If French is no longer the language of a power, it can be the language of a counter power.

(2. Marylise Lebranchu succeeds Guigou as Minister of Justice. 18 October 2000 – Elisabeth Guigou succeeds Aubry as Minister of Employment and Solidarity.

Lionel Jospin (French pronunciation: ​[ljɔnɛl ʒɔspɛ̃]; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. He ran for President again in 2002 and was eliminated in the first round due to finishing behind both Chirac and the far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen following which he immediately announced his retirement from politics.