Film director Woody Allen, known for his fierce devotion to New York,
is working as a pitch man for France, urging Americans to eat french fries, to
French kiss and travel to the European nation.
In a French tourism promotion video, Allen, whose movies are enormously
popular in France, says it is time to put behind them the animosity over
France's opposition to the US invasion of Iraq, which soured the long-standing
relationship.
"Recently there has been a lot of controversy between the two countries, and
I would hope that now the two countries could put all that behind them and start
to build on what really has been a great, great friendship," he said in the
video, called "Let's Fall in Love Again."
The tourism board is playing the video at lunches for travel journalists
across America, hoping to boost the number of Americans traveling to France,
down 15 percent in the first three months of 2003 compared to the same period
one year ago.
American resentment of the French stand was reflected in many ways, with some
calling for a boycott of French wine and cheese and some restaurants renaming
french fries "freedom fries".
Allen, who has worked with the French tourist office before, said he doesn't
want to refer to his french-fried potatoes as "freedom fries."
"And I don't have to 'freedom kiss' my wife when what I really want to do is
French kiss her," Allen added.
