Francophobia
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225764594
2008-07-15T08:27:24Z
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/81.12.134.4|81.12.134.4]] to last version by Sardanaphalus (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]])
{{Articleissues|article=1|OR=August 2007|unreferenced=September 2006|globalize=August 2007|cleanup=August 2006}}
'''Francophobia''' is a consistent hostility toward the [[Government of France|government]], [[Culture of France|culture]], [[History of France|history]], or [[Demographics of France|people]] of [[France]] or the [[Francophonie]]. Its [[antonym]] is [[Francophile|francophilia]]. Contemporary prejudice against the French often derives from criticisms from the immediate post-[[World War II]] period and the way of life of the artistic and philosophic elite of the time. Francophobia has existed in various forms and in different countries for centuries. In China, the term "Francophobia" (恐法症) was introduced in summer 2006 in the context of the eight-year standing soccer rivalry between [[Brazil]] and France by local media under its literal meaning of "Fear of the French".
Some people may consider the term "Francophobia" a misnomer as "[[phobia]]" comes from the Greek for "fear".
== Use of the term ==
{{Discrimination (sidebar)}}
Given its lengthy history and various changes in relative international status, properly qualifying hostility toward France and its people with one term is difficult. '''Francophobia''' is used here as it is the historically understood term for the most pronounced and longest running hostility toward things French — that of the [[United Kingdom]] from the 17th to 19th centuries. '''Francophobe''' and '''Francophile''' (along with the now archaic '''Gallophobe''' and '''Gallophile''') would have been well understood to British commentators of the period and the former terms are still easily grasped today. In the contemporary [[United States]], '''anti-French sentiment''' is more likely to be used to describe the recent upsurge in that country of animosity toward the French. In former French colonies, meanwhile, resentment may fall under the larger rubric of anti-[[colonialism]].
== France as Continental Hegemon ==
Though French history in the broadest sense extends back more than a millennium, its political unity dates back from the reign of [[Louis XI]], who set up the basis of nation-state (rather than a dynastic, transnational entity typical of the late [[Middle Ages]]). According to [[Eric Hobsbawm]] (1990){{Fact|date=April 2007}}, only aristocrats and scholars spoke French before the [[French Revolution]], whilst about two-thirds of the population of the French kingdom spoke a variety of [[dialects]]. Henceforth, Hobsbawm argues that the French [[Nation-state]] was constituted during the 19th century, through [[conscription]] which accounted for interactions between French citizens coming from various regions, and the [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]]'s [[Jules Ferry laws|public instruction laws]], enacted in the 1880s, probably in parallel with the birth of the European nationalisms.
=== Francophobia in Britain ===
[[Image:William Hogarth 063.jpg|thumb|left|300px|''[[The Gate of Calais|The Gate of Calais: O! The Roast Beef of Old England]]'' by [[William Hogarth]], portrays [[France]] as an oppressive, poverty-stricken and oppressed culture]]
[[England]] and France have a long history of conflict, dating from before the [[Battle of Hastings]], when the [[William the Bastard|Duke of Normandy]], a vassal of the French King, raised himself to be King of England. Before becoming King of England, William found conflict with his [[Henry I of France|liege]] several times and conquered some neighboring fiefs. The relationship continured between the countries continued to be filled with conflict, even during the [[Third Crusade]] This medieval era of conflict climaxed during the [[One Hundred Years War]], when the [[House of Plantagenet]] fought unsuccessfully for control of [[English claims to the French throne|French throne]] and lost the last of their French holdings, which resulted in future English Kings being more culturally English (previously they had largely spoken French and lived in French castles much of the time, [[Richard Coeur de Lion]] who was famous for his feud with the French King [[Philip II of France|Philip]], spent most of his life in France and as little as six months of his reign as King in England).
The modern history of conflict between the two nations stems from the rise of Britain effect into a position as a dominant mercantile and seafaring power from the late 17th century onward. Hostility toward and strategic conflict with France's similar ambitions became a defining characteristic of relations between the two powers. The time between the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688 and [[Napoleon]]'s final capitulation in 1815 was, in essence, a prolonged Franco-British conflict to determine who would be the dominant European power; virtually every large conflict of the period pitted a British-led alliance versus a French-led counterpart. English hostility to the [[Catholic Church]], which dated back to earlier conflicts with [[Spain]] and the Catholic [[Hapsburg]] dynasty contributed to attitudes towards the French, because France was also seen as a [[Catholicism|Catholic]] power, while the majority of the English people were [[Protestantism|Protestants]] belonging to the [[Church of England]]. Britain assisted continental European states in resisting French ambitions to hegemony during the reign of [[Louis XIV]] and of course during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. Britain also resented France's intervention in the [[American Revolutionary War]]. These repeated conflicts spawned deep mutual antagonism between the two nations, which were only, and partially, overcome by their alliance to contain [[Imperial Germany]] in the early 20th century.
The dimensions of this conflict in Britain were as much cultural as strategic. Indeed, [[British nationalism]] in its nascent phases was in large part a contra-France phenomenon and the attitudes involved extended well beyond who won what on various battlefields:
* A growing group of British nationalists in the 17th and 18th centuries resented the veneration that was often accorded French culture and the [[French language]].
* France was the strongest [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] power and "[[anti-Papist]]" suspicions were always strong in Britain.
* The French political system appered [[absolutist]] and [[conformist]], contrasting [[British people|Anglo-Saxon]] notions of [[liberty]] and [[individualism]] which British nationalists invoked{{Fact|date=April 2007}}.
* The permeation of anti-French sentiment throughout society - as epitomised by the apocryphal story of the [[Hartlepool]] [[monkey hanger]]s, whose belief that the French were literally [[inhuman]] led them to have allegedly executed a pet [[monkey]] in the belief that it was an invading Frenchman (although the story is based upon the disputed premise that those involved had never seen a monkey before){{Fact|date=April 2007}}.
=== The [[French Revolution]] ===
The [[revolutionary ideas]] that emerged in France in 1789 and subsequent years were not well-received by [[monarchist]]s and [[aristocrat]]s on the rest of the continent and in Britain. France, the leading European power for two [[centuries]], had suddenly and violently overthrown the [[feudalism|feudal]] foundations of continental order and, it was feared, the revolution might spread. Objections were many:
* That the [[legitimacy]] of [[hereditary monarchy]] had been vitiated.
* That violent, uneducated [[peasants]] and urban poor had gained power over their [[traditional]] social masters.
* That the revolution was [[anti-clericalism|anti-religious]].
* That the revolution aspired to continental hegemony, in effect that ''liberté, egalité, fraternité'' would be limited to the French, while the Spanish, Italians, etc would be under French domination. Thus the [[nationalism]] created in France during the revolution spread to other nations under French occupation, leading to resistance movements and [[guerillas]] opposed to the French.
* That the revolution would (and eventually did) result in a [[reign of terror]] terminating in [[despotism]] (under Napoleon), thus failing to live up to aspirations of liberty (''''[[Reflections on the Revolution in France]]'''').
These concerns were not unique to Europe. Despite the positive view some [[United States|Americans]] had of [[The French Revolution]] it awakened or created anti-French feelings among many [[Federalists]]{{Fact|date=April 2007}}.
=== The [[Napoleonic Era|Age of Napoleon]] ===
{{Expand-section|date=January 2007}}
[[Image:Francisco de Goya y Lucientes 023.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''El Dos de Mayo, 1808'']]Goya painted several famous pictures depicting the violence of the [[Peninsula war]]s. In particular the French actions against [[Spain|Spanish]] civilians during the [[Peninsular War]] drew a large amount of criticism. This is illustrated by [[The Third of May 1808]] painting.
== France as imperial power ==
[[French colonial empires|France's colonial empire]] earned it many enemies, among rival colonial countries, especially [[French colonial empire#Colonial conflict with Great Britain, 1744–1815|Great Britain]], and especially amongst colonized people. On a whole, although French neo-colonialism is denounced under the term of ''[[Françafrique]]'' (including by sectors of the French population itself){{Fact|date=April 2007}}, this does not necessarily lead to "Francophobia.", even in [[Côte d'Ivoire]] where, beyond the provocations of [[Laurent Gbagbo]], elected with less than 15% of the polls, the vast majority of people feel no resentment towards the French, nor the huge number of Franco-Ivorian citizens, and few towards the former colonizing power, their main target being rather the rests of [[paternalism]] of the French political attitude in [[Sub-Saharan Africa|Black Africa]], leading to political tensions from time to time.
=== France in [[Africa]] and [[Asia]] ===
===Africa===
France's intervention in the [[civil war in Côte d'Ivoire]] has triggered anti-French violence by the "[[Congrès Panafricaine des Jeunes Patriotes|Young Patriots]]" and other groups. {{Facts|date=July 2007}}
==== Asia ====
The French colonists were given the special epithet ''thực dân'' (originally meaning ''colonist'', but evolving to refer to the oppressive regime of the French) in [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]; it is still universally used in discussions about the colonial era. After the French were pushed out of Vietnam, those who collaborated with them (called ''tay sai'' – agents) were vilified. Those who left for France with the French were known as ''Việt gian'' (Viet traitors) and had all their property confiscated. Although anti-French feelings in [[Vietnam]] have abated, the use of words like ''thực dân'' (colonist) to describe the French is still normal. {{Facts|date=July 2007}}
== France and World War II ==
The Second World War had a profound effect on the modern French image abroad. Before the war's outbreak, the French government actively pursued the policy of [[appeasement]] and accepted [[Hitler]]'s various violations of the [[Versailles treaty]] and his demands at [[Munich Agreement|Munich]] in 1938. This, together with the performance of the French army, Europe's largest at the time, during the [[Battle of France]] in May 1940, and the overt policy of collaboration of the [[Vichy France|Vichy]] government, greatly altered the popular French image.
The quick military defeat of the French especially caused much disillusion across Europe. As a consequence the image and reputation of France as Europe's military superpower was shattered. Thus, when the war ended, the United States, [[USSR]] and [[Great Britain]] conceived of France as one of the defeated powers and Charles de Gaulle was not invited to [[Yalta]] or [[Potsdam]], though because post WWII France was still a major Colonial Power, the Grand Alliance still allowed France a permanent seat in the [[United Nations Security Council]].
== France as vocal Middle Power ==
=== De Gaulle's Presidencies and Gaullism in the 1960s ===
Under Charles de Gaulle's presidencies (1961-1970), a series of events bolstered Francophobia :
* De Gaulle refused to harbour US-led NATO bases on the French soil, and thus refused to seat in it.
* De Gaulle opposed the UK's claim to join the EEC in 1962 and again in 1965.
* De Gaulle brought his support to Québec's campaign for independence while on visit there in 1967, with a notorious "[[Vive le Québec libre speech|Vive le Québec libre!]]", allegedly to help the French-speaking province's claims against the English-speaking Canada.
This series of stance which exemplified "Gaullism", the doctrine of De Gaulle advocating a strong presence among the great nations and independence towards America, was especially resented as it was felt these comments mainly served national goals.
=== Anti-French sentiment in [[Australasia]] and the [[Pacific]] in the 1980s ===
France has remained a colonial power in the [[Pacific]], well after other European countries divested their imperial legacies. France controls the relatively small and isolated colonies of [[New Caledonia]], [[Wallis and Futuna Islands]] and [[French Polynesia]]. There have been sporadic anti-French demonstrations in French Polynesia, and briefly in the 1980s a pro-independence insurgency in [[New Caledonia]], led by the [[Front de Libération Nationale Kanak Socialiste]].
More politically volatile has been the issue of [[nuclear testing]] in the Pacific. Since 1960 around 200 nuclear tests have occurred around the Pacific, to the opprobrium of other Pacific states, [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]]. Anti-French sentiment has not been cooled by a series of scandals involving French security forces seeking to foil the activity of protesters. In 1972 the [[Greenpeace]] vessel ''Vega'' was rammed at [[Moruroa]]. The following year Greenpeace protesters were detained by the French, and the skipper of the ''Vega'' was severely beaten. In response there were anti-French demonstrations in Australia and New Zealand, with the [[Australian Council of Trade Unions|ACTU]] leader, and future Australian Prime Minister [[Bob Hawke]] making the passing observation: ''The French are bastards''.
Protests rose again in 1985 after the bombing of the [[Rainbow Warrior (1978)|''Rainbow Warrior'']] in [[Auckland]], New Zealand. Australia ceased military cooperation with France and embargoed the export of [[uranium]] to France, while the public in the region boycotted French goods.
The end of the [[Cold War]] led to a French moratorium on nuclear testing, but it was lifted in 1995 by [[Jacques Chirac]]. After a Greenpeace vessel was boarded by the French navy personnel with [[tear gas]], anti-French sentiments were reignited in Australia. Protesters besieged the French embassy in [[Canberra]], while the French honorary Consulate in [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] was fire-bombed. Mayors tore up [[sister city]] relationships with their French partners. [[Delifrance]] was forced to downplay its entry into the Australian market. The ''[[Herald Sun]]'' ran an article entitled 'Why the French are Bastards'. A group of Australians chose a more direct and reasoned means of protest by running a full page advertisement in ''[[Le Monde]]'', reminding the French public of both the strength of hostility in Australia of the nuclear testing, and the large numbers of [[ANZAC]] soldiers who fell in France's defence in the [[First World War]]. Nevertheless France detonated six nuclear bombs in 1995 and 1996.
The French press replied with anti-Australian ''tu quoque'' arguments of their own, by discussing Australia's own [[Stolen Generation|human rights record]], and its supposed ambitions to dominate the Pacific (one cartoon by [[Plantu]] portrayed an Australian wearing a very British [[bowler hat]]){{Fact|date=April 2007}}.
=== Anti-French sentiment in United States after the War in Iraq ===
{{main|Anti-French sentiment in the United States}}
The opposition of France to the [[Iraq War]] triggered a significant rise in anti-French movement in the United States{{Fact|date=April 2007}}, of which the move to rename [[french fries]] [[freedom fries]] started by a private fast-food restaurant owner, Neal Rowland, became an internationally known expression<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2003/US/South/02/19/offbeat.freedom.fries.ap/ Fried politics: Restaurant serves 'freedom fries'] [[CNN]]February 19, 2003 </ref>, even though the French don't refer to fries as being French and don't claim this meal comes from France.
The swell of anti-French sentiment in the United States during the 2000s was marked{{Fact|date=April 2007}} but did have historical roots in longstanding US resentment toward France{{Fact|date=April 2007}}. What is unique in this recent case is the degree to which many media personalities and politicians have openly expressed anti-French sentiments{{Fact|date=April 2007}}.
{{Discrimination}}
== See also ==
*[[Foreign relations of France]]
*[[112 Gripes about the French]]
*[[Anti-French sentiment in the United States]]
*[[Franco-American relations]]
*[[Pardon my French]]
*{{fr}} [[:fr:Perfide Albion|Perfide Albion]]
*[[Freedom fries]]
*[[Quebec bashing]]
*[[Cheese-eating surrender monkeys]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
*[http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokefrenchjokes2.htm Jokes from celebrities]
*[http://www.miquelon.org "Stop Bashing France Website"]
*[http://superfrenchie.com "Frenchies’ adventures in French-bashing America"]
*[http://www.whitehouse.org/news/2003/022503.asp Satirical website on anti-French sentiment]
*[http://www.rotten.com/library/culture/american-francophobia/ "detailed chronicle on American francophobia]
*[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/05/17/wfran17.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/05/17/ixnewstop.html "Europe unites in hatred of French"] (from news.telegraph)
*[http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070427/ts_nm/france_dislike_dc "French outpace Americans in French-bashing: poll"] (Reuters)
*[http://www.rotten.com/library/culture/american-francophobia/ "Detailed chronicle on American francophobia"]
*[http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=98352&in_page_id=34]
[[Category:Anti-national sentiment]]
[[Category:Discrimination]]
[[Category:Foreign relations of France]]
[[Category:Francophobia]]
[[fr:Francophobie]]
[[ko:반불 감정]]
[[it:Pregiudizio contro i francesi]]
[[nl:Francofobie]]
[[zh:恐法症]]