On French Anti-Americanism

Anti-Americanism seems to be an universal phenomenon in today's world since 20^th century. However, every nation has its distinguished form due to the historical and cultural difference. French Anti-Americanism is undoubtedly the most special one in terms of both politics as well as culture—Its long peaceful political relation with America is dotted with occasional diplomatic conflicts, and its intensive criticism about American culture is in sharp contrast with its large-scaled acceptance of "things American", from Coca Cola to Hollywood film.In the post-war politics, France has been acting as if it was an old "enemy" of the United States. This study is in the aim of answering: Is the French policy towards the United States driven by Anti-Americanism, what is the function that Anti-Americanism serves in Franco-American conflicts. Thus, I hope to have a deep understanding of French Anti-Americanism on the whole.Established by General De Gaulle and followed by his successors, Gaullism, as a model of French post-war politics, is famous for its Anti-American stance. Therefore, I choose Franco-American relations in De Gaulle' era as an insight to focus on.The analysis on the comparison between De Daulle's language(which seems a bit irrational) and the way that he dealt with the political falling out in reality shows that De Gaulle's Anti-American policy was by and large out of pragmatic national interest rather then Anti-American sentiment.De Gaulle's conflict with the United States demonstrates a misunderstanding in political philosophy. And French Anti-Americanism is rooted in a historical and philosophical ground, which in essence is a fear about "American universalism". It unconsciously influence the French policy toward the United States in a way that it provides the latter with a general intellectual principle rather than have direct function.