In all fairness, the French have been one of the major contributors to Western Civilization. The French supported the American war for independence, both financially and militarily. French thinkers contributed substantially to the foundations of capitalism ( ex. Frederic Bastiat). The French Revolution's purpose and spirit was very much like the American Revolution, and with America was one of the founders of Constitutional Republicanism and classical liberalism. The French were, for a very long time, the preeminent military in the world, who prevented the Germans from overtaking Europe on more than one occasion; look into the first world war, and all the Franco-Prussian wars. Given, they didn't do so hot in the last one... Further, France has been on the side of America, and on the side of the West in every global conflict. Paris was most certainly the New York of it's day, and France was the America of the world for a very long time; certainly longer than America has been the America of the world... French was the "English" of yesteryear, having been the first global language of business and diplomacy- so much so, that such a language is now called a "lingua franca". For example when Israel was created their passports were printed in two languages, Hebrew was one...
France has produced very many brilliant mathematicians, far too many to name here, and many fine scientists. Them sewing some ofthe ideological seeds of capitalism, which would end up germinating in England and America in the industrial revolution gets them a lot of points in a historical context with me... Also, many of the most grand civilizations of Europe- the Normans, the Franks, the Gauls, the Vandals all either had their roots in France, or centered their civilizations in France.
All that being said, I concur with the fact that France has astonished me with how hard it's fallen flat on it's face repeatedly since WW2. French culture in combination with highly leftist policies and forms of statecraft is a particularly sour mix, and has turned out horribly for them. Of course, they're leading the race to import as much of the 3rd world as humanly possible, which has inexorably turned what was already a sour mix into an almost comically tragic one.
Apparently, I'm not the only one who feels that way. You might enjoy this: Japanese and the 'Paris syndrome'
"How many victims does it take to make a syndrome? According to a French newspaper, a dozen a year will do. In the case of a trend it has dubbed "Paris syndrome," that would be the 12 or so Japanese tourists a year who are said to be so disenchanted by their encounter with the fabled French capital that they end up needing psychiatric treatment."
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20061029a1.html
