The good folks at Innocents Abroad have a pair of articles commenting on the French penchant for anti-Americanism (here and here).

The first article, titled "Our Dogs Bark" John Coumarianos begins with:

An interesting review in the International Herald Tribune discusses two French books on French anti-Americanism praised below. The publication and popularity of these books reflect an increasing self-knowledge on the part of the French that justifies IA's praise. Collin has already summarized the first book, Jean Francois Revel's "L'Obsession anti-americaine," previously for us. The second book, Philippe Roger's "L'Ennemi americain," has apparently been received well in France despite its central argument concerning the utilization of anti-Americanism as an effacement of France's internal antagonisms.

The IHT article linked to above is also exceptionally well written.  A second, highly charged quote from John:

...According to the review, Roger also mentions eighteenth century "scientific" arguements against America which claimed that the New World stunted intellectual development and possessed inferior plant and animal life than Europe.

Substitute the word "scientific" with "cultural" and you have an argument that many French consider valid even in the 21st century.   They're afraid that our low brow selves are gonna run amuck with the world.

In a second article, titled "In Praise of the French", Collin May starts by saying:

Historically, the French have always criticized the US and what it saw as America’s unrefined, rather dim-witted population. On the whole, this wasn’t such a grave problem while the US remained a national power in the western hemisphere. But with its ascension to “hyperpuissance” status (to quote former French foreign minister Huber Védrine) during the twentieth century, French disdain for the boorish Americans only increased. Recent events, including Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial, the close-fought 2000 presidential election and George Bush’s subsequent withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocols, the ABM Treaty and his refusal to sign on to the International Criminal Court, brought antagonistic feelings to a fever pitch.

However, despite this, Collin contends, there are actually significant bright spots in the Franco-US relationship, especially relative to other continentals such as England and Germany.    He points out that the most scathing portrayals of the US have actually be carried in left-wing British papers such as the Guardian (Steven Den Beste says that whenever he's bored and looking for something to get worked up about, he just clicks over to the Guardian). 

Schroeder's use of anti-American sentiments to rile up German voters are nearly legendary in blogdom.   France, in contrast,

... has a sense of how a nation behaves. Despite its penchant for third world dictators, communists and amoral intellectuals, the current French government is not relying on outright anti-American foolishness to bolster its support among its citizens.

[Many recent French actions] demonstrates France’s re-emerging national will to be economically competitive (the lower taxes) and militarily self-respecting. And as Anatole Kaletsky has argued in the Times Online, it now looks as though France will “supplant Germany as the most important economy in Europe.”

Collin concludes with:

That some of the best French intellectuals are now liberals in the classical sense and no longer slaves to the Marxist vulgate, suggests things may be changing. Just as the rise of an educated and philosophically conversant conservative movement had a lasting impact on the United States in recent decades, a similarly well-educated and thoughtful liberal tradition seems to be growing in France. It’s unfortunate that Germany seems unable to follow the French lead.

Very good blogging.    Via Oxblog, we see some evidence that maybe Collin is correct and that the French populace isn't as reflexively anti-American as we thought it was:

Yelling ``No blood for oil'' and waving anti-war banners, some 6,000 people marched through Paris on Saturday in the first major French protest against possible U.S.-led strikes on Iraq...relatively few for a country that prides itself on its protest tradition and regularly rallies thousands onto its streets. No clashes were reported.

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UPDATE -- I put up a much more comprehensive set of theories on France / Europe and US differences here.

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