Model Daughter, French Style

Yes, I actually did first read the Wall St. Journal as a teenager when it was the only reading material available in the dentist's waiting room. I soon discovered what I call the wacko column, that offbeat offering in the middle of the front page. Today we find a story on the daughter of French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who ditched her university studies in banking to become a model.

Marie is now the face of the new Givenchy perfume, "Ange ou Démon". Her dad has dropped out of the French presidential race. You might say his demons were some "youths" on strike last year, and a few other strange chapters in French politics. Appointed to his position, it would have been the first time he had run for office. WSJ:

"There's less pressure on my dad because he's not running in the presidential elections, so I took an agency in Paris," Ms. de Villepin said. Mr. de Villepin did not reply to a request for comment. "I did everything I could to dissuade her," Mr. de Villepin said in October, according to news agencies. "But it seems she's doing it, and that she's talented."

More bon mots from Ms. de Villepin:

"I dumped it all, my past and my studies," she said, "to do something where you don't need a brain."

The only mystery is why her daddy tried to dissuade her---she seems to be much more successful at functioning brainlessly than he's been.

Latest de Villepin utterances at No Paseran. Oh well, he can always go back to his poetry, signing guest books, and his study of Napoleon, etcetera. And his daughter can support him in the style to which he's accustomed.