US determined to make France pay for war opposition

US and French leaders are trying to smile, but ahead of the first meeting between presidents George W. Bush and Jacques Chirac since the Iraq war feelings are still running high.

The two presidents are to meet in St Petersburg for the Russian city's 300th anniversary celebrations this week and next week Chirac will host Bush for the Group of Eight leaders' summit at the French resort of Evian.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell and French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin met in Paris last week. Smiling, each told reporters that relations are "excellent".

But according to most analysts that is far from true -- mainly because of French opposition to the war in Iraq.

Jeremy Shapiro, a specialist on French-US relations at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said such comments should be taken with "a large pinch of salt". In the meeting Powell added that the United States was reviewing its entire relationship with France.

"Powell also said that he is not taking back what he said about the fact that there will be consequences," added Shapiro.

Chirac and Bush last met at the NATO summit in Prague last November.

After a stony silence lasting several months, as debate over the merits of war rose to a bitter peak, Bush and Chirac have spoken twice since mid-April. The White House has emphasised each time, however, that it was at the initiative of the French president.

The anger of the US public has eased. Calls for a boycott of French wine are less frequent, but there are still anti-French jokes on the television chat shows. The political consequences however will take a long time to get over.

French support for a UN resolution that ended sanctions on Iraq eased the tensions. But the United States appears determined to make France pay for its past opposition in the Security Council chamber to authorisation for military action.