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JACQUES Chirac�s opposition to the war in Iraq and the desecration of Allied graves by anti-British vandals have ended France�s reign as the UK�s favourite holiday destination.

A loss of 300,000 visitors and a 25 per cent drop in bookings in a month mean Spain is now officially Britain�s top tourist venue after 14 years in second place.

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One holiday, an activity break in the Dordogne, which includes archery, sailing, abseiling and windsurfing, has been discounted by nearly �1,000.

The �1,500 holiday is on offer to a family of five for �500 for a week on full board.

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U.S. importers of French products said the effect has been significant. Guillaume Touton, a Frenchman who is president of wine distributor Monsieur Touton Selection Ltd. in New York, said anti-French feeling cost him $500,000 in sales last month. French wines usually account for two-thirds of his business, but now his customers, mostly retail stores, want something else.

"Typically, the guy says, 'No, I don't want French wine. Give me Spanish wine, Italian wine,' " said Touton, who has an office in Capitol Heights, Md.

W.J. Deutsch & Sons Ltd. of White Plains, N.Y. -- the No. 1 U.S. importer of French wines, as measured by cases shipped -- said its sales dropped 10 percent in the past two months. Bill Deutsch, its president, wouldn't divulge specific figures but said his sales were down by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"We have seen French wines decreasing," Deutsch said. "We've seen stores take French wines off the floor of their store. We've seen major chains stop the advertising of French wines in their weekly ads." He reported substantial increases in sales of Italian, Australian and Spanish wines.

Patricia Carreras, president of IC&A Inc., a home-decor business in New York that imports exclusively French products, said sales have been down 40 to 50 percent since February. Her small firm, with four employees, sells Limoges porcelain, hand-painted candles picturing Parisian scenes, and other French-oriented products to big mail-order houses and other large U.S. companies.

"It's a very, very deep reaction," said Carreras, who is French. "We would never have expected something so lasting. I think it has been accelerating even in the last four weeks."

The importers, angry and frustrated, said the government in Paris did not comprehend the effect of its war position on French businesses.

Touton has tried to fight the trend by pledging to give $1 for every case of wine he sells to the USO to help U.S. troops in Iraq. He has done it for two weeks but it hasn't helped much. He said he thinks that business will pick up only when Chirac stops making anti-U.S. statements.

"We want to send the message to the French side to please do something. Or, if you don't want to do anything, then please shut up," Touton said.

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Originally posted by Saltah'na:
And what happened to boycotts of China, Russia, and Germany?

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WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) -- Condoleezza Rice, President George W. Bush's national security adviser, is reliably said to have summarized post-war policy to the non-allies with the phrase: "Punish France, ignore Germany, forgive Russia."

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