That it has touched such a raw nerve suggests that many French people think so too.
The mysterious HDL is thought to unclog arteries gunked up by too many french fries.
Many French people also died in revenge attacks before Algeria gained independence in 1962.
Many French parents I meet have an easy, calm authority with their children that I can only envy.
And many French diners have recently had neither the money nor the inclination to splurge on fancy meals.
Last November, a wave of violence engulfed the suburbs of many French cities.
Indeed, many French Socialists blame the 1995 presidential victory of conservative Jacques Chirac on Mr Delors's refusal to run.
Many French voters support Mr Chirac for his strong opposition to the Iraq war, which even made him briefly popular.
Like many French of his generation he was appalled by France's quick defeat, but was equally defensive of France's greatness.
Yet many French people, particularly women, are not sure that they like the look of the character who has emerged in recent months.
ECONOMIST: But what sort of reception can he expect in France?
Following a violent slave rebellion in the neighbouring French colony of Saint Domingue (now Haiti) in 1791, many French plantation owners fled to Cuba fearing for their lives.
The economy is at the top of many French voters' minds as they prepare for a two-round presidential election in April and May (see article).
Many French analysts suggest the answer is yes, and that the first round will have allowed those who are bewildered and angry to have their protest.
But it has provoked intense opposition from the Catholic Church, as well as from many French Muslims, who see it as an attack on the traditional family.
Many French politicians and businessmen, however, want to create not just a defence identity for the European Union but also a common front against the English-speaking world.
ECONOMIST: The EU turns its attention from ploughshares to swords
Libraries stocking too many French books will lose their subsidies.
ECONOMIST: Rows over who should speak in which tongue have got worse
In the run-down suburbs around many French cities, reactions to the election result ranged from gloom to outright anger, as youths set cars on fire and skirmished with police.
In April 2011, he launched a controversial public debate on the practice of Islam in secular France, saying many French people were concerned by the "failures of integration".
I'm not sure if Mr Bayrou has a realistic chance of being elected, to be honest, but with so many French voters still undecided, nothing is certain at this stage.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin had proposed allowing employers to hire recent graduates on two-year contracts, rather than the lifetime "contracts of indefinite length" that many French regard as a birthright.
But while many French people agree Chirac was an energetic and effective leader on the world stage, they say he was indecisive and weak when it came to enacting reforms at home.
As for that alleged disdain for soap, the statistics ignore the savon de Marseille, an unscented household soap used by many French people, especially southerners, for washing bodies as well as clothes.
On one issue of particular importance to many French nationals living in the U.S. and Canada, the two candidates' platforms are similar: Both favor making French-language schools more affordable, and ensuring that schools can find enough qualified faculty.
"I'm not surprised that they want to play there because it's the best league, but I am surprised by just how many French players have gone there at the same time, " former Newcastle and France player Didier Domi told CNN.
But 20 percent of the population or 12 million people smoke in France, and more than 70, 000 reportedly die every year from what doctors attribute to smoking-related illnesses which many French people, at least in my experience, instead attribute to prolonged exposure to American culture.
Many French horns, for example, are made of nickel silver, an alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel (it's silver in name and color only), and some are made of nickel bronze, an alloy of copper, tin, and nickel. (Brass itself is an alloy of copper and zinc.) Many brass instruments are silver-plated (sterling silver on brass), and some are gold-plated.
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