Boycott Cowardly France

[drbrandini]

Boycott Cowardly France

[BENZ-LGB]

Bought GoodYears for my wife's Yukon, instead of Michelin.

Parlez vous chicken?

[longston]

This link is to a list of French-owned companies and goods look at it carefully, and tell everyone to not patronize these scum until they assasinate Chirac...

BOYCOTT LIST

Some may surprise you. Here's some examples:

Maybelline
BF Goodrich
Aqualung
Ugima Stainless Steel
Ungaro
Uniroyal
Georgio Armani
Red Roof
Motel 6 (yes, French!)
Suitehotel
Sofitel Hotels
Mephisto shoes
Dannon
Waterman Pens
Heller model kits
Cloudy Bay
Bank of the West
Bancwest Corp.
First Hawaiian Bank
United California Bank
Alcatel
Novotel
Ralph Lauren Fragrances
Redken 5th Avenue
Club Med
Thomson/RCA
Sparkletts Water
Schlumberger
Red Star Yeast
Certain-Teed
Mavic, Zefal, Look (bikes)
Nissan (majority French owned)
Cleveland Golf
Dynastar
Taylor Made
Salomon Skis
Athlete's Foot stores
Thierry Mugler
Norton Sandpaper
Donna Karan
Proscan
KB Homes
Spaw Glass
Square D
Ibis
Vivendi (They own Universal Studios and Rolling Stone Magazine)
UbiSoft Computer Games
Analog Way
Clarins
Business Objects
Cast Software
Holland & Holland Shotguns
Cheddite shotgun shells
Bic
Zig-Zag Rolling Papers
Robert King Music Sales
Infogames (which owns Atari, MicroProse, GTGames and Hasbro computer games)
Hachette Fillipacchi Media (which owns Woman's Day, Elle, Boating, Car & Driver, Premiere, Popular Photography, American Photo, Flying, and many more)

And if it even sounds French, don't buy or use it...

[Trelinski]

Here is an article to the similar boycotts of the US in Europe. The article focuses on Germany, I'm sure its similar elsewhere however.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030325/ts_nm/iraq_usa_boycotts_dc&cid=564&ncid=1473

Its a bad idea, on both sides. Everyone loses in the end. Cant lead to anything good.

[TTaM]

Car and Driver? NOOO, I love it too much

[Kuan]

But please don't boycott your local French restaurants unless, of course they're in France

This might be a great time to get a reservation at Paul Bocuse

[Diesel-Lover]

Longston,
That is an interesting list of companies, never would have thunk that some of those were French!

I had to look north, south, east and west for a US flag made in USA but finally I did find one!

I say we also reduce or stop purchasing stuff made in autocratic and communist countries. Gotta show em what the power of democracy is eh.

About time Donnie Rums (lay down your arms or else) started talking like Patton! That was one awesome movie, George C Scott was so good in it.

Meanwhile a round of freedom fries for every table.

[The Godfather]

It's the French GOVERNMENT who doesn't want to go to war. NOT the French people. The French people who own businesses, and trying to make a living.

and France is a small ass country, they're not the great and big nation that America is.

And it's all political anyway.

Here's an interview a friend did of me. I hope this'll clear some ambiguity (sp?)

1. Q: How do you feel when Americans these days say so many bad things about the French, and the fact that they refused to allow the US and its coalition to go to war?
A: As an American citizen, I side with the people who aren’t happy about the French’s current position. I am saddened to see that my native country won’t help us fight to free the world of an oppressor. However, as a native Frenchman, I can see the reasons why they won’t go to war and I don’t agree with all of this “boycotting the French” thing.
2. Q: Why is that?
A: France is a country that is populated by millions of northern Africans (Algerians, Moroccans etc…) and Middle Easterners (Arabs, Iranians etc.), many of which are illegally present in the country. So now, picture this: You’re in Chinatown in San Francisco, and you’re the mayor of that city. You say “Let’s go to war with China! Chinese people are terrorists!” What do you think will happen? The Chinese population will rise and show their disdain about the mayor, they will have marches against the war. Some however may go into unlawful acts, break windows, loot stores etc.
But in the case of France, many of its illegal (and even legal immigrants), are unruly, live in projects ran by gangs where the police fear to go to. That’s the side of France that many Americans do not know of, but that I have lived in and with for fifteen and a half years of my life. So if you don’t see France saying “Let’s go to Iraq and fight,” it’s not because of its oil contracts (though I’m sure it plays a part in it), it’s not because they do not believe Saddam is an evil-doer, it’s because they fear for their own people. The repercussions of having the French President wanting to go to war would be terrible.

3. Q: Are you saying that the French people would want to go to war?
A: Hell yeah! If you read any French newspapers (online) you will see that in the projects, security is a real concern. Paramedics, if called, will not go there alone. They will request a police escort, because otherwise, they will get mugged, hit by rocks thrown at them etc. It’s a really bad situation. So in a way, many French people would like to see these people leave the country. It might seem a bit racist to say that, but the truth is, the majority of immigrants, illegal or not, do not want to go with the program. They are violent, the law and law enforcement does little to prevent them from doing so. Maybe if they were to commit a crime, and then deported as a result of it, it would deter them from even thinking about them in the first place.

[leathermang]

The Norton sandpaper co. may be our hardest as a group... I don't know how to avoid their grinding wheels... they make just about every size and shape available...

[Benzoman]

Originally posted by longston

Some may surprise you. Here's some examples:

Zig-Zag Rolling Papers

Damn!! I suppose it's back to 'Bugler's'!

P.S. I'll continue to French kiss, but I'll call it something else!!

[The Godfather]

Originally posted by narwhal
Hey Doc, nice sentiment, but why did you open up with "fools"? Not a very moderator-like seque.

What about JOBs? Bugler's are kind of harsh

lol ok sorry.

[PC Dave]

Doc, you may enjoy this article on Le Zone:

http://www.city-journal.org/html/12_4_the_barbarians.html

[The Godfather]

Excellent link PC DAVE.

In my 15 yrs in France, I have gotten in countless fistfights, brawls, where it was me all by myself against 20. I was held up, guns pointed at me, death threats. All that, why? Because I was a white kid. But then, when I told them I was 1/2 Asian, I suddenly gained respect. I'd tell these lowlifes the following, to save my ass in bad situation :" Why do you want to fight me? come on, look at me, I'm an immigrant, I'm asian. You and I , we're alike. It's the white boys, the french that'll laugh at us. They'll say 'look, freaking immigrants fighting each others'! You know what I mean? So let's stop this, and go kick their asses."

Most time i'd work

I lived in the ghetto in France. It was a nice city in the early 80's, but then w/ the project going up, it quickly deteriorated.
When I went to school, in my left pocket, I had a brace knucles, and the other, a small canister of tear gas.

I walk home from school, punk ass from class wants to beat me with his friends. I punch them and leave a nice spike mark on his face, and then spray him w/ tear gas spray (OC spray).

None of the people who messed with me were ever white. NOT A SINGLE ONE.

French people don't want them there. (Africans, north, south, east, west, and Eastern Euros). ASians, usually have no problems there.

It's sounds so "LePenish" when I say that (and believe me, I dont like the guy!), but before the French can go and take on Iraq and other matters, they should start to take up problems in the country.

They need a) Bad ass cops like we have b) Bad ass judges like we have c) Have the French white kids stop being scared of the gang tactics.

I would love to go back to France, carrying my Remington 870 on a strap, my Sig P228 in hand, and go show them gangbangers, who'se the law!

[PC Dave]

I'm actually kind of sad for France, because in the long run France, like much of the rest of Europe, is toast.

Birthrates in France, Spain, Italy and others falls way, way below the replacement birth rate. This implies that over time, absent immigration, the population will shrink.

But that's only half of the problem. The European countries with extremely low birthrates are also the ones addicted to massively expensive social welfare system. As the average age of the population rises, the ratio of young working people (i.e. taxpayers) to older, benefit consuming people (pensions and health care) will inexorably drop. There's a disconnect, and ultimately it will be solved with immigration. Birthrates in north Africa and the middle east are vastly higher than in Europe, and in the same way that Mexicans and other latin Americans come to the US for a better life, so will the old Europe be filled with young immigrants willing to work; the French and other Europeans will, I believe, learn to live with this to keep the flow of taxes and benefits going.

Unfortunately, Europe doesn't have the naturally immigrant-based, assimilationist culture that the US does, and the largely Muslim immigrants will represent a much greater cultural divide than our latin and Asian immigrants do in the US. It ain't gonna be pretty; in 30-50 years Europe will not be what it is today, it will be another thing entirely, and probably filled with conflict. At any rate, France in 30 years won't even presume to tell the US what to do - it will have far too many problems of its own.

I lived in Europe for several years and truly love the place, but when a continent/culture basically gives up on being a strong, innovative growing part of the world for child-free comfort and convenience and 6 week vacations, I don't have too much sympathy for what happens.

BERLIN (Reuters) - No more Coca-Cola or Budweiser, no Marlboro, no American whiskey or even American Express cards -- a growing number of restaurants in Germany are taking everything American off their menus to protest the war in Iraq (news - web sites).

Although the protests are mainly symbolic, waiters in dozens of bars and restaurants in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Bonn and other German cities are telling patrons, "Sorry, Coca-Cola is not available any more due to the current political situation."


The boycotts appear to be part of a nascent worldwide movement. One Web site, www.consumers-against-war.de, calls for boycotts of 27 top American firms from Microsoft to Kodak while another, www.adbusters.org, urges the "millions of people against the war" to "Boycott Brand America."


Consumer fury seems to be on the rise. Demonstrators in Paris smashed the windows of a McDonald's restaurant last week, forcing police in riot gear to move in to protect staff and customers of the American fast-food outlet. The attackers sprayed obscenities and "boycott" on the windows.


In Indonesia, Iraq war opponents have pasted signs on McDonald's and other American food outlets, trying to force them shut by "sealing them" and urging Indonesians to avoid them.


In the Swiss city of Basel, 50 students recently staged a sit-down strike in front of a McDonald's to block customers' entry, waved peace signs and urged people to eat pretzels instead of hamburgers.


Anti-American sentiment has even reached provinces in Russia, where some rural eateries put up signs telling Americans they were unwelcome, according to an Izvestia newspaper report.


A German bicycle manufacturer, Riese und Mueller GmbH, canceled all business deals with its American suppliers.


"Americans only pay attention when money is on the line," director Heiko Mueller told Reuters, whose firm buys $300,000 worth of supplies from half a dozen American firms each year.


"We wanted to make a statement against this war and told our American partners that unless they renounce what their government is doing we won't do any business with them anymore."


SMALL BUT SYMBOLIC ACTS


The German restaurant boycotts of American products started small but spread rapidly after the Iraq war began on Thursday. The conflict has struck a raw nerve in a country that became decidedly anti-war after the devastation of World War II, which it initiated.


"If people all around the world boycott American products it might influence their policies," said Jean-Yves Mabileau, owner of "L'Auberge Francaise" which joined 10 Hamburg restaurants in banning Coca Cola, Philip Morris' Marlboro cigarettes, whiskey and other American goods.


"This started as a light-hearted reaction to Americans dumping French wine in the gutter and renaming 'French Fries' as 'Freedom Fries'," he said. "But it feels good to take a stand against this war. It is just a small gesture, but a good one."


Diners at the Osteria restaurant in Berlin are finding that "things go better without Coke" and are ordering Germany's long overshadowed imitation of "the real thing" -- the slightly sweeter "Afri-Cola" -- to express their outrage.


"We wanted to do something to express our annoyance," Osteria owner Fabio Angile told Reuters. "We want to hit America where it hurts -- in their wallets. None of the customers have complained. On the contrary, most thought it was a great idea."


Herve Keroureda, owner of a French restaurant in Hamburg known as "Ti Breizh," said he was astonished by the massive media coverage of their small-scale anti-American protest.





"It was only intended as a small gesture but has turned into a gigantic issue," he said. "And the reaction from the patrons has been tremendous. Most have called it a brilliant idea."

In Bonn, bartender Bruno Kessler said he was refusing to sell American whiskey or American beer such as Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser at his "Eifeler Stuben."

"I asked myself 'What can I possibly do to show my anger over this barbary?'," he told Germany's N-24 television network.

STARBUCKS, BIG MACS AVOIDED

Sarah Stolz, a 22-year-old German student of American studies, was headed for a Starbucks, coffee shop in central Berlin when her anti-war conscience got the best of her.

"I was thinking about going into Starbucks which I love, when I realized it was wrong," she said. "I'm backing the boycott because the war is totally unjustified."

Rita Marschall was avoiding McDonald's and Burger King.

"I'm boycotting American products because their policy on Iraq is totally wrong," said Marschall, 26, in front of a Berlin McDonald's. "It's just one of many ways we can take a stand."

Some German bakeries have renamed a local cake known as "Amerikaner" -- a disk-shaped pastry with icing on top -- as "Peace-ies," bearing a peace sign piped in chocolate sauce.

The boycotts are having only a negligible business impact. Establishments often associated with the American way of life such as Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's and Coca-Cola reported no major business impact from the protests. Dunkin Donuts is owned by Britain's Allied Domecq

"We're really a local business in Germany, the product is made in Germany and they're boycotting German products," said Jonathan Chandler, communications director for Coca-Cola Europe, Eurasia and the Middle East in London.

Chandler declined comment on whether it was hurting sales, but an industry source said any impact would not be serious.

A spokeswoman for McDonald's in Europe said there had been no discernible impact on sales from the actions, and described the attack on the Paris restaurant as "an unfortunate incident during a protest."

"As a global entity, McDonald's is just a brand," she said. "Most of the restaurants are local franchises and support their local community. So why do they attack McDonald's? If you get a good answer please let me know."

In the London suburb of Milton Keynes, the Greens party have called on consumers to boycott 330 American products ranging from Mars bars to Gap jeans and American films on DVD and video.

In Zurich, travel agents said some clients who usually take holidays in the United States are changing their destinations.

"Some of the most loyal customers who have been traveling to the United States for years have changed their plans because they don't like what Bush is doing," Lucia Zeller, director of the Travac travel agency, told the Tages Anzeiger newspaper.