Well, you are right with that poll, au, it's even worth/better (depends on the point of view) than you quoted:
Quote:PARIS, June 27 (AFP) - Four out of 10 well-off Americans have refrained from buying French products in response the French government's position on Iraq, according to a poll commissioned by the French Luxury Marketing Council.
The poll was carried out from April 9-13, among 300 Americans known to be clients of luxury products, and with an annual revenue of more than USD 75,000 (EUR 65,600).
"There is a hard core of consumers who express their political views through their purchases," said Yves Coleon, president of Transmark Partners, which conducted the poll.
The poll also found that 37 percent of those sampled said they intend to boycott French products, while 47 percent believe all Americans should boycott French products.
Anti-French feeling in the United States was sparked by France's fierce opposition to the US-led war in Iraq. source: EXPATICA
re French restaurants.
a) have a look here:
French restaurants USA
b) when using the search-function of google.news, you'll find lots of quotations about that, like e.g
Quote:Gerard Crozier, owner and head chef at Chateaubriand, says, "I had one customer ask to have a Perrier poured into a glass so nobody could see the bottle, but that's it."
Quote:Michael Aaron is chairman of a well-known Manhattan-based wine store, Sherry-Lehman. Aaron just got back from this year's Vinexpo, the world's largest wine and spirits trade show, in Bordeaux, France, and he said the contingent of U.S wine merchants was rather formidable.
"Last year there were 1,500 representatives from the United States. This year it was about 1,400. So I don't think the so-called boycott has hurt business relationships that much," Aaron said.
Quote:At the Ideal Cheese Shop, a gourmet cheese retailer in New York, owner James Coogan said his stock of French cheese continues to sell well.
"Our biggest seller is Brie," Coogan said. "About 10 percent of my stock is French cheese, and I've not really seen a decline in demand. If there is some pressure on sales, it's not from the politics but from pricing concerns."
Quote:At L'Absinthe, a brasserie in Manhattan, owner and head chef Jean-Michel Bergougnoux prepared a big bash for July 14.
"It's difficult to measure the impact of the boycott to our business, but the amazing thing is that through it all we had a few customers who came to our restaurant more than usual just to show support," Bergougnoux said.
Great research, Walter. Just what I've come to expect from you.
Heh heh, Freedom Poodle....I thought there were leash laws in California. What shall they do about that French hostess of 'Celebrity Pets'? I can hear the backroom convo: "Okay....meet your new accent coach, Mr. Freedomspeak."
I missed Vinexpo in NYC due to work conflicts, but I would have gone. I won't boycott French products, never thought it right, and I think anyone who does is just making America look very silly indeed, especially when terms like French Fries and French Poodle are Americanizations of foreign terminology so them 'Merican-speakin' morons could understand what they were eating and taking into their homes.
As for French restaurants in the U.S., I am glad to hear they are not suffering terribly for this boycott. They shouldn't. They are Americans, you idiots who blacklist thim...possibly from France, but living and working in America. Anyone who feels they are not American is a douchebag. Sorry, excuse my French...
Walter, The sample of 300 Well Off Americans used by the survey is laughable. Any knuckelhead that would boycott French products because they refused to agree to a war with Iraq is childish, and doesn't deserve the media space it's written on. c.i.
