In this bitingly funny and insightful polemic, Boyles, using his knowledge of history and his shrewd eye for current events, examines the internal crises – a falling birth rate, an expanding Muslim minority, economic stagnation, a lessening of international prestige – that have changed the personality of what was once ‘La Belle France’, transforming it into a nation afflicted with status anxiety. He explains how a country that endlessly repeats its credentials as America’s oldest ally became one of our most resolute enemies, wielding the biggest weapon in its arsenal – the European Union – against the interests of an America that it fears and envies. While making clear his affection for the France of the French people, he targets the France of the ruling elite – from de Gaulle to Chirac – who have always run the country as a private club, often to the angry dismay of its citizens.