Christine Lagarde on The Daily Show

Christine Lagarde, France’s minister of finance, sought to boost France’s soft power, and soften its socialist image, by appearing on the tongue-in-cheek news program The Daily Show on Comedy Central Monday night. The enormously popular Stewart attracts American and international bigwigs looking to bask in his spectacular ratings.

Lagarde held her own and showed impressive English language skills as she and Stewart chatted playfully. Lagarde explained her firing of bankers in France with a frank “They did a crappy job,” which prompted Stewart to ask how to say “crappy” in French (pourri). Stewart, charmed by the dulcet tones of the French language, joked that people would not panic as much if the economic crisis were all in French.

On the question of economic perspectives, the free-market minister believes that both France and America are capitalist societies, but pointed out that the French have more social safety nets than Americans, and these have mitigated human suffering. Perhaps, Lagarde suggested, America is moving closer to the French model. She refuted the American tendency to view all things French as an attack on the American way of life. Au contraire! The conservative Lagarde advocates world cooperation to fight the economic crisis.

In his comic summary of world affairs, Stewart seemed to surprise Lagarde with his knowledge. She had come expecting to hear worn-out clichés about France, and even had a beret for the host. Stewart, looking quite dashing and French in his new beret, finished the segment with a resounding “Vive la France.” We couldn’t agree more.