Jean Monnet

"Yes, the idea is that Jean Monnet and Charles De Gaulle represent two opposing strains in French views of America. Monnet, who was the architect of the European Union, was almost as important figure in mid-20th century France as De Gaulle but he was the mirror image of De Gaulle. He was the Frenchman who liked America and wanted to import American ways, especially its economic practices. Among American officials he was their favourite Frenchman during the forties and fifties. De Gaulle and Jean Monnet, as one might expect, were rivals in many ways. Here you have the two opposing strains among the French elites. He was respected by many political leaders, officials and businessmen. French business, at least among those with international connections, never shared the anti-Americanism expressed by intellectuals."