Tourism officials say attempts to boycott French hurt everyone

Published 2015-07-23

(11 Apr 2003)
1. News briefing
2. Pan from chefs to others
3. Photographers
4. Press, pan to speakers
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jacques Capsouto, Capsouto Freres Restaurateur:
"There's the economy, there's the stock market, there's the weather, this winter has been one of the worst, there's being French, there's the smoking (referring to the recent smoking ban in New York City), all a combination of that is making it very tough on the restaurant industry."
6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Tim Zagat, founder, Zagat Restaurant Survey:
"This restaurant, a great French restaurant, Le Cirque, it's owned by an Italian family, do you want to hurt Italians? It is employing probably 90 percent people who are New Yorkers who come from everywhere in the world, do we want to hurt them? Their suppliers are from everywhere, all we're doing -- any kind of boycott is simply shooting yourself in the foot."
7. Dining room of Le Cirque almost empty during lunchtime
8. Group eating at table in Le Cirque
STORYLINE:
New York tourism officials have launched a new advertising campaign to encourage New Yorkers to support all eating establishments in response to French restaurants reporting sluggish sales and negative customer comments.
In a full-page newspaper advertisement scheduled to appear next week, the tourism agency will try to send the message that avoiding a restaurant because of its cuisine hurts the entire industry and the city's overall economy.
The 12.5 billion US dollar restaurant industry in New York employs 150-thousand people.
A number of tourism officials, restaurateurs and chefs gathered for a news conference at the French restaurant Le Cirque on Thursday to announce the new publicity.
Restaurateurs say they have encountered patrons who have refused to order French wines, or been reluctant to make reservations at places with French names.
Although there is no evidence of an organised boycott, the city tourism agency, NYC & Company, said some French restaurants have suffered from tense US-French relations.
Anti-French sentiment has been seen around the country after relations worsened over disagreements about military action in Iraq.
Incidents have ranged from the dumping of French wines to a World War II veteran returning the D-Day medal bestowed on him by the French government.
Cafeterias in the US House of Representatives changed their menus to read "freedom fries" instead of French fries.

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