The anti-French boycott that bombed
By Nick Goodway, Evening Standard Last updated at 18:26pm on 11.04.03

".....From the start, the urge among jingoistic US consumers to boycott French and Germans goods because of those countries' opposition to the Iraq war has been a minefield, thanks to the complexities of the global economy.

War was unofficially declared when a New Jersey restaurateur ostentatiously poured his French wine stock down the toilet..... ...... 'We might be yellow, but we are definitely not French,' stormed the US subsidiary in a flagwaving Press release. Yet, in an interesting sidelight on the complexities of the global economy, the British parent company did not put that on its UK website. Maybe it did not want to upset European clients......

...... Even more confusing for many consumers, millions of Americans have their water delivered by French-owned groups such as Vivendi Environnement and Suez.

But there are two sides to this war. As Gallic activists urge French consumers to avoid US icons such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola, they should be aware that France's largest overseas investor is the US."

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-4314064-the-anti-french-boycott-that-bombed.do