LETTERS Vive la France!
Sir: As an unconditional Anglophile, noth- ing could please me more than Paul John- son's article (And another thing, 20 June). I have been appalled for a long time by the incredibly biased attitude of most of the British press towards my country, the uncontested leader being the Telegraph.
Because I love the English way of life, and as a Norman feel more at home in England than in the Latin south of France where I happen to live, I did not want to hurt my many friends in the UK by telling them a few facts. But the anti-French cam- paign has reached such a level, without any reason, that I cannot keep quiet any more.
All right, France has twice as many unem- ployed as Britain, but do both countries use the same means of measuring it? I do not know, but only pose the question. While British inflation is 4.2 per cent, the French rate is around 1 per cent. The French trade balance has shown a surplus for a very long time. Of course, the Telegraph and others will say, as they do every time the figures are not favourable to Britain, that those released by other countries are mere lies. (Only the British tell the truth.) France has two very prosperous car man- ufacturers, Peugeot-Citroen and Renault, and you can see their products on your roads by the hundreds of thousands. What about the British car industry which used to be the pride of the country? And, of course, I don't dare mention Rolls-Royce.
My country has the fastest trains in the world and, contrary to common belief, they are much faster than the Japanese ones. The TGV (very high-speed train) runs at 300 km/h (190 mph) while the British high- speed tilting train was a flop.
The Ariane rocket, launched from French Guyana, is the main competitor to the Americans and the result of a close European collaboration in which France is the main partner and which the British gov- ernment refused to join (probably so as not to displease the ex-British colony now called the United States of America).
Another competitor with America is Air- Bus. Fortunately, it is a joint venture between several European countries, including the UK, but the main factory is located in Toulouse and it is a big success. The French motorways are probably the best in Europe. Yes, we• pay a toll, but 'on ne peut pas avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre'.
Apart from Mitterrand, whose illegiti- mate daughter lived with her mother at the Elysee Palace at the expense of the French taxpayer, none of our elected kings (called presidents, with much more power than Her Majesty) had a family who raised as many scandals as the British royal family. The French health service, called security sociale — not to be confused with social security — is always in the red, but waiting- lists for major operations are unknown in France, and if it happened the whole coun- try would immediately go on strike.
Please Telegraph and co., shut up!
Christian Hurel
`L'Ajoucadou', Promenade des chenes verts, F-83160 La Valette, France
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