France, Jan. 24 -- France has set up a new digital rapid-response unit - titled "French Response" - to push back against what it sees as a rising tide of online disinformation, and it wasted little time making its presence felt.

When the US secretary of state Marco Rubio took a swipe at European culture on X this week, the English-language account run by the French foreign ministry jumped in almost immediately.

"Our culture," it replied, posting a neatly laid-out table comparing quality-of-life indicators.

On life expectancy, student debt and several other measures, the European Union came out comfortably ahead of the United States.

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