This article on how to bash the French with savoir-faire is a bit old, but it’s worth mentioning as Franco-American relations continue to swirl down the drain. In all seriousness, the article does make some good points about why there is such emnity between America and France today:
We must begin by making it clear that when we say we hate "the French," it does not mean we hate all French people. That would hardly be possible. We haven’t a harsh word for the French female (au contraire!) and only fond memories of the stout, pleasant folk of the French countryside who often treat us with kindness and generosity when we vacation among them.
We detest only a certain breed of French male, particularly the French male who lives in or near Paris and who realized, at a sickeningly young age, that the way to get ahead was inside the incestuous and corrupt French political system. Were the coalition forces to make a brief detour through France on their way home from Iraq, this character would be their legitimate target.
But of course no one any longer will think to invade France, however reasonable and painless it might seem (think of all the collaborators!). We must acknowledge that shock and awe is unlikely to resolve our French problem. We civilians must grapple with it, with wit and diplomacy.
But this presents a troubling prospect. The French are wittier than us. Better diplomats, too.
Read the article for more witty yet astute observations on US-French relations as well as some advice on how to effectively make American displeasure with France known.
Granted, the US is far from clean-handed. However, over a third of the French were cheering for the Ba’athists in Iraq and selling banned weapons to the Hussein regime while acting as the noble guardians of "international law". The hypocrisy of those actions should not be forgotten.
How the Anti-French Campaign was organized from the top down.
* ADMINISTRATION LEVEL : diminish France’s position in the World, leak dubious information about France to the press
* FEDERAL POLITICIANS : Anti-French legislation, French-Bashing on the Hill & in the media
* JOURNALISTS : propagate Anti-French news items, write “tongue-in-cheek” Anti-French pieces, innuendo, unfounded claims
* COLUMNISTS AND COMMENTATORS : amplify and justify Anti-French rhetoric from the American Administration
* COMEDIANS : disseminate Anti-French jokes, make France a laughing matter, reinforce France-Bashing in the minds of the masses
Quote :
“As a historian of the Vichy regime, I must speak out against the overt manipulation of historical stereotypes. The Vichy regime was an abomination; this goes without saying. But to advance any correlation between Vichy and the Chirac administration is simply outrageous.” – Eric Jennings
Another quote:
“When you insult the French people, simply because they are French, then it’s a kind of racist campaign.” – Jean-David Levitte, French Ambassador in Washington
And another one :
No other national or ethnic group appears to get the same continually negative treatment in print media reserved for France and the French, with the possible exception of Arabs or Palestinians, and even there, the treatment is not so much cultural as political, linked to a specific context or event. If one were to substitute, for example, “Mexican” or “Japanese” or “Indian” for “French”, what would reader reaction be?”. – Edward C.Knox, The New York Times Looks at France, The French Review, N°6, Vol.75, May 2002
The point has been well made that the U.S. and France have, and have had, serious foreign policy differences. I am glad that the attempts to demonize French people and the French government have generally run their course, and that our governments are now exploring and working towards avenues of cooperation. As a Pennsylvania legislator, I opposed attempts to ban the sale of French wine in Pennsylvania and defended my position on the O’Reilly Factor. (“You might have convinced me,” O’Reilly said.) It seems to me that the path our nations are now on is more productive for us all than the previous direct confrontations were. I commend your site for realizing that the time had come to stop the hostilities.
The point has been well made that the U.S. and France have, and have had, serious foreign policy differences. I am glad that the attempts to demonize French people and the French government have generally run their course, and that our governments are now exploring and working towards avenues of cooperation. As a Pennsylvania legislator, I opposed attempts to ban the sale of French wine in Pennsylvania and defended my position on the O’Reilly Factor. (“You might have convinced me,” O’Reilly said.) It seems to me that the path our nations are now on is more productive for us all than the previous direct confrontations were. I commend your site for realizing that the time had come to stop the hostilities.