France 24 English asks 'France and the US: Best frenemies?' for Bastille Day 2022

Happy Bastille Day! I begin today's celebration of "Fête Nationale Française," the last of three patriotic holidays I celebrate in July, with France 24 English asking France and the US: Best frenemies?

France and the United States have been allies for centuries. Despite the mutual affection and fascination, they can also rub each other up the wrong way. How much of this is due to subtleties getting lost in translation and how much of it is because of fundamental cultural differences? In this episode of French Connections Plus, Florence Villeminot and Genie Godula delve into the love-hate relationship between France and America.

I found that fun and fascinating and I hope both my American and French readers did, too.* It makes me glad I watched it, as it's always a good day when I learn something new.

I'm finishing today's post with a drink recipe and music, a tradition I follow for many of my holiday entries. Because today is also National Grand Marnier Day, I'm sharing Grand Cosmopolitan - Recipe by Grand Marnier [Europe].

This very harmonious cocktail combines the tangy fruity flavours of cranberry with the roundness of Grand Marnier® liqueur. The oaked notes of the cognac add aromatic intensity to the cocktail, and give more length on the finish.

What you need:
1 shot Grand Marnier® liqueur (30ml)
1 shot vodka (30ml)
1,5 shots cranberry juice (45ml)
1/2 shot freshly squeezed lime juice (15ml)
1 dash angostura orange bitter (optional)

On the one hand, it was about time I included a video from the distiller. On the other, that makes this video corporate PR.

While I'm not featuring a French-themed drum corps performance this year, I'm still embedding a marching music video, Temescal Canyon HS - French National Défilé - 2017 Arcadia Band Review.

From Lake Elsinore, CA
Temescal Canyon High School Titan Thunder Regiment & Pageantry performing their march entitled French National Défilé by J.S. Seredy at the 64th Annual Arcadia Festival of Bands Band Review located in the city of Arcadia, California, on Saturday, November 18, 2017.

Results: Class A
91.95 - 2nd place Band
85.00 - 3rd place Auxiliary
86.00 - 6th place Open Class Military Drum Major

As a couple of commenters noted, the French name for the march is "Le Régiment de Sambre et Meuse" or "Sambre et Meuse" for short.

*Yes, a lot of people with French IP addresses read my blog. I noted that in Statistics for the eleventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.

France leaping from ninth to second with 138,445, a huge jump from last year's ~3,410, did come as a surprise. Wow! Unlike tweeting at Greta Thunberg prompting Swedes to read my blog last year, I'm not sure what I did to attract the attention of the French. Whatever I did, I'm glad. Welcome aboard!
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France rocketed from seventh to second with 185,778 total page views to replace Russia as the top international source of readers. Sweden leapfrogged several countries as it rose from fifth to third with 107,825. Congratulations and welcome to readers from both countries. Stick around.

They have, as France has provided 15,043 page views to this blog during the past 30 days, well ahead of the 11,627 from the U.S. during the same month. Thank you, and keep reading!