I SIMPLY CAN'T BELIEVE the logic used by some of the opponents of the French plan for teaching English in schools to kids from the age of eight. Take this MP of Chirac's party:

"This is an error. English may be the most widely spoken language today but that's not going to last," said Jacques Myard MP. "Spanish is gaining ground in America as well as Chinese and Japanese. If we have to make one language compulsory it should be Arabic.

"In 1914, French officers learnt German," he added. "They were right."

Insert your own joke of how handy it certainly was a couple of decades later.