*
Well, George W. Bush is far away in Russia at the G8 meeting, not in Paris, of course. It's just as well for him, since he has just defended Israel's bombing of Lebanon, and there are lots of Lebanese in Paris.
Another year that I miss the big défilé (parade) on the Champs-Elysées. Year after year I miss both the Fourth of July in the U.S. and the 14th of July in Paris.
Although all French people love France, not everyone celebrates the cause of the holiday, the taking of the Bastille prison by common people.
I know an American woman here who bought a pretty bleu-blanc-rouge Hermès scarf commemorating the 200th anniversary of the French revolution. She thought her French in-laws would be pleased at her love for their country, but instead they were horrifiés. During the revolution, their family had lost everything. "It is not something we celebrate," they informed her sniffily.
*Jets, photo by choudoudou at flickr
There are also lots of Lebanese in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago, but it's hard to imagine somebody making a similar comment about them.
This is a subtle (nuanced?) rather than a partisan point, but at the same time reflects perhaps the deepest and most enduring fracture between America's political life in America and Europe's.
Posted by: ZF | 15 July 2006 at 03:47
Not everybody French loves France; e.g. some living in the banlieues wwho who rioted. Perhaps you're importing an American attitude; patriotic brainwashing seems to be more effective in the US.
Your friend should have realised that obviously the French Revolution didn't benefit all the French; the aristocracy and the better off lost out.
Posted by: Ted Welch | 15 July 2006 at 18:46