DISNEY AND THE FRENCH MEDIA ESSAY      PT2     2400W

Fortunately for Disney, not all intellectuals would take part in harshly criticizing the arrival of the park. Joffre Dumazedier, a sociologist, stated in ‘Le Journal du Dimanche’ in 1991: “at the time of Louis XIV, Europe spoke French. Then England fascinated the 19th century. Today it is up to the Americans, then it will be the Japanese. It is a stupid scare. Who cares Disney is American as long as it is well made”. Basically the key to the project in France had to do with money issues and job opportunities. No government would turn down Disney’s offer, as it had the potential to make a lot of money. In 1995, Right-wing President Jacques Chirac followed up Francois Mitterand. Chirac had a pro-Disneyland mindset as it fit with the right-wing tradition of admiring a sense of enterprise, whatever the cost, in addition to following the American model. Michael Eisner, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, confirms this in his autobiography “Chirac would prove more sympathetic to our project, but his arrival meant dealing with an entirely new group of officials”.