(native french) It is also a letter originally written in french in 1940: http://denise.vella.chemla.free.fr/transc-AWSW.pdf . It uses "tu" which is the affectionate/intimate version of you, the language used is as is quite common in educated households (and the weil's certainly was) is "language soutenu", which is quite formal sound and elaborate (french people love their language), and while I can see how it could strike one as cold, especially in english-speaking countries, it doesn't seem condescending to me in the least, on the contrary.
Yes, '67, six years before Bowie covered Brel on the stench of fish and whores in Zeebrugge. (A syllable was added and Amsterdam was used as "it sounded better to the ear")
(Les Horribles Cernettes lineup appears to have been far more anglophone than francophone over the years, but all of them —as it was a founding member in 1954– have at least tenuous ties to belgium)
