Aftermath

We’re nearing the 9 year term of the second longest war the US has ever fought (with no end in sight) and it seems the relationship between France and America has cooled down and is back on its regular track.

Was France right or wrong to oppose the American-les war in Irak (She was right)? But never mind, this episode of our common stormy relation is all but another instalment of a unique bond that links our two countries.

Thanks to the American media in general and the Bush administration in particular, about all Americans know what the position of France was regarding the sombre decision to invade a Middle East country. But how many know what Germany’s position was? Or Russia’s and China’s ones? The same as the French but it’s mainly France and the French (notwithstanding Chirac!) which are reminded.

You’ll tell me it won’t change any American’s perception of France, save for a tiny minority of “apostates”… and you’re right. There were those who’ve always considered the French as ungrateful, treacherous, unreliable “allies” and those who’ve always looked at them as a wise, sophisticated, historically minded lot. And both groups will be sure to have been proven right!

 

What matters in the end is that, more than any other country, France stays apart in the collective mind of many Americans, for better or worse. But this particular relationship is a part of each country’s history and identity and that’s fine with me. Isn’t it more entertaining than the relations between Portugal and Canada for example?