Drinks group Pernod Ricard is set to delay the launch of its Martell cognac out of fears that it would flop following the launch of the allied attack on Saddam Hussein's regime.
JCDecaux is having to reconsider its plans to bid for the $1bn (£639.5m) New York street advertising contract. The French outdoor giant had been preparing a solo play for the contract, but it is now considering seeking a US partner.
Republican New York mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his decision to put the contract out to tender last year. The deal is one of the biggest of its kind, and JCDecaux sees its chance of winning the lucrative contract as having lessened following the fallout at the UN and within Nato.
However, joint chief executive Jean Francois Decaux tried to play down the move, but admitted there was a problem.
"Concerns about the geo-political situation reducing our chances of winning the New York contract are overstated. We have made joint bids before in the US and are considering it for New York partly to overcome concerns about JC Decaux being French," he said.
Pernod Ricard acquired Martell from Seagram last year and it had hoped to launch the brand in the US in 2003.
A spokesman for the company said: "If there is a lot of anti-French sentiment, we will wait a little before launching it."
It follows similar anti-French incidents across the US in recent weeks including one restaurant on Capitol Hill renaming its French fries as Freedom Fries in protest against France's failure to support its allies. French toast has also taken on the Freedom appendage.
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