French corsairs now a small museum. French corsairs Corsairs () were privateers, authorized to conduct raids on shipping of a nation at war with France, on behalf of the French crown. Seized vessels and cargo were sold at auction, with the corsair captain entitled to a portion of the proceeds. Although not French Navy personnel, corsairs were considered legitimate combatants in France (and allied nations), provided the commanding officer of the vessel was in possession of a valid letter of marque ( or , the latter giving "corsairs" their name), and the officers and crew conducted themselves according to contemporary admiralty law.
Governmental positions on the Iraq War prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq "crime against peace and a violation of the Geneva Convention". Millions demonstrated on the streets of Britain, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, France, Switzerland, Greece, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus, Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Donald Rumsfeld tried to downplay the French and German governmental criticism, most prominently heard because both countries at that time were members of the, as the opinion of "Old Europe", while he relied on a new situation after the EU enlargement. Opinion polls showed that the war was not supported by a majority of the public in