Dan & Lifeofthemind:

You are both expressing something important about the French more politely than I did.

But I am not certain that “helping” them does any good in the long/medium/ short run.

There is an enamelled plaque on an ancient stone pillar in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris dedicated to the one million soldiers of the British Empire “Qui restent en France” 1914-1918.

That’s what you get for a million lives defending the French: a plaque.

Then you get to do it all over again 25 years later and for that you get “Paris se libere”.

D-Day may have been a mistake.

The Harkis helped them in Algeria, much to their regret, and they got an even more extraordinary reward.