I am not French but...

In France you can buy stuff that you cant in CA.

And OTC silencers.

French resistance fighters, circa WW2:

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In reality, most of the French resistance groups ended up fighting each other as much as they did the Germans. The most successful ones were Communist and run by the NKVD. They spent a fair amount of time betraying the other groups to the Germans because they wanted to take over after the war.

While there was some military benefit, mostly it was a PR thing.

True, people bashing the French have no idea of what they are talking about.

People mock their performance in WW2 but forget that it was the French who finally brought the Germans to bay in WW1 and paid the highest price of all the allies in the process.

The Maginot Line actually held up. Parts of it were not surrendered until a week or so after the rest of France surrendered. In one case the German commander had to threaten to level Lyon in order to get the garrison to march out.

And they had good reasons to build the fortresses, it wasn't just a whim on their part.

The one thing the French High command got wrong that led to their loss in WW2 is that they did not comprehend that the speed of battle changed so much. They thought it would take the Germans nine days to cross the Ardennes, it took them only three.

The main reason the French High Command made bad decisions is that it was intentionally split into many different pieces and power spread over a large group of people. This was to try and prevent another Napoleon from arising.

So the reasons for the French defeat are much deeper than the average mocker understands.

I could go on...but i'll save you all the bother.

Sure, Chirac wasn't so great, but so far Sarcozy seems to be set on reversing the direction of Chirac and improving ties with the US. And lets not forget Lafayette either; we may have saved their fat from the fire in WWII, but if not for Lafayette and the French, the US might never have been able to defeat the Brittish.

Can't say I'm not still a little miffed about my last trip there when they towed my rental car from a legal spot and I had to bribe a cop to get it back, but all in all, the French are OK by me.

That one likes France or not is not very important.

Just remember this fact: France is at war in Afghanistan, fighting terrorism.

That one likes France or not is not very important.

Just remember this fact: France is at war in Afghanistan, fighting terrorism.

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barman, since you are in France perhaps you can offer some insight here. An article from the BBC said the deaths of these French soldiers will inflame controversy in France because "2/3 of the French public is opposed" to their forces being deployed in Afghanistan. I understand opposition to war in Iraq based on dubious pretenses, but Afghanistan seems justified to me. What is the reason 2/3 of the French oppose it?

I have alot of respect for the French. They are not the first ones to come and say hello and be in your face friendly, but they also do not care, or even ask what you do for a living. If you are an interesting person and show interest in ideas they are very friendly. Sadly many in the USA have been brainwashed into bashing anything "socialist" or even European. The French are FAR MORE democratic that we sheep are. The French will take to the streets if the Gov't does something against what they think is right. We however have been brainwashed that when the powers that be screw us it is a good thing.

"2/3 of the French public is opposed" to their forces being deployed in Afghanistan. I understand opposition to war in Iraq based on dubious pretenses, but Afghanistan seems justified to me. What is the reason 2/3 of the French oppose it?

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My opinion is that they are pulling this number out of their "arse", it won't be the first time that the BBC does it.

Honnestly, I don't know a single compatriot who is against the NATO action in Afghanistan.
I know they exist, but I've never met one. I've met plenty of people who couldn't care less though, they're the kind of people who are concerned with themselves and their own problems.

Depending on the issue I occasionally bash their government too.
But that doesn't mean that they're often right when we're wrong.
AND I also do a lot of bashing on my own government.

The people themselves?
They've been known to revolt against their government here and there...
I wouldn't want to p*ss a bunch of armed frenchmen off.

We3 - In that case, you have to give them credit for always getting back up.
In spite of having their @$$ kicked any number of times, they have still managed to get back up, give the other guy the finger, and get caught up in another fight.

Winning is great but don't underestimate the guy who will always fight pretty much no matter what.

have to agree with Barman, They really think we are a bunch of gun toting nuts, and they are very opposed to the Iraq war, but the Afgan war they don't care or give it grudging support.

French troops... Not Foreign Legion?? I would have guessed that if they deployed to Afgan, they would have sent the Legionnaires.

A French (american) friend once remarked that of all the nations armies that he would rather not fight, the French were at the top of the list. Why, because they never fight, haven't been in a fight in a long long time but they do spend a lot of time practicing and training.

I just finished a book by a French author, "Camp of the Saints". It opened my eyes about a lot of things, the French included.

Getting killed isn't a show of heroism. Losing 10 killed + 21 wounded doesn't show anything other than that they walked in a trap...

But this does not detract from French courage.
The French have always been brave soldiers, since their wars against the Romans, their heroism and willingness to sacrifice themselves on the field of battle has never been in doubt.

It is usually leadership (and their arrogance) that fails an army. This is true for almost any nation.

As far as the bravery of the French, I can only relate what my wife told me about her mother. She fled france at the beginning of WWII before the Nazis invaded. After settling in England she many times went onto the roof of her apartment building to put out the incindiary bombs the Germans were dropping on London during the Blitz. Don't know if I'd be that tough.

The french themselves are a tough lot...

There governments for some reasion are pansies....

You can certainly thank France for sticking their political neck out for this fledgling country called the United States of America. It was the french fleet that blocked the british during the battle of Yorktown. Lets not forget General Rochambeau, his 5000 men and Lafayette in the process.
Noble causes for our independance by the french. I will never bash the french.

They gave us the Statue of Liberty as well.
We Americans can be quick to forget.

The French come up with the most odd and ugly firearms.other than that I have'nt anything against them.

The thing is that they make it so easy. The bashing that is.

I have visited France more times than I care to remember and I have met many upstanding and wonderful people there. They are justly proud of their beautiful country and rich cultural heritage. That being said, their pride is often expressed in an undeniably arrogant manner and with an offputting air of superiority. Many French also seem incapable of accepting that other nations have equally valid if not better responses to a range of societal and international issues. As much as I like the country, you will struggle to find a western nation where the populace has a more distorted, condescending and negative view of America and its people than France.

With regards to the bravery of it's soldiers, I personally think that anyone who picks up a rifle and dons the uniform of thier nation deserves respect not only from thier own citizens but from all of us.

Which nation was the first to equip its army with battle rifle firing smokeless powder?

Which nation was the first to equip its army with field artillery that was recoil absorbing?

Well, that is not much but it is something. The Army of France distinguised itself throughout history in many wars. Their navy played a pivotal role in our own war for independance.

Anyone who believes the people of France to have been cowards is ignorant of history.

BTW, have any of the folks posting here ever been to France?

France is stuck with a sucky government, that's all. Every nation has its small percentage of people with guts and fighting spirit, who hold up that end of the bargain, and France is pretty good in this category.

Unfortunately, their political climate has sucked for so long that their more...adventurous...citizens have good reason to throw up their hands, having swam upstream for so long.

France, like a lot of European nations, probably has a stigma on their warrior class, since that is who the nobility used to be. We Americans are lucky to never have had a warrior nobility that became hated and made the trade look bad--I mean, there is the Washington and Lee (the university) set, but they are tiny compared to millions of salt-of-the-earth belligerents this country boasts.

I always thought the French helping in our war of independance was more of a case of the emeny of my emeny if my friend than anything else. Exspecially, since they had a total monarchy compare to Briton's monachy balanced with a patamel (spelling)
If that the case, so did the Spanish. The Prussians (a limited role), Frederick the Great tried to keep the British recuiters out of the German states.
A joke told around WWI was that we (American) were playing off Lafayette's debt.
That said i'm not blashing the French, but they won't the only ones to help us in our war of indendance

If you want to be laughed at, just regard yourself much more highly than other people do. You'll get the laughs.

They have one heck of a sports car race too...