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Thousands jeer Bush in Paris
The Toronto Star ^ | May. 26, 2002 | AFP

Posted on 05/26/2002 6:34:38 PM PDT by naine

Thestar.com
Thousands jeer Bush in Paris
'You are the terrorist,' crowds cry
PARIS (AP) — More than 4,000 demonstrators marched through central Paris today to protest President George W. Bush's two-day visit to France and to denounce American domestic and foreign policy.

"Bush, you are the terrorist" the marchers shouted as they walked from the landmark Place de la Republique to the Bastille, where they burned American flags.

Some 4,500 people attended the march, LCI television reported.

Hours before, several dozen death penalty opponents gathered near a replica of the Statue of Liberty in Paris to denounce Bush's support for capital punishment.

The statue is located near a bridge were death-penalty opponents hung 152 cardboard figures that dangled from string to denote each person executed in Texas during Bush's nearly six years there as governor.

Michel Taube, head of France's Together Against the Death Penalty Association, said the grim display was a message to "tell the United States to abolish the death penalty, as European countries have done."

Leftist and extreme left organizations, ecologists and pro-Palestinian groups were involved in Sunday's demonstration in Paris, where Bush met with French President Jacques Chirac at the presidential palace.

At a news conference afterward, Chirac dismissed the protests against Bush as "marginal" and said they did not represent a widespread feeling of antipathy toward the United States or its president.

"Relations between Europe and the United States are not only a very old, not only essential to the world equilibrium, but I would say, in reality, becoming more and more important," he said.

Another march involving about 1,000 demonstrators took place in Caen in the Normandy region, where Bush will travel on Monday to honour the thousands of U.S. soldiers who died there in the Second World War.

French farmer Jose Bove, who shot to fame as an anti-globalization activist after wrecking a McDonald's restaurant in southern France to show his opposition to fast food, accused Bush of pursuing a policy that has led to U.S. domination of the world.

Several protesters hoisted a large picture of a pretzel, with a sign that said Watch out, Bush! The president choked on a pretzel earlier this year while watching football, lost consciousness for a few seconds and fell and hurt his head.

Others taking part in protests include Attac, a Paris-based anti-globalization organization that helped organize mass protests at the Genoa G-8 meeting in July 2001; and environmental groups, which have sharply criticized Bush for rejecting the Kyoto Protocol that sets limits on greenhouse gas emissions generally believed responsible for global warming.



TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bush; france; terrorism
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To: naine
accused Bush of pursuing a policy that has led to U.S. domination of the world.

And this is wrong because?

61 posted on 05/26/2002 7:21:00 PM PDT by patj
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To: Mad_Tom_Rackham
I think his point is one that I often make, alhough usually it is directed to stories about divisions within the administration.

The press has a vested interest, based on their adoration of all things democrat, in making the president seem disliked and ineffective. The "unattributed sources" stories of divisions and indecision in the cabinet are typical of this. So are the stories which concentrate on the protesters, even though the numbers of protesters is actually quite small. To hear the press, you would think the streets of Paris were filled.

Ask yourself this: when there were far larger protests against Clinton in Europe, you didn't see all these stories about the protests, did you? Just a few, and they usually were on page 3. But 4000 people in Paris protesting Bush...wowsers! Front page time!

The press would like us to get into a big fight with Europe. They would like conservatives to fight amongst themselves. It is very important to realize that the media is attempting to manipulate both European and American public opinion.

In some cases, they are succeeding quite well.

62 posted on 05/26/2002 7:22:43 PM PDT by Miss Marple
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To: Paul Atreides
I can say that liberals are a worthless bunch of people

Rather, the point is that the worth of the human being supercedes their slight foibles and deepest sins. This is the only thing that gives the highest and true courage to save one's enemy. Semper Fi

63 posted on 05/26/2002 7:23:03 PM PDT by cornelis
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To: cornelis
You are operating on a whole other plane, by friend. Say hello to Rod Serling for me.
64 posted on 05/26/2002 7:23:53 PM PDT by Paul Atreides
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To: naine
Something smells vichy
65 posted on 05/26/2002 7:24:12 PM PDT by liberalism=failure
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To: SolomonSemperFi
Good point.....Not all french are crazy.....just enough of them are to be a pain in the butt!!!

Our relationship with the French people has been complex. The core principles of our representative government were influenced by the thinking of Frenchmen in the 17th and 18th centuries. And in the Revolutionary War, French assistance was certainly helpful if not decisive. Then, in the 20th century we certainly saved them from the Germans in WWI and WWII. After WWII, came the major division, and their long slide into socialism. This is most likely the main reason for our disagreement today, aside from their often rude treatment of American tourists (undoubtedly aggravated by the tourists' poor manners). This is a sad story.

66 posted on 05/26/2002 7:25:07 PM PDT by Mad_Tom_Rackham
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To: naine
The French shouldn't be attacking us for something we believe worth fighting for. They should instead look back at their history of giving in to outside influences.
67 posted on 05/26/2002 7:26:27 PM PDT by BREWS-AND-BLUES
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To: Savage Beast
Right. No need to insult the French. Never can tell when we'll need someone to hold off the Germans for a week.
68 posted on 05/26/2002 7:26:35 PM PDT by Ross Amann
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To: naine;all
Someone remind me, who was the FReeper who coined the phrase "I fart in your general direction"? DFU?

If it hasn't been done already, that FReeper deserves a medal, a marching band, and lotsa cuties following him everywhere!

That phrase is the perfect reparte for anything to do with France!

69 posted on 05/26/2002 7:30:18 PM PDT by Don Carlos
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To: Paul Atreides
What President Bush said today: "Appreciate the fact that we're friends; appreciate the fact that we've got -- we work together; that there's a heck of a lot more that unites us than divides us. We share the same values; we trade $2 trillion a year. I mean, there's -- so I don't view hostility here. I view the fact we've got a lot of friends here. And I'm grateful for the friendship. "


70 posted on 05/26/2002 7:34:59 PM PDT by cornelis
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To: pierrem15
Please no French! Someone might call the FBI. #;o)
71 posted on 05/26/2002 7:35:40 PM PDT by Gore_ War_ Vet
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To: cornelis
I think that Miss Marple has said it quite well if you are having trouble.

Gotcha. Thanks.

72 posted on 05/26/2002 7:36:16 PM PDT by Mad_Tom_Rackham
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To: Tabitha Soren
President Bush should nuke France and see how they like that.

But what about all the unborn French babies?

73 posted on 05/26/2002 7:37:45 PM PDT by RedBloodedAmerican
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To: cornelis
"Nationalism also causes wars."

INTERNATIONALISM (i.e. International Socialism) has killed more people in history than nationalism ever thought about.

74 posted on 05/26/2002 7:39:00 PM PDT by Wonder Warthog
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To: Miss Marple
RE#62.

Agreed. Love to discuss further, but I have to go grocery shopping. G'nite!

75 posted on 05/26/2002 7:39:12 PM PDT by Mad_Tom_Rackham
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To: Wonder Warthog
No doubt. It's hyper-nationalism.
76 posted on 05/26/2002 7:40:15 PM PDT by cornelis
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To: Paul Atreides
France est un pays ne plus grade, mais France est pleine de m*rde!
77 posted on 05/26/2002 7:41:02 PM PDT by sheik yerbouty
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To: cornelis
And we should add that the anonymous feature in the hegemonic struggle for internationalism is still the same: hate and envy is always advantageous.
78 posted on 05/26/2002 7:42:04 PM PDT by cornelis
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To: naine
Ah yes, the same old group. Well traveled (but not well washed) these same characters turn up everywhere and the stupid press prints it like it's news.
79 posted on 05/26/2002 7:43:00 PM PDT by McGavin999
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To: surely_you_jest; Mudboy Slim; scholar; Landru
"...they can eat quiche, and die."

LOL

I love it!

80 posted on 05/26/2002 7:46:10 PM PDT by sultan88
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