Mutual contempt

摘要

When in doubt, bash America. This national reflex is an elementary rule of French politics. Two years after the two countries fell out over the war in Iraq, and even as relations are warming again, anti-Americanism is a useful prop for politicians in need. Consider the campaign ahead of France's May referendum on the draft European constitution. On the left, the Socialist Party selected the following billboard slogan: "Yes to a strong Europe facing the USA". On the right, a deputy from President Jacques Chirac's governing party quipped that a good yes line might be: "A no vote to Europe is a yes to Bush."