French minister offers EU's Ashton language lessons

(PARIS) - France's minister for European affairs made a doubled-edged gesture to under-fire EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Friday, offering to arrange for her to take French lessons.

Ashton has been a target of private criticism from French officials for her low profile and limited French, and it was not clear if Pierre Lellouche's offer was another snide dig from Paris or a genuine offer of assistance.

In a statement released to mark the 40th anniversary of the "Francophonie" association of French-speaking countries, Lellouche said he would support the creation of a French-language cultural forum at the European Parliament.

"Pierre Lellouche also invited the speaker of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek ... and Catherine Ashton, European high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, on language-study breaks," it added.

Buzek, Ashton and non-French-speaking chairmen and women of parliamentary committees would be invited to the "Millefeuille Provence" language training centre in the southern French region, it said.

Ashton, an un-elected British baroness with no foreign policy experience, was the only non-parliamentary European Union official -- not all of whom speak French -- listed on Lellouche's invitation.