Strasbourg (France), June 21 (Reuters): French deputies walked out of the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly today when their compatriot Jean-Claude Trichet, head of the European Central Bank, began addressing a meeting in English.

“Speak French, it’s the least you can do,” one heckled him as they marched out of the hall at the Council’s headquarters in Strasbourg.

The former Bank of France governor promptly switched to French to plead: “Please don’t leave,” and explain that the Frankfurt-based bank used English as its working language. Trichet was attending a council discussion about “the euro and Greater Europe”. Twelve of the European Union’s 25 members use the euro. The Council of Europe, best known as a human rights watchdog, has 45 members.

Austrian Peter Schieder, chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly, told Trichet he could continue “in English or in French or in the two languages”. Trichet then resumed his presentation, giving the first half of it in English and the second half in French.

Impasse continues

Germany joined France in insisting the next European Commission president should come from a “core” EU state.

But Britain said the head of the Brussels EU executive could come from any of the 25 member states, escalating a war of words that has reopened bitter rifts in the bloc.