Why do you hate France? Please cite historical events that shaped your opinion on this?

Answer 1

Its not bigotry - its history. Its not that I hate France, its just that I don't like France. Its the same wherever you go in the world (Greece / Turkey; USA / Mexico; China / Japan) don't try and tell me its any different elsewhere.

The Brits have a long and distinguished history of getting into punch-ups with the French............and the French, in turn, have an equally long and distinguished history of,
a. invading us (with mixed success)
b. trying to convert us to catholicism
c. siding with anybody else who decided they didn't like us (eg. the Spanish, the Scots, etc., etc)
d. sticking the knife in, whenever our backs were turned

The events are many - to list a few,
1. 1066 and all that
2. Agincourt - stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Pierre
3. Field of the Cloth of Gold - we're considerably richer than you
4. Seven Years War - only finished because we had some German surrender monkey in charge as king
5. French support of the Yanks in the War of Independence - so much for the "special relationship" eh ?
6. Wellington's campaigns in Europe - Corsican pip-squeak gets his come-uppance
7. Trafalgar - even French and Spanish combined fleets are no match for English derring-do

and so on......................

They even tried to block our membership of the European Union when we first applied !

Answer 2

The hard feelings began during the Indo-china war when the French believed the USA did not do enough to support them and President Eisenhower's opposition to the British, French and Israeli invasion of Egypt and capture of the Suez canal. DeGaulle was hostile to the USA and eventually ordered US NATO troops off French territory.
So since then there has been much anti this and that hyperbole between the two countries by politicians for political gain.

I for one do not hate France or the French. But given our post World War 2 history I think our political relations will always be lukewarm at best.

Answer 3

This is a leading question that assumes the answerer hates France. You are a bigot, and there are plenty of historical instances of those.

Answer 4

It began with the Hundred Years War.
Since the time of William I of England, himself a French duke, French kings had alleged that the king of England was a vassal king to the king of France. Plantagenet kings had, at various times, pledged fealty to the French king. Edward III of England disliked this arrangement and wanted to break free of French domination. When the title to the French crown was disputed, Edward seized his opportunity. His pretext was to declare himself to be king of France and declared war on the French king, Phillip VI. He adopted a new coat of arms with the English lions quartered with the French Fleuer-de-lis and invaded France.

The war actually lasted for 117 years, but there were periodic intervals of peace. At first, the course of the war ran in England’s favour. Edward III took Calais and even captured the French king, John II, in battle. But when John II died in captivity before conceding the throne, his son, Charles V, fought back and even set fire to towns on the English coast.

When Edward’s grandson, Richard II, came to the throne, the fighting subdued but when the Lancastrian kings were in power, England made a concerted attempt to take France. Henry V won decisive victories and, after the battle of Agincourt, was named by the French king, Charles VI, as his successor. Henry’s son, Henry VI was crowned king of France before his first birthday.

Henry VI’s reign was characterised by internal fighting in England and the beginning of the Wars of The Roses. While England was racked by internal fighting, France, under the leadership of Joan of Arc, regained possession of their kingdom.

The war came to an end in 1453, when the French took back all their possessions except for Calais. The result of the war was that England was discouraged from Continental invasions and, from then on, foreign policy was directed at maintaining a discrete distance from Europe. The Royals kept the title ’King (or queen) of France’ which remained on English and British coins until it was relinquished by the Peace of Amiens in the reign of George III.

Answer 5

Why do Americans dislike the French??? Hmmm, the XYZ Scandal, maybe? The War in Iraq ("freedom fries" yay!)....

Answer 6

a long history of conflicts and non support the most recent being their refusal to allow our military to fly over their airspace during the gulf war.

Answer 7

Hatred is a strong term, but this type of insult is the reason why I don't like that country :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vive_le_quebec_libre

Answer 8

yawn

Answer 9

I don't