Yeah, like flowers and champagne ever won anyone over?

Oh, wait…

PARIS, France — Paris is launching a champagne and flowers charm offensive to woo U.S. tourists after France’s opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq triggered a large drop in the number of transatlantic visitors.

Around 100 hotels, restaurants, shops and other businesses are laying on the bubbly, blooms and other treats for American visitors in a promotional campaign timed to coincide with the U.S. Independence Day celebrations on July 4.

How times have changed.

Nearly 20 years ago, I spent a year living in Paris. It was, quite possibly, one of the best years of my youth. I loved the city, the culture, the sheer weight of history and meaning that surrounded me even as I sat drinking wine at the Moulin Rouge.

On the first of July, the entire city geared up for what was nearly a month-long celebration. American flags were displayed everywhere, right alongside their French counterparts. Starting shortly after midnight on July 4, fireworks lit up the sky. The American National Anthem played. Hotels, bistros, cafes, bars, shops, stores, even the corner store – everyone offered discounts and handed out free mementos to Americans. The smaller version of the Statue of Liberty – the one that stands proudly on its pedestal in the Seine – was lit up even more vividly than usual. The bottom of the Eiffel Tower was draped with red, white and blue bunting.

I remember walking down the Champs Elysee late on the evening of the Fourth, marvelling that another country would celebrate America’s Independence Day, marvelling at the love and friendship the French displayed toward the United States. I commented on this to a friend of mine – a fellow American – and was overheard by a French couple walking nearby.

“You’re American?” they asked. We assured them that we were, half-wondering whether we were now about to encounter that rudeness for which Parisians are so well-known.

We need not have worried. The couple – Jean-Claude and Marie – immediately invited us to join them for the evening as they, too, celebrated the Fourth. They took us on a round of nightspots – there are so many in Paris – and at each stop we were toasted and hugged, kissed on both cheeks, and heard one story after another about what a wonderful, inspiring and caring nation ours was.

We spent the night feeling not only proud to be American, but awed by the respect shown to our country from others who recognized what our nation stands for.

I didn’t need the champagne that night to make me feel kindly toward the French. I sure didn’t need – nor did I receive – flowers. What I received that night was an endless flow of good-will from people who still remembered and still appreciated what our country has done for theirs.

That was one brief night in my life, one that happened nearly two decades ago. Why is it that one person can vividly remember friendships that lasted only a matter of hours, and yet the entire nation of France can forget the friendship that lasted for over 200 years?