“Is it the vocation of the French to run international institutions?” asked a recent editorial in a Parisian newspaper, before reeling off a host of global luminaries of Gallic origin. The question is a fair one.

Many people in France may think it is their destiny to rule the world and, while they account for less than 1% of the global population, they account for some 12% of the estimated 130,000 staff working for organisations such as the European Central Bank (run by Jean-Claude Trichet), the International Monetary Fund (run by Dominique Strauss-Kahn), and the World Trade Organisation (where Pascal Lamy last year won a second term).