Miquelon.org

“Educating Jay”, the documentary about Miquelon.org’s cross country road trip to educate the Tonight Show host Jay Leno on the role of the French in American history is now in Post-production.

We’d love to hear Your French Bashing Story. Let your voice be heard. Be a part of this documentary. Tell us your story ! Read the rest of this entry »

In the waning days of the second Bush / Cheney presidency, I can barely contain the seething anger that rises in me. This is not a liberal rant; this is not a left-wing diatribe nor is it a politically motivated article. This statement is what I want on the record before political amnesia settles in.

To President Bush and Vice President Cheney,

In the name of all French Expatriates across America, temporary migrants or permanent residents, in the name of Americans of French extraction, be they recent or distant, may they be Cajuns, may they be from Maine, Vermont or Michigan, I want to tell you how much you hurt and damaged the fabric of Franco-American relations, how much you made our lives difficult and painful. Read the rest of this entry »

Christopher Hitchens wrote: Last Friday, when, at a speech in Pittsburgh, Gov. Sarah Palin denounced wasteful expenditure on fruit-fly research, adding for good xenophobic and anti-elitist measure that some of this research took place “in Paris, France” and winding up with a folksy “I kid you not.”

We agree. However, this is the same Christopher Hitchens who once wrote such brillant anti-French prose “The rat that roared” - “There is of course another France—the France of Petain and Poujade and Vichy and of the filthy colonial tactics pursued in Algeria and Indochina.” - Read the rest of this entry »

“It’s hard to remember sometimes that France and the United States actually are each other’s oldest foreign friends.

French assistance was critical to the success of the American Revolution against Great Britain. In fact, if not for French help, we’d probably all be speaking English right now. We repaid the favor – most notably during the two world wars, when we twice helped the French drive out invading Germans. Read the rest of this entry »

Can you imagine Time magazine publishing an article mentioning “Chinks”, “Gooks”, “Dagos”, “Wops”, “Crackers”, “Beaners”?  Of course not! Using slurs against ethnic or cultural minorities would be not only offensive, it would be immediately seized upon in the public, press and media in a firestorm of controversy, protests and finally public apologies.

But calling the French “Frogs” seems to be just fine for Bill Saporito, business editor of Time magazine. In a piece titled “How We Became the United States of France”, Saporito wallows in plenty a stereotype, buy they all pale in comparison with this blantant use of an ethnic/cultural slur. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s just another day in American advertising and time of course for some renewed French Bashing. The commercial we discovered is an online interactive video where some guy tries to get Deborah back to his apartment, but the user must make choices to help events go the right way.

Hurdle number three is a chance meeting between “Diborah” and her former lover, a self-sufficient, beret wearing arrogant Frenchman named François.

This commercial reminds us once again that in eyes of Hollywood (and America’s creative forces), that the French are a Foreign Lesion…

Mars North America is the parent company that produces m&m’s, Snickers, Twix, Musketeers, Skittles, Starburst and many other products.

See the commercial at Twix.com and if you wish to send feedback use their contact form. Please be polite and informative.

Dear Senator McCain,

A bit of humor on the campaign trail is a great way to engage your crowds, however your incessant jabs at France are way passed their due date. Your musings on France’s purported Anti-Americanism, specifically in presidential circles*, is not only inaccurate; it only serves to perpetuate Anti-French attitudes in your electorate and your party. Read the rest of this entry »

According to Paul Damour (Fini le “French bashing” aux États-Unis), French Bashing is no longer. While it can be argued – and we have taken that stance – that Official French Bashing is now behind us, the number of articles on this site and elsewhere dedicated to documenting recent cases proves otherwise. Read the rest of this entry »