Is it War or Simply Bureaucratic Red Tape?
Some claim there’s no love lost between the French and the US. Bonjour Paris readers would be the first to disagree. But there’s a glitch in passport/visa regulations that is causing a whole lot of French people to swear. French and American officials are working together to try to expedite the process. In the meantime, many French citizens who might have gone to the US for work or for play (not to mention spending lots of money in hotels, restaurants and stores) are opting for other destinations. Obtaining a US visa has become a costly exercise in patience and many French say it necessitates way too much frustration. Why bother waiting up to three months for an interview and then pay more than 100 euros to have the right to board a US-bound plane? In complete fairness, this isn’t an example of the current US administration out to get the French. President Bush and President Chirac may not have agreed about weapons of mass destruction, but until recently, French citizens have not neede
