November 06, 2007
From Freedom Fries To Freedom Friends!
President Bush hosts French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy at the White House later today, in an evening that is being characterized as a lovefest by the media on both continents. Hyperbolic, probably, but a sure sign of the dramatic turn in U.S.-Franco relations since Sarkozy won election in May.
The Los Angeles Times may have scored the lede of the week with its preview of the visit:
Laurent Mellier remembers the dark days of 2003, when drivers would spot the French-flag sticker on his Honda and yell at him. Alain de Chalvron's low point came when a movie audience erupted after a character mentioned France and people around him began shouting insults. For one French diplomat in Los Angeles, it was watching children dump bottles of French wine into the street outside the consulate.
How far we've come. These days, some Americans might suspect that those "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" were right about invading Iraq. Rep. Walter "Freedom Fries" Jones, R-N.C., certainly does. Likewise, some of Sarkozy's countrymen may wonder what all those years of vitriolic U.S.A.-bashing has gotten them, besides a backwards labor structure and economy.
"There has always been this latent, irrational anti-Americanism within French society and the media, and that was only exacerbated by Bush," Bernard Lecomte, former editor of Le Figaro, said in an interview with NPR. "But now we have a president who says that's enough anti-Americanism."
The man also known as "Sarko l'Americain" will be treated to a couple of days of effusive mutual admiration. Today, he bestows France's highest honor, the Légion d'honneur, on six American World War II veterans, before attending a black-tie dinner in his honor at the White House. Tomorrow, Bush and Sarkozy will embark on a deeply symbolic trek to Mount Vernon, where George Washington played host on numerous occasions to the Marquis de Lafayette.
There will, of course, be business on tap. The two leaders are expected to discuss security in Afghanistan, the crisis in Pakistan, and future sanctions on Iran. And despite some European media outlets' characterization of Sarkozy as Bush's new poodle following the departure of Britain's Tony Blair from office, there are also real disagreements at hand. For example, Sarkozy is openly critical of the Iraq war and of the Bush administration's position on climate change.
Still, the renewed warmth between Washington and Paris is welcome as overall global opinion of the United States dwells around all-time lows. This weekend, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Bush at his Crawford ranch. That relationship is also improved from the one Bush shared with Merkel's successor.
AFP and Reuters have more on Sarkozy's visit, while the conservatives at National Review cheer, yet again, the upswing in U.S.-Franco relations. But not everyone is swooning over the renewed alliance. Guess which side of the Atlantic this naysayer is on.
Posted at 5:46 PM
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Bush Administration, Europe, France, Germany, President Bush
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