France actually sent Haiti a lot of humanitarian help and cancelled some of the country's debts. Now, looking at the series of instable and corrupt regimes the

France actually sent Haiti a lot of humanitarian help and cancelled some of the country's debts. Now, looking at the series of instable and corrupt regimes the country had since independence, the more apt analogy would be that it was smart from the bank's (France) point of view to foreclose the property before thieves broke in and stole the TV and copper wire. If you're looking for the TV by the way, there's a man called Duvalier who knows exactly where it is. Even recently, Wyclef Jean's humanitarian foundation (the same person who tried to ran for presidency in Haiti) was found to be diverting an impressive amount of funds to... Himself! The issue is cultural. But that's certainly not a position that will be popular with the NYT's readership.