The more things change, the more they stay the same. After more than 14 years, France is going through the same awful situation experienced by the US in 2001 following terrorist attacks killing many civilians in the French depth and causing the sovereignty of a state of terror and panic. Hence, French President Francois Hollande was found in the same position as that of President George W. Bush after the September 2001 attacks. After three days of deadly attacks, leaving 129 killed and 352 injured in Paris and Saint-Denis, Hollande, delivered a speech, Nov.16 before the French Parliament, tackling self-defense tones, demanding a tighter security policy. The same tones dominated Bush's speech on Sept. 20 before the US Congress after the killing of 2985 persons. Notably, Hollande's speech stemmed from the same national mold that characterized Bush's speech that time, even in his analysis of the terrorists' motives, arguing "jihadists fight us because France is a country of freedom, because we are the homeland of human rights", and the same was echoed in American discourse stating " they attacked America because we are defenders of freedom." The speeches of both presidents are characterized by the frequent use of the term "war", with it repeated in American discourse 14 times, and used the phrase "We are in a state of war against terrorism" that was a milestone. After more than 14 years, the same term appeared 13 times in Hollande's speech as in "France is in a state of war." The similarities also reside in the security measures contained in both speeches. While Hollande called on the French Parliament to enact security legislation restricting freedoms motivated by the fight against terrorism such as, for example, dropping nationality, calling for increasing police and intelligence budgets and manpower, Bush's speech came out with a full legislative project to fight terrorism, including in particular, the establishment of the Internal Security Office, where Bush said, "We will combine our strengths to enhance our intelligence to know the plans of terrorists before they act and to find them before they strike." But the difference between the speeches was the timing of the reaction; while the US reaction came after nine days of the attacks where Bush the junior announced on September 20, 2001, he would mobilize his army, and on October 7, less than a month after the attacks, USA and British forces bombed Afghanistan. In contrast, Hollande did not wait, his reaction came quickly, on the eve of his speech, ordering the bombing of the military camps of the Islamic state in Syria's Raqqa. From fundamental differences between the French and the USA state is the willingness of both peoples to give up some freedoms in exchange for security promises. The American people gave up some of their freedoms regarding the the sanctity of personal communications and allowing the CIA and FBI wiretaps and surveillance without permission under the "the Patriot Act", which was passed by a majority of the US Congress. Opposite to this was the French case where we find in the French speech a clear commitment by Hollande to comply with the French Constitution, especially in the issue of citizenship, in addition to public criticism from newspapers and civil society organizations of the civil Given the harsh nature. It is worthy noting that these fundamental differences in the reactions between the US and France are due mainly to the historical experience of both communities as well as their differences in terms of culture. While personal freedom prevails as a value in France and surpasses that of the society, it is the need to safety that dominates the American society, so they chose to give up freedom in return for the freedom of society, making the United States not ashamed of Snowden's revelations for the US government spying on US citizens and Europeans as well. Also, the strength of the left-wing French parties, compared to the United States that is not characterized by the multiplicity of political spectrum, could hamper any laws restricting freedoms in France.
