Originally posted by: Fern
Originally posted by: Zenoth
Me ? no aphorisms or subtle messages needed here, I wasn't born in 1940.
If you mean the incompetent government back then and not "me" (as in *all* French people), then I will agree, agree that they didn't do much in their power to help the cause that the rest of the non-Axis powers were fighting for. But go back in time and go tell that in person to Marshal Pétin instead and the Vichy "government" instead. Those were the traitors, and thanks to his old age, Marshal Pétin escaped the death penalty for High Treason. And go back in time and ask the Free French Forces what their thought of their country and their rulers back then ...
No need to let me know the French back in the '40's weren't "part of the world" except for their oh so mighty military that served no other purposes but to drain the economic resources of the nation (the Maginot Line's cost to the nation had to be paid up until the '60's, if I'm not wrong). No need for anything like such a dark moment in our history to repeat itself.
I lived and worked in France for a number of years, was married to French women.
I think the French take a bit to much critism for events in WWII.
Every French family I ever met had a member who part of the resistance and most were killed for it. The French people themselves did demonstrate courage.
The gov should recieve some credit for avoiding the destruction of Paris, something I didn't understand until I lived in the city for about 6 years.
But more to current events, it's nice to see the "thaw" between our governments; our are natural allies. I even heard that GWB spoke French to Sarkozy. That might sound inconsequential to some, but I think otherwise.
Fern
. France is a beautiful country. I'd like to live there one day.
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