Vive la France!

LewRockwell.com ^ | May 4, 2002 | Michael Peirce

[Phillip Augustus]

I beg to differ. First, I would not necessarily categorize his statement as a shot at Free Republic, but simply as an observation that the nation is roundly and frequently ridiculed on the message boards. From even a passing glance at threads on France, his assessment is absoultely correct.

Peirce then does exactly what you say he failed to do. He gave example after example of why the French, in particular, the French military should not be ridiculed.

[SJackson]

My understanding is that the National Front's program would give preferential treatment to "the French." As far as I know, French Jews would be included in this favored group. Do you have any evidence to the contrary?

French Jews might be French, so what? They might not, so what?

A second (or third, or fourth) generation French citizen from Algeria might not be "French". Why? Would the decendant of a Polish immigrant from 1840 be "French". If you like LePen, then, what is an "American"? Do you really think government should be establishing laws and preferences based on race and/or religion? It was tried in Europe last century at the cost of tens of millions of lives. I fear we're facing the same problem as we enter this millenium, but at least we should recognize it as an evil.

[aristeides]

Funny you should mention Algeria. My understanding is that support for Le Pen is unusually high among all those who had to leave Algeria because of the French surrender in the guerre d'Algérie, whether Christian pieds noirs, Jews, or Moslem harkis. They know that Le Pen, as a former para officer in that war, has sympathy for them. Do you think a racist monster would get loyalty from such groups?

[Phillip Augustus]

Actually, the US establishes laws and preferences based on race today, and has for quite some time now.

I see nothing wrong with opposition to immigration that would make the French a minority in their own homeland. As for the Poles (and the Portuguese who also immigrated there, and the Jews as well) they assimilated and became French. The Arabs aren't doing so. And America is a poor example of comparision to France; France is not a "nation of immigration" so those cliches don't apply to France.

[SJackson]

Funny you should mention Algeria. My understanding is that support for Le Pen is unusually high among all those who had to leave Algeria

Could be, I don't know. I believe Algerians were/are French citizens, and their movement to France was is one of his major concerns.

It doesn't matter to me. France can deal with France's problems. If America has an immigration problem it's about illegal immigration, which shouldn't happen, and should be reversed, and assimilation, which should be encouraged. We don't need the LePen solution of affirmative action for "real Americans", whatever those are

[SJackson]

I see nothing wrong with opposition to immigration that would make the French a minority in their own homeland.

I agree completely. Contol of borders and immigration is solely the perogative of a soverign nation.That seems to be his appeal, and I can't disagree with it.

However, my recollection of LePen, which I admit is 7 to 20 years old, and hard to reread on the web, is that he would legislate preferences based on an unclear definition of "Frenchness". That is a whole different issue. I'm glad it's their problem. Despite his loss, it's still a problem. IMO, the popularity of the NF may be more of an issue that LePen himself.

[MK]

My father's ancestors kicked the frogs ass in the franco-Prussian war.

Yeah, and it was the last war those arrogant sausage-munchers won, by the way, all of 131 years ago.