09:48 UK, Thursday October 06, 2005
SKY
Relations between America and France have been soured since the Iraq war began - and now an advertising campaign has soured them further.
The Subway fast-food chain sparked controversy with an ad linking France and cowardice.
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It touted a cordon bleu chicken sandwich with the words:
"France and chicken, somehow it just goes together."
A photo of a chicken dressed like Napoleon accompanied the advert.
Subway ran the campaign in about 10 US states for nearly a month but pulled them last month following an outcry by members of the French expatriate community.
Mark Bridenbaker, a spokesman for Subway, which has outlets in France, defended the campaign saying it was aimed at lauding French cuisine.
"The perfect match of French cuisine and the Subway chicken ... that was the intent of this advertising," he said.
"But once we realised that people were taking offence, we removed everything from stores right away."
"Saying that the French are dirty or cowards is a little bit like saying the sky is blue. Nobody is going to contest it," said Denis Chazelle, a long-time French resident of the Washington area.
"I think (French bashing) is worse now than it was two years ago because, although it's not as relentless as it was, it has become a lot more accepted and part of the landscape."
