Why are Americans so anti- French?

[Pekka]

But you gotta love French Resistance! Especially in 'Top Secret'. Val Kilmer rules, ok?

[MrWhereItsAt]

New Zealanders hate the French Government because of their nuclear testing in the Pacific and the fact that the French Secret Service blew up the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in harbour here in the 1980s. But the French people? No better or worse than any other people. No more arrogant than Americans, or Canadians or English, and no less arrogant either. And it always puzzles me how a nation that received help from France in the pivotal moment of their history - the War of Independence - can mock them so harshly a coupla hundred years later.

Just don't get me started on Australians.

[Dinner]

No doubt about it France was a big help during the revolution but one must remember they had successfully fought for several years without the French and, in all probability, they eventually would have prevailed even without French assistance. It just would have taken longer but in the end the British would still have gotten tired of the expense of fielding an army so far from home.

The same cannot be said about France's fate without U.S. help. It is more then just likely the French lines would have stayed broken (and thus France over run) if the Americans hadn't charged into the Ardens Forest in 1918. We don't even have to talk about WW2...

[Kirnwaffen]

Two words: Amusement Value

[Heresson]

You'd never win your revolution without the French.
And You brought their kingdom to a downfall.

[The Mad Monk]

The French helped us at that critical juncture, true, but we also helped them -- by keeping British attention divided when the French needed it divided.

[Pandemoniak]

Originally posted by paiktis22
French DO have a pissed off inferiority for not being able to match the english at world "culture" dominion.

English have the US, the US "has" the world, the english language is all over the globe etc etc

They definitely have that complex.

Hey... What is the diplomatic language nowadays ???

Oh, its french... Maybe our language is more subtle than english then...

And why no one is answering at M. Brillat Savarin ?

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Pekka
But you gotta love French Resistance! Especially in 'Top Secret'. Val Kilmer rules, ok?

"Nice Shooting Chocolate Mousse!"

[Sikander]

Much of the tension is fairly recent (aka post WWII) and directly related to the usually unstated French Policy of thwarting U.S. policy whenever it is convenient to do so. It's not really a personal thing, but has a lot more to do with very different national political philosophies and aims.

I get along fine with French people, though it would be a much more pleasant country to visit if the women looked better. I suppose my standards are impossibly high after living in Boulder for years, but if Germany can produce large numbers of foxy women then why can't France?

[Ethelred]

Originally posted by Pandemoniak


Hey... What is the diplomatic language nowadays ???

Oh, its french... Maybe our language is more subtle than english then...

Since when? The most common diplomatic language is English. Its been a LONG time since it was French. The UN has FIVE official languages. French is one of them. Maybe your were thinking that being one of five makes it the THE diplomatic language.

How many words are there in French? English has over 500,000 some of them stolen from France of course. We are willing to use the best words for the job even if we have take them from other languages. In France you are breaking the law if you put a sign with the word T-shirt on even though the word is in fairly common use in France.

Of course all that theft of words from languages with vastly different spelling conventions and often different alphabets, if any, has made learning to spell English the major nightmare that it is today. Sorry about that part.

[Ethelred]

Originally posted by Sikander
I suppose my standards are impossibly high after living in Boulder for years, but if Germany can produce large numbers of foxy women then why can't France?

Maybe they all moved to Southern California. We have plenty here anyway.

[DanS]

"Heh, heh heh, no one ever picks Italy."



Personally, I think it's because Canada would be too easy to pick on--we still have a certain amount of noblesse oblige, after all. So blame France instead.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Faeelin
Ahem: Explain when. I mean, you could consider the days of the war of spanish succession, or napoleonic, but as in both cases they weren't able to exert superpower status, because everyone went up against them. Literally, in some cases.

The fact that it took everyone in Europe to stop them should be an indication of their status. If it takes everyone to stop you, then you are indeed the most powerful country in the world.

[KrazyHorse]

For about 15 years, France was, indeed, the most powerful country on the continent

Britain's maritime prowess made them the most powerful country overall, even at the nadir of their strength (during the years of the American revolution, when they were fighting France+Spain on the high seas and the colonists in NA).

[Frankychan]

good thing about French is escargot....that, and the French Revolution.

Napoleon kicked Europes a**. Took Russia to beat him.

and I also think America woulda lost the war w/out French help.