Posted on 03/11/2003 6:55:51 AM PST by veronica
France's stance galls some Americans
France is coming under renewed attack from an American public fed up with Gallic independence.
And, with the French poised to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution leading to war with Iraq, American pique has reached fever pitch. Consider the variety of distinctly un-diplomatic activities from across metro Atlanta:
Once-recherche wine tastings, sponsored weekly by the Wine Report in Atlanta, turn jingoistic. A Newnan grocer empties his coolers of Evian bottled water. Somebody stole a French tricolore -- the red, white and blue flag -- from its pole outside the French consulate in Buckhead. A coffeeshop customer in Norcross orders "F-R-E-N-C-H roast" instead of pronouncing the newly naughty word.
It seems as if all things French are under siege.
"There are some wonderful Bordeaux coming out right now and I'd love to be filling my cellar with those, but I feel like France has turned its back on a really strong ally," says Bill Roy, a Lawrenceville oenophile who spends maybe $1,000 a month on fine wines. "I'm very, very disappointed and I will not buy French wine again until France comes to the realization that they were wrong and they should've been supporting us."
Independence has long been a French hallmark, one enthusiastically borrowed by Americans during the Revolutionary War. If not for the French, the Americans might never have broken free of British rule.
The United States has repeatedly repaid France's largesse, most notably during the two World Wars where 106,000 American soldiers died liberating la France from les Germans.
"I feel like we're getting stabbed in the back for all we've done for France," says George Lauzon, who stripped his shelves of Evian. His grandparents were French. "I don't want anything to do with them anymore."
Lauzon, whose Newnan store does brisk business selling fish bait, placed signs which read: "We are boycotting Evian Water bottled in the French Alps. We will not sell it."
His behavior reverberates across the land.
Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, says the United States ought to ban French wine and bottled water. U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) urges a boycott of French cheese, adding that "hey, I am not even anti-French."
Web sites -- www.francestinks.com and www.germanystinks.com -- have cropped up. The French-owned Sofitel hotel in Chicago furled its French flags "as a mark of respect."
Cubbie's Restaurant in the North Carolina coastal town of Beaufort -- a French name -- now serves "freedom fries" instead of French fries. A disc jockey in Nashville called for a boycott of all things French -- except French kissing.
The backlash is beginning to hurt, economically. A French cheese merchant reports that Americans are canceling orders for Camembert and other cheeses.
Burgundian vintners band together to better market their wines to angry Americans.
Curiously, though, America's displeasure with its allies' behavior doesn't necessarily translate into German, Russian or Chinese, all members of the U.N. Security Council who largely oppose U.S. military action against Iraq.
Georgia business recruiters cringe at the prospect of a full-blown trade war. France, with an investment of $2.8 billion in Georgia, and Germany, with $3.5 billion, represent two of Georgia's largest business partners. DaimlerChrysler is expected to build a $754 million van plant near Savannah that would represent the state's largest development project ever.
Bill Roy's rage has its limits. He may buy more Spanish and Italian wines these days, but he's not stupid.
"I'm not going to throw away the French wine already in my cellar," he says.
Besides, two local vineyards produce some pretty good wine; Habersham and Chateau Elan.
But nobody comes close to Uncle Roy's homemade peach and muscadine. Both are excellent for freshly caught and fried trout filets.
I gave up on the rest of French products years ago. I always look at the package when I buy bearings and other 'suspect' goods -- I've had too much of it turn to 'quraap' !
The French sure know how to retreat.
You're darn tootin!
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