Thomas

Last year I attended the Indiana State Fair with my wife and children. There was a film crew asking what "typical Indiana people" think of the French. We were amazed by some of the vitreol. As it happened, my children were wearing French Absorba clothing, my wife had French shoes, our watches are French. Two of our cars in the UK and NZ are French. We had nothing bad to say about the French and did not hark back to WWII as reasons why they are rotters.

This was perceived as a bit of a novelty.

Elsewhere in the world, people admire French style and culture even though French governments can do some extraordinary things. FWIW the French Secret Service sank a ship in a New Zealand harbour in the 1980s- an action described as "International terrorism" by the UN, though nobody suggested we should disarm France- and the french forgave us after a few years(!). Their clothes, dress sense and quality is excellent. Their cars are fantastic- a less concrete, more stylish version of the German cars you see in the US.

So: I do not fully understand the antipathy between USA and the French. Britain makes sense since Britain and france warred for most of recorded history and France delights in spiking the UK in the EU, there also seems to be a national sport of pretending not to speak english when Brits ask for directions and having an "english" menu with higher prices when Brits go to restaurants in the Dordogne, but why USA? In view of your antipathy - e.g. where is the Peugeot or Renault caryard in your town- why would you be surprised if they do not back you? Perhaps they see this as a chance to regain the Middle East prestige they lost to the US in the 1950s?

Regards

JR