French colonial persistence: teaching dictatorships to govern

"French Prime Minister Francois Fillon confirmed this week that the government had authorized a shipment of tear gas grenades to Tunis on Jan. 12, two days before Tunisian President Zine el Abidine ben Ali was toppled from power.  And with chaos enveloping Egypt, it has been revealed that in October, France trained Egyptian police officers in crowd control. Protesters in Cairo have accused police, both in and out of uniform, of attacking them. A page on the website of the French Embassy in Cairo confirms that the city had the "benefit of 20 officers from the public order and state security services" who taught their Egyptian counterparts how to "restore order.""