A Lesson from the French.

There was a very interesting article this week in The Christian Science Monitor about the positive image of France in the world. What I like about the article is that it empasizes something I have been saying all along - it is NOT reality that matters, it is PERCEPTION. Something the Bush administration should take more into consideration.

In a recent study by the Project on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA),people in 23 countries across the globe, a majority or plurality in 20 described France as exerting a positive influence on world affairs. The US, by comparison, is seen as having a negative impact by majorities in 15 countries.
French movies are admired worldwide for their subtlety and depth; French fashion houses dress the rich and powerful worldwide; and the lure of French art and cuisine fascinated foreigners long before Paris stood up to Washington politically.
"We [Germans] look on with wonder at France's cultural influence in the world," says Henrik Utterwede, deputy director of the German-French Institute in Ludwigsburg. "And we are a bit jealous of it, as well."Alain Frachon, editor of "Le Monde 2," a weekly magazine. "France does not weigh very heavily in international affairs," he argues, "and it does not set a very great example" as a major arms exporter, a not especially generous donor to developing nations, and a defender of outmoded economic policies.
Most people, however, "do not follow foreign policy very closely, and these things come down to a few images and symbols," points out Mr. Vedrine.

According to the survey, the only country where a majority of respondents called French influence negative is.... the United-States of course.
There is a long way to go....