I NEED SOME HELP IN UNDERSTANDING FRENCHMEN.

And of course, we believe every word that U.S. intelligence permits to leak, don't we?

Welcome, Elegant Fowl!

Of course we believe every word from US intelligence (which traitors call a contradiction in terms) and from Our Glorious Leader. The noble Ashcroft cannot send you to Guantanamo for (evidently) doubting this, but do not forget, Outaouais is not far...

"Je vous aime" is not sexier than "I love you." In modern times one does not address one's lover as "vou." "Je t'aime," now that's sexy, as is "Je t'adore." And when they go far beyond merely sexy, as they have been known to do, they do it with more eloquence than we anglophones can manage. "Je te baiserai jusqu'à l'extase!"

No, no, the Americans are the people the world loves to hate. It's mainly the Americans who hate the French. Why? Perhaps because the French like to have things their way or no way. Not nearly as much as the Americans, you understand, but enough to make a diminutive version of the impression Amricans give most non-Americans.