To make it worse, Armstrong's reign comes as French-American relations are at their sourest ever.

It took a crisis over the Caribbean country of Haiti to get French-American relations back on track.

The French mood these days is a sour one, and French-American relations, never better only six months ago, have soured with it.

You describe French-American relations under far too negative colors.

Seminars on French-American relations will be held.

President Bush came here a year ago, before the chill that has befallen French-American relations.

The impact of all this on French-American relations has been little short of poisonous.

"French-American relations are 200 years old, and believe me, they will continue to flourish in the spirit of cooperation," he said.

Ever since, French-American relations have been like a long-running marriage, frequently warmed by frictions.

Considering the strain in French-American relations these days, I thought it very gracious of her to share this story.