From Russia, with joy? Christmas tree gift puzzles Parisians
(The Christian Science Monitor) This year the giant tree outside Paris’s famed Notre Dame Cathedral came courtesy of the Russian government.
The unveiling event late last month was so low-key that at least one French national deputy wasn’t even aware of its Russian origin. Tourists snapping photos this week of the 25-meter-high tree, trimmed with giant blue and white lighted bulbs, had no idea who its patron was.
But the gift comes at an odd time, when France has angered Moscow over the indefinite delay of two Mistral warships' delivery, a decision it says it made over Russia's fueling of conflict that continues to rage in Ukraine, and when Europe at large is on guard with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his intentions on the continent.
