23 January 2013

The French Can Screw Up Almost Anything

One of the most bad-ass pics of a French guy on operations goes viral, and their leadership complains about it. Oy. You'd think that a picture of the French kicking ass would be a good thing.
click to enlarge
The soldiers pulled on their goggles to protect their eyes from the dust. One soldier pulled up a black bandana -- with a white skeleton face printed on it -- over his nose. Behind him, light beamed through tree branches, creating an otherworldly image -- the soldier looked like a skeleton in French military fatigues. Photographer Issouf Sanogo of the Agence France-Presse news agency and Yann Foreix of Le Parisien were drawn to the soldier, whom they photographed. The bandana is an accessory sold for fans of the violent military game “Call of Duty.” At first glance, the soldier bears eerie resemblance the character Ghost from the video game. French military officials aren’t happy about the image, according to newspaper Liberation in Paris. “This is unacceptable behavior,” said Col. Thierry Burkhard. “This image is not representative of action by France in Mali.”
By: Brant

1 comment:

S O said...

It's poor taste, and ceased to be official policy in almost all countries decades ago.
In earlier times, even field marshals were occasionally seen with skull symbols.
Nowadays they're widely associated with "bad guys" if combined with guns.

Funnier and related:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEle_DLDg9Y