Freedom isn't free - one in one million French motorists agree:

this is the image I wanted to show you last Friday but had deleted from the camera. It was taken in Lyon and if you look closely, you’ll see me reflected under the ‘H’ of the car’s badge. [That’s ‘H’ for ‘homo’ right? A neat coincidence : ) ]. I was not able to email this to your work email account.

Though parties on both sides of the political fence in French parliament opposed the actions of the Coalition of the Willing, it seems that a minority of voters support the war on terror and the actions of Uncle Sam’s empire. I suppose that such support might get your vehicle spat on but it is not seditious.

I have a great respect for French culture and I admire their dedicated and serious approach to social welfare, politics, music, philosophy and food, among other things. The sheer hypocrisy of some of the things they do tickles me as well - for example the great fascination the French have for U.S. culture - especially cinema - alongside their paradoxical hatred of the cultural imperialism that the United States cannot help but impose on every nation it trades with. Hence their efforts to safeguard the unique elements of the French language - though common perception of this guardedness is probably overstated.

My affinity for things French makes me an easy target for one of the most notorious and eccentric right-wingers in my workplace. I will not name him here in this blog but anyone working in the Australian Taxation Office in Debt & Lodgment policy areas (especially around Brisbane) probably knows who I'm talking about. He's very gung-ho about all things American, and after some persecution he faced in the workplace in response to his zeal, he responded by making his cubicle a shrine to the star-spangled banner, decorating it further with a range of iconic U.S. symbols - like the eagle coat of arms and statue of liberty.

Unlike the serious and distressing persecution this man faced, his teasing of my point of view is very engaging, funny and light-hearted. There's lots of left-leaning employees in the public service and he has a friendly and well-reasoned argument for each of them. Despite being opposed to my point of view, the ridicule he dishes out is intelligent, impartial and often humourous. He also never takes sledging to a level that might be labelled bullying in modern workplaces - his attacks are never personal and always underlying his critiques is the sense of respect that comes from one enquiring mind sparring with another.

Here's an example of his very clever anti-French diatribe - in response to an email I circulated in March this year relating to the Eurovision Song Contest:

From: Yankee Doodle Dandy
Sent: Friday, 31 March 2006 3:00 PM
To: Slartibartfast & undisclosed recipients
Subject: RE: congratulations

I think the French entrant might win this year. Their song translates as:

We are the land of onions, wine and cheese.

We're on the Security Council instead of the Japanese

We got our arses kicked by the Vietnamese at Dien bien Phu

We got chased away by the Algerians in '62.

The Germans whooped our bums and then occupied our land.

So we sucked up to them and gave them a hand.

After the Americans saved us and chased the Boche out

We resumed the pretence that we have some real clout.

We have an inflated sense of self importance.

What we lack in prowess we make up in prance.

French is the world language - we maintain the fiction

We cling to that notion; it is our addiction.

Vote for us, judges, though we cannot dance.

Vote for us, judges, 'cos we come from FRANCE.

Of course he is not incorrect in pointing these things out - France is the lovable loser of the 20th century.

In Ancient Greece, there was continual economic, political and sporting rivalry between Athens and Sparta. The Spartans were bloody fearsome athletes and warriors; they frequently out-traded and and out-fought Athens, like the Germans 'whooped French bums and then occupied their land' - but the legacy handed down to us by Athens is much more substantial than the flinty shards of expertise that Sparta has given to present-day humanity.

I think that the rivalry between USA and France is relatively more balanced in terms of cultural strength / weakness. There will be more cited from 20th century French art, literature and philosophy than Yankee wisdom on those frontiers. USA might trump France in other key areas - economic might, military power (and just maybe in music - jazz and hip-hop are uniquely American and much admired everywhere, not least in France) - but the cultural legacy passed on to us in this century is probably greater from the Froggies than the vast differences in population and wealth might suggest.

As for the relative superiority of each nation's brand of cinema - well, that's a debate I don't want to start, much less offer an opinion on. I love films from both countries. I know that the French love Woody Allen... and people of the USA likewise adore Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut and Louis Malle. So maybe the cinema debate is a zero-sum game.