French and American political relations are at an apparent low, and a few local businesses are coping with poor sales in French products.
France’s decision not to enter the U.S.-led war with Iraq has resulted in some companies changing the names of French products or just refusing to purchase those products all together.
One product that has taken a serious hit in the Baton Rouge area has been French wines.
Marcello’s Wine Market on Perkins Road and the Wine and Cheese Shop on Jefferson Highway both said their sales of French wines have dropped dramatically since France’s decision not to enter the war.
Marcello’s manager Barry Barnes has even begun discounting some of his French wines because of the drop in sales.
Rodney Willis, a biological sciences junior and retail clerk at Churchill’s on Jefferson Highway, said about 5 percent of their regular shoppers have stopped buying French wines and have switched to other brands.
However, not all French products in the area are struggling.
Eva Jetty, manager at Maison Lacour French Restaurant, said sales have not dropped because of the strong customer base the restaurant possesses. She thinks her customers will not switch establishments because of war.
One local restaurant has even stopped the purchasing of all products produced in France.
Bennigan’s Grill and Tavern on Bluebonnet Road has said it will not buy French products until United States and French relations improve.
“We need to support people who support us,” said Jim Hamm, supervisor of three Bennigans’ in Louisiana.
Hamm said the decision to no longer buy French products was a collective resolution made by the franchise owners of eight local Bennigans’.
Among the products no longer purchased by Bennigan’s are Perrier water, Grey Goose Vodka and Gallianos liquor, Hamm said.
They think alternatives can be found for all French products, and this would stop revenue from entering a country that does not support the United States, Hamm said.
French professor Sylvie Dubois thinks removing French food from restaurants is “silly.” Dubois said this situation is portraying countries that go against the United States as bad guys.
Kevin Bongiorini, assistant professor and undergraduate adviser, said, “It shows very little understanding of the issues at hand.” Americans should not disregard French cuisine just based on non-involvement in this war, he said.
Bongiorini is also the director of LSU in Paris, a study abroad program in France. He says while trips to countries like Ireland, Italy and Spain are full, the France trip is only at half occupancy.
Bongiorini does not contribute this lack of interest to France’s decision not to join the war, but rather the fear of traveling during a war.