Nobody has mentioned how the conversation began. Chirac started the whole ball rolling with the comment "The only thing the English have ever given world cuisine is mad cow disease".

I don't think 'lost it' is an appropriate analysis. He's going for an 'us versus them' argument, and he's trying to align Schroeder & Putin on his side. Chirac told Blair there was going to be dire consequences for supporting the United States, regardless of whether the UK joined the EU or not. Slyly using schoolboy humor to relegate the UK beef industry to quarantine status would just be the first step.

Expect much more, not less.