France Disrespects Its Hamsters

Sometimes, life imitates art. This is one of those times. Apparently the French, not content to simply use hamster as an ugly slur for insulting foreigners, have been driving the endearing little rodents of house and home. Fortunately, the European Court of Justice has seen fit to protect what The New York Times calls "a 10-inch citizen of France." Now that our little furry friend counts as a citoyen I expect the next step is for him to have his reputation protected from hateful skits like this by law, much as a somewhat larger countryman has.