their assistance to France. Americans in particular offered their homes for stranded French tourists,

proclaimed their support, and even included France in high level intelligence sharing.

The US and France have been close allies since the very birth of the United States. This

is besides a disagreement over the Iraq War, leading to French Fries being renamed Freedom

Fries, even though they come from Belgium. So, we wanted to know: why do the US and France

love each other?

Well, France is actually the US’s first and oldest ally, having militarily supported

the American Revolution against Britain in 1778. In some ways, the US might not even

exist if it weren’t for France. In their entire history, the two have only engaged

in direct aggression two times in history. The first was a quasi-war in 1798, when France

went through a revolution and the US refused to pay its debts to the new French government.

The second was in 1942 after the Nazis took over. But who can blame them for severing

ties? It was the Nazis.

In fact, part of the United States was once French territory! In the early 1800s, Thomas

Jefferson paid and bartered roughly $240 million dollars, accounting for inflation, in exchange

for nearly a million square miles of land from Napoleon. Today the Louisiana Purchase

comprises about a third of the continental United States.

Another major strengthening period between the two was during and after the Second World

War. France’s Nazi occupation was embarrassing for the country, and while liberating captured

European cities, the US let France lead the charge on retaking their own capital. Additionally,

at the end of the war, the US forgave France’s nearly $3 billion dollar debt from World War

One, and granted them more than half a billion dollars in new loans. This significantly helped

France rebuild after the war.

But perhaps the most turbulent period between them was concerning the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

France’s foreign minister was unimpressed with George W. Bush’s foreign policy, and

along with Germany, China, and Russia, France blocked a UN resolution to invade Iraq. After

going ahead and invading anyway, French opposition to what is now considered an illegal occupation,

was interpreted as anti-Americanism. This caused the whole “freedom fries” fiasco,

a brief boycott of French goods, and actually ended up spurring real anti-American sentiments

in France.

From the invasion in 2003 to the end of Bush’s presidency in 2008, polls showed France’s

approval of the US ranged from 43 to 37%. But today, roughly 73% of the French approve

of the United States, and in turn, about 85% of Americans love France. France has permeated

American language, society, and culture, and vice versa. Despite some historical disagreements,

US-French relations have been crucial for the development and stability of both countries.

So, just how powerful is France by itself?

Find out by watching our video on top. And if you want to know what life is really like

in France, check our Secret Daily’s video below. Thanks for watching TestTube News! Don't forget

to like and subscribe for new videos every day.