Posted on 02/17/2003 1:31:22 PM PST by Temple Owl
French Get Taste of American Hostility at DC Rally
By Robert B. Bluey
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
February 14, 2003
(CNSNews.com) - The French Embassy in Washington, D.C, was the site of protests Thursday, as dozens of American college students asked France to end its obstructionism at the U.N. Security Council regarding how to deal with Iraq and its dictator, Saddam Hussein.
The students, mostly from nearby American University and Georgetown University, waved flags, held signs, sang patriotic songs and led chats. Several people driving by honked their horns and yelled out their support, although the students were met with some disapproval.
The student's main contention was what they called France's "appeasement for terror" as well as its isolationist stance, according to Bob Nardo, president of the American University College Republicans, which organized the gathering and released an opinion piece chastising the French government.
"The French unilateralism is standing in the way of the majority of the Security Council and a large number of countries that want to stand up and get rid of the threat from Iraq," he said. "We're out here to show that there's a large grassroots segment of America that's standing with the president."
Several students said they supported a boycott of French goods, such as wine and cheese. Others criticized France's unwillingness to stand side-by-side with the United States, despite America's aid to Europe during First and Second World Wars.
"We're tired of Jacque Chirac's senseless rhetoric," Georgetown student Jimmy Ross said. "We've given 12 years of disarmament a try and it's been slapped back in our face with 9/11, the USS Cole bombing, numerous other terrorist attacks, and we're tired of it and we're not going to stand for it any more."
About a half-hour into the protest, anti-war demonstrators from Georgetown Peace Action showed up to begin a counter-protest. They called for a continuation of the U.N. weapons inspections.
Although anti-French protesters outnumbered anti-war demonstrators, France does have the support of some Americans, like Georgetown student Emil Totonchi, who braved the cold weather Thursday to defend France's actions.
"France has done a unbelievable job of opposing the United States urgent need to attack Iraq," he said. "I would like the inspections to work, and even if the inspections do work and they find weapons, that still doesn't mandate an invasion of Iraq. In fact, use the inspections to disarm Iraq."
The two groups had little interaction, but at one point, Secret Service agents and D.C. police officers had to separate the demonstrators, who were situated across the street from the embassy, located in a wooded residential area of northwest Washington.
Neither group elicited a response from the French Embassy, although at 5 p.m. EST, as workers begin leaving the compound, Nardo used a bullhorn to drum up students' chants. Most workers looked the other way as they drove off.
Emmanuel Gagniarre, a spokesman for the French Embassy, said he had not witnessed the rally, but he downplayed its importance.
"I don't think one should be worried about that kind of demonstration, which is perfectly normal in a democracy," Gagniarre said.
Franco-American Friction Grows
The negative feelings about France are not limited to protests in Washington, according to Chantal Glass, director of Chicago's French-American Chamber of Commerce, an organization that fosters business relationships between the two countries.
"I've never seen a reaction like this in my life in the United States," Glass said. "There is big resentment on the American side. I don't know what it will be a week from now, but right now I find the reaction pretty violent."
Glass said she has not heard from any of the chamber's members in the Chicago area, but she warned that a boycott of French goods would ultimately hurt small American businesses that cater to specialties like wine and cheese.
Anthony A. Smith, president of the French-American Foundation, located in New York City, said relations between the United States and Europe are quite bad at the moment. Smith, however, took issue with Americans who have targeted France. He said Germany has been even more reluctant to support the United States, yet encounters little criticism.
Smith blamed the universalistic characteristics of France and the United States partly for the resentment. He said both countries believe they are superior and want others to follow their lead. As a result, they sometimes find themselves at odds, brewing hostility.
"Most American people feel that a preemptive strike against potential menaces is a good thing," he said. "In Europe, they just don't perceive the threat the same way. They were not directly attacked. They have lived with a lingering undercurrent of terrorism in those countries for a long time. In France, it's an issue, but not the most important issue."
No matter what happens with Iraq, Smith predicted Americans would not continue to hold a grudge against the French.
Part of the problem, Gagniarre said, is a lack of information on both sides of Atlantic.
"We get all kinds of calls and all types of reaction," Gagniarre said. "It would be a pity to boycott French products, but what can we do?"
Gagniarre blamed his embassy for not clearly conveying France's position. The country's ambassador to the United States, Jean-David Levitte, tried to clarify that position in an opinion piece published in Friday's New York Times
I did a search on this but came up with nothing. If it was posted before, I apologize.
Not even! They can sell good American wine from California, New York, Texas, Oregon, and Washington. If people want imported wine, Australian wines are excellent.
Wrong, I've held a grudge against France since I was old enough to read the history of WW II.
The Frenchies are sounding like Dems: Hearing that their message got rejected, they assume that the message didn't get out in the first place.
Note to Chirac: We got your message. Prepare for ours.
There are always substitutes.
You can get rid of French blue cheese and get English stilton, for example. And our Australian friends make extraordinary wines. I stopped buying French wine a while ago and haven't missed it a bit.
Regards, Ivan
Indeed, but French whines are more soulful!
;^)
Wanna bet? I won't forget the Vichy cheese-eating surender monkeys!
Johnny-on-the-spot, those anti-Americans!
This guy Smith must be practicing to become a Frenchie. He doesn't deny that the French are deserving of criticism. Rather, he argues that the criticism is unfair because the Germans haven't come in for their fair share of abuse.
"Going to war without the French on your side is like going hunting without an accordian."
Yep......They are forever 
after this.
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