and she's French:

From the Scotsman: New 'Joan of Arc' wows the strike-weary French

HAILED as the new Joan of Arc on a crusade to stop France’s powerful unions holding the silent majority hostage over pension reform, Sabine Herold, 21, a politics student, has become an instant heroine to those who are fed up with seeing their country crippled by seemingly endless strikes.

Shouting into a microphone to loud applause, Ms Herold delivered a stirring message to the tens of thousands of followers who gathered in the Place du Chatelet in the centre of Paris at the weekend, to hear her speak on behalf of her association, Liberté, j’écris ton nom.

"How numerous we are today. More than I would ever have dared hope for just a month ago, when the strike was all around us," she said.

"We have put a full stop to decades of silent submission. This time, for the first time, we have told them no," she added, referring to the strikers she calls "reactionary egotists".

France, she said lacks dynamism - and needs a good dose of Margaret Thatcher.

"France needs someone capable who would mobilise people and smash the unions. Well, I don’t know if we can put it like that, but someone who could give a reforming spirit. I think the French at the moment are lacking in desire, they don’t have a ‘French dream’ like the American dream," she said.

Between the falling value of the dollar, resistance to the rampant anti-Americanism of recent months, and the strikes, it seems American tourism to Europe in general and France in particular is down considerably this year. I suspect it'll take a lot more than a smiley faced "Bonjour Campaign" to change things.