Posted on 04/12/2003 9:28:47 AM PDT by GeneD
ORLÉANS, France, April 11 — Patrick Lebel watched the television images this week of a statue of Saddam Hussein toppled in Baghdad as joyous Iraqis danced about and he thought, as Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld did, of the Berlin Wall.
"It was purely symbolic, of course," said Mr. Lebel, 46, a heating systems technician, "but I thought of 1989."
Julien Vazzoleretto saw the same images, yet his reaction was equivocal. "One tyrant less," said Mr. Vazzoleretto, 25, who is unemployed. "But at what price?"
Even after the collapse of Mr. Hussein's rule, French disapproval of the war is overwhelming. Yet conversations with ordinary people in this industrial city along the Loire River show that they have not been left unmoved by the images from Baghdad this week.
Many remain shocked by the bloodshed and destruction. Others said that in their circles of friends, rejection of the war was softening as British and American successes mounted.
Many continue to mistrust American motives and to defend President Jacques Chirac, who opposed military action. They contend that the war, rather than drying the swamp in which terrorism grows, might distract from that crucial task.
All those interviewed said France and the United States must not let differences over the war translate into a permanent divide, though they acknowledged that mending the torn fabric would be arduous.
Mr. Lebel staunchly opposed the war yet appreciated the removal of a tyrant. The words that came to his mind when asked about American motives were dark: "hegemony," the "imperial idea" and "guardian of the world," he said. "If something threatens you, you have to eliminate it," he said. "It is justified politically; humanly, less so."
Mr. Lebel said he remained convinced that alternatives existed to war like "the United Nations inspections, maybe freezing Saddam Hussein's assets." America is mistaken, he said, if it thinks a military response to terrorism suffices without attacking social and economic ills that fuel militancy. "There has to be a political response," he said. "Terrorism doesn't come from nowhere, it's not the Immaculate Conception."
Yet he conceded that the British and American military success and the collapse of Mr. Hussein's government had already swayed some in France toward the American view, particularly conservatives, though sentiment could shift again if Iraq sinks into chaos. Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin warned against the virus of anti-Americanism this week; Mr. Chirac welcomed the collapse of Mr. Hussein.
"The first step has already been taken, by Raffarin, by a group of people, the Atlanticists, by some of the media," Mr. Lebel said.
Nicolas Poschard, a 35-year-old accountant, was less forgiving of the United States. "There are many economic dangers," he said. "Now you have to attack the whole world — Korea, Iran." No trace of chemical arms or weapons of mass destruction were found, he said, and broad swaths of Iraq lay destroyed. "Who is going to rebuild it?" he said. "We, the developed countries."
Nicole Keene is one of a minority among the French who says the war is justified. "I don't mean I was for it," said Ms. Keene, 59, the director of the local social security office. "But it was needed, in a sense."
Mr. Hussein, she said, was no less a dictator than the former Communist rulers of Eastern Europe. "You have to get rid of these people," she said. "There has to be someone who takes the initiative."
But she criticized the United States for being selective in the injustices it sought to mend. "I see the Palestinian issue, why don't they intervene there?" she said. "The Americans have lots of interests in the region. Yet the Palestinians have only rocks to defend themselves."
The collapse of Mr. Hussein had led some in her circle of friends to soften their criticism. "It is one thing if you see images of a child in blood on the ground," she said. "Yesterday, people saw images of the statue falling. Now they're changing their minds. It is good."
France and America must mend their relations, Ms. Keene said. Mr. Chirac's obstinacy was grounded in a desire to spare France terrorist attacks. But, she said, he would find it difficult to take the first steps to reconciliation. "Chirac has apologies to make," she said. "Whether he will, is another question."
That doubt was shared by a 33-year-old woman, employed at a shipping company, who bitterly opposed the war and seconded Mr. Chirac's opposition to it yet said she believed that the differences should not permanently divide France and America. "This is no good reason to question our historic ties," she said, declining to give her name.
As for Mr. Hussein's fall, she said: "At what price? And why him, and not another?" Yet Mr. Chirac and President Bush, she said, "are grown-ups; we belong to the same world."
Mr. Vazzoleretto said Mr. Chirac had been driven by a mix of anti-Americanism and genuine antiwar sentiment. "He was not in favor of Saddam, but he wanted to work with the United Nations," he said, adding that the chemical weapons the United States said Iraq possessed are "not there."
Guillaume Percheron, 20, an engineering student, said he had believed from the start that war was justified. "The regime there was disturbing," he said. "I thought it was right."
While most people in France say the principal American motivation for war was oil, he said he saw it as a reaction to the terrorist threat. "Sept. 11 was sort of the drop that made the bucket overflow," he said.
Strains in French-American ties would be temporary, he said. As for Americans boycotting French products, he was skeptical. "I don't think you can resist our wines," he said.
That is a lie. We have tons of evidence, including at least three labs, chemical weapons, radiactive materials, two terrorist camps, and a torture chamber.
After this faint praise for the coalition cause, I wonder how long Chirac will let Nicole keep her government job.
Like their soft cheeses, the hearts of the French grow smellier as they soften and no amount of French perfume can cover the stench.
Not only your wines, but also your whines.
To the victor go the spoils and the last time France ever won a war was the French Revolution...and they lost that one, too...
__________ Well, they did well under napoleon for a time, but then he wasn't really French, was he? ;-)
Tia
The wines of Washington State are tops and have won many blind tastings against formidable French, California and Austrailian offerings.
The only drawback to Washington wines is that they come from a state that is at least as socialist as France. But then California and Australia are in the running for that prize too!
“I don't think you can resist our whines"
God please no more French whines... it inhuman!
Oh really? Check out this latest --- Suspected chemical warhead found in Kirkuk.
I get a kick out of these idiots who confidently assert that Iraq has "no" WMDs, when they know damn well coalition forces have had only a few weeks to cover an area the size of California in search of WMDs, and only a few days to question people in a position to know where WMDs might be.
Oh, really.
What about the missiles, the bombs, the tanks, the sprayers, the enriched uranium, the plutonium, the terrorist camps?
Their government and their media will not permit fair reporting.
We should leaflet France.
Perhaps they thought that in the middle of a war we should send of inspection teams to get killed?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.