French man the barricades

Date: 17/12/1998

The entente cordiale between French and Anglophone reporters was finally ruptured in Vienna.

A spat over press area seating confirmed the British hacks' view that the French are too close (in this case, literally) to their politicians.

It all started when a large group of British, American, Belgian and Italian journalists arrived at the Hofburg press centre a day before the summit and staked claim to several rows of desks allocated for journalists outside the French, Italian and Belgian briefing rooms.

The next morning the Paris press pack arrived and decided the area outside the French briefing room was sovereign territory and therefore reserved for them. “Where does it say that?” enquired one British reporter. “We're making the signs now,” came the reply.

In the ensuing stand-off the French complained to the Austrian authorities - who, amazingly, responded. However, the Anglophones stood their ground, much to the Parisians' irritation.

The entente miserable looks set to continue in Brussels, where regulars now expect daily fist fights over seating at the Commission's press briefings.