Five Reasons to Love France - For Americans

Now lets get this clear first, I'm British. We have had a love hate relationship with France for about a thousand years. Some British people don't like the French but some love them and their country. I am more concerned with Americans, I have met many who still talk about how they hate the French and I want to give people who think like this a few reasons why they could think a bit differently about France.

I'm involved in international real estate and travel to France sometimes, as do a lot of British people, in fact over 500,000 British people own properties in France. You could say it's a silent British invasion. Most French people aren't too bothered by this but there are some who aren't happy.

Some Americans do think of the French as "Cheese eating surrender monkeys", a line made famous by Groundskeeper Willie from The Simpsons, (even though he is supposedly Scotish). But I want to try and find some reasons to love the French.

So what reasons are there for Americans to look more kindly on France?

Fighting for their Country

It is all too easy for Americans and British to believe that they single handedly turned both World Wars in the favour of the Allies. In fact in the First World War France fought the whole war losing 1.3 million soldiers in battle from a population of 40 million. Together with this, 4 million French were injured. The percentage of the French population killed or injured in this war is immense and should not be forgotten.

In the Second World War the French deaths were 1.35% of it's population, compared with 0.32% for the United States. France has given over pieces of it's land to honour the American dead making these sites officially American soil.

Tourism to Paris

Out of all the tourists to Paris, Americans visit in the largest numbers, with the British second. For all you Americans who don't like France, there are obviously a lot of you who do love it and like to visit Paris.

The World's Favorite Place to Visit

France is the world's number one destination for visitors. Around 75 million people visit the country each year. There really does have to be something good about it if this many people keep going there. France has a Mediterranean coastline in the south with it's countless days of sunshine, the mountains of the Alps in the east, the windswept Atlantic coastline in the West and the ability to travel from France to all over Europe (France borders Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and has a tunnel to England). I have travelled around the world and rarely see many French people, maybe it's because they have everything they need in their own country.

France Loves America Really

I have just returned from France and knowing I was going to write this article I thought I would ask ordinary people I met what they thought about America. Almost everyone I asked said they liked America, they watched American TV shows, they ate McDonalds, the watched American movies and generally liked America. Some people didn't really care, they had no opinion, they just thought that the media liked to create stories.

The Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty was of course a gift to the Americans from the French. What a gift this was, it has become a symbol of freedom, liberty and democracy. It was dedicated to America by the French in 1886 as a sign of solidarity between two countries that were friends and great democratic countries.

France is a great country with great history, traditions and people. I'm sure there are more reasons why Americans should love France, if there are then email me and I will add them to my list. If you completely disagree with me then let me know too, I would like to add your comments as well.