America and the World: From the French point of view

 

In the world we live in today, there is a great deal of unjustified hatred. Much of this is towards the U.S. Whether it be intellectual, success or power hatred, people are prone to resent the U.S because it is a big and an ego-filled nation thus it is the easiest target.

In my opinion, the country that dislikes the States the most, is France. To say the whole of France dislikes America is a gross misinterpretation. Like other countries, France will always reserve some hatred towards America due to past events, politics and war. The economic crisis that America inflicted upon the world affected even the more advanced nations. When the financial crisis hit France, citizens clung to securing loans and debt, to help them with their finances and because US banks failed, the French blamed Wall Street for all the troubles.

Furthermore, France also expressed strong opposition to the Iraq invasion. Many in the United States frowned upon them, which lead to the unfortunate removal of the country’s name from products. This caused many in the US to talk of “freedom fries” as opposed to “French fries”. These actions were intended to express displeasure with France’s “continued refusal to stand with their U.S allies.” But the US response angered the French even more.  The French thought the Americans were being imperialistic.

At a lower level the French still hate the Americans for bringing McDonalds to their countries, as the French regard themselves as having the best food in the world. The French elite sneer at the American education system, as they regard their own as amongst their best. They also resent their own young people using so many American words instead of French.