Quelle Pagaie!

To the offices of Radio France on the Rue Bayard came a bright, brash reporter from the Paris-Matin. "I am Christian Basque," he announced politely. "May I speak with whoever is in charge here?"

Reporter Basque knocked on door after door; always someone else was in charge. "Bande d'imbeciles/" he growled, "Pack of fools!" At length he found himself shunted back where he had started. "Quelle pagaie!--What a mess!" he cried, and left.

A few days later Reporter Basque returned. He strode to Room 205, announced himself loudly as the Information Ministry's new Director of Broadcasts. "Bien, bien!--Fine, fine!" nervous bureaucrats exclaimed. They bustled around, tidied up his desk, and put a sign, "Broadcast Control Office," on his door. Program directors, producers and script writers filed into Room 205 to have their manuscripts bureaucratically edited and rubber-stamped.

After two days Reporter Basque took down his sign, stepped to a microphone and told Radio France's listeners: tomorrow the well-informed Paris-Matin will publish an investigation of the broadcasting system. Be sure to read it.

Then Reporter Basque went back to his newspaper, wrote his story. Paris-Matin put it on the front page.

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