ALAIN JUPPÉ, the former Gaullist Prime Minister and the model of Gallic stuffiness, stunned his countrymen yesterday when he revealed that he truly was the author of a web-log that has been appearing on the internet under his name.

Two weeks ago at an appeal against his conviction on charges of corruption his ban from holding public office was reduced from ten years to twelve months. The imperious M Juppé, 59, has been so open in sharing his views on life and events that the media dismissed the site as a hoax.

On Tuesday, when President Chirac took him to the opening of the Millau motorway viaduct, M Juppé reported on his blog: “That was nice of him. The President wants to make sure that people see us together, including on photographs.”

Such candour is almost unthinkable in the world of French politics, where appearing in public with your spouse is still considered a novelty. The informal, slangy blog shows how far M Juppé has come since, as Prime Minister, he proclaimed in 1995 that he would “stand firm in my boots” as the unions brought the country to a standstill, eventually forcing him from office.

He says on www.al1jup.com that his wife, Isabelle, convinced him that the blog “would be an excellent way of staying in contact with people. Now I’ve got really hooked on it.” Among other things, he offers his views on films, and says he wants to try kite surfing.

Finger twisting

IF YOU are one of the lucky few to have bought tickets to the sellout Mary Poppins musical, brace yourself for the large swinging dance sequence to the favoured song Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in which the cast’s hand movements are actually sign language spelling out the word — which may be a record for the use of sign language. Apparently the idea arose because one of the crew’s partners is deaf.

Cutting the cloth

A DECENT claret and a comfortable seat are likely to be things of the past for bishops as the Church of England implements cost- cutting measures, the Church Times reports. The annual report of bishops’ expenses states that only “reasonably priced wine” can be claimed and encourages anyone aged 60 or over to use a senior- citizen railcard. Couldn’t the collection plate just be passed around a few more times?

Ps

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