You’ll love this story about how the French are partying it up on their humanitarian mission to Indonesia:

The naval ship’s pantry is stocked with wines, baguettes and pate, and its casual dress code is shorts and sandals. There’s even an artist – 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.

A month after killer waves struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the French are part of an international relief operation that includes forces from more than a dozen nations, including Japan, Russia and Switzerland.

The 1,000 or so French sailors and soldiers arrived in Aceh province on the island’s northern tip two weeks ago…

Hat tip to The Baron, who has this to say about the French artist:

A perfectly healthy human coming ashore in the midst of devestation, not with food and medicine, but with a paintbrush. I only hope he chooses a less insulting medium than watercolors.

Touche.