Week 15: Ooh La La!
May 14, 2025
by Marybeth O’Mara
I have just returned from 2 weeks in France (with a kick start in London) and I have some observations.
First, I anticipated (because I’d read about it) that Europeans would be less friendly to Americans than I (and most other US travelers) had experienced in the past, because of the rapid implosion by the Trump administration of the post WWII international order that depended on US benevolent and cooperative leadership in political, common defense, and economic arenas. This long-standing order has been in place since the early years following WWII, with the rise and intensification of the Cold War hostilities with the Soviet Union and the Eastern Europeans under its umbrella, the establishment of the United Nations and NATO, the Marshall Plan to rebuild war-damaged Europe, and the hegemony of US culture and products in economic markets. This order is being targeted now by a growing accommodation of Russia’s goals, especially in Ukraine, the imposition of highest-in-a-century tariffs, saber-rattling about US “possession” of European territories (Greenland, anyone?), and a shift in establishing partnerships that are far more overtly transactional than has been the norm.
However, we were greeted with the same warmth and courtesy we have been treated with on all previous trips to Europe. This should not be that surprising-we were still spending strong American dollars for goods and services, and our own demeanor was open, curious, and courteous. Rick Steves’ most recent blog post shared similar experiences and reactions.
Moreover, we visited the Resistance and Deportation History Center in Lyon, and the gratitude to US Troops for liberation and to the US for rebuilding assistance and support through the Marshall Plan were prominent themes.
That gratitude and respect have shaped relations with the United States and its leaders for 80 years, and it will take more than a couple of months to completely reorient all of that. Biden’s Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spent 4 years rebuilding trust and reassuring European (and other geographic regions) allies that the 1st Trump administration’s signals of a reimagined world order had been a blip, but that will be much more difficult and time consuming if we get the opportunity to reverse course again with a different administration. I have to imagine that our trust with European leaders is really and truly blown now–why would they risk trusting that any foreign policy negotiated by the US is more enduring than a single presidential term? How can foreign policy, with its delicate dance of give and take operate within such a short time frame?
My second takeaway is what good shape France was in. I know that their unemployment rate is higher than the US’s, and that their pandemic bounce-back has been slower than ours, but we rented a car to drive from Lyon to the Dordogne/Perigord region, and the scenery was stunning, the roads were in great shape (much better than my commute through Chicago), and the tollway rest areas clean and well-managed. The waterways we experienced were clean and well-maintained. We also took the high speed railway from Bordeaux to Paris. The train was on time, clean and comfortable, and had excellent wifi. Our trip took just 2.5 hours, to cover over 360 miles! The same drive would take 6.5 to 8 hours by car. We Americans can be so smug (at least I can be) about the caliber of our infrastructure and services, and tend to believe that spending more gets us better stuff, but that is not always the case. In addition, those measurements do not always accurately capture aspects that enhance quality of life. On our long Sunday drive, I noticed very very few delivery trucks or semi-trailers on the highways. I inferred that labor laws and worker protections are much more impactful in France than in the US and that the benefits to employers for having drivers get a head start on the week by working Sundays is not worth the costs, which are mandated and enforced by the government. Those truck drivers get Sundays off!
In Paris, we were lucky to get tickets to visit the newly restored Notre Dame, which was stunning. The goal of opening within 5 years of the fire was achieved–despite the pandemic, despite the scale and scope of the restoration, despite the costs. It is a magnificent reconstruction. And, when Pope Leo was announced, we heard the bells of Notre Dame ring out in celebration!
As I’ve learned more about our new pope, I am pleased and proud to have an American pope who seems decent, hard working, and openly caring for the less fortunate. I am glad to have an example of American power in the world that projects a contrast to the venality of MAGA world, and that does see or treat compassion and empathy as weakness. I am also glad to have a Chicago celebrity who might FINALLY push Al Capone and Michael Jordan out as the Chicagoans most likely known to foreign visitors! Further, I read in the SunTimes that he has a MAGA-aligned brother in Florida (?!) who has had to remove social media posts criticizing parents of trans children, and Democrats, among others. It is comforting to know that even the Pope has to navigate the politics of dinner tables in order to keep family peace.
I have been paying attention to the scheduling of protest events and I am surprised (but nor shocked) that the pace of them has not accelerated as the weather has gotten warmer and as the frustration and impact of the administration’s actions have started to hit more households. It appears that the next major nationwide coordinated set of events is scheduled for June 14, the No Kings rallies and marches. These are scheduled to be held on Donald Trump's birthday, which he plans to celebrate with a Soviet-style military parade to honor…himself.
I bought a fresh pack of poster board to craft new signs for that day–my arts and crafts self will be busy getting ready for the June 14 protest!