Might as well throw in the towel, boys!

France claims cultural victory over America
By Colin Randall

France claimed a significant victory last night in its relentless battle against the march of American culture with the adoption of internationally-backed protections.

As Tom Sawyer said, "Just 'cause you say so, don't make it so."
Supported notably by Canada, France was the driving force behind a "cultural diversity" convention agreed by 148 of the 154 countries which took part in the vote at the Paris general conference of the United Nations arts and culture agency, Unesco.

Good thing Bush decided to revive our funding for that, eh?

America was virtually isolated, with Israel the only other country to vote against the treaty and four nations abstaining.

It failed to force through a series of amendments to weaken the text, which reaffirms the rights of countries to "protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions".

For the French establishment, indignant at failures to resist invasion of "Anglo-Saxon" - which usually means English speaking - entertainment, the treaty amounts to a "manifesto for an alternative globalisation".

France devotes huge resources to protecting francophone arts, spending many millions of pounds each year to prop up French cinema, theatre and opera.

But that is not enough to satisfy the influential cultural lobby and a string of single-interest trade groups.

Commentators routinely deplore the perceived simplistic morality and emotional shallowness of American cinema, as well as the cheap thrills of Euro Disney, despite their popularity.

You can't convince your compatriates that your products are superior to ours, so you resort to empty political maneuvers. This is not a cultural victory. Your culture buys our stuff. This is a victory of political elitists.

If you want to defeat America and Britain in the culture war, you need to free your culture from the burden of your political class. Quit politics and write a novel, poem or screenplay.

If you keep fighting your culture war with your antiquated weapons, well... to appropriate a phrase from that fallen prophet, Nikita Khrushchev, We will bury you.

The courts even ruled that the First World War film, A Very Long Engagement, starring Audrey Tautou, was not French enough to qualify for state subsidies.

The fact that they wanted them is plenty cause for shame.

Rival French film makers objected because most of the production budget was met by Warner Bros through its French subsidiary. Yet the film was made in France and in French, with a French cast and production team, providing work for 2,200 people.

Britain supports the convention but not without differences of interpretation that could trigger future rows.

The Brits need to read Anthem. That kind of appeasement doesn't end well.

Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, the French culture minister, hailed the "recognition that culture is not merchandise like any other".

Tell it to the guy trying to make a living selling books or movies.