The relationship between France and the United States

The relationship between France and the United States has historically been marked by tension and misunderstanding. This is all the more remarkable given the long history of alliance between the two nations and their shared passion for liberty and all its trappings. Much of the modern tension between the two nations can be attributed to the traumatic events of World War II. Proud France was conquered and occupied by Nazi Germany, and many French people collaborated with the Nazi regime. The Allies liberated Paris, and France, in 1944, and though some Free French troops were part of the triumphant force most of the soldiers involved were American. And, unfortunately, "few countries love their liberators once the cheering dies away" (Beevor, ix). This was most certainly true in France, where the people began to resent the American presence in Paris once the joy of liberation faded into the hunger and poverty of reconstruction. This paper will analyze the five year period that followed France's liberation and argue that the seeds that were planted then have largely defined the relationship between France and the United States for the sixty years that have followed.

When the Blitzkrieg rolled into Paris, France became an occupied territory to the everlasting shame of many of its citizens. After France surrendered to Germany, the National Assembly voted for the suspension of parliamentary democracy and bestowed all powers on Marshal Petain (10). Petain established Vichy

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Category: Foreign - T