Why does the US hate France ?

[lapinschous]

The kind of feeling most people have in France lol ^^ Why do you guys hate us? xD

I'm not saying that all americans generally dislike the french but when I'm talking to friends in the US , usually when you scrap off the surface you discover that the general opinion is fuull of stereotypes about us, some are funny, some are even flattering but most are quite unpleasant ... lots of guys even told me that they hated france because they felt that french people hate americans , which is nonsense ^^' how do you guys explain that?



I pray that our two countries will be once again sister nations just like they used to be in the 1920's =')

[Merci Alizée]

Not sure how good French-US relations are, but US has certainly more to gain from UK.

[Fall]

I really hope we can all have a civilized and polite discussion on this thread.

Having said that, I'd like to offer a semi-outside point of view, since I am actually not American by birth, just have lived in America for most of my young life

Anyway, before I knew Alizée, I had a little or no real interest in France besides it's role in European History which is among my favorite subjects. I also had no strong positive or negative opinions about France or it's people, and though I was young at the time, I thought the freedom fries thing here was silly

After I discovered Alizée, I obviously talked about her to everyone, and one of my friends told me (one) of the reasons he didn't like the French. He said that when his brother visited Paris, people would treat him unpleasantly when he spoke (with his American accent.) So he tried speaking with an English accent and discovered that people would treat him better. I just said that it takes two to tango and that he shouldn't judge everybody by the actions of a few.

So that's just something I figured I could share on the thread's subject. Looking forward to see what other peeps say.

[ALS]

America doesn't have a problem with the French only the people they sometimes elect. This all all started back in the early two thousands when it came out that a lot of the French Government Officials had their hands all over the Food for Oil U.N program with Iraq. There was a whole lot of fraud and skimming going on inside the French Government. Also the French oil companies had some nice sweet heart deals going on with the Iraqi government and war would have ended those deals. So when there was a U.N. vote for sanctions and eventually a call to go into Iraq to dislodge Saddam and the Iraq Military, the French Government balked so they could keep the money and oil deals they had going with Saddam pouring into the corrupt politicians pockets in Paris. There wasn't a disconnect between the French Government officials and the French people.

Once the the politicians changed in the French Government from François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac's rein with the elections of Nicholas Sarkozy and the present leader Francois Hollande, the cold shoulder the American people had with the French has started to thaw out as they say.

[lefty12357]

First of all, I would say that very few Americans actually hate France. And many who have a negative view of France have simply fallen for stereotyping. I'm afraid that many Americans are poorly educated about people in other countries. Politicians will even exploit this ignorance for their own purposes. It may seem that all Americans hate the French, but remember, haters tend to scream the loudest and get a lot of attention.

France has sometimes disagreed openly with American foreign policies. Some Americans take this the wrong way assuming France is simply against us. I think it is silly to want your friends to agree with everything you do, even if they think you are making a mistake. Also, some Americans who have traveled to France say they were not treated well. But I also know people who say just the opposite. Why do we only remember the bad reports? Maybe it's just human nature to focus on the bad. And by the way, I wasn't treated so great in Chicago the last time I was there.

The USA is a large nation geographically, with just a few neighbors. We are not accustomed to living next to many nations with different languages and cultures. Because of this, I think it is all the more important that we educate ourselves about the people of the world and avoid buying into the stereotypes we are exposed to. But I also have to point out that I have seen some really negative stereotypes from people from many different countries in Europe about Americans as well. It is obvious to me that those people have never been to my city and have never actually spent time here. I'm sure they would have a different opinion.

But I think Americans need to see things like THIS from time to time, just to remind them that France and America have a connection far beyond any stereotypes.

[Jake04]

Originally Posted by lapinschous

The kind of feeling most people have in France lol ^^ Why do you guys hate us? xD

I'm not saying that all americans generally dislike the french but when I'm talking to friends in the US , usually when you scrap off the surface you discover that the general opinion is full of stereotypes about us

Just like what you said, it's all stereotypes. Some can also be attributed to difference in cultures. Most of them probably haven't even been there. IMO, those of us who were fortunate enough to have visited your country would disagree with them. Just like what I posted on another thread I couldn't remember , I said I had a wonderful experience when I visited Paris back in the early 2000's. No one was rude (not the waiters nor the police). I made a wrong turn while driving in Paris since I wasn't familiar with your road signs. The police pulled me over but just explained to me what I did wrong and didn't give me any hard time at all. He knew who I was since I gave him my American driver license. One lady helped me find my way out of Paris once she realized that I was lost! She didn't just tell me where to go but, she actually had me follow her all the way to the highway. And she did this even without me asking! Another gentleman volunteered to take our picture without being asked.
I think it depends on how you handle yourself. If you act like a jerk, you're gonna get treated as such no matter where you go.
So, don't you worry my friend, we don't hate France. We love France! Although not as much as we love Alizee!

[Future Raptor Ace]

Im going to be as brief as possible on this matter and then remove myself from this discussion.
Being someone who is from a certain city that was angry with the French after our national tragedy I can honestly say that time has healed that wound and our relationship has been changing for the better.

[lapinschous]

I see, so it's mostly about the military... =/

I better understand now the "cheese eating surrender monkey" thing , it was quite difficult to contain myself the first time i've got called like that by foreign students in my uni, my uncle having been killed in the gulf war... (the first and last time i hanged out with them they even asked how smelly and how hairy my girlfriend was, of course they put it as a joke.. well whatever, i didn't want to create a diplomatic incident :$ ) but i never blamed them that much, I know that fox news can be bloody persuasive just like the french media is sometimes a bit rough with US foreign policies ^^ lol and there are scumbags everywhere !

It's not because of a few unfortunate encounters that i'll give up my sympathy for the united states =) I've only been to Canada so far but I really wish to visit the west coast asap! I've had so many good friends from america during my period of intensive english learning, most of whom are still very friendly and have all invited me to come visit them, and my overall impression of the american people's attitude towards europeans is the one of a welcoming and very respectful people, whose history has been made of cultural openness and tolerance between citizens ! =D


One thing is for sure, it's that i'll always be glad to see bringing our two nations together !

[ALS]

(the first and last time i hanged out with them they even asked how smelly and how hairy my girlfriend was, of course they put it as a joke.

That came from the old days of the Miss Universe pageants of the sixties and seventies when the European women were not into shaving their underarms like the American woman did. I guess people back then thought a countries contestant was a representation of all the woman in that country.

I was just a difference in culture but many looked at it is as a negative in female hygiene or as not very lady like to go Au natural.

[Taxi Driver Aaron]

I don't hate France