America Still Has a Hold on the French

PARIS -- There's an Ice Age in Paris — at least at the cinema. Harry Potter is weaving his spells, the Metro 123 is under attack, and a Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood at the wheel is cruising the boulevards. American movies continue to captivate the French audiences, despite the droning complaints by the intelligencia over the alleged dangers of cultural “Americanization.”

Top box office hits over the past few weeks include Harry Potter, Ice Age 3, the Attack on Metro 123 (Pelham 123), Public Enemies among others. In fact, of the top ten films now showing in France as reported by the national daily Le Figaro, eight are American and only one is from France. And that's despite a still very creative and heavily state- subsidized French film industry.