When 26-year-old Iranian demonstrator Neda Agha-Soltan died on video in the streets of Tehran during the wave of post-election protests that rocked Iran in 2009, France reacted with fury and was quick to denounce crackdowns by security forces on demonstrators.
And when Tunisia, a former French colony, began to violently repress protests against the reign of a long-ruling autocrat, France took a strong stance as well — in tacit support of the oppressor.