Description
In this bitingly funny and insightful polemic, Boyles, using his knowledge of history and his shrewd eye for current events, examines the internal crises -- a falling birth rate, an expanding Muslim minority, economic stagnation, a lessening of international prestige -- that have changed the personality of what was once 'La Belle France', transforming it into a nation afflicted with status anxiety. He explains how a country that endlessly repeats its credentials as America's oldest ally became one of our most resolute enemies, wielding the biggest weapon in its arsenal -- the European Union -- against the interests of an America that it fears and envies. While making clear his affection for the "France" of the French people, he targets the "France" of the ruling elite -- from de Gaulle to Chirac -- who have always run the country as a private club, often to the angry dismay of its citizens.
Read More
According to journalist Boyles, the French are at war with the US, partially because they are to some extent with themselves. Boyles finds French political leadership seeks out the US as a target largely because they face substantial anxiety at home, including rising fears about the declining birthrate (but casual acceptance of the decline of the family), a rise in both public anti-Semitism and violence against the Islamic population, and the failure to export cultural and intellectual property at the wholesale rates enjoyed by the US. He cites, amongst many other examples, French leaders' behavior during the initial phases of the latest war in Iraq, the 15,000 elderly and disabled people who died of neglect in a heat wave when their families abandoned them during an August national vacation, and French's apparent agenda against the US in the European Union. Francophobes will laugh. Francophiles will wonder why Boyles lived there for so long. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Read Less