Has the world, and particularly the Anglo-Saxon countries, lost respect for France because of the Second World War?

[Julie4]

[NaultD]

While most people have a grade school level of history it's hard to avoid. Anyone with reasonable worthwhile knowledge can figure out what actually happened.

The blitz kreg to use artillery to flatten a god damn forest to mass encirclement a over zealous but dominating front line is an insane fiction plot line yet it actually happen. The whole point of surrendering was persevering priceless world heritage artifacts. with that came the human spirit and a realistic path to take your home, heritage, pride and respect of worthy allies.

[RavVid]

I think the French gov't let down the French people. Sadly the German's had better tank dogma than Britain or France but the French & British tanks were superior.

So it could have gone quite differently.

I believe that a member of the French gov't said 'better a German province than a British Dominion' when Churchill proposed union. The French Admiral at Alexandria surrendered his ship's firing pins to accommodate British concerns.

Unfortunately the Admiral at Mers-el-kebir would not accommodate British concerns and that lead to the RN shelling that fleet. However Vichy France scuttled the Toulon fleet later in 1942.

I simply find the events incomprehensible in my context. Why was union proposed? Why did the French Prime Minister want it but his cabinet veto it? What might have happened if it had have been different.

Can you shed any light?

[TheRealPepperPotts]

Well, I am not the world, but I have not lost respect for France. France has a very long history and a definitive culture that has stood the test of time. Anyone who would mock France over one period in history is not looking at the entire picture. Maybe France isn't a superpower, but it is also not engaged in constant conquest and military action to achieve and maintain that status. And while they were overrun in WWII by the Nazis, don't forget the amazing French resistance that saved so many lives and was integral to the Allied Normandy action in 1944. :D

[alice55]

Chinese and Japanese still love France very much as for Anglo saxon sphere they never liked us to begin with so

[DerekC321]

Well, during the the Great War the Great Powers were France, Great Britain, Germany, Russia and the Austo-Hungarian Empire. World War II changed everything: people in France did not want to fight another war with Germany... the Phony War, incomplete Maginot Line, the governments that lasted for days only... Great Britain and France lost their Great Power status (and of course Germany lost, period) with only the Soviet Union and the United States as the superpowers. Now, of course, Russia has spent itself on stupid wars and so it is China and the United States (and the United States maybe not much longer).

[abc3643]

Some may have, but any mature functional adults who actually "knows his ass from his elbow" (*) appreciates what France has been and continues to be no matter what happened in WW II.

(*) Pardon me if you don't know that English idiom. I will explain it, if you want me to.

[Julie4]

I don't know this expression lol

But thank you for this comment. Honestly I wonder how we could have had such a level of incompetence at this level during this war.

Even if it's unfair to summarize our history in this one war

[abc3643]

If someone doesn't know his ass from his elbow, that means he is very stupid because everyone should know where their ass (buttocks) and elbow are on their body.

dictionary.cambridge.org/.../not-know-ass-from-elbow
www.merriam-webster.com/.../not%20know%20one%27s%20ass%20from%20one%27s%20elbow

[abc3643]

France was quickly defeated by the Germans because of the Maginot Line.
The Maginot Line was a series of fortified outposts to deter German invasion. The problem is, it didn't go around the whole of France. So, the Germans went AROUND the Maginot Line through Belgium.

It wasn't a bad idea - after all, the Germans didn't attack - but it wasn't completed all the way around France which led the Germans to take advantage of that weakness.

[abc3643]

* It wasn't a bad idea - after all, the Germans didn't attack IT (the Maginot Line)...

[Anonymous]

In my experience as an American, most people here don't respect France as much as other European countries, but it's not because of WW2. Well, I guess that's sort of part of it. A lot of Americans sacrificed their lives to liberate France from the Nazis. And yet France has often not supported America in it's endeavors since then. In fact, the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial has been vandalized by the French citizens on multiple occasions over the last few decades.

But the biggest reason most people don't respect the French is their arrogance and overinflated sense of self importance. The French think far more highly of themselves than anyone else thinks of them. That has been my experience with the French people I have met and known, and obviously the experience of most people. This the image France has in the world.

[hahahmm]

For the leaders but not the people. Also my understanding is that they had tons of brave fighters on their defensive line and they all got wiped out or captured early on (maybe with the help of the guy in charge of defenses who turned sides later on). So imagine if most of your best fighters get wiped out on day 1 practically and all you have left are weasel politicians and the people who had the connections not to be stationed on the front lines.

[Zack-Bann]

People make jokes especially online


But from what I saw France remains a powerhouse on the world stage


Just look at the French passport it’s ranked #2 right behind the UAE and tied with Spain
(Ranking based on how many counties allow access to French citizens, which is a LOT)

[Knightwatch27]

I wouldn't say that. The most shameful act of WWII was the strategy of appeasement which all western countries partook in. But France has also become increasingly lax and impotent against the dangers of uncontrolled immigration and islamism. With its dominant liberal policies, which is no different to most countries in the EU the last decade.

[Julie4]

I agree with you, the problem is that countries like Algeria, for example, use immigration as a political weapon.

We obviously need to control immigration, but at the same time I don't think it's a simple problem to solve, firstly because what do we do with the thousands of migrants once they've landed? How do you stop them from coming and, above all, how do you send them back once they've arrived? You need agreements with the countries concerned.

[Staximus]

In the end, a lot of France was saved and a million French people didn't get turned into hamburger meat by the Nazi war machine. Nobody was ready for that shit, it was crazy. If the Germans were as ferocious as the Japanese, half the world would probably be speaking German.

[molonski2]

France is a basket case , not because of the war , because of their ludicrous socialist , left wing politics , that has hindered growth and any prospect of respect.
A world laughing stock , you can always tell the French here , no grip on reality.

[phraseology]

Maybe it has to do with socialism/atheism and all the suffering, death, and destruction humanity has had to endure because of it. France has hosted, influenced, and trained many of the worst characters in modern history.

[ProbablyClueless]

No, France put up an incredibly noble and valiant fight in both world wars.

Any disrespect Anglo-Saxons have for the French would come from politics and foreign policy of the last 70 years.

[NathanDavis]

well... Zidane took care of that, and restored all that Le Sacre Blue glory...

[Julie4]

Vive Zidane

[NathanDavis]

[Julie4]

Magic 😍

[lightbulb27]

no, we lost respect for them because they allowed their country to be overrun and allow criminals to control the people with their liberal policies.

[Avicenna]

No, virtually everyone has had military defeats. The Nazi conquest of France was partly due to luck anyway.

[Dargil]

Not just that. Add their bitchy, spoiled, condescending nature to the fact that their combat Tanks only have reverse gear.

[Jamie05rhs]

Yes, and the Iraq war, too. But you earned it back during the war against ISIS. re-state//background_color_rgba (0, 0, 0, 0), font_color_rgb (77, 77, 77), justifyLeft

[slatyb]

No, they haven't any more than they have lost respect for Italy or Hungary or China.

[WestofNowhere]

I have respect for the French forces. French soldiers were brave. They were just let down by poor strategy and other types of mismanagement.

[beefcakebradybatson]

That was four generations ago, but that collaborationist Vichy Government was a nest of traitors.

[Anonymous]

People forget that after 1940 france was part of the AXIS.

[zagor]

Nah, people have short memories. And there are a lot of hot girls in France.

[Intheclouds00]

The French are some revolutionary protesting mother fuckers. Hell no.

[thenerdone]

Bold of you to assume we ever respected France

[Anonymous]

I don't think so, why would they? If you mean because of the occupation, then they should also lose respect for Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and many other occupied countries.

[Penelope79]

No cause they were still recovering from the First World War.

[NewWaves]

Vichy was not their best move.

[jimmy2]

I think the Oplmics did that

[jahaims]

France is a meme

[nawtee_me]

No! Why would they?

[noohair]

I don't think so.

[msc545]

We have not.

[eagle1951]

yeah