France & the U.S.: Friends Indeed.

To respond to Bill O'Reilly - the FoxNews channel king of spin - whom, in a time of national crisis like this one, has nothing better to do than ask his viewers for the continuation of their boycott of France [like the rest of us care!] because of the French supposedly lack of aid in the aftermath of Katrina, I think it is good to give a fair assessement of what France has been giving so far:

• France has sent two military planes stationed on the Caribbean island of Martinique to Little Rock, with a civilian defense team, food rations and tents.

• The French have also offered water treatment supplies, generators, tents, food rations and a 150-person team to help with relocation and psychological assistance. (and yes, Mr O'Reilly, they do speak English!)

• Even French local authorities have taken initiatives: officials in the city of Orleans, a city with obvious symbolic attachment to the Big Easy, are organizing benefit concerts -- one featuring jazz -- and planning to donate half the receipts from sports events to Katrina relief. The city also hopes to take in 50 students from the University of New Orleans. Parisians, whose passion for jazz is legendary, are also reaching out.

• Last Thursday, The Airbus Beluga Super Transporter landed in Mobile, Alabama as part of an EADS' Hurricane Katrina relief contribution. 22 tons of relief supplies have been donated by the United Kingdom and France and have been unloaded from the plane.

The best evidence that the contribution of France is not negligable can be found in the following extract from the Open-letter of the American Ambassador in Paris, and it is clear that O'Reilly is quite isolated in his French bashing this time, even among ultra-conservatives like himself, it also seems that Americans have better things to do:

Our French friends have demonstrated again how deeply Americans and French are united. The Government of France offered swift assistance, as they did in September 2001. Tents, generators, food rations, water treatment supplies, tugboats, divers, and logistical assistance have been deployed. They are already being put to good use in the efforts to rescue and feed survivors, restore essential services, drain water form flooded areas, assess damage and remove debris. A French Red Cross team is in the U.S. to help with rescue and logistics. Hundreds of private citizens from across France have called and written our Embassy, offering words of comfort and assistance. The Total Company is donating one million U.S. dollars to the American Red Cross. French institutions are offering assistance to American students. The list is long, and we are overwhelmed by the generosity of these gestures of deep-felt sympathy and friendship.