written for nz.general but not posted there.

The French are England's traditional foes.

William the Conqueror took the country from Harold, and we had French Barons
and Lords for centuries.
Henry V fought the French at Agincourt.

The French took Calais from Britain, though it had been ours for centuries.

French Catholics persecuted the Protestant Huguenots, many of whom came to
England.

French had a bloody revolution. They seem to have conveniently forgotten
that Holocaust, from the hypocritical way they celebrated it recently.

It was followed by Napoleon. Trafalgar and Waterloo sorted him out!

We were allies in World War I, but although there were many brave Resistance
fighters in WWII there was that disgusting Vichy government in charge,
collaborating with the Nazis.

The last straw here was the Rainbow Warrior affair.

But I expect the French can make a long list of England's misdeeds.
And individual French people are not responsible for their governments.
They are nice folks, like most people when you get to know them.

Let's hope for a good game this weekend, with a good referee, and may the
best team win!