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| Europe |
| France eyes 'new alliance' with White House |
| 2004-10-26 |
| The French government said yesterday that it would seek a "new alliance" with whomever won the US presidential election next week. A diplomatic chill has characterised exchanges between Paris and Washington over the past two years as a result of French opposition to the war in Iraq. But the French foreign minister, Michel Barnier, said that the two countries needed to forge a new alliance. This alliance "must be based on mutual respect, which is not allegiance", he said. Mr Barnier declined to express a preference between President George W Bush and his Democrat rival, Senator John Kerry. His brief remarks on French television indicated both the importance Paris attached to building a better understanding with America, and the likely limitations of any immediate improvement. Relations between President Jacques Chirac and Mr Bush in particular have been described as beyond repair. A book by two French journalists, published earlier this month, claimed that the French president's telephone calls were regularly bugged by the CIA. The Left-wing newspaper Libération yesterday said that victory for Mr Bush would maintain America as an arrogant, imperialistic super-power guided by "a handful of ideologues hungry for adventure but deaf to the planet". Putting Mr Kerry in the White House would "perhaps" mean a more multilateral approach. A Kerry win would be overwhelmingly welcomed in France, even though he often seems at pains to play down his French connections: fluency in the language, family links and memories of childhood summers in France. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #28 France has usually been governed by prostitutes. Mark Twain Still is. |
| Posted by: Darth VAda 2004-10-26 11:48:31 PM |
| #27 This alliance "must be based on mutual respect, which is not allegiance", he said. The problem, you see, is how can anyone respect France? |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-10-26 10:09:35 PM |
| #26 Yo Jacques - FOAD |
| Posted by: A Jackson 2004-10-26 7:49:18 PM |
| #25 JFM :> |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-10-26 6:48:28 PM |
| #24 Hey France! Non. |
| Posted by: SR71 2004-10-26 5:46:06 PM |
| #23 I dont know who they got to play the frenchmen but he played the arrogance and elistism perfectly. Apparently, not much has changed in Phrance in fifty years. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-10-26 5:09:38 PM |
| #22 France should be told to lok up the word "enemy" in the dictionary. Thast is how they behave. We should do nothing to France until it adopts Sharia. Then treat them like the rest of the middle east. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-26 4:36:13 PM |
| #21 I would say to the French: look up the word 'mutual' in your dictionary. I would also ask them to take a time out, just like the ones you give little kids when they're out of control and bratty. The French need to sit in the corner (they're practised at sitting, no problem there) and think about how all forms of life survive in this world: through effort and struggle. They need to think about what their current philosophy of getting something when they give so little is costing them. Then they need think about how they can make amends to those they've wronged. After that, there might be a chance for mutual respect. |
| Posted by: Jules 187 2004-10-26 4:17:18 PM |
| #20 I watched 'the history channel' move on 'Ike' the other day. With Tom Sellack as Ike. (Did anyone else see that?) Anyway there was one scene where Ike, Churchill and the French leader (forgot his name) entered the situation room and everyone was busy working. It was known that there was no saluting there because everyone was too busy and what they were doing was too important to jump up for each senior officer who walks by. Well the French leader just stood there and pretty much insisted that everyone salute him! Later he refused to help the allies when they entered france. Would not issue a proclamation after Ike or tell the french people to accept the allied 'money' or anything. Because he wasn't leading the allies. I dont know who they got to play the frenchmen but he played the arrogance and elistism perfectly. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-10-26 3:35:23 PM |
| #19 A "new" alliance? No thanks. The old one didn't work, which doesn't necessarily mean that a new one would. This alliance "must be based on mutual respect, which is not allegiance", he said. This dumbass has got to be joking. This sounds like nothing more than expecting respect simply because France is France. Bull$hit. Do some heavy lifting of your own, Frogs, and we might have some respect to spare. Otherwise, buzz off. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-10-26 3:20:00 PM |
| #18 The US should make a push into French west africa with our aid and diplomacy. Shove the French right out of their and remove the last vestiges of their empire. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2004-10-26 1:38:27 PM |
| #17 Jarhead It was not an Englishman, it was me. :-) |
| Posted by: JFM 2004-10-26 1:27:21 PM |
| #16 Friggin frogs trying to finagle an |
| Posted by: John Q. 2004-10-26 10:55:06 AM |
| #15 Jack, Do not underestimate the abilities to the frogs to frustrate the Anglosphere. It is a lot easier to tear down than build up. They've got 500 years of practice as they proved when they seduced Turkey into keeping the 4ID out of Iraq. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-26 10:17:17 AM |
| #14 The more they prance, talk and cadoodle - the more sad they appear. They have lost their empire, their national honor (WWI & II), their language is kaput, and they are in denial. The only power they possess is their veto at the UNSC. And since the UN is becoming more and more an anachorism and immaterial to our foreign and security policy - the French are trying really hard to be important again - at least in their own minds. They offer nothing but opposition and each time they do they demonstrate how emaciated they really are geo-politically and militarily. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2004-10-26 9:55:37 AM |
| #13 I'd want to see some sincere groveling before I'd even talk to the frogs. P.S. lol-Jarhead! |
| Posted by: Spot 2004-10-26 9:43:36 AM |
| #12 This alliance "must be based on mutual respect, which is not allegiance", he said. What "alliance?" Before anybody stateside can trust France farther than we can throw them, they are long overdue for some unilateral actions of their own. Those actions had better be ones that demonstrate a succinct and definitive policy of fighting terrorism. Should they fail to do so, no cooperation should be forthcoming as America goes about ensuring that France is relegated to history's scrapheap of uselessly ornamental socialist fantasies. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-10-26 9:30:27 AM |
| #11 That braught on a big grin,JH. "This alliance "must be based on mutual respect, which is not allegiance".Is this some of that Kerrinian naunce stuff that us cowboys just don't understand? |
| Posted by: raptor 2004-10-26 9:20:23 AM |
| #10 This alliance "must be based on mutual respect, which is not allegiance", he said. allegiance: Loyalty or the obligation of loyalty, as to a nation, sovereign, or cause. See Synonyms at fidelity. alliance: A close association of nations or other groups, formed to advance common interests or causes So, in essence, the French want to say a lot of nice words but show no loyalty to the causes underlying those words. Or, to put it another way: business as usual for the French. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-10-26 9:16:17 AM |
| #9 This alliance "must be based on mutual respect...", he said. Oh, well, that's impossible. |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-10-26 8:31:13 AM |
| #8 The train was quite crowded, so the U. S. Marine walked the entire length looking for a seat, but the only seat left was taken by a well-dressed, middle-aged, French woman's poodle. The war-weary Marine asked, "Ma'am, may I have that seat?" The French woman just sniffed and said to no one in particular, "Americans are so rude. My little Fifi is using that seat." The Marine walked the entire train again, but the only seat left was under that dog. "Please, ma'am. May I sit down? I'm very tired." She snorted, "Not only are you Americans rude, you are also arrogant!" This time the Marine didn't say a word, he just picked up the little dog, tossed it out the train window, and sat down. The woman shrieked, "Someone must defend my honor! Put this American in his place!" An English gentleman sitting nearby spoke up, "Sir, you Americans often seem to have a penchant for doing the wrong thing. You hold the fork in the wrong hand. You drive your autos on the wrong side of the road. And now, sir, you've thrown the wrong bitch out the window." ->I think that sums it up. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-10-26 8:03:28 AM |
| #7 The French see the world as one big leftwing party, and the American Republican party as the last holdouts. Sadly I believe they're more or less correct. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2004-10-26 7:53:47 AM |
| #6 Moi. |
| Posted by: John F. Kerry 2004-10-26 7:34:14 AM |
| #5 France eyes ’new alliance’ with White House I mean, really, who gives a shit? |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-10-26 6:53:20 AM |
| #4 "a handful of ideologues hungry for adventure but deaf to the planet" The French see the world as one big leftwing party, and the American Republican party as the last holdouts. |
| Posted by: V is for Victory 2004-10-26 6:49:23 AM |
| #3 A clear reference and preference. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-26 1:51:24 AM |
| #2 Going to try out a new knife in our backs. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-10-26 1:34:21 AM |
| #1 Ah, the French Government - they never open their mouths unless they need to change feet. |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-10-26 1:11:53 AM |