Fill In The Blank
France will never forget ______________.
You may answer in comments.
Footnote: You know how French people don’t like to speak English. They want you to speak French, and behave rudely when you are not good at it. Well, the Embassy of France in the United States apparently cannot be bothered to hire a fluent English speaker, or perhaps has decided that Frog talk is more charming when discussing the thousands of Americans who gave their lives for that country. I quote:
The crowd formed on the sand the letters of the phrase: “FRANCE WILL NEVER FORGET”, aimed at honoring the fallen American heroes who scarified their lives to liberate France at the end of WW II.
The United States Ambassador to France, H.E Craig R. Stapleton and his spouse attended the event along with several American and French personalities. They all joined the crowd on the beach and actually helped form with many other people the letter F of FRANCE.
Very touching. I have often thought of the letter F myself when contemplating French gratitude for liberating their country from tyranny, and French eagerness to pass along the favor. I notice that the second E in NEVER appears to be backwards. That isn’t some kind of French fingercrossing, is it?
I’m sure this is a wonderful and well-meaning group, and I am glad 2,500 people in France care enough to spend a day at the beach engaged in a feel-good exercise. The foreign policy of their nation is probably not their fault. The group formed in 2003, at a particularly low point in U.S.-French relations, and it is wonderful they want to form words of gratitude on the strand where so many Americans died. But actions speak louder than words. The best way to repay a debt of gratitude that you could not possibly repay is to do a good turn for someone else. Let’s say, 50,000 French combat troops under U.S. command in Iraq. That’s crazy talk, I know. How about 20,000.? Do I hear 10? How about 5,000 French combat troops under U.S. command in Afghanistan. Maybe just keep the 1,000 peacekeepers already there?
A French general is reported to have been asked in onset of World War I how many British soldiers he required to aid the defense of France. “Just one.” Obligingly dead to enflame the passions of John Bull. Anyone have any thoughts on what the effect of a dead Frenchman in aid of Iraqi freedom might be?
This part is interesting:
In 2005 the organization single handedly financed a commemorative trip with first class accommodations for 10 WWII US Veterans, last members of the platoon who liberated the Eiffel Tower.
I’m going to need more information on the battle of the Eiffel Tower. Hate to say it, but that particular commemoration has a slightly gimmicky sound to it. Anyway, every old guy who helped liberate France deserves an all-expenses-paid first-class vacation with the wife. However, hate to belabor the point, the expressions of gratitude and the medals would go over a lot bigger if they include expenses-paid trips to certain Middle Eastern nations for French soldiers and Legions of Honor for the bravery of French soldiers there.
OK, I’m done.
Thank you, Pajamas.
Topics: France
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 12:09 am on Sunday, July 22, 2007
25 Responses to “Fill In The Blank”
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July 22nd, 2007 at 12:14 am
France will never forget…
…to call us when they need us.
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:14 am
France will never forget…winning America her freedom from Britain.
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:17 am
Be careful of wht you wish for in Iraq and Afghanistan. As Patton reportedly said, he’d rather have a German division in front of him than a French division behind him.
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:13 am
I was recently in France for several days during a vacation that encompassed the Netherlands, Belgium and France. I had told my wife about certain French behavior that she did not believe frankly, thinking it was my bias against the French but by the end of the trip she had encountered many instances of each of the stereotypical French behaviors.
But I must confess that the town of Bayeux made up for the rest of France in just two days. The residents of Bayeux drive past the British WWII cemetary every day as it is along one of the main city routes. The US cemetary of Omaha beach is only a few minutes drive away. We had several people tell us how much they adore the American people in those days and were treated better than anywhere else in France.
The Belgians and the Dutch, by the way, were wonderful hosts.
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:49 am
Napolean! Or the pastry of the same name.
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:50 am
One more guess. Brie?
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:58 am
France will never forget….or forgive.
July 22nd, 2007 at 3:41 am
France will never forget…what they had for lunch.
July 22nd, 2007 at 4:10 am
…Waterloo!
July 22nd, 2007 at 6:37 am
France Will Never Forget….
Corruption, resentment, regret,
And shame, she will never forget –
But who paid the bill
In blood spilled? She will
Forget to remember her debt.
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:34 am
“France will never forget…winning America her freedom from Britain.”
That wasn’t what it was all about, Alphie. The French and British empires were locked in a struggle for dominance. It served French interests to back the colonials at the time. After the war, it joined with Great Britain in trying to smother the young democracy in its crib. It’s useful to know some history. It prevents embarrassment from time to time.
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:09 am
THE ALPHTARD™ also forgets about the French and Indian War, which is another example of how alliances change in the name of national interests. Of course, such nuance is lost on jihad boy, master of the non sequitur (because that’s the way he thinks).
Back O/T, and my contribution:
“France will never forget……..that bathing is optional.”
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:15 am
By the by, here is an excellent example of why THE ALPHTARD™ really needs to hit the history books with an unbiased mind (if such be possible for Him). It’s also an example of how many French citizens (never mind the French government) will not forget. Another is the village of Villers-Bretonneux, and their Australian WWI memorial.
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:15 pm
The thread subject isn’t concerned with the left’s disintegrating narrative on the GWOT, so jihad boy isn’t in panic mode. His recent hissy fits must have tuckered him out.. Basic anti-american cruise mode is less trying for him mentally.
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:18 pm
France will never forget Jerry Lewis.
Their favorite American.
July 22nd, 2007 at 2:14 pm
France will never forget…
…where the white flags are stored.
Just in case the Germans come calling.
July 22nd, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Banjo:
I thought alphie’s “winning America her freedom from Britain” was perfect! So very French, non? They’ll tell you they own The Rights of Man, which they managed to pass a goodly six weeks before Washington even sent the first 12 Amendments around for ratification. Zut Alors! We were scooped!
July 23rd, 2007 at 12:22 am
Joking aside, they’ll never forget what they see (mistakenly, but understandably) as Britain abandoning them in 1940 in the closing stages of the Battle of France.
All those surrender jokes get get my back up, actually. The French are a great nation, they spilled bucket-loads of blood for freedom in the 20th Century.
How about the French Resistance? These were not soldiers fighting behind the lines like in Eastern Europe, they were just ordinary folks, many many thousands of them, facing an extremely high risk of torture and death. That’s pretty tough and cool, isn’t it?
If the French seem uncooperative and contrary, I think it goes back to 1940, and the belief (again, mistaken but understandable) that they can’t rely on others. Much as I love Pres Bush and his team, I don’t think US attitudes to France generally have ever done much to dispel that notion.
July 23rd, 2007 at 1:17 am
Kip, you make a very good point, but actions speak louder than words, and of late, alas, France has been more of a boat anchor than value added.
I should say, the French government has been the boat anchor, and mayahaps that will change. I give the benefit of the doubt to French citizens who have retained their clue.
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:53 am
“All those surrender jokes get get my back up, actually.”
In that case I’ll tell my joke about Dien Bien Phu another time.
July 23rd, 2007 at 5:17 am
Kip, I have some bad news for you.
There was virtually no French resistance.
The majority of the French were fine with the German occupation, and happily handed over virtually every Jew in the country.
In the mean time, any activity by the resistance was crushed, along with whatever population supported it. Shoot a German officer, 100 non-combatants are shot. The resistance don’t last long like that.
The French Resistance was largely an invention of DeGaul, to insure that France would be seen as an ally country after the war and not penalized.
July 23rd, 2007 at 5:18 am
Speaking of Dien Bien Phu.
You know the United States supported the French in their war against the communists in Indochina, and American airmen were killed at Dien Bien Phu flying resupply missions to the French garrison.
But, 30 years later when the United States flew bombing raids against Libya, after the Libyan government helped carry out terrorist attacks that killed American citizens, the French not only didn’t provide us with any assistance, they actively tried to block us by refusing to allow American aircraft to cross French airspace.
The French are a pack of assholes is what they are. I wouldn’t piss on France if it was on fire.
July 23rd, 2007 at 6:00 am
To have a bombing mission pass through their airspace would make them a party to an act of war. I don’t dispute America’s right to retaliate against Libya, but every country ought to be free to decline an invitation to participate. You believe in freedom, right?
The Frenchies were pretty stoic about very significant civilian friendly fire casualties in WWII. The bombing of Caen alone was the equivalent of several 9/11’s. And yet they were grateful — and are still. I’ve never heard a Frenchman bitching about the casualties the allies inflicted on French civilians in defeating our _common_ enemy.
If you want to talk about ‘a-holes’ that remember every little slight, and forget great deeds of generosity and forebearance… there must be a mirror round your place somewhere…
I hate that I’ve put a downer on a humour thread…
July 23rd, 2007 at 10:30 am
Kip, I was in Caen last month. I heard a frenchman bitch about the destruction of Caen first hand.
I also saw french anarchists hurl insults at a passing convoy of D-Day reenactors who drove by on the way to the beaches.
July 23rd, 2007 at 11:22 am
“…but every country ought to be free to decline an invitation to participate.”
Not when they have a defensive alliance with the United States that obligates them to come to our assistance.
NATO Article 5
“The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.”
The French refused to honor their NATO treaty obligations in 1986. As allies they’re totally unreliable.
“If you want to talk about ‘a-holes’ that remember every little slight, and forget great deeds of generosity and forebearance… there must be a mirror round your place somewhere…”
I don’t need a mirror to see assholes. I can just look at our so-called ally, or, alternatively, I could look at dickhead apologists for French treachery.