FEMME fatale they are called. Femme fatale is a byword in American English but its etymology is actually French. Femme fatale are those women who succeed in life by wiggling their way among men. These are the kinds of people you usually see in French film director Luc Besson’s movies. Whether the heroine herself (Joan of Arc) or relegated as the hero’s sidekick or love interest (Shu Qi of The Transporter), the women in Luc Besson’s movies are a trademark in itself.

Let’s start off with Nikita, Luc Besson’s groundbreaking 1990 assassin movie hit. Nikita is a crossover between a Lolita and a CIA assassin. Since Nikita is French, we can deduce that she’s an agent of DGSE in this movie. Nikita is such a cult hit even in the United States that television series creator extraordinaire Joel Surnow spawned it into a US cable hit, spanning a total of five seasons. Five seasons is equal to five years and that’s a lot already if you count on the financial success of a television series.

After Nikita, Luc Besson created another femme fatale – a child undergoing puberty in the form of Natalie Portman in her very first movie role. Natalie’s performance in Leon opposite veteran actors Jean Reno and Gary Oldman as a 13-year-old is so challenging that a decade and a half later, I’m still wondering on why she never coveted that elusive Oscar nomination for this movie.

Then came Milla Jovovich who is The Fifth Element in the movie of the same title. The Fifth Element must jive with the four other elements for the survival in a post-apocalypse world. But that is not what makes Milla here a femme fatale. Milla is a femme fatale here for two reasons. As far as I can remember, she’s the only sexy star blabbering completely in an alien language throughout the film. To me, that’s the essence of acting – you have to stun the audience that you’re really good. And Milla is darn convincing enough. The second reason is making Milla an unintentional icon for all small-breasted women in the United States not to be indulging in self-pity. One can have small breasts and be beautiful at the same time.

Two years after her breakthrough role as The Fifth Element, Milla Jovovich emerged as St. Joan of Arc in the movie telling of France’s national Roman Catholic patron saint. Milla here is not the femme fatale. It is her character St. Joan of Arc herself. At a tender age of 19, Milla has led the French Army into victory during her time, culminating in the crowning of King Charles VII.

THAT may sound so cliché but the French are indeed vanguards of the world. French President Nicholas Sarkozy, fresh from his honey4moon with the new first lady of the country Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, is now back at the helm in his old usual self – forceful but very diplomatic. For starters, President Sarkozy has signified willingness to ratify the Lisbon Treaty by February 7 or about two days from now. The very relevant Lisbon Treaty calls for reforms in the European Union to take an active role in global affairs from competitors such as the United States. After all, the markets in Europe are the strongest as proven with the fall of both the United States and the Asian markets some two weeks ago. The Central Bank of the European Union has really done a good job in maintaining the economic stability of our continent.

One of the changes to a more vigorous European Union as envisioned in the Lisbon Treaty which was carved just last December is to ratify the continent-wide Charter of Fundamental Rights. Adopting the Charter of Fundamental Rights is very significant and can impact major issues affecting the globe. For example, there has been wide clamor from human rights groups all over that the CIA operates secret torture camps in Europe. They arrest Americans suspected of terrorism in their own country and bring them to the torture camps here in Europe. That is called rendition or the exact opposite of extradition. With the adoption of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Union has now teeth to examine whether these claims made by the human rights groups are true. Intelligence agencies such as the French’s DGSE are now compelled to cooperate with these continental investigators.

Another drastic change in the Lisbon Treaty is to extend the power of the European Union ambassador-at-large which is currently held by Javier Solana. This is necessary for the ambassador to make a lasting influence on other countries for the good of Europe and that includes France of course.

But the most important change for the European Union as drafted in the Lisbon Treaty is to make the body a single legal entity to represent the whole continent in signing very important treaties.

We have been dealing with international treaties earlier. Now, let’s discuss about international flights. There’s now a new daily flight from Paris to Shannon in Ireland and back courtesy of Air France. Air France, which has ditched its Concorde fleet a few years back, is now revitalized with lots of flights worldwide. The Paris-Shannon route is one testament to this. With this, more Irish tourists are expected to come to Paris any time of the year. Paris is called the City of Lights and the place is illuminated not just during the holiday season but all year long. The Eiffel Tower is a romantic sight even at the peak of summer. You can have a romantic rooftop dinner across the Eiffel Tower with your Irish fiancée. That is one memorable honeymoon she’ll cherish for life from you.