Posted on 06/02/2004 3:22:28 PM PDT by Eurotwit
PRESIDENT CHIRAC wants to use the D-Day anniversary to mend fences with the United States but he — and most of France — are adamant that President Bush should not confuse gratitude for wartime liberation with acquiescence on Iraq.
France is marking its historic debt to the United States with an enthusiasm unseen for decades and M Chirac is rolling out the red carpet for Mr Bush at a private dinner in Paris before the beach ceremonies in Normandy on Sunday.
However, France has no time for the parallels drawn by Mr Bush between the 1944 liberators of France and the US-led invasion of Iraq. M Chirac will draw no such comparison, his aides said. The Elysée Palace believes that Mr Bush may also avoid pushing the theme in his speech at the Omaha Beach cemetery on Sunday. “He dare not risk going too far with the historical comparison because it risks rebounding on him. The reality of Iraq speaks for itself,” an official said.
Politicians and commentators have been using blunt language, voicing a consensus that the liberation of 1944 had nothing in common with the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Laurent Fabius, a former Prime Minister and senior Socialist figure, talked of a “June 6 Paradox”. “Bush is the exact opposite of the values which we admire in America,” he said. The US President was now seen by France as “the adversary of the values which made us love his people”.
Demonstrators will be kept far away as M Chirac bestows a warm welcome to Mr Bush. For months ministers have been under orders to refrain from any gloating over what they see as the vindication of France’s arguments against the Iraq invasion. The charm offensive partly springs from a growing feeling in Paris that Mr Bush may not be defeated by the Francophile Democrat John Kerry in November.
M Chirac will use the D-Day weekend, which is followed by two sessions with Mr Bush later this month, to convey a message: the Iraq crisis can best be resolved by a return to the shared values that drove the old Western alliance. “This means joint action, not persisting in going it alone,” one official said. “We are stressing the permanent values and that our gratitude for the battles of 1944 withstand the strain of the moment.”
M Chirac will be trying to persuade Mr Bush to yield more ground on granting Iraqi sovereignty under United Nations supervision. He will also make clear French fears of chaos in the region if the US pulls out forces suddenly from Iraq and fails to put pressure on Israel over the Palestinians.
France is using the D-Day anniversary to examine its own history and its attitude to the United States. Yvon Levai, an eminent broadcaster who was a boy in the war, said: “Anyone who lived through those years has a deep love for the Americans — not George W. Bush, but the Americans.”
In the din, Britain and the other Allies have been all but forgotten. Sir John Holmes, the Ambassador to Paris, reminded radio listeners yesterday that British forces also landed on D-Day, outnumbering the Americans.
Mr Bush sent a positive message to France yesterday, telling Paris Match magazine that he had no quarrel with the country. Asked if he would now invite M Chirac to his Texas ranch, Mr Bush answered with a joke: “If he wants to come and see the cows, he is welcome. He can come and see the cows.”
Return to pretending that we have any respect for France? That day is long gone. So it will be open contempt for them. Where do they get off instructing the President on what to say?
Time to end NATO and let France protect the EU.
"For months ministers have been under orders to refrain from any gloating over what they see as the vindication of France’s arguments against the Iraq invasion."
Vindicated how? We threw out their boy Saddam and a new government with democratic values, and which is opposed by France, is taking over. What is there for them to gloat about? Yes, the French love us as long as we have a President they can lead around by the nose, like Clinton or Carter. I'm afraid they are way too "nuanced" to understand what has happened over the past few years.
Bwahahaha! Great line.
Chiraq can kiss my derriere.
Well, maybe not.
I might catch something.
Let's give France back to the Nazis. Ze French were perfectly happy living under Nazi domination anyway.
Hey, I'd pay good money to see Chirac throw a tantrum before the cameras.
He's "adamant"! LOL!!! Does this mean he's writing a resolution?
We helped them and shed our blood for their liberation. They chose not to help us. Now, they want to horn in and reap $$$. Effete, ungrateful b**t**ds.
...and we are about to reelect him. Get over it.
They "seek a return to the shared values of the old alliance"....let's see, the same allieance that , beginning with De Gaulle, shunned any co-operative effort to present a united front on the eve of 6/6/45...insisted on leading the way into Paris after Americans fought our way to the city limits...disallowed U.S. military bases in their country during the cold war...disallowed flight space to our F-111's when Reagan gave Quadaffi his comeuppance...and, not even mentioning WWI when we rescued them from the Hun the first time. Amazing short memories for these French communists. It's been a one sided effort since Yorktown.
Yeah, and European socialism is the exact opposite of the principles on which the United States of America was founded.
Even though it's only one tiny gesture in an uncaring world, this particular American will never set foot in France, nor knowingly buy French goods. I deeply regret that even a single drop of American blood was ever spilled to liberate the French, not once, but twice.
Yes it does. It was a beautiful thing. Bush should be proud of our accomplishments in Iraq. Most Americans are.
In my personal case, it already has.
As a freeper remarked a long time ago " You can always count on France to be there when she needs you".
"let France protect the EU."
Germany's reaction will be interesting.
Yes, and many Americans today don't know that France even turned on one of her greatest sons, the Marquis de Lafayette. To this day, Americans honor him more than does his own country. Following is a brief exerpt from an online biography:
After 1782 Lafayette became absorbed with questions of reform in France. He was one of the first to advocate a National Assembly, and worked toward the establishment of a constitutional monarchy during the years leading up to the French Revolution of 1791. These efforts cost him much of his support from the French nobility. As commander of the French National Guard Lafayette was forced to use force to put down crowd violence. By the 1791 he had lost most of his popularity with the people.
In 1792 he tried unsuccessfully to curb radicalism against the monarchy. The King and Queen would not accept his assistance, and the troops he tried to turn on the Paris mob would not follow his orders. He was denounced as a traitor and fled the country. Lafayette returned to France in 1800 and found his personal fortune had been confiscated.
Well said.
I hope to God we remember this French idiocy the NEXT time they get invaded. I for one would vote to let them deal with their own problems for a change.
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