Is this why the "French" refuse to fight?

Question

Great quotations about France



" France has neither winter nor summer nor morals. Apart from these drawbacks it is a fine country. France has usually been governed by prostitutes."
--Mark Twain
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"I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me."
--General George S. Patton
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"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion."
--Norman Schwartzkopf
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"We can stand here like the French, or we can do something about it."
--Marge Simpson
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"As far as I'm concerned, war always means failure."
--Jacques Chirac, President of France

"As far as France is concerned, you're right."
--Rush Limbaugh
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"The only time France wants us to go to war is when the German Army is sitting in Paris sipping coffee."
--Regis Philbin
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"You know, the French remind me a little bit of an aging actress of the 1940s who was still trying to dine out on her looks but doesn't have the face for it."
-- John McCain , U.S. Senator from Arizona
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"You know why the French don't want to bomb Saddam Hussein? Because he hates America , he loves mistresses and wears a beret. He is French, people."
--Conan O'Brien
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"I don't know why people are surprised that France won't help us get Saddam out of Iraq . After all, France wouldn't help us get Hitler out of France either."
--Jay Leno
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"The last time the French asked for 'more proof' it came marching into Paris under a German flag."
-- David Letterman
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"Only thing worse than a Frenchman is a Frenchman who lives in Canada ."
--Ted Nugent
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"War without France would be like ... World War II."
--Unknown
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"The favorite bumper sticker in Washington D.C. right now is one that says 'First Iraq , then France .'"
--Tom Brokaw
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"What do you expect from a culture and a nation that exerted more of its national will fighting against DisneyWorld and Big Macs than the Nazis?"
--Dennis Miller
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"It is important to remember that the French have always been there when they needed us."
--Alan Kent
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"They've taken their own precautions against al-Qa'ida. To prepare for an attack, each Frenchman is urged to keep duct tape, a white flag, and a three-day supply of mistresses in the house."
--Argus Hamilton
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"Somebody was telling me about the French Army rifle that was being advertised on eBay the other day -- the description was, 'Never fired. Dropped once.'"
--Rep. Roy Blunt, MO
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"The French will only agree to go to war when we've proven we've found truffles in Iraq ."
--Dennis Miller
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"Raise your right hand if you like the French. Raise both hands if you are French."
--Unknown
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Q. What did the mayor of Paris say to the German Army as they entered the city in WWII?
A. “Tables for 100,000 m'sieur?”
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"Do you know how many Frenchmen it takes to defend Paris ? It's not known, it's never been tried."
--Rep. R. Blount, MO
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"Do you know it only took Germany three days to conquer France in WWII? And that's because it was raining."
--John Xereas, Manager, DC Improv
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The AP and UPI reported that the French Government announced after the London bombings that it has raised its terror alert level from Run to Hide. The only two higher levels in France are Surrender and Collaborate. The rise in the alert level was precipitated by a recent fire which destroyed France 's white flag factory, effectively disabling their military.
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French Ban Fireworks at Euro Disney


(AP), Paris , March 5, 2003
The French Government announced today that it is imposing a ban on the use of fireworks at Euro Disney. The decision comes the day after a nightly fireworks display at the park, located just 30 miles outside of Paris, caused the soldiers at a nearby French Army garrison to surrender to a group of Czech tourists.

Answer 1

AMEN TO THAT. First, to refute somethings that wer said...

the french have been fighting in africa forever because (surprise) they suck at fighting.

The napoleanic wars were pointless example of french blunder. Fighting against a numerically inferior force the french STILL LOST. The day their corsican leader was sick for the first half of the day, their french substitute commanders made such egregious errors that even NAPOLEAN couldnt recover.

The french had little to do with the american victory in the revolutionary war. Need the world be reminded that the french military didnt even show up until the last battle to encircle the already defeated and cornered brittish army of chumptacular cornwall? AND THEN, the restaurantuers didn't even get off their boats for a fight. great victory guys, show up when the fights already over.

AGAIN, need the world be reminded that the french were going to help the confederate states in the civil war, but their "advisors" watched the south get brutalized (along with the north) at antietem and decided they didnt want to join in bloody fighting where there was any chance of defeat (a wise decision granted their track record). They're no allies of mine if you want to base it all on historical records

AND MAYBE everyone needs to be reminded that the reason france didnt want to enjoin fighting in iraq was because 1) they had one of the most lucrative oil contracts in the world with that crazy dictator and 2) they'd been violating UN Sanctions and international law for nearly a decade selling saddam military equipment for their oil deals, thereby allowing him to circumvent the food for oil program and hurting the citizens of iraq. But in a world where french leaders respond with stupid things like "let them eat cake" to their starving people who need bread, who's surprised that the french didnt care about starving iraqi's either?

And no one should forget that the french underground in WWII was a "framework" not a victory machine. all that "resistance" wouldnt have meant squat without millions of doughboys, brits, and russians charging accross europe for a military on military war. And lets not forget that the french LITERALLY surrendered Paris with only token resistance. German troops were knocking on the capitol of Russia's door, the russian soldiers were generally unarmed or didnt have ammo. THEY FOUGHT WITH PITCH FORKS!!! and they won.

And finally, SO WHAT IF AMERICA IS POLICE MAN OF THE WORLD??? would you really want russia or china doing it? i know france certainly isn't stepping up to the plate. I know, lets just let the islamic states police the world and stone to death all dissenters.... and how about all women who think to speak their minds or don't wear burkas. Screw that, i'm american and i'll not stand for it.

SPECIAL EDIT FOR THE GUY WHO POSTED AFTER ME:
1) the belgians and the poles put up more of a fight than the french in WWII, in fact, the belgian air force was decimated trying to hold off the germans. Yes, they did get steamrolled in the end, but it's better than what the french did... ie, SURRENDER. theres a difference between not putting up a fight and turning yellow to run. one is french, the other is everyone else.

2) before you make acusations, you might consider that saying american, tried tested and true is my way of saying i'm in the military. I don't drink beer and listen to toby keith as patriotism (although i do both). I pledge to fight for my country. Fight, not surrender my capitol.

Answer 2

Questioner: I know you claim you served in Group. In deference to that, I ask you to consider: Is quoting everything from cartoon characters to comedians really an accurate representation of the French people as opposed to their government?

Why is it people with nothing better to do in their lives always bag on the French and just the French? The Germans refused to fight in OIF. The Italians backed out of OIF, and never won a campaign of any consequence on their own in the Second World War. The Spanish backed out of OIF after caving into a terrorist attack on Madrid and put a socialist government in charge.

No one says the Italians are cowards. No one says the Spanish are cowards. And no one for damn hell says the Germans are cowards. But the French? The French get rolled by the Germans, just like almost everyone else in Europe, and people half a century later give them a hard time for what? The Norwegians put up less of a fight. The Austrians put up less of a fight. So did the Czechs, the Poles, the Belgians, the Dutch, the Hungarians. The Romanians collaborated.

And still, the French get the abuse each and every time. Why? There wouldn't even be a United States without French support during the Revolution. Does anyone actually believe if the French didn't suck up the best and brightest of the redcoats to combat on Continental Europe, that the Revolution would still have won its victories? Anyone care to remember what happened in 1812 when the British applied themselves just a bit more? Think of what would have happened if someone like Wellington was fighting Washington?

Maybe people who bag on Napoleon need to read on Jena, Austerlitz, Wagram, Eylau, and a dozen other engagements where they can look for French cowardice all they want. Maybe they should read on Dien Bien Phu and say the French were cowards there as well. Maybe if people actually read a proper history of the Maquis, they won't be half as stupid with their commentary. "Russians fought with pitchforks and won" ... I'm sure that's how Zhukov took Berlin, with pitchforks. Right.

Oh, and maybe, just maybe, should we ever forget, we sponsored the Baathists for nearly a decade while they were our proxies fighting the Iranians. Only the invasion of Kuwait changed that. Hell, Saddam wouldn't even have risen to eventual power if Americans hadn't taken his bankrupt, failed-assassin self and cleaned him up in Cairo where he was hiding, and given him enough support to make a run for it. So when he was killing dissidents and political opponents during the 70s and 80s, did we say anything? Not a thing. Until he screwed up in 1991, he was our man.

So why the holier-than-thou attitude when our own government abandons POWs in Korea and Vietnam to the Communists and bankrolls tyrants who turn on us year after year? If accusing the French of cowardice makes some Americans feel better, fine, let it be that way. Let that NOT discolor foreign policy, as their security and intelligence services are still allied to us in the War on Terrror.

And let it not ever, ever be a substitute for REAL patriotism. Over 6 million American men answered the call to arms in the Second World War. Over 5 million men had to be TURNED away. After 9/11? We still barely make replacement rates, 200,000 a year.

But no, it's "I'm American because I listen to Toby Keith and drink Budweiser, even though I'm too good to enlist or be commissioned, even though half the stuff in my house is Made in China, and I work too hard to bother volunteering for something like the local fire department or the Red Cross. Instead, I'll bag on the French all day because it makes me feel better."

There are too many people like that today. We face huge threats in Iran and Communist China, and more of the public spends its time bitching at a European democracy and chortling at its own jokes. Something is WRONG there. How about a lot less bitching at the wrong people and a lot more elbow grease for a change?

Answer 3

The americans have got an inferiority complex about France because it helped them in their fight for independence from the British and they like to pretend that they did it all by themselves.
In commemoration of this common fight the French gave the USA the Statue of Liberty which seems to be in the blind spot of most americans but is clearly visible to most people who go to New York.
The great thing about the french is that they do their own thinking and refuse to follow the false policies of the Bush administration which even a lot of americans now concede were based on lies.
This willingness to blindly follow Bush is about to cost Blair his political career.

Answer 4

One brought up that the french have been fighting in Africa for many years. Are they sure they want to brag about it?

Fact: There would be no France today, had the Americans and British not come to their rescue in both world wars. Although I'm not sure that was the smartest thing the US and Brits have ever done. Okay so the US and Brits can make mistakes.

Answer 5

If it weren't for the French there would be no USA. Give them back their stupid statue of Liberty and stick a MacDonald's out there. Would you like "Freedom Fries" with that?????

Answer 6

Maybe you've got something more interesting to say about France... Something positive for instance.

Answer 7

All your quotes are dead-on right. The people who have responded negatively to your post have done so because they're cowards just like the French. Were terrorists to march down Main St., USA these apologists for the Frogs would do what liberals have always done---run like the gutless cowards they are.

Answer 8

the French just choose not to try and police the world nor do they like to be involved in Civil Wars that are nothing to do with them, nor do they like to put the entire world at risk with loud mouth bully tactics.................as for them being "wimps", have you ever studied The Battle of Hastings???????????

Answer 9

ha ha ha

Answer 10

Well, zippy, perhaps you should read up a bit on reasons why (after seeing what happened to Poland) France surrendered in WWII, their amazing resistance movement, the sacrifices the French public made, and their part in the invasion and liberation of France. You might also want to read up on the French army and navy during the Napoleanic Wars. Or their role in our revolution.

If you are basing your criticisms just on their refusal to back the invasion of Iraq, that's a pretty narrow focus. They refused because they didn't believe the WMD bullshit and didn't support preemptive invasion of sovereign nations (wonder where they got that idea after WWII?) You're probably one of those fools who refused to to eat French fries!