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| Europe | |||
| French Businesses Say U.S. Boycott Is Hurting Them | |||
| 2003-04-16 | |||
| Long article from WaPo I'll just give you the highlights. An American backlash against French products and businesses has started to bite, dashing hopes here that appeals in the United States to punish France economically for opposing the war in Iraq would go unheeded. American importers of French wine are reporting sharp drops in sales in the past two months, and other French products also have been affected. The Federation of Wine Exporters has called a meeting Thursday to discuss how to respond. The nation's principal business federation took the unusual step of publicly acknowledging the problem, conceding today that sales, recruitment and business contacts have been hurt. It appealed to consumers and businesses to keep political differences from affecting commerce.
Its obvious why France would be affected more than Germany. Anti-French feeling is stronger, and Germany doesn't sell the high-profile discretionary consumer items that France does. Who in their right mind would buy German wine?
Glad to hear this! They should find that Italian, Australian and Spanish wines are better quality and value. Resulting in permanently lost customers.
Do I detect the power of the internet at work here? He said he thinks that business will pick up only when Chirac stops making anti-U.S. statements. "We want to send the message to the French side to please do something. Or, if you don't want to do anything, then please shut up," Touton said. Welcome to the 21st century! Where power is increasingly in the hands of the people. Chirac is a 20th century politician struggling to understand what is happening. | |||
| Posted by:Phil B |
| #26 TGA, I will never forget what the crew of the Lutgens(sp) did for one of our nave vessels after 9/11. That was outstanding. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-04-17 01:21:36 |
| #25 RW, you might have a point here. I know that it did boost the morale of the German military a lot when AWACS planes manned by Germans helped securing the US coast (while US planes were away in Afghanistan). The German military is about as pro-American as it gets. Every pilot has undergone extensive training in the U.S. and they have been treated very well there. As far as I know, even Schroeder (God curse his non existing moustache) has not ruled out German peacekeeping troops in Iraq (although under UN umbrella which is something German constitution mandates). Although Schroeder will deny it, there is an opinion shift in Germany concerning the war. And Schroeder more and more comes under "friendly fire" from his leftist party members who are against any economical reforms. They might topple him sooner or later which probably means anticipated elections. So maybe we won't have to wait until 2006 to get a new government. But we will still have to live with France and an expanded European Union. Although I'm less pessimistic about the fate of the EU than Old Patriot sems to be. The pressure from people all over Europe to make the EU a more democratic institution is rising. And Europe cannot go back to particularism. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-04-16 22:31:21 |
| #24 I wish I could see some video of that salute given by the German gate guards at Ramstein. This event should have been given much wider publicity. Instead our national news is speculating about Laci Peterson's fate. |
| Posted by: Tresho 2003-04-16 17:21:32 |
| #23 ChIraq and Devil Pin can always grow some brain cells if they want the boycott to end. |
| Posted by: KP 2003-04-16 14:02:25 |
| #22 I wonder if the German army secretly wishes it could have taken part in some real action somewhere, in part to test itself. I suspect in the upper echelons somewhere, someone would like to prove the German military is up to it. I'm not saying they're eager, but come on, like the old saying goes, all dressed up and no place to go?? |
| Posted by: RW 2003-04-16 13:07:58 |
| #21 I read it TGA. Moving. If true, it moved the German people off the Weasels list in my mind. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-04-16 12:41:51 |
| #20 No need to trash French wines, they still make excellent ones. But I remember touring the Australian Barossa Valley and I tasted wine that matched any French quality... at a fraction of the French price. Unfortunately these wines rarely ever makes it to Europe. Ummmmm yes the Germans started wine in Australia 150 years ago. Another thing. Californian wine saved French wine from extinction hundred years ago when the phylloxera plague killed nearly all French rootstocks. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-04-16 10:09:59 |
| #19 Choke on it Froggers! |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2003-04-16 12:16:20 |
| #18 Germany makes the best riesling (a type of white wine) around. As for the screw-top rule, that's now outdated. Since cork is becoming scarce and more expensive, many wineries have switched to synthetic corks. Bonny Doone, however, has started putting screw tops on some of their wines, and their wines are all good to great. Boycotting French wine shouldn't be a problem for anyone who likes wine, since California and Australia long ago left France's vineyards in the dust. |
| Posted by: growler 2003-04-16 09:58:02 |
| #17 I also heard yesterday, on Fox, that it was Bush who called Chirac (I'd assumed the other way around), apparently to ask for France's help with another of their pet dictators - Assad. BTW: Steve Breen's Op-ed cartoon in the San Diego Union this AM was classic: Assad sitting at his desk looking aghast as an aide, holding a phone, whispers: "It's Tommy Franks, he'd like a sample of your DNA" heh heh |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-04-16 08:54:06 |
| #16 I predict that their problems and decline will only increase. There are many more "stunning" revelations of French perfidity that have yet to penetrate the American psyche. Jacques not only stepped in the merde, he fell face first into a hog waste lagoon. |
| Posted by: Craig 2003-04-16 08:36:43 |
| #15 Germany makes some excellent white wines, but so does California, which, in addition, makes excellent red wines. One reason Americans spurn California wine is because we (like the Europeans) don't export our table wine, and table wines don't compare well with varietal wines. (A line from the old National Lampoon âNote: the best wines donât come with a screw top.â) To be realistic, an excellent growing season for gapes in Europe is more-or-less a typical California growing season. |
| Posted by: John Phares 2003-04-16 07:57:10 |
| #14 Joe, wait till the summer. A lot of people are just making their vacation plans right about now, and I don't see a lot of "I must see Paris" stuff going around. I did see a tiny little snippet in the paper about some website that was devoted to budget French vacations a couple of weeks ago. I never saw those two words (budget French) in the same sentence before, so I guess they are starting to feel the pain. |
| Posted by: Baba Yaga 2003-04-16 07:29:42 |
| #13 It does my heart good, I tell you. I can only hope it continues. The article says American tourism to France is down twenty percent. That's not enough. I'd like to see it fall a lot more than that. By the way, have any of you seen a web site called Buy French Now? Evidently it's a backlash against the backlash. It's all Vive la France-type stuff. Unfortunately, a lot of the dissenting e-mail they get is really Neanderthal ranting, and they're too happy to post that stuff. If some of you would post some civil, well-reasoned Frog-bashing on Buy French Now, it would be great. The site appears to be run by a pair of smug, New Agey apologists with a high degree of cranial-rectal interface. For me, this isn't about the French opposing the war. It's about the French. |
| Posted by: Joe 2003-04-16 07:00:36 |
| #12 Of course this boycott will hurt and it is going to get far worse than the unthinking chirac ever imagined. Watch the tourist dollars go away, this will hurt far more than they know now. France has stepped out ahead, its reconnisance was to say inadequate, now the ramifications start for all the short term profile and momentum won, a hundred fold kickback is just getting under way. The french cafe set can posture and spin their complacency, wearing it on their sleeves, but the American people watched the subversion, analyzed it, and now will have the last word. The boycott will end when Chirac is sent packing by his own people waking up to the antics of this meglomaniac. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-04-16 06:47:36 |
| #11 German wine is (or rather can be) excellent. No, not that Liebfraumilch plonk they sell in the US. I know a few winemakers in Franconia who can compete with the best in the world. White wine most of it though. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-04-16 06:07:00 |
| #10 Having spent a lot of time in Germany over the last couple of years, and having drank a fair amount of German wine. I must say, while some German wines are interesting!, most don't compare with (for example) Australian cask wine you can buy (in Australia) for a fifth of the price. |
| Posted by: Phil B 2003-04-16 02:42:22 |
| #9 1. There are many fine German wines. 2. There are many fine German products that could be considered luxuries--Mercedes, Porsche and BMW for three. These cars could be replaced by Japanese or American vehicles, if consumers were so inclined. Evidently, thus far, they are not. |
| Posted by: Rodger Dodger 2003-04-16 02:03:42 |
| #8 Germany makes lots of excellent wine, though the best German wines are made in Alsace... Germany does many things very well. Unfortunately making wine is not one of them! I doubt we will see the 4th ID in Alsace anytime soon, but you never know! |
| Posted by: Phil B 2003-04-16 01:37:02 |
| #7 Germany makes lots of excellent wine, though the best German wines are made in Alsace... (ahem) |
| Posted by: someone 2003-04-16 01:14:20 |
| #6 I was wondering why Chirac called. |
| Posted by: Scott 2003-04-16 01:05:11 |
| #5 How does one say "payback is a bitch" in French? |
| Posted by: Frank Martin 2003-04-16 00:57:51 |
| #4 from abc: "At separate briefings,(Danish-LH) Fogh Rasmussen and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said that their governments were considering sending troops but that it was to early to say when. "Dutch Foreign Minister Jaap De Hoop Scheffer said any deployment of European peacekeepers would have to be coordinated with U.S. and British troops in Iraq." This plus ofers of peacekeepers, etc from Italy. TGA - I wait to see similar offer from Germany. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-04-16 11:30:34 |
| #3 I hope more people will read that email. Thanks for sharing! |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-04-16 11:04:32 |
| #2 Here's an email I just received from a friend in the Reserves. Can't vouch for it, but seems to sound right. Maybe one reason Germany is getting a little more rope than France: Subject: FW: Chaplain's Thought For The Day (Thursday 10 April 03) Sunday, 30 March 2003 As usual I was running late. So, you can imagine my frustration level as approached the main gate of Ramstein Air Base only to find traffic backed up! Nearing the checkpoint I realized that not only was there a long line of cars, but traffic had come to a complete stop as a result of all entrance gates being closed. Over the past 18-months, there have been many opportunities to practice our patience as we have had to "hurry up and wait" as a result of heightened security. While we realize the necessity, it's still frustrating at times for even the most easy-going folks. This was one of those times for me! I needed to be where I was going, and I needed to be there NOW! The German soldiers, the ones manning the entrances of American military installations here in Germany, were just milling around, chatting as if those of us in line had all the time in the world. Things seemed to go from bad to worse! The German gate guards began walking among the stopped cars, asking us to turn off our engines and headlights. I realized that no traffic was exiting or entering the Air Base. My feelings of frustration began to turn to ones of concern. Just what was going on? A few minutes later I noticed blue lights approaching from the direction of the air terminal. Close behind were two military medical buses with their RED CROSS . Lights were on in the buses, and I.V. bags could be seen hanging. It was then that I realized that these were more of our wounded warriors being transported from the battlefields to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for treatment. I certainly wasn't prepared for what happened next. All of the German soldiers, our gate guards, began walking toward the concrete barriers that divide the inbound and outbound lanes of traffic. As the blue lights neared, more German soldiers seemed to appear from nowhere, lining the road, shoulder to shoulder. Right on cue, without a word being spoken, these soldiers snapped a sharp salute as the buses drove pass, rendering arms until well after the last bus had passed. Needless to say, I was speechless and deeply moved. What a show of respect for fellow soldiers! (Angie McLean) A little background - The German Army is at Gates of all military installations in Germany providing entry control on a 24 X 7 basis to relieve US Forces that are in middle east.. A different perspective on our German allies. Our governments may be at odds over Iraq Policy - but Military understands Military Here are our Allies! --- Soldier to Soldier, rendering honor and respect! Our allies, our comrades, those who know the price that some have to pay for freedom did not have to be asked or prompted, it came from their character and soldiering heart! May God bless and watch over all soldiers and their loved ones as they stand in harm's way for us! Blessings and Peace, One more little note to this...Two AM in the morning, a single C-17 lands at Ramstein with one patient on board -- 19 year Pfc. Jessica Lynch, and who shows up to escort the ambulance to Landstuhl... over 100 German Politzi cars an entire Germany Army contingency assigned to Ramstein.. CH (COL) DAVID E.MCLEAN CHIEF, PASTORAL SERVICES ERMC/LRMC |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-04-16 10:45:05 |
| #1 As long as we're talking German wines - I'm partial to Gewürztraminer, but not the french versions which seem too sweet. And yes, California produces fine Gewürztraminers - spicy, dry |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-04-16 10:35:16 |