From the WSJ Opinion Archives
DE GUSTIBUS
France in a Trance
An American in Paris as the battle begins.
PARIS--The launch of U.S. air strikes against Iraq yesterday took an early, direct toll on the French capital: The Gucci, Prada and Hermès stores along Rue du Fauborg St. Honoré were shut by the war. Or, more precisely, by the antiwar protesters streaming toward the U.S. Embassy.
In a city where panache and order easily coexist, the French riot police seemed to outnumber the gathered and blocked off the streets around the Place de la Concorde, the site of the demo. Disappointed shoppers were turned away. The chanting crowd moved by.
After months of mounting French anger at George W. Bush's hawkish stance on Iraq, carefully nurtured by the French president and media, the moment of truth had arrived and, as Le Monde blared yesterday, "la guerre Americaine" was upon us.
As an American in Paris, I've shamefully admitted to friends back home that no Frenchman had ever insulted or threatened me. Setting off for the demo, I was filled with expectation. The CNBC reporter here got a few jeers when young kids noticed the logo on her mike. Surely I might also get a taste of this fervent anti-Americanism everyone talks about.
Quel dommage! This demo was just, well, too polite. There was the scent of marijuana, a few clever plays on words in signs and chants, and many flags with hammers and sickles. Laughter and quiet conversation were the norm, though, even more so when dusk brought out the yuppies. I ran into a couple I'd met at my wife's birthing class, with their newborn. The wife sheepishly told me: "There are better ways than a war to solve this."
Let's just say this was no Bastille. And in its conformity, the protest merely mirrored the French debate over Iraq until now. Debate is a tad strong: In recent days and weeks the French have talked obsessively about the war, but everyone mostly said the same thing.
To an outsider, the rhetoric may have sounded hostile. The French press, no matter the ideological hue, imputed all sorts of ill motives to the U.S., especially after Jacques Chirac suddenly discovered his pacifist side in January and tried to save Saddam from invasion.
"The Holy War of Bush," blared last week's Le Point, while L'Express claimed that "religion, oil, terrorism, new world order" are why, to quote Le Monde, George W. wanted "War at All Costs." Across the political divide, the rightish Le Figaro wrote: "The naked truth is that an America scarred by Sept. 11 is thirsty for vengeance and needs to reaffirm its power."
A devious and reckless America isn't exactly news in France. The difference this time was the treatment of Mr. Chirac. In a first in his long career, Monsieur Le President has been universally fêted, the "Warrior of Peace" (Paris Match). Whispers of a Nobel Prize were heard. No one wanted to ask whether the Emperor's new clothes existed at all.
Indeed, this disputatious, rebellious nation seemed cowed into compliance. Le Monde last month invited various public figures to write each day on whether "another war on Iraq is justified" and asked: "Do you approve of France's position?" Of the 27 "voices heard," 26 backed the Chirac line. In its defense, the paper wrote that "the editors had trouble finding hawks"; "for lack of combatants," the column ended on Feb. 21.
When a few Chirac parliamentarians questioned the cost to the French national interest of standing against the U.S., they got smeared. "A little circle of French 'Bushists,'" was Le Figaro's not-so-dispassionate headline. Bernard Kouchner, the founder of Médecins Sans Frontieres and a popular Socialist, uttered apostasy by suggesting that toppling Saddam might be a lesser evil than war. His party dubbed him "Dr. Strangelove"--the epithet of the moment here--and his ratings dropped six points.
But the start of the war just might liven up the discourse, spurring a real discussion of what this war means and whether France acted rightly. There are signs the French might be waking up from their trance. The news on TF1 last night examined the history of Saddam's brutal regime and the likelihood that Americans would be welcomed as liberators.
And some media outlets now look at the consequences for France of its U.N. stance. "Have They Gone Overboard?" asked the cover of Le Point, featuring an unflattering picture of the president and his prime minister.
For a long time, in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, no one dared question the Emperor about his new suit--but finally someone does.
Mr. Kaminski is an editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal Europe.
