The French

The French, and the whole Europe by default, are not worthy to be considered enemies of the US. They have other issues to cope with, like the massive invasion of Arabs.

The French detest America! They have been our enemy since the days of DeGaul. Some bizzarre Franco Phallic envy.

Why should we listen to a country whould had to be saved by us in World War 1 and 2?

good wine, good cheese. responsible for Celine(the writer) and Proust. I have no problems with these good folks. Pacifists. i dig that.

Ditto, jgls. Well said. I regard the French the way I would regard having an enemy in Belgium, or Switzerland (or Germany, or Russia). Why doesn't PoisonTongue criticize the French for their choice of idiotic leadership? This once powerful and significant country ebbs further and further into irrelevance each year and they continue to alienate the one country who could elevate them back to relevance, but they are too arrogant, over what I don't know. No longer an ally of the US, moving insidiously toward being recognized as an enemy. It's hard to find that kind of stupidity on such a grand scale. UPDATE: Abi, if it's fair to say that without the French there would be no US, it's fair to say that without the US, France would no longer exist, nor would most of western Europe.

Oh, c'mon. Lighten up. Who takes France seriously anyway? Besides, the wine is good. . .

There are many opinions and stands that are said to be supported by my government that I would not want to be associated with personally. I find it hard to dislike an entire country just because their government decided not to involve themselves in this war. I don't think it would be too far fetched to believe that there are people in France who can and do make the distinction between individuals and government as well. And, even IF every last person in France felt the exact same way (yeah, right) I still think that is their right and would not hate them for it. The only way I would consider them enemies is if they took up arms against us. As to the culture itself; my first hand knowledge is very limited. I've only met a couple of French people in my life and I've never traveled there. I once heard that if you go into a restaurant in France and start complaining about the food - instead of getting comped for the meal (as you might here) they are more likely to just tell you to go som... Read more

Oh well, I know the Great Thinkers on RIA will slay me, but I've always kind of liked the French. They're smart and sophisticated and cultured and fashionable. I don't have a problem with them opposing the war in Iraq, because I have never seen the reasoning behind this war. I think many people on this site define friendship as telling you want to hear. At least the French were honest about their feelings. England went along with Bush's foolish schemes to their own detriment.

CastleBee once again proves why her reviews are so helpful. She thinks rationally. Even having not been to France, she can give an explanation for her views based upon rational thought and a good idea of how human beings operate, no matter what country one is in. CastleBee, I can't say I was in France recently, but I got to live there for one summer while I was in high school. Just as you imagine, France is not short of independent thinkers, except for a love of country music (UPDATE: I do mean American country music) they had, almost in unity, it seemed- at least, at that time. I can also assure everyone that I was treated with the utmost respect. But not because I personally deserved it, but because I was an American and Americans had liberated their country. In Normandy, my friend's grandmother tearfully recounted how Nazi troops were occupying her house and as the Americans approached, the Nazi troops stole her family's bikes to get away. Two American troops chased down one of them... Read more

Some right wing extremists and war mongerers like Eschew Obfuscation find it difficult to believe most people do NOT think like him. The French people do what the American people do...think they are the best and look after themselves. Alec76, is most likely younger and far better informed. Both scarlet feather and gmanod are correct in their analysis.

They have consistently refused to support us in any action we do. Unless of course, that action is to free them from a dictator. The French will once in a blue moon do some type of good will gesture to stay on America's good side and hide it's true intentions. Under President Bush, France knows it won't have an easy ride not being a friend with America. I can understand why France didn't like the war with Iraq- they were getting all those nice kickbacks from the Oil for Food scandal. And bibliophile, if your case was credible, you wouldn't need to take cheapshots by calling those who disagree with you ignorant and irrational.

The French are not our enemies, indeed more often then not our ideas and goals line up. So the French opposed the war in Iraq, so therefore they are our enemies? I can't really see how this works out, maybe someone can explain it to me. If I have it right, and I believe I do, Bush determined to invade Iraq. The French said that it was unnecessary, internationally unpopular, and could end up in a worse situation then exists currently. The US fought hard and, unable to attain real international support, decided to unilaterally remove Sadamm Heussein; while politicians here pilloried France as our enemies. Retrospectively we can now see that the war was unnecessary (Sadamm was no threat), the manifestation of American hatred internationally has been astounding, and we are stuck in a quagmire. So if I'm correct in the way the events played out, and I must say I believe the case to be solid, we decided to do something, the French said it was a bad idea, we did it anyway, and it turned out t... Read more

Who was it that offered to send a squadron of fighter jets to patrol the east coast of the US after 9/11.. knowing how vulnerable we were at the time? Oh, yeah.. it was those damn French enemies of ours.

Confused into thinking that they are a world power and would do well to quit projecting this at certain people while they take bribes and sell weapons behind our back.

Strange, there would be no United States had it not been for France's intervention on our side during the American Revolution. Granted, the French committed themselves to our side primarily out of self-interest (they were fighting a war with the British at the time), but I think these ties go a little deeper. We share the same revolutionary heritage as France. They did go down a different track due to their aristocratic heritage, but there are nonetheless interests and histories that bind us. Today I wouldn't call France our enemy, indeed that's giving them too much credit. Rather they're our strategic competitors. In short, they oppose US hegemony in world affairs--that's why they opposed the War in Iraq, Vietnam and a host of other political and economic initiatives. It's easy to hate the French, but they aren't an axis of evil nation!

indicating that the french are our enemies overstates their importance. they are a relatively minor nation whose people are opposed to war, but it seems that at least twice a century they need to be liberated by the americans they state they detest. they contribute nothing substantial to the international debate, but expect to be taken seriously. a nation whose best days are in the past. a complete non-entity in world affairs, except when it comes to commerce with nations that are vehemently anti-american.

We agree on sometihing Ignatius-J-Reilly

America should not feel singled out by the French, because they don't like anybody. They don't even like the french Canadians.