Pierre Lellouche, his junior Europe minister, slipped in a reference to Auschwitz when talking about the bail-out.

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"Jean's career is a fairy tale, " says Mr. Lellouche, Mr. Dujardin's longtime friend.

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One, Mr Lellouche is quite a voluble sort, with a manner that is not universally popular among his fellow Europe ministers.

ECONOMIST: European politics

But for all that, the astonishing ferocity of comments by Pierre Lellouche to the Guardian newspaper is puzzling for two reasons.

ECONOMIST: European politics

The German foreign ministry recently held a one-day meeting to discuss relations with France, but there was little debate about Mr Lellouche's proposals.

ECONOMIST: France, Germany and the European Union

Now, France's Minister for Europe, Pierre Lellouche, has accused David Cameron of "castrating" Britain's position in Europe, adding that his approach was "pathetic".

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Yet those are the words chosen by Mr Lellouche this morning, after the British opposition leader David Cameron unveiled his new Europe policy, to take account of the final ratification of the Lisbon treaty.

ECONOMIST: European politics

Why did Mr Lellouche go nuclear?

ECONOMIST: European politics