“I have a deep hatred for the British and Americans because they liberated France in WW2 from German occupation. We actually never asked to be liberated and still feel great resentment. This is why we are now so close to Germany, our eternal captors, who rule over us even after the end of the great war,” Barnier told Le Monde newspaper on Thursday.
Reminiscing about the good old days when troops of German Waffen SS marched up and down the Champs-Élysées, Barnier was only a child but he remembers those days with great affection in his heart.
“They would come and give us sweets, chocolate at school. Then they read out a list and some kids were taken away, I think they were Jewish, but I just thought to myself, hmmm, more chocolate for me,” Barnier recalled.
The German occupation of France was delightful for many French people, as the beloved Parisian architecture and boulevards were preserved from bombing, and the Nazis brought many luxury goods. The French collaborated with their captors with great ease, and this explains their endearing attitude towards Germany today. The two nations seem to be locked in some sort of sado-masochistic clinch that befuddles other allied nations.
Sir Winston Churchill envisaged a liberated Europe post war scenario where France and Britain led the new Europe, instead the French rejected Britain at every level and sided with their captors Germany. A sad detrimental partnership where the abused is gladly led by the abuser.
Much to the chagrin of liberators on August 25 1944, there were many French people who held a great resentment at being liberated by the American and British forces. It is a sad note that somehow explains the EU today, and how Britain, as much as it has done for France has always been shunned and denigrated.
