[BBC.CO.UK] John Kerry has prompted a Gallic shrug by refusing to speak French at his maiden news conference as US Secretary of State.Asked to answer a question with a "bit of French please", he said: "Not today. I got to refresh myself on that."
The response surprised some in the francophone world as Mr Kerry attended a Swiss boarding school and is known to speak the language well.
He was speaking after meeting his Canadian counterpart in Washington.
Mr Kerry's knowledge of French prompted scorn from the right-wing US press during his unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2004, due to the souring of US-French ties over the war in Iraq.
Since then, he has played down his language proficiency, bolstered during childhood summers spent at his mother's family estate in Brittany.