Pierre Mattot, the press and communication vice consul for the French consulate in San Francisco said that despite existing echoes of recent discord between France and the United States, the two countries have a solid friendship based on common human values.

“Because the United States is the indispensable power and France is an indispensable ally, there is a need to work together in this new (post Sept. 11) world,” Mattot said, who has been at his current post for 18 months.

In front of a near-capacity crowd in the Musical Recital Hall inCapistrano Hall, Mattot declared that, “George and Jacques are good friends again,” referring to the countries’ Presidents Bush and Chirac.

Mattot cited the fight against terrorism as the paramount point of interest shared by the two nations, even though France didn’t view invading Iraq as part of that struggle.

“France opposed the Iraq war because she believed that there was no immediate threat to Europe or the United States, no links from Sadam to terrorists and no proof of weapons of mass destruction,” Mattot said.

However, after a 2005 meeting in Brussels, Belgium, Bush and Chirac agreed to let history be the judge of these issues, Mattot said ?” this marked his first visit to Sacramento State.

Mattot mentioned many joint actions taken by the two countries as evidence of comity between the two nations ?” including France sending 5,500 troops to Afghanistan to help depose the Taliban, daily exchanges between French and American intelligence agencies and regular visits to the United States by France’s top terrorism judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere.

France and the United States also oppose Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which Mattot describes as a matter of principle because Iran is breaking its commitment as a signatory of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Aside from world security concerns, Mattot mentioned trade and cultural interaction as important threads that bind the two nations.

France has $150 billion invested in the United States and the United States has three times as much invested in France, which forms the real core of economic ties, Mattot said. Additionally, French companies provide 70,000 jobs to Californians.

Culturally, Mattot pointed out that 60 percent of English words originate from the French language and that 1.7 million students at various US educational levels study French.

Mattot sees this as a key component in relations between France and the United States, and among the nations of the world, because learning a second language exposes people to foreign cultures, which is crucial to preventing future conflicts.

Sociology Professor Tom Kando, a self-described Francophile, invited Mattot, who has served in French cultural offices in at least 10 countries ?” including Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Pakistan ?” to campus.

“Since Sept. 11, it has been popular to France-bash and it aggravates me,” Kando said.

Hopefully, the lecture given by his long-time friend will dispel some misunderstandings that Americans have about the French, Kando added.

Norm Erickson can be reached at [email protected]