Best-seller author Samuel Huntington is too far away from Western idea of history to be considered as a true scientist. But he is although pointing the good reason why French people who are knowing their own history, art, customs, religion(s), do regard USA-culture as a foreign culture, not only for the sole detail that the USA have a theocratic constitution (French constitution is theocratic too, a theocracy in which the State does not let any place for God. The laws that are fighting against muslim or christian religious symbols prove that Marx was true: State religion is a stronger drug due to its mask of neutrality (Marx in his critics against nazi's State and legacy as G.W.F Hegel does define it.)
USA, says Huntington, never knew catholicism and marxism. Catholic religion is not that much different from other Christian religions in fact nowadays, a theological unity that is starting from English and German Reformation (Best proof is that German Ratzinger does quote Saint Augustine very often, who was for medieval (!) catholic theology old fashioned.)
As the Christian religion almost died in Europe (only 2% of French people go to the catholic mass) and last popes were coming from Eastern culture, one can even say that there is no big difference between protestantism and catholicism anymore (I mean 'no big' regarding theology). Who is interested in theology can even notice that Luther or Melanchton were closer to Aristotelician principles that grounded catholicism during about four centuries than today pope Benedictus XVIth himself does! But there did exist in catholicism a theological idea against theocracy that of course influenced some French philosophers of the XVIIIth, following Bacon and Shakespeare, English example.
Let us say that Greek Materialism or criticism that Marx tried to introduce again in Europe in the XIXth century never influenced the USA. Best proof is that Time is almost treated as a god in USA culture.
And this materialism is what can characterize Western Europe culture from others, even if one has to say that marxist historic science is opposite to mainstream French State devotion too.
No doubt that the commercial and military alliance of France with the USA has for the moment a bigger influence on French people idea about USA.
French immigrants from Africa, if they were proud of Obama's 'choice' are nevertheless seeing USA-military invasion of Irak nothing else as a colonial war.