France has achieved the remarkable feat of sinking to new lows in the annual global corruption index, proving that even the nation that gave us 'liberté, égalité, fraternité' can master the art of selective blindness when it comes to political accountability. The country's corruption perception has deteriorated so spectacularly that Transparency International France felt compelled to point out the obvious: there's 'absolutely no political leadership in the fight against corruption.'

Florent Clouet, the organization's chief executive, delivered this assessment with the kind of diplomatic understatement that would make a career diplomat weep with envy. Beyond the headline-grabbing scandals that have become as routine as strikes in Paris, France has apparently perfected the art of institutional indifference to graft. The lack of political will has become so pronounced it's practically an art form.