The naval ship's pantry is stocked with wines, baguettes and pate, its casual dress code is shorts and sandals. There's even a painter to keep an illustrated record of the trip.
With a panache all its own, France's military is delivering aid to tsunami-battered Indonesia -- and showing how a small force can make a difference.
PHOTO: EPA
A month after the killer waves struck the country's island of Sumatra, the French are taking part in an international relief operation that includes forces from more than a dozen nations, including Japan, Russia and Switzerland.
Although media attention has been focused on the US contribution, particularly the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its battle group, aid officials say that French and other forces are playing an equally important role.
US `Grandstanding'
The French, however, object to being compared to the US effort, describing it as grandstanding.
"The feeling we had in France was that as usual the Americans were rushing in force to Indonesia and boasting about it," said Commander Anne Cullerre, spokeswoman for the flotilla. "For some people, it seemed outrageous. How can you really boast of gaining something from this tragedy? People were saying, `They are doing it again. They are showing off.'"
Since arriving in Aceh province two weeks ago, the roughly 1,000 French sailors and soldiers have been hard at work.
Their 11 helicopters and two C-160 cargo planes are airlifting rice and tents to isolated villages devastated by the Dec. 26 killer waves. Foreign Legionnaires are clearing debris left by the waves and rebuilding schools in Maleuboh -- and occasionally putting out fires that flare.
Their doctors are treating the sick and vaccinating as many as 10,000 Acehnese children against measles, many of whom have never been immunized against disease.
"We are not in the shadow of the Americans but we work alongside them," said Vice Admiral Rolin Xavier, who heads the French military effort, dubbed Operation Beryx, which is being conducted alongside operations in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Their aircraft will be in greater demand once US forces leave, taking their 17 SH-60 Seahawk helicopters and nearly two dozen Marine helicopters.
Progress Seen
French officers say they're no longer mobbed by desperate, hungry locals and that they can sense progress.
"The children are smiling again. This is a good sign," said Major Francois Masse, a veteran pilot of French relief work in Bosnia, Kosovo and Chad. UN officials agree.
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