In 1985, after my college
graduation, I spent several months traveling throughout
Europe
.I visited 19 countries and enjoyed
them all except one, France.Although
it is a beautiful country with many interesting and significant attractions, the
people left me cold.Even though I
have a predominantly French ancestry and have a very French last name, Crouere,
I have not yet learned to speak French.In
France
, being unable to speak French is a severe handicap, especially if you are an
American.I sensed an anti-American
attitude among the French people I met, possibly resulting from a feeling of
envy of my status as a citizen of the best country on earth.
France
has delusions of grandeur, but possesses neither the military nor the economy
to qualify as a superpower on the world stage.To receive the attention that it believes it deserves,
France
often becomes an obstacle to our justified fight against the tyrants and
dictators of the world.In 1986,
when President Ronald Reagan wanted to bomb
Libya
as retaliation for terrorism against citizens of the
U.S.
,
France
did not allow our planes use of their airspace.At the time, I swore I would never forgive
France
for their petulance against our anti-terrorism efforts, but since I live in
Louisiana
, my anger against
France
soon faded away.
Louisiana
is a state that has strong ties to
France
.Because of our history and
culture, it is the more closely aligned with
France
than any other state in the
U.S.In fact, the state is named after a
French King and the City of
New Orleans
is named after
Orleans
in
France
.
New Orleans
was founded by a Frenchman, Bienville, in 1718 and the city’s most famous
tourist attraction is named the French Quarter.
So, it is not unreasonable that
the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, would plan an
extravagant bicentennial celebration of the 1803 signing of the
Louisiana Purchase
.The
Louisiana Purchase
was signed in
New Orleans
and Blanco’s Office, which oversees statewide tourism, had planned an
elaborate ceremony for
December 20, 2003
with U.S. President George W. Bush, Spanish King Juan Carlos and French
President Jacques Chirac attending.There
is just one little problem with these well laid plans, it involves
France
! Throughout the
U.S.
, there is severe dissatisfaction with
France
.A boycott of French products has
been receiving tremendous popular support.French
jokes are circulating across the country on the comedy circuit, in our
nation’s workplaces and on the Internet.
Even in the most French of
United States cities,
New Orleans
, there is an anti-French backlash.For
a while, some residents circulated a petition to change the name of the French
Quarter to the Freedom Quarter.The
name change will not occur because people in
New Orleans
are just too attached to the name French Quarter.However, citizens of
Louisiana
have had enough of French President Jacques Chirac.We have seen him stand as an obstacle to our effort to liberate the
people of
Iraq
.He has coddled Saddam Hussein, and
scolded President Bush.Even worse,
France
has attempted to organize a worldwide coalition against needed military action
in
Iraq
.
Chirac has not only angered
President Bush, he has angered almost the entire state of
Louisiana
.Right now, he is not welcome to
visit
Louisiana
for the
Louisiana Purchase
bicentennial.To emphasize that
point, State Representative A.G. Crowe of
Slidell
has filed a resolution rescinding the invitation of the French President to the
bicentennial event.Crowe’s
resolution makes a strong case against Chirac, “Through his unwillingness to
support the United States and President Bush at this crucial time, Mr. Chirac
has appeared to be ungrateful for the tremendous help and genuine friendship
that the United States has given to France for many years, including both World
War I and World War II.” Crowe’s resolution will have strong support in the
Louisiana Legislature.In fact,
Bobby Jindal, a Republican candidate for Governor, has already endorsed the
resolution.
The Lieutenant Governor’s
office has expressed their opposition to Crowe’s resolution, fearing that it
will hurt attendance at the bicentennial.Blanco’s
deputy, Philip Jones, states that Crowe’s resolution “would be very negative
for
Louisiana
.” There are approximately 50,000 French tourists that visit
Louisiana
annually. Yet, if Chirac actually attends, the response from many
Louisiana
residents will be to boycott the events.If
the French President attends, it will harm the bicentennial celebration much
more than Representative Crowe’s resolution.Americans from outside of
Louisiana
will be furious if our state hosts someone so detrimental to our national
security interests.More importantly
than losing tourists from
France
,
Louisiana
could lose tourists from other
U.S.
states in protest to our honoring such an anti-American politician.
Crowe’s resolution will become null and void if France changes their mind and supports U.S. troops.Of
course, France will never change their policy toward the Iraqi liberation
campaign, so don’t expect to see French President Jacques Chirac at the
Louisiana Purchase celebration this December.
