samedi 20 avril 2013
The different exchanges, meetings that I have
experienced, here and there, have often sparked my curiosity about how the
Foreigners really see the French? A question with certainly a multitude of
answers and that will necessarily bring to light cultural similarities and differences.
All the different nationalities have in mind some stereotypes about the French
but they don't grant the same importance to certain behaviors or rituals that
characterize them.
First, you should know that there is a difference
between Parisians and the rest of the French. Everything is a matter of nuances
and historical facts. But, in order to simplify the vision of things, we won't
dwell on their specificities and therefore we will not distinguish between
these two populations.
When a stranger arrives in Paris, he's
generally happy to be in the city of light and may say: "It is very
beautiful here. You can feel culture and history through the majestic monuments
and museums. There is entertainment everywhere and I can't wait to see
accordionists and the Parisians in their daily life..."
Ah Paris, France ... what a dream, "quel
enchantement"! But soon, reality takes over and a few surprises, good or
bad, will enrich and spice up your journey. Then, here are some examples of how
France and the French are viewed by foreigners through my little experience.
Naturally, it is more fun to focus on the bad things. And, these will be
enhanced with a subtle and subjective analysis.
1 They reproach, above all, our
chauvinism, our tendency to believe that we are better, more cultivated than
others. In short, a certain arrogance and snobbery. From the strict point of
view of tourism, although the park hotel in the country is much higher in
quantity and quality to that found in neighboring Italy or England, for
example, our services and how to welcome our guests are not always live up to
their expectations. The first criticism that they make is that we don't like
to serve.
In shops, reception is sometimes chilly. In the
terraces of our prestigious cafés, servers are not always friendly and helpful
with tourists. In terms of transport, including taxis, the picture is not
idyllic either. While most European countries have adopted flat fares for
connections airports - city, tourists often feel - true or false - of being
"trimballés" longer than necessary to inflate rates. Our subways are
closing too early, usually around 1am. Paris is a city that has become
excessively expensive when the night is a mere shadow of itself, a capital that
doesn't resonate (more) party, such as Barcelona, Berlin...
The tourism business has never been the subject
of a genuine public policy in France. However, tourism (hotels, cafes and
restaurants, campgrounds, travel agencies, spas and ski resorts) employs 1.8
million people. They represent 6.4% of France's GDP and generate some 44
billion Euros in revenue. All that should be enough to display a wide smile,
right?
2 Smile, let's talk about it. In the
United States, for example, smile is a sign of politeness. I don't know if it
is the same for the other French, but Parisians are well known to often pull a
long face. The French don't consider that to be polite, you need to smile. They
smile only when they really want to do it, not when it is expected. This
explains why, for the French, some social conventions can be seen as
hypocrites.
3 The French are often late. Indeed,
do not expect people with whom you have an appointment to be on time.
Punctuality is treated casually in France. Then, a delay of up to 15 minutes at
a meeting between friends is generally tolerated. We say that we are not late
but almost on time. However, punctuality is still required and even an
obligation when it comes to going to work or business appointments.
4 For those that evoke France in
terms of work, the majority of them think on the disputes, strikes, holidays.
According to them, the French, when they are not on vacation, they are on
strike. Moreover, we still have our RTT (additional days off) to recover from
our weekly 35h of work. Fortunately, the foreigners recognize the skills of
French and they don't see us as lazy as Spanish, Italian, or worse... the
Greek! But, one should work for a living and enjoy life and not live to work.
Some says that we are really lay back, others call it the French art de vivre.
5 Unfortunately, we French have a
reputation that sticks to your skin like old dry dirt: we have a reputation for
being dirty and don't wash every day. Indeed, you may meet dirty and smelly
people every day, but no more than anywhere else. But this reputation is
maintained by two things: the dog poop in the streets, and the Paris metro with
its terrible smell. But, it's still a showcase for France, almost the first
thing seen by foreign tourists. While in Chile, for example, the underground
(French) in Santiago is beautiful, brand new, all clean and even when it's
really crowded, it doesn't smell bad inside ... It is the same with the metro
in Montreal built from French technology.
Some people find rather sexy the body smell.
This cultural difference is relatively old. Henry IV, king of France
(1553-1610) wrote to his mistress: "Madame, I will be with you in a week,
do not take a bath anymore."
Today, it is quite unlikely to meet smelly
French. If it happens to you, do not hang on it and try to hold your breath.
For those who love to dive, this is an excellent exercise.
6 I pass on the reputation of French
lover because it doesn't fit with the fact that we stink. And also, because I
personally don't believe in being one. As it is more difficult to assess
whether this is a deserved reputation or not (after all, I've never been
seduced by a French lover, me...). However the famous French kiss, it works
great!
Actually, I fear that the general vision about the French
and scoped by the foreigners under such an angle is endless. The opinions may
differ, change or enhance after one or more visits of the country and therefore
exceed the images conveyed by movies, television, advertising, magazines...
Nevertheless, it is fun to compare a few points
of view: for the Spanish, Italian and South American, we are rather cold and
distant; for the Czech, Russian and Polish (at least those I met) we are too
uninhibited; according Germans, we are trying to be too bright and that really
complicates things when it would be easier to be clear and get to the point.
The Dutch thinks we are terrible for speaking foreign languages and for the
Belgian, we are too... French! More generally, many of us are very, very
pretentious.
Looking back, trying to be objective, I'd say
we're not so cold or unfriendly, but we know how to put some distance, often
for the wrong reasons, like showing one's superiority. It's true that we love
to show off, we are not pretentious - we are just French. France is the country
of the Enlightenment, of Human Rights, the cultural exception... I think it
comes from that time, of the Enlightenment, the 18th century when Paris was
famous for its literary and philosophical salons. Since then, the French have
not stopped "de se la péter" (fart higher than one's ass). Hence, the
reputation to smell.
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I learned new information for myself. Thank you!