Thanks to Mike Starke for this little ditty. Ed
Those Islanders who say they are perplexed that the fulsome “Emperor’s New Clothes” promises over the much-trumpeted highway maintenance PFI contract, won by Paris-based multinational conglomerate Vinci, now seem a little threadbare may be interested in this notice, spotted at the gilded gates of Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles near Paris.
It reads:
“The restoration of the Hall of Mirrors has been achieved courtesy of the sponsorship of Vinci, major sponsors of the Ministry of Culture and Communications, 2002 – 2007.”
Islanders may – or may not – take comfort from the fact that, while they think Vinci could be dragging its feet over restoring their roads, the firm has managed to lavish its profits on restoring the jewel in the crown of the sumptuous palace of the 18th century “Sun King” and his notorious queen, Marie-Antoinette.
It was she who is misquoted as saying of the deprived Paris peasantry: “Let them eat cake.”
Perhaps this might be paraphrased by Vinci-Antoinette for 21st century deprived Isle of Wight peasants as: “Let them fill their own potholes.”
