American works, according to an interview he gave to the Reuters news agency.

"I favor a multi-polar view of the world in the 21st century," he told the agency.

"I don't want the French Revolution retold just by books chosen by the United States."

France's top librarian wants Europe to develop its own online library program and Internet search engines in order to protect French and other European languages and culture from American influence.

Last autumn, Google announced a partnership with some of the largest libraries in the world to scan and place online the contents of millions of books.

So, this Mr. Jeanneney wants "to combat the dominance . . . of American ideas" (Like what? Those shared values of human rights, democracy and, er... liberty??) and at the same time favors a "multipolar view of the world". I guess that would mean a dominance of French works instead, right Jean-Noël?

I am so sick of the French being jealous of every single brillant idea American corporations may have, ideas they'll never have neither the brains, nor the means to develop in France.

By the way, I found very interesting the fact that in the so-called country of culture, one representative of this country's cultural heritage is mad at the idea of a project to spread culture and books in the world, potentially reaching millions of people who do not have access to them.

UPDATE: More here (Thanks to Doug)

Jean-Noel Jeanneney, President of the library, wrote in an editorial that he is concerned Google's initiative to digitalize volumes at five leading libraries will reflect a unipolar worldview dominated by the English language and American culture.

Jeanneney has designed a parallel program as a counterweight against the perceived political and cultural significance of Google's project.

However his words may appear, Jeanneney insists that his remarks were not intended to be anti-American, and went out of his way to commend the short-term effects of Google's work as a "Messianic dream" that would "profit" under-privileged populations.

In the long run, the librarian-in-chief cautioned against the domination of America for generations to come and its potential to skew thought without reflecting the diversity of civilizations.