Reaching Out

摘要

They flocked by the tens of thousands to the Place de la Bastille in Paris, as they had done on a May night 15 years earlier, when Francois Mitterrand was elected president of France. Then as now, they left mountains of red roses in the street, but this time not in celebration but as a memorial, for Mitterrand had died. "He was my president," said Karine Game, a 26-year-old law student, sheltering a candle from the rain. "He represented France with dignity abroad and watched over us at home." Was there any other political leader, she was asked, of Mitterrand's stature? "Living? French?" she asked in reply. And then, after a moment, "Not even in Europe."