French students disappointed, but not hostile toward America

Before the 2004 election, France distinguished between American citizens and President… Before the 2004 election, France distinguished between American citizens and President George W. Bush, according to French exchange student Cecile Darnis.

Before the election.

But now, after Bush was reelected by a margin of more than three million votes, Darnis can no longer say the same.

“[The French people] were really disappointed,” Darnis said. “They heard that so many people were going to vote, and they hoped that something would change.”

Antonella Gliozzo, a graduate student from France, agreed.

“I still feel disappointed, and I have the feeling of not understanding,” Gliozzo said. “I thought the first time maybe was an error, but reelecting him really means that they want him in power, and I don’t understand that.”

But both students insisted that France harbors no feelings of hostility toward America, and Darnis said the French media show no signs of anti-American feelings — just confusion about why Bush was reelected.

Darnis said many French people feel Americans want to be alone, and that this election portrays the cultural differences between Europeans and Americans.

“In France, no one talks about abortion. You have the right to abort, and that’s it,” Darnis said. “For us, it is progress for women.”

Darnis added that the French view Americans as becoming more conservative.

“For us, you are kind of becoming a religious democracy, the fact that religion is entering into political life,” Darnis said.

Gliozzo also believes that religion is taking an increasingly large role in American politics.

“It is strange to hear a president saying the whole time, ‘God is with us,’ and everything. We feel that we don’t need religion to rule a state,” Gliozzo said.

Heather Allen, a French professor at Pitt, said she heard that many people liked Bush because they could relate to him.

“That might be one reason why French people have a hard time understanding how such a big part of the America population can like George Bush, because we have a political psychology in our country that we need to identify with the candidates,” Allen said. “But I don’t think that is a big part of the political psychology in France.”

Gliozzo agreed that French voters might not care as much as American voters about identifying with candidates.

“We want someone to represent us,” Gliozzo said. “But we don’t have the notion of the regular guy who is like us, because we know that the person in power is not going to be like every single person in French territory.”

Allen attended a luncheon with French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte on Nov. 4, two days after the 2004 election. She said the audience repeatedly tried to ask Levitte about the election, giving him the opportunity to say something audacious.

“He was nothing but gracious,” Allen said. “He kept saying that [the French] were ready to turn over a new leaf, and he said, ‘We need to learn to disagree without being disagreeable.’ Everyone really liked that.”

Darnis and Gliozzo, like many French people living in America, might not agree with all of America’s policies, but they nevertheless have enjoyed living in America.

“We are here, and we are enjoying everything about America culture,” Gliozzo said.