She is énervée. Here, the girl (an apolitical cynic who is not particularly pro- or anti-American or pro- or anti-anything-at-all) explains why.
There is not a single American flag in Paris.
Not on the Champs-Élysées, not anywhere.
I don't care what the French think of Bush's policies. The minimum of respect would have been to put out the Stars and Stripes for the US president's arrival. It is not Bush who is arriving, it is the president of the United States.
The Champs-Élysées are filled with flags when any other leader arrives, no matter what their régimes' policies or what their leaders have done. They even turned the Eiffel Tower red…
But… the French they dare to resist the United States. Quel courage!
EIGHT head of state visiting Normandy for the D-Day commemoration !!! They are not visiting France.
ReplyDeleteWhy should we have the American flag and not the German one ? Or the English one (after all, the Queen and T.Blair are coming too).
Bush is only having a work dinner(according to elysee.fr) tonight in Paris. Check with the protocol department in Quai d'Orsay for the difference between an official visit and a working visit.
Should we expect to see some French flags in Washington during the G-8 summit ????
Amatriciana
At one time, I cared. I no longer care.
ReplyDeleteI have relatives from both sides of my family who fought, and almost died, while helping to free Europe from the Nazis. They did what they did because it was the right thing to do. If the French have to be petty and childish, they will be. It doesn't diminish what my relatives and many others achieved FOR the French, and many others in Europe.
The Europeans are re-writing history anyhow. Now the Germans were also victims during WWII. I'm sure they would remove the US's participation in WWII if they could. It seems to bother them to have been freed by, primarily, the Anglosphere. At one time it was Britain the French hated most. Now it's the US.
It's sad to see a nation, like France, who has such a rich history reduced to the state it's in now. They would have a lot to offer the world if they could just stop believing they are the center of the world.
Well, it is sad.
ReplyDeleteThis is our reward for providing Europe with 60 years of peace and freedom, at great cost in American blood and wealth.
This is a direct rebuke of the Wilsonian ideal. It proves that FDR was wrong to push the USA into wars in Europe and Asia in 1941.
Anyone who reads European history knows that peace in Europe is a rare commodity. Europeans love to kill each other. The French especially like to kill other Frenchmen. Well, after the US pulls out, and I hope we pull out soon, we can watch what the sophisticated Europeans can accomplish.
The last two Anonymous have to understand that Bush and the other head of state present in Normandy will be welcomed by the French population as a whole.
ReplyDeleteA survey on lemonde.fr shows that 64% of the readers are pleased to see Bush representing THE country freed France 60 years ago. 31% oppose.
That's not something you'll read on Le Monde Watch.....
Pathetic and insulting that they wouldn't put up a single US flag.
ReplyDeleteBut just one thing: they aren't "resisting" us. They're sitting out and whining like self absorbed adolescents. Resisting us would involve doing something. Appart from engaging in some merchantile opportunism in the wake of war, the effect that they're having is ZERO.
We still went to war in iraq. In fact here's something even more odd: a friend of mine who was PCS'ed back to the US from iraq told me that he came across French special forces troops. Luckily, he spoke enough french to avoid a mess.
But what does that tell you?
- They are either there with little or no conscent.
- Covering tracks from their own dealings with the Ba'athist.
- Working both sides of the street just as they did in the 80's; i.e. protesting and stepping out of NATO while still depending on their presence. By the way - they gained nothing. Surely someone in the government must realize that being complicated does not necessarily make one successful or sophisticated.
Joe
The only people who could possibly be hurt by this French snub; are the American D-Day Vets in Normandy this weekend.
ReplyDeleteShame on France.
Joan
We need some time to catch our breath after Iraq, but expect some fundamental changes in US policy in the coming years. The UN has confirmed that international agencies will be used against the US on any pretext, while ignoring the most hideous abuses by other states (Sudan, for example). Its time has passed. Its replacement will be something like an expanded G8, probably less formal in structure than the security council. The idea of being lectured on human rights by a couple of losers from Ghana and Guyana is a little too much.
ReplyDeleteNATO was a good idea at the time, but it too is obsolete. We are already withdrawing two army divisions from Germany. When we became unwelcome to the politicians in the Philippines, we abandoned negotiations for a new lease at Subic Bay, and closed down Clark AFB for good measure. Expect the same for Europe. The UK and the eastern countries will look to retain the customs union with the EU, but the shortcomings of European self-defense capability will cause them to seek a new policy alignment with the US. It may take the shape of a new NATO-like structure not limited to the US and Europe, but we would not expect France, Germany, or Russia to participate.
The nightmare scenario is for traditional American isolationism (not empire-building!) to return and dominate the electorate. No more Normandies!
It seems pretty obvious that Amatriciana has never visited Washington, DC at any time, much less during a G8 summit...
ReplyDeleteAs reported on Foxnews.com:
ReplyDeleteAir France flew the veterans to Paris free and the city's finest hotels are putting them up and throwing big parties. World War II-era American Jeeps sat on the sidewalk outside one hotel while a band played swing music and waiters served free champagne to the fighters and their families.
Honoree John Palmer, 81, of Keedysville, Maryland, said he'd been moved by the welcome and hoped he and the others would serve as a fresh link between France and America, helping to rebuild ties frayed by the Iraq war.
"I hope it works," he said. "We need all the allies we can get."