While liberal truths come crashing down left and right, the conservative view of the world is reaffirmed. The French should not be considered allies. Their values are just too different from ours.

Poll: French see Arafat as hero

The French regard Yasser Arafat as a hero rather than a terrorist, according to a new poll.

Asked to choose whether the Palestinian Authority chairman is a "hero of national resistance" or a terrorist, 43 percent chose the former and 27% the latter.

Ten percent said Arafat fit into both categories, while 9% said he was neither.

The poll, published Monday and commissioned jointly by the Lib ration newspaper and a national public radio station, also found that three times as many French people hold Prime Minister Ariel Sharon more responsible for Middle East violence than hold Arafat.

In addition, 34% said they had more sympathy for the Palestinians, as opposed to 13% for Israel.