enigma, hmc knew she might get stick for it, so it wasn't a silly gaffe. but like i say, hmc was right to think that she might have got away with it, as the only people that seem to think it was a problem are those with strong french links. I would find a thread saying 'bloody' germans as offensive etc etc.
i don't know whether hmc is racist or not, and i don't think that anyone has accused her of that based on this thread title.
i've calmed down a bit now, i still think it is really suspect tho. i think it's just as suspect that others are basically saying 'oh don't worry, it's fine to say that, people are just touchy' effectively.
lots and lots of british people have commented to me on how rude the french are (mostly before they know that i have anything to do with france). they say this having just come back from france for a holiday or business trip. they seem to have not inkling of the fact that if you go to a country and expect that the people of that country will speak your language, and get peed off when they don't. and don't give any thought to what a wind up it is.
i have invariably found that if you make the effort to speak french to french people, they are incredibly warm, hospitable and welcoming. i would say that in some cases this doens't apply to parisians as it doesn't to many inhabitants of big cities like london where people are always in a rush and tourists are generally seen as a pain in the ar8se.
i actually sat on a flight back from crete a couple of weeks ago that was delayed, and the captain said that he thought it was probably the fault of french air traffic control (without an explanation of why that should be). there was a palpable air amongst the almost exclusively british passengers of 'bloody french' ness. it is just a total wind up.
as to whether the same holds across the channel, ime many french people are total anglophiles and really interested in british politics/way of life etc.