Anti-French sentiment in the United States
Anti-French sentiment in the United States has grown in the wake of France's refusal to endorse the 2003 US plan to invade Iraq.
On March 11, 2003, the cafeteria menus in the three United States House of Representatives office buildings changed the name of "french fries" to "freedom fries" in a culinary rebuke of France stemming from anger over the country's opposition to the the U.S. position on Iraq. (French fries actually come from Belgium.) French toast was also changed to freedom toast (During World War I, in a similar move, attempts were made to replace the word sauerkraut with the term liberty cabbage and frankfurter with hot dog in menus and in popular speech: only the latter was successful. During World War II, French toast replaced German toast as the popular term for that dish.)
Many Europeans dismissed the changes of March 2003 as 'immature gimmickry', in the words of an Irish newspaper. The French embassy made no comment, except to note that French fries are Belgian. "We are at a very serious moment dealing with very serious issues and we are not focusing on the name you give to potatoes," said Nathalie Loisau, an embassy spokeswoman.
Several American members of Congress have agitated for more serious and less symbolic actions to be taken against the French. Others have criticised the behaviour as attempted intimidation of a nation which is entitled to hold a different point of view on an international issue to the United States. Suggestions that some European states should boycott American products and companies such as McDonald's and that European television stations boycott American programmes have been criticised as stooping to the same low level seen in some American actions towards France.
In the winter of 2002-2003, a derogatory term originally used on The Simpsons television program to refer to the French became au courant in Washington, DC circles. That term was "cheese-eating surrender monkeys." National Review contributor Jonah Goldberg claimed credit for making the term known.