The US perception towards France is important both culturally (the perception of French as snooty and aristocratic, and Parisians as promiscuous), and, in the 20th century, politically.
Of course, the article could almost certainly be improved.
-Mark
Well, the apparent American inability to utter the phrase 'French restaurant' without the prefix 'fancy' tells me something (about Americans); as does my own compatriots' fixed prejudice that French food is about 'sauces' (seems to come from ordering 'steack poivre' in Calais and being surprised by what arrives). I wouldn't regard the latter as particularly encyclopedic, though.
Charles