The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle had originally been intended to bear the name of Cardinal Richelieu, inheriting it from the World War II battleship Richelieu. But when construction actually began, the Gaullist prime minister at the time renamed it Charles de Gaulle.
A nuclear-powered carrier did not need to worry about running out of fuel, but its propulsion system had suffered constant failures ever since it entered service. In 2002, it simply returned to its home port of Toulon for repairs.
Considering its exorbitant cost, many people felt it was hardly worth repairing. It had originally been scheduled to enter service in 1996, but was delayed until 2001. The delay had been caused by France's financial problems.
America's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act specifically went after those who accepted bribes, but as long as offenders did not go to America, they would not be tried or imprisoned by American courts.
Yet after the Marshall Plan, European intellectuals regarded America as Byzantium, a place where freedom and knowledge were stored.
Hermione and Harry had both come from the Muggle world. Their understanding was sometimes utterly different from Ron's, a child who had grown up in the Wizarding World. Compassionate Hermione would say that Goblins had reason to hate humans because they had been cruelly mistreated. Ron, meanwhile, would say that Goblins were not fluffy rabbits.
There was a kind of deterrence that did not have to be bloody, yet you could still feel its terror.
No one would press that button in peacetime, but nuclear power plants were different. Their primary purpose was profit. That oil refinery in Texas had aging equipment, and the oil company refused to pay to repair or replace it. The workers lived in constant fear every day, feeling that any day could be the last day