News Stories - Paris woos America
The French capital is determined to use this Independence Day to woo back America - or at least, the Americans currently boycotting the city. President Jacques Chirac's 'no' to Washington over the war in Iraq has had a real economic impact here. Last year, Paris played host to nearly two million American visitors. This year, the numbers are down by a quarter. With tourism one of France's biggest earners, this is a real problem. So to celebrate the Fourth of July, the Paris tourist board will be handing out free gifts to US visitors, and will even decorate its offices with the Stars-and-Stripes. France has already made a video aimed at luring back US tourists, in which film director Woody Allen expresses his hopes for closer relations:

"When I will not have to refer to my French fried potatoes as 'Freedom Fries' and I don't have to 'freedom kiss' my wife, when what I really want to do is French kiss her. So, let's pull together now."

The French video is called 'Falling in Love Again' but judging by the declining number of American tourists here, it may be a rather one-sided affair.
 
- vocabulary:
Independence Day: on July 4th 1776 American President John Hancock signed a declaration of Independence from Britain
woo: trying to persuade people to come back to France
boycotting: when people boycott a country they refuse to have anything to do with it because they disapprove of it for some reason
real economic impact: a noticeable bad effect on the economy
played host to: received as guests
biggest earners: one of the sectors of the economy which earns the most money





closer relations: the way that countries - and people - behave towards each other

'
freedom kiss': in American English 'French fries' are fried potatoes (chips): but during the Iraq war some Americans changed the name to 'freedom fries' in protest against France's opposition to the war


declining number: if the number of visitors is declining it is becoming fewer
one-sided affair: where one country (or person) likes the other, but the other doesn't feel the same way
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