A man with reasons

Today marks the Quatorze Juillet, a day for the French celebrations recalling the fall of the Bastille amid cries of Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité! and the first flutter of the tricolore. It was a time of strife and challenges. It was a time of change that needed to be met with the courage of conviction, events that forged a country. Yet the revolutionary ideas that shook the world have now become a democratic tradition.

The host of these celebrations here in Malta is perhaps a tad less traditional. In the world of diplomacy he is sometimes seen as brutally blunt. Not for him the velvet glove or the honeyed word. Instead he steps boldly in where angels fear to tread.

This is no faux pas. Far from it, rather making waves is a conscious, considered choice. Didier Destremau, France's envoy to Malta, believes it is his duty to make a difference in any part of the world he is sent to. It happens to be Malta right now.

"But this is nothing new for me. I did the same in other posts, Mozambique, for instance." This was one of Destremau's previous postings.

His direct, outspoken manner has earned him a variety of epithets - arrogant, among them - with much defensive counter-fire particularly from members of the press who he meets regularly at embassy residence lunches, of which there have been 32 to date. These are intended as much for the sample of French cuisine as they are for the bandying of hot potatoes.

Guests are always asked to sing for their supper by preparing for a discussion on a current issue. As a result, environmental problems are often on the menu. The French ambassador spices up the conversational fare by challenging his guests with provocative statements. It sometimes upsets people.

They start to see him as more of an extrémiste than a Destremau, they take offence at his forthright manner, not because he is wrong, I suspect, but because he so often hits the nail on the head and the Maltese are notoriously touchy when it comes to criticism, particularly from a foreigner, one they expect to proffer pate and platitudes, not harsh home truths.

So why does he do it?

"It's not because I feel I am better than other people, or because I am a citizen of France and so purely arrogant. It isn't because I think little of Malta. My wife will tell you that of all the postings we've had we've been happiest here and in Poland.

"I'm not setting France up as a model, either." On one occasion, when Destremau deplored the state of the Maltese countryside where attractively rustic rubble walls are punctuated by unsightly rusty metal drums, one journalist, taking the comment as indicative of a holier-than-thou attitude, countered with an attack on pollution in Lyons.

France is far prom being perfect, but that is not the point." Two wrongs do not make a right. The ambassador also feels that that it sometimes takes an outsider to force people to take an objective look at their environment as familiarity inures people to elements they should be rejecting.

"Possibly because they take it for granted, the Maltese may not be aware of just how much of a jewel in the Mediterranean Malta is. It is just that I am aware of what is lacking and I am not going to be too shy to do something about it."

His agenda is simple enough: he believes the power of the individual to make a difference. If in his case it means rewriting the code of diplomacy, then so be it.

"I feel it is important to participate more. Life can be very pleasant here. It would much easier for me to just go to the beach or ride my horse than attracting attention and coming under fire."

The reaction from other members of the members of the diplomatic corps to his abrasive style has also been mixed.

"Some are surprised, some disapprove, some are happy to have a scapegoat.

"I am proud to be a target for criticism, though perhaps I have created trouble for Foreign Minister Joe Borg, who has to go back to the government to explain that I'm not that bad and that I see this as part of my mission."

This consists of pulling no punches when it comes to such important issues as the local heritage and environment and the issue of the EU accession process and eventual membership. He feels that positive progress on all three issues, which are inextricably intertwined, is hindered by one main stumbling block, the lack of a developed civic pride among many Maltese.

I found it hard to disagree with him. Lack of civic pride manifests itself in littering an ever-diminishing countryside. Frequent loutish behaviour, especially as a result of road rage - Destremau has himself been the victim of such attacks, his corps diplomatique status doing nothing to shield him - shows an I'm-alright-Jack attitude to life seems on the increase to the detriment of many well-meaning Maltese citizens.

And even government bodies show insufficient care for a precious evanescent heritage. He believes that part of the problem is that most of Malta's monuments were not built by the Maltese but by occupying powers, such as the Knights who came from different countries in Europe and latterly the British so there is less affinity to some of these buildings than usually exists, making the Maltese more concerned with their private environment and their immediate family than with the nation and its environment as a whole.

"After all, Malta's heritage doesn't belong to the Maltese it belongs to the world. If the French government had plans to knock down Notre Dame in Paris I hope the whole world would be up in arms."

His other major concern is Malta's credibility abroad. This has resulted in less foreign investment in Malta than it could have enjoyed.

"It is only recently that a commercial attaché has been sent to Paris. This should have been done years ago. It is difficult to encourage French investment otherwise. I am here to represent France, not to create business opportunities for the Maltese."

A recent incident over the disappearance of a French national's pet dog at the Maltese customs over a month ago has done nothing to enhance such credibility, especially since there have been no clear answers from the department concerned, whose spokesman claimed that the dog was put down though they failed to hand the collar and cage over to the owners, and the enquiry has been taking too long even though a deadline was set before this article went to print.

"Malta hasn't built a strong enough image so far. True, it is a small nation, but then if you compare France to China it is a small nation too in terms of population. Yet in joining the EU it must show a willingness to be a team player, to roll up it sleeves and carry on with the work of helping build the cathedral that other European nations have been trying to create over the last 50 years. It can't just negotiate for handouts."

He feels seemingly clever negotiations that have obtained highly favourable of conditions for Malta do nothing to improve the image of a slightly slippery customer, propagating a cliché that needs to be stamped out instead.

"Malta needs to be part of Europe, but Europe can live without Malta."

Destremau added how pleased he was with Air Malta's decision to purchase Airbus, saying there was never any doubt as to the superior suitability of the plane. Furthermore it highlighted a commitment to Europe on Malta's part.

Before embarking on his career as a diplomat, Destremau had lived abroad as a child and spent some years in the army. Even then though it was easier and more acceptable to fall in with policies and decisions of senior officers he felt it was his moral duty to speak plainly about anything he felt was wrong.

Destremau's term ends in November; he has no regrets.

"As I come to the end of my life, at least to my career, with my last breath I will continue to be a tool, trying to draw attention to the issues that are not just a matter of opinion, but facts." Nobody, Destremau feels should be offended by that.