Q You said in reaction to demonstrations against you and your administration during this trip in Europe that it's simply a healthy democracy exercising its will, and that disputes are positive. But I wonder why it is you think there are strong -- such strong sentiments in Europe against you and against this administration? Why, particularly, there's a view that you and your administration are trying to impose America's will on the rest of the world, particularly when it comes to the Middle East and where the war on terrorism goes next?
(Asked in French.) And, Mr. President, would you maybe comment on that?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Very good. The guy memorizes four words, and he plays like he's intercontinental. (Laughter.)
Q I can go on.
PRESIDENT BUSH: I'm impressed. Que bueno. Now I'm literate in two languages. (Laughter.) So you go to a protest, and I drive through the streets of Berlin seeing hundreds of people lining the road, waving. And I'm -- look, the only thing I know to do is speak my mind, to talk about my values, to talk about our mutual love for freedom and the willingness to defend freedom. And, David, I think a lot of people on the continent of Europe appreciate that. Appreciate the fact that we're friends; appreciate the fact that we've got -- we work together; that there's a heck of a lot more that unites us than divides us. We share the same values; we trade $2 trillion a year. I mean, there's -- so I don't view hostility here. I view the fact we've got a lot of friends here. And I'm grateful for the friendship. And the fact that protestors show up, that's good. I mean, I'm in a democracy. I'm traveling to a country that respects other people's points of view.
But I feel very comfortable coming to Europe; I feel very comfortable coming to France, I've got a lot of friends here.
Q Sir, if I could just follow --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.
PRESIDENT CHIRAC: Look, the demonstrations you've been referring to, sir, are indeed, as the President has just said, healthy and normal in democracies. That is one of the means of expression that people have. And it's only normal and important that people should respect that. Of course, there are limits, there are constraints that have to be enforced, and that is what is being done. But I think that it is only normal that, in the face of a very important political event, those who have a different understanding of things should express their diverging view.
The right to demonstrate is a fundamental right intertwined with democracy. And there's no need to tell Americans about that, they know it. But what I just wanted to say is that these demonstrations are really marginal demonstrations; that you shouldn't give too much credit to these demonstrations. They do not reflect a so-called natural aversion of such-and-such a people in Europe to the President of the United States or to the U.S. people as a whole.
Yes, we do have diverging views on this or that issue; it's only normal. And that is the result of interests, of our national interests, and they're not always converging. And I think it's only healthy that these demonstrations should occur, that we should express our diverging points of views, and that we should find democratic answers to these questions.
As for the relationship between Europe and the United States, it is a very old relationship, as you know. It is a fundamental relationship for the balance, for the equilibrium of our world. But I would also add that it's an increasingly important relationship and it's -- it would be the sign of short-sightedness to refuse to acknowledge that.