France's Year of Mexico to Be Boycotted by… Mexico

Every year in France, the government plays host to a foreign nation (calling the commemoration and the festivities — along with the heightened business deals — the Year of Brazil, the Year of Russia, etc), but this year's bash stands out in that a diplomatic crisis looms between the host country and its guest and that, consequently, France's Année du Mexique will likely be boycotted by… Mexico.

The problem, explains Le Monde, is that Nicolas Sarkozy declared that the year-long event would be dedicated to a Frenchwoman who has sat in a Mexican jail for the past five years. Sentenced to 60 years behind bars for having allegedly joined a drug gang and participated in kidnappings, Florence Cassez is widely seen in France as being an innocent bystander falsely accused or at least as a romantic who fell in love with an outlaw and who received an unfair trial and/or too harsh a verdict…