Why the animosity of Americans(not saying all) toward the French and what is it excactly?

Question

Is it just a bit of friendly joking or is France really hated or something in between?Could anyone please explain?Looking at American TV there seems to be a trend to laugh with the French and I would like to know why and how far it goes?

Why do you assume I'm French?I'm not

Answer 1

Americans are upset that they can't make a decent bechamel.

Go big Red Go

Answer 2

No one really hates the French. They hold a grudge because France didn't agree with Bush' stance on the Iraq war. Does not matter anyway, France has an amazing tourist trade. Those in the United States who held so much animosity towards them are still travelling there in record numbers, as well as people from other countries.
We in the United States can't really afford to "hate" anyone now. We have enough "hate" flowing steadily towards this country.

Answer 3

Americans are generally contemptuous of anyone/anything nonAmerican, however this current bout of French hating is the result of the Iraq conflict. When the US and Tony Blair wanted to invade Iraq they wanted a UN mandate saying they could, hence making the law legal, but the French, Russian and Chinese governments were against the conflict, and France actually stated it would use its veto, if such a mandate were put before the security council. (As I recall, Putin stated the dossier of evidence was a bag of b*llocks, and he used to head up the KGB, so knows genuine intelligence when he sees it; France and China predicted the country would fall into Civil War, and become another Vietnam; oddly, these 3 countries were completely right!) The US backed down, no new mandate, yet the invasion went ahead anyway - after all it had been in planning since Daddy Bushs government. Americans then launched a boycott on all French products, which resulted in the price of top quality French champagne dropping all across Europe, and with me buying a plentiful supply of Bollinger, Dom Perignon and Krug. Personally, I couldn't be happier, though I do tend to use the 'Bolly' for making absinthe cocktails. God bless the French, they couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag, but they do make the best wine in the world.

Answer 4

First... I think it is safe to say Americans laugh AT the French. The reason is there is a history between America and France (excluding the fact that they gave us the Statue of Liberty --to welcome French immigrants into our land ironically enough) I digress, anyway the whole thing came to a head shortly after 9/11 when France wouldn't join the coalition (with Great Britain and others) to wage war on Terror. American felt stabbed in the back because of the perceived weakness of the French and the French connection with some questionable groups who may be linked with terrorists...Americans felt France chose money and terrorists over freedom of revenge...so...there ya go.

Answer 5

You can only be called an uncultured rube so many times before it pisses you off!! Americans a very diverse it is great but it is what makes this country a tough one to generalize about.

When a French person makes a culturally astute remark , I get it . I just do not care about the same things they do and do not answer back. It is not because I can't. It is because I do not care about the subject.

I met a man in his 80's and we talked about WWII . He said that if the French had cared less about the proper wine to have with dinner, they might have noticed the Germans amassing at their borders.

I thought you were French because of your slant on the question or your accent, or your sudden interest in defending them.

Answer 6

It goes pretty deep because the french has not stuck with America for a long time. In fact the french government has openly criticized the Americans in recent past. During the 60's the french booted the us military out of their country. So we tend not to like you frogs because you could say that you people have stabbed us in the back several times in recent history I personally do not like you frogs because you think you're better than anyone else

Answer 7

France has, unfortunately, a long history of being an ally of the US which cuts n runs.

I think many Americans are just tired of being used by the French and then abandoned.

Admit it, France is wide open to being laughed at. It's not like they will fight, or anything.

Answer 8

Hmm, I am kinda puzzled by this whole anti-French thing myself, but...as someone who knows a bit of history I think I can sum up parts of it.

--There are likely a lot of people in America who give lots of *lip service* to the notion of national sovereignity, but don't really mean what they say unless it's about them.

These are the people who say over and over again, "Well, we rescued France in World War II," or "We saved them in World War I," so why don't they just "roll over" and suck up to/support whatever we do?

Well, because they are a separate nation and they don't *have to*. It's that simple....and I am sure the French, who were our only real European ally back in the late 1700s and early 1800s, felt the same way about us back then ("We're the only thing keeping the English from conquering them, and making them colonies again, so why don't they suck up more?").

--There is some degree of *objective proof* that the French have a chip on their shoulder with some issues (culinary, political, linguistic) in terms of either thinking they are "better" than the rest of the world, or at least that it's their "national heiritage" and therefore worth protecting (and being anal about).

I mean, why *can't* the French call the internet the "internet" and email "email" in their language, without having nine kinds of conniptions and having to plot out an "official French word" for it?

--Likewise, there is some degree of objective proof that Americans get insecure and jealous when it comes to *anyone* who has anything *better* than we do. Case in point: most of the 1980s, when we were so concerned about the Japanese being "richer than we are". (not that people shouldn't be concerned about the Chinese rapidly getting in the same position, but still)

I mean, the United States has a *bad* habit of being jealous of the British for their ettiquette, of the Aussies for their laid-back society....and of the French for historically being *about* a form of government that a) is *clearly* more democratic than ours is, and b) has a long *long* history of sucking up to the Rich Guys a *lot* less than ours does.

Compare any of the three French Revolutions to our Revolution sometime. In France, the abusive rich *got killed*....here, they merely got kicked out and *replaced*. So yeah, the notion that a) *any* socialist or populist government could work out better than ours, and that b) it ends up being the French and not so much the English, Canadians or Austrailians rather annoys some of us, who think we know better. ;)

Ahh, but what do I know.....maybe it is just a language thing, or a hangover from American culture being *unofficially Reject English* and therefore *in denial* about how folks are taught to dislike the French (and Irish), taught how to be "Victorian" in their morals, and so on....

Just saying...hope this helps! ;)

Answer 9

There was always a snobbish attitude by France for feeling that they are the spokesmen for Europe. In modern times though the country has one of the largest Muslim populations per capita of any non major muslim country. This means that pretty much any foreign policy that America takes will be view negatively by the French and thier placating tendancies. More abstractly the French have a long history of being bad at war, good at narcism, and poor of hygiene and grooming habits.

Answer 10

I think that is starting to fizzle out. It started when Bush wanted to go to war with Iraq and the French said no, they wasn't going.
They didn't see Iraq as the agressor if they wanted to go into Afganistan okay they would help but not Iraq. Well, now the british are pulling out and so is a lot of the other countries so now a lot if not most Americans agree that the French had the right idea and they are more popular now. Bush had a lot of people fooled with his they have weapons of mass destruction story.
Americans felt if that was true all countries should help to stop them before they destroy the world. Now we wish we would have done what the French did.

Answer 11

You know, I'll answer even though some french lover will probably report me, but whatever lol. In all honesty, I hate the French. Why? Hell, no good reason, I've only met a few of them, but (and I'm sure to some this will sound stupid) I have pride in hating the French. As the Simspons once said, and so profoundly I might add, they are nothing more than cheese eating surrender monkeys. They need to quit investing in white flags and start investing in deodorant lol. Naw, I dunno. I just don't like em, and I'm sure its influenced by the media. Plus the way they've treated us lately...