World

French Embassy Sends Fourth Job Inquiry, Calls It Entirely Hypothetical

Harriet Sloane reviewed the diplomatic language and found it technically deniable, which is not the same thing as subtle.

The French Embassy has sent Patricia Holloway a fourth note asking whether she would, in an entirely hypothetical and non-binding sense, be interested in discussing opportunities adjacent to public diplomacy.

The note arrived three days after Holloway's latest summit dispatch, in which a European official accidentally described Trump's trade instincts as annoying but operational. The embassy has denied that the note and the adjective are related.

"This is not a job offer. It is a conversation about whether a conversation would be impossible." A senior embassy official

A Diplomatic Distinction

In thirty years of covering international affairs, this correspondent has learned that governments rarely ask a question four times because they enjoy the punctuation. They ask because the answer remains inconveniently unavailable.

Holloway has not responded. She has, however, sent a thank-you note in French, which one official described as graceful, precise, and unhelpful to the embassy's effort to stop thinking about her.

Gerald Worthington III said the newsroom is not concerned. He then asked whether anyone knew if French public diplomacy roles came with health insurance, which suggests concern had entered the building under another name.

Reporter note: This was not a NATO summit. On balance, that improved the day.