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French President Jacques Chirac points as he leads the leaders past hotel staff in chef's hats after a working lunch and before the family photo at the June 1-3, G8 Summit in Evian, June 2, 2003.
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I
t wasn't all hard work at the G8 summit of the world's most powerful leaders. There was good food, lots of glad-handing and the prospect of sickly journalists.
If there's one thing you can say about the French, it's that they know how to put on a good lunch.
French President Jacques Chirac offered his colleagues a lunch Monday that featured specialities from the Haute Savoie region of southeastern France.
The assembled heads of state or government from Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States joined Chirac for crayfish, char -- lake trout -- from the nearby Lake Geneva, pigeon accompanied by new potatoes, assorted cheeses and a soft and creamy cake.
The wine, Roussette de Savoie, was a regional white.
The meal was prepared by a culinary school in Thonon, several kilometers from the summit site.
Afterwards the leaders posed for pictures with the young chefs.
Story One:
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was a late arrival at the summit after facing critics in his Social Democrats at a special party congress in Berlin that eventually swallowed his controversial social and economic reforms.
Schroeder arrived half a day after the first leaders, but was made to feel welcome by his buddy and host, French President Jacques Chirac.
Chirac congratulated him on getting his reforms adopted. At which point, everyone clapped. Including US President George W. Bush, whose relations with Schroeder haven't been rosy since they fell out over Iraq.
"I looked around to see who was clapping," a German official breathlessly told reporters. "They were all clapping."
Bush also shook Schroeder's hand, German sources added.
Story Two:
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| French President Jacques Chirac greets the the President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo following Obasanjo's arrival in Evian France Sunday June 1, 2003 to attend the G8 summit. |
Time waits for no man, so the expression goes, not even if your name is Olusegun Obasanjo, you're president of Nigeria and you've got a plane waiting for you at Geneva airport.
After dinner-table talks that obviously ended well past the dessert stage, the leader of Africa's most populous nation apologised for keeping reporters waiting, then again for cutting the press conference short.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have to take leave of you," he said, impeccably polite as ever.
"First of all the airport has to close and if we don't leave we will not be able to take off."
Story Three:
While Bush and Chirac were nabbing the photo-op limelight for their first tete-a-tete since their row over the Iraq war, two other leaders went almost unnoticed.
Schroeder and Russian President Vladimir Putin exploited the photographers' fixation on the goings-on on the terrace of the plush Hotel Royal to wander onto the lawn.
There they divested themselves of their jackets for 30 minutes of relaxed talks, before Putin donned his jacket again and returned to the hotel for his turn in the comfortable armchair next to Chirac.
Story Four:
Bush left the summit early, but the French hosts were keen not to let his departure look like an embarrassing politics of the empty chair.
As soon as he set off for the Middle East after a working morning session, his chair at the round-table talks was swiftly whisked away.
The US leader had been sitting in the front row, sandwiched between Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
After the chair was removed, Gary Edson, the US Group of Eight envoy, was left to cover the rest of the meeting on his own. In the second row.
(Agencies)
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參加此次法國(guó)埃維昂八國(guó)首腦會(huì)議的各位世界強(qiáng)國(guó)的國(guó)家首腦們的日程上并非都只是辛苦的工作。那里除了開(kāi)會(huì),還有美味珍饈、數(shù)不清的面帶笑容的握手儀式和令人反感的記者們的望眼欲穿。
如果法國(guó)有什么特別值得一提之處的話,那就是法國(guó)人最懂得如何安排一頓像樣的午餐。
6月2日,法國(guó)總統(tǒng)雅克·希拉克為與會(huì)的各位國(guó)家首腦們準(zhǔn)備的是具有該國(guó)東南部薩瓦省特色的午餐。
來(lái)自英國(guó)、加拿大、德國(guó)、意大利、日本、俄羅斯和美國(guó)的國(guó)家首腦們享受了希拉克為他們準(zhǔn)備的豐盛大餐:小龍蝦、臨近的日內(nèi)瓦湖中的特產(chǎn)湖紅點(diǎn)鮭魚(yú)、鴿子肉配新鮮土豆、各式各樣的奶酪、還有松軟的奶油蛋糕。
午宴上喝的葡萄酒是Roussette de Savoie,一種產(chǎn)自薩瓦地區(qū)的白葡萄酒。
客人們享用的大餐是從遠(yuǎn)在幾公里之外的托農(nóng)運(yùn)來(lái)的,由那里的一個(gè)烹飪學(xué)校操辦所有菜品。
然后,各位首腦還不忘和這些年輕的大廚們合影留念。
見(jiàn)聞之一:
德國(guó)總理施羅德因?yàn)閰⒓右粋€(gè)在柏林召開(kāi)的社會(huì)民主黨的特別議會(huì),所以此次峰會(huì)姍姍來(lái)遲。這個(gè)特別議會(huì)讓施羅德焦頭爛額,他的社會(huì)和經(jīng)濟(jì)改革提案?jìng)涫軤?zhēng)議,不過(guò)好在最終總算在會(huì)議上得以通過(guò)了。
施羅德晚了半天抵達(dá)埃維昂,不過(guò)他還是受到了他的老朋友,東道主希拉克的歡迎。 希拉克對(duì)施羅德國(guó)內(nèi)議會(huì)通過(guò)了他的改革方案表示祝賀。在談到這點(diǎn)的時(shí)候,與會(huì)的其他國(guó)家首腦們也紛紛鼓掌表示祝賀,美國(guó)總統(tǒng)布什也不例外,盡管這段時(shí)間以來(lái)由于在伊拉克戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)問(wèn)題上意見(jiàn)向左美德關(guān)系處于緊張狀態(tài)。
一位德國(guó)官員小心翼翼地告訴記者說(shuō):"我環(huán)顧四周看看都有誰(shuí)在鼓掌,結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)所有人都在拍手。"
德國(guó)媒體還報(bào)道說(shuō),除此之外,布什還和施羅德握手,彼此示好。
見(jiàn)聞之二:
有句諺語(yǔ)說(shuō):時(shí)不我待。沒(méi)錯(cuò),即使你名叫奧利斯肯·奧巴桑約,你是尼日利亞的總統(tǒng),有一架飛機(jī)正在日內(nèi)瓦機(jī)場(chǎng)等著你,你也必須抓緊時(shí)間。
宴會(huì)剛剛結(jié)束,而且顯然是剛剛用完最后的甜點(diǎn),尼日利亞總統(tǒng)奧利斯肯·奧巴桑約--這位非洲人口最多的國(guó)家的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人就因?yàn)檫t到而向守候在會(huì)場(chǎng)的記者們道歉,接著又為必須提前結(jié)束記者招待會(huì)道歉。
他一如既往彬彬有禮地說(shuō)道:"女士們先生們,我們現(xiàn)在必須離開(kāi)了。如果我們?cè)俚R,機(jī)場(chǎng)就要關(guān)閉了,那么我們的飛機(jī)就不能起飛了。"
見(jiàn)聞之三:
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| 偷得浮生半日閑 |
美伊戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)以來(lái),美法關(guān)系一直持僵持狀態(tài)。此次八國(guó)首腦會(huì)議是布什和希拉克美伊戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)結(jié)束后首次面對(duì)面的會(huì)談,因而吸引了記者們的閃光燈,成為此次峰會(huì)的焦點(diǎn)。如此一來(lái),另外兩位首腦就幾乎被人遺忘了。
趁著記者們?cè)诤廊A的皇家飯店的陽(yáng)臺(tái)上圍著布什和希拉克,無(wú)暇顧及自己的空當(dāng),德國(guó)總理施羅德和俄羅斯總統(tǒng)普京溜到外面草坪上散步去了。 他們?cè)谀抢锩摰袅送馓?,閑話家常。30分鐘后,普京才重新穿回外套,回到飯店會(huì)場(chǎng),坐回到希拉克旁邊、屬于他的那張舒適座椅上。
見(jiàn)聞之四:
布什是提前結(jié)束峰會(huì)之行的,但是熱情的法國(guó)東道主不想在布什離開(kāi)后,他原先的座椅現(xiàn)在空空如也,在這場(chǎng)政治盛會(huì)上顯得過(guò)于尷尬。
于是在結(jié)束了上午的工作會(huì)議,布什的座機(jī)起飛開(kāi)往中東之后,他在圓桌會(huì)議上的座椅就馬上被搬走了。
這位美國(guó)總統(tǒng)在會(huì)議期間一直被安排坐在前排,兩側(cè)分別是法國(guó)總統(tǒng)希拉克和英國(guó)首相布萊爾。 布什的座椅被搬走后,西方八國(guó)集團(tuán)的美國(guó)特使蓋瑞·安德森就擔(dān)負(fù)起獨(dú)自代表美國(guó)參加余下會(huì)議的任務(wù)了。不過(guò),他的座位是在第二排。
譯者按:
八國(guó)首腦會(huì)議(G8 Summit)由西方七國(guó)首腦會(huì)議演變而來(lái),八國(guó)是指美國(guó)、英國(guó)、法國(guó)、德國(guó)、意大利、加拿大、日本和俄羅斯。
■70年代初,為共同研究世界經(jīng)濟(jì)形勢(shì),重振西方經(jīng)濟(jì),在法國(guó)的倡議下,法、美、德、日、英、意等六國(guó)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人于1975年11月在法國(guó)舉行了第1次首腦會(huì)議。
■1976年6月增加了加拿大,形成七國(guó)集團(tuán),也稱為"西方七國(guó)首腦會(huì)議"。
■1991年7月,蘇聯(lián)總統(tǒng)戈?duì)柊蛦谭驊?yīng)邀同與會(huì)的七國(guó)首腦在會(huì)后舉行會(huì)晤。從此每年的正式會(huì)議后俄羅斯領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人都要參加"7+1"會(huì)談,。
■1997年在美國(guó)丹佛舉行七國(guó)首腦會(huì)議時(shí),克林頓總統(tǒng)請(qǐng)葉利欽以正式與會(huì)者的身份參加會(huì)議,并首次?quot;八國(guó)首腦會(huì)議"的名義共同發(fā)表公報(bào)西方七國(guó)首腦會(huì)議演化為八國(guó)首腦會(huì)議,但在經(jīng)濟(jì)問(wèn)題上依然保持七國(guó)體制?!?br/>
(中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯)
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