american debt to france?

Question

we keep on hearing how france owes america for liberating it in the 2nd world war (even though it was the allies not just america).

And americans (the majoritybeing ignorant) dont realize that with out french troops and the french navy they never would have won their independance from us (britain).

britain was the superpower at the time with its back bone being the royal navy, during the wars of american independance the british backbone was crushed by french firgates.

americans like to pretend a handful of farmers (who were trained by the french) fought of the worlds most dominant super power ever seen. however the truth is that america owes france as much as france owes america.

Answer 1

Lafayette is a well known french soldier in the US history.

What is true is that french troops has fought against the British forces to help Americans gaining Independence.

But can we speak about a debt ? I don't think so. This had been made for french interest to cut down a colony from the UK.
In the same way I can't consider that France should have a debt to America being delivered from the nazis since it was for US interest to fight the Germans wherever they should be. Nevertheless we will always thank the USA for giving us our freedom back. 62 years ago.

History is only made of interests, and there's no country in the world that would make war against its own interest.
Personally, as french guy, I don't like saying that a country owes another. I sounds a like too old fashioned colonialism.

Answer 2

Is this a question?

The Treaty of Alliance (a.k.a. the "Franco-American Alliance") was a pact between France and the United States signed in Paris by American and French officials on February 6, 1778. It stated that the two countries agreed to aid each other into the indefinite future in the event of a British attack. Further, neither country would make amends with London until the independence of the United States was recognized. The Treaty also stated that neither America nor France would conclude treaties with other nations unless diplomats from both countries were present during negotiations. It was mutually beneficial for only five years, from 1778 to 1783 and was abrogated in late 1799 after the notorious XYZ Affair.

The Treaty came about following the success of American forces in the Battle of Saratoga (New York), when French leaders were convinced that the Americans could indeed prevail against their hated British rivals. It brought France directly into the conflict and produced a tremendous financial and psychological advantage for the Americans. It would later prove decisive at the final major battle, the siege of Yorktown, when the presence of both French land and naval forces convinced British General Cornwallis that a continuation of the campaign was hopeless. Scholars generally agree that it is in large part responsible for the severely impoverished French economy during the reign of Louis XVI and therefore, explains the raucous popular unrest which generated the French Revolution in 1789.

Amusingly enough, the US government NEVER paid back the debt. When the French revolution replaced the monarchy, the US government claimed the debt was to the French crown, there being no French crown, there was no more debt.

In spite of this, France remains the US A's oldest ally but also its most critical.

Answer 3

I haven't actually heard that either, but it is true in both directions.

Generally the Royal Navy was dominant in the 18th C, so that DeGrasses' ability to simply hold his own off the Capes made the fall of Yorktown inevitable. Surely this had wider implications than the tiny American war. Likewise, the defeat of Hitler would not have been possible without Soviet manpower and American industrial might.

I don't think either proposition can reasonably be denied, so I'm not sure I catch your point.

Answer 4

I don't know where you keep hearing how France owes us. I've never heard it and I'm American.