French Join In on Anti-France Bandwagon

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,104229,00.html

French Join In on Anti-France Bandwagon

Thursday, November 27, 2003
By Greg Palkot
PARIS  - France's opposition to military action in Iraq sparked a backlash
around the globe, but criticism of the country is now coming from an
unlikely source - the French themselves.

In the last few months, there have been a slew of books published in the
country slamming French policy with titles that translate to: "The Arrogant
French," "The French in Disarray," and "France in Free-Fall."

"France has a great obstructive power, destructive power and this is very
dangerous for France itself," said Andre Glucksmann, author of "West Versus
West."

Readers are snapping up books that question whether or not the policies of
French president Jacques Chirac (search) are hurting their homeland.

"A great many French officials hoped that we would fail in Iraq," said
Richard Perle (search), former chairman of the Defense Policy Board
(search).

"With the help from the United Nations and the European Union, Chirac wants
to revive France's glory days, an effort that some wonder if he's
overreaching."

France's policies on war aren't the country's only controversial decisions
these days. Protests by workers are frequent and a worrying wave of
anti-Semitism is spreading.

"There are a number of challenges," said Laurent Cohen-Tanugi, author of "An
Alliance at Risk: The United States and Europe Since September 11." "The
question is whether the government is going to wake up to those challenges."