France joined Russia in rejecting the United States' resolution regarding Iraq and weapons of mass destruction. Going a step further than rejecting the resolution, the French officials attempted to persuade other countries to reject it. Americans began a spontaneous boycott of French products and even changed the name of french fries to "freedom fries."

No stranger to terrorism itself, France has been the target of attacks. In October 2002, terrorists attacked a French oil tanker off the coast of Yemen. French intelligence agents arrested 8 suspects in connexion with an attack on a Tunisian synagogue which killed 19 people, and in November of the same year, agents arrested 6 Islamists in connexion with "Shoe Bomber" Richard Reid's plan to blow up an airliner with explosives hidden in his shoes.

In March, 2003, France introduced a terrorism alert system, Vigipirate, a national warning system with four color-coded levels from yellow to scarlet.