What do you think about french bashing?

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Rillifane

Of course much of what is said about the French is arrant nonsense but then much of what is said about any nation by outsiders especially those who have never been to the country in question, is nonsense.

Current politics plays a part but so to does historical conflict or rivalry. Thus the British call alcohol "Dutch courage" and describe a disagreeable relative as a "Dutch Uncle" The Chinese describe the Japanese as "bandy legged malevolent dwarfs" and repeat racist folk tales that say the Vietnamese are the product of human-canine intermarriage.

France and the UK have a centuries long history of violent conflict plus a recent history of alliance that has often been strained and fractious. Winston Churchill once said that "the greatest cross I have to bear is the Cross of Lorraine" (referring to DeGaulle). If the British think the French live on snails then the French think the British eat overcooked meat and are a "nation of shopkeepers."

Franco-American relations have been difficult for decades for a wide variety of reasons and not all, as some would suggest, because of American errors.

Such conflicts and disagreements spill over into everyday life and become part of each nation's view of the other. No country is blameless in this regard and no country should pretend that it is not guilty of foolish stereotyping of others.

No one should be under the illusion that their own country does not, from time to time, deserve at least some criticism or that there can be alternative views of specific items of history or culture.

If the French want to talk about America's history of racism then they have to acknowledge that the USA has progressed rather a long way. As President Sarkozy's wife noted, the French could never have elected a Barak Obama.

Nor are the frequent cultural clashes between Anglos and the French a matter of one side being right and the other wrong. The French take American smiles as being signs of stupidity but is that any more reasonable than thinking the French cold because they don't constantly smile? The American habit of assuming instant friendship is unsettling to the French but then who is to say that being reserved is superior to being casual?

And some of the French can be grating. For example, one particularly smug and self important individual of French descent sent me an email telling me not to disagree with her because I live in rural Texas and therefore couldn't know anything while she was a "lecturer" at both French and American universities and therefore better educated. The fact that I was born and raised in New York City, went to university in Montreal, have a couple of doctoral level degrees and speak several languages was never on her radar because, after all, everyone from Texas is an ignorant cowboy.

Fools exist everywhere and therefore foolish stereotypes exist everywhere.

WISE OWL

The first answer to your question (the Canadian's being the second and mine the third; this in case Yahoo scrambles the answers as it often does) that accuses the French of hurting black people demonstrates exactly why the French are so often being unfairly treated.
It shows ill-founded prejudice and is due to word of mouth slander that very often has no actual justification or real substance. This often is done through ignorance by people that have never set foot in France and know nothing of its culture or its customs.
How does a person who lives in a country where blacks were maltreated (and worse) for centuries, and where a white person would not sit on a bus next to a black person less than forty years ago, can accuse the French of "hurting blacks" and use this accusation as a pretext for war mongering? The French, who are one of the least racially biased people in the world, have welcomed foreigners from different parts of the globe and have given them refuge from abusive regimes for many years, and treat them courteously irrespective of the colour of their skin.

You are British, you live in France and can appreciate what a wonderful country it is and how hospitable people are there. Some British people make jokes about the French but it is in a more humoristic, tongue in cheek spirit, and less deliberately offensive than American abuse. So many people now have crossed the Channel and been to France on holiday that they realise that there is little truth in most of the accusations made against the French; so much so that many British citizens have bought properties in France and have left England to live there permanently.

Nobody says that all the French are saints. The bureaucracy is horrendous. Civil servants and the police can be overbearing and curt. Getting work done on schedule is an uphill struggle. I have French friends that can be a real pain because they are so obstinate and they relish long and pointless discussions that rarely succeed in making them change their point of view. But it is untrue that the French are dirty or unhygienic. Neither are they all rude and arrogant and, in fact, they have better manners than many other nationals. They do not eat like pigs on a diet consisting solely of snails, frogs legs and stinking cheese. They take their meals at a table in a civilised fashion and do not stuff themselves with calorie ladden snacks in front of a television set. They dress conservatively and do not go around in combat trousers or revealing skirts and tops. They are reserved at first, but , when you get to know them, they will go the extra mile to help you, and when they are your friends they remain so, as opposed to many Americans who will wish you "Have a good day" but will not take a step forward to help someone in difficulties. They treat their guests with consideration and will go out of their way to smooth their path.

Since the refusal of their government to enter the foolish war in Iraq , all sorts of invectives have been hurled at the French by Americans, accusing them of cowardice with abuse such as "Cheese-eating surrender monkeys", and it is only now that people in the USA and in the UK realise the wisdom in not opening that can of worms and admit there were no weapons of mass destruction.

It is simply that people who have never set foot there have little idea of all the fantastic attributes of the country and its inhabitants. They believe reports made by some people who went there and, during their visit, treated the French as if they where inferiors, expecting everyone to be at their beck and call and speak fluent English. How many people in New York or London would be able to answer questions asked in French?
France is the world's most visited country. There are so many things that the French do extremely well that it would take too long to enumerate them. Let us not forget that the country as a whole is like it is because the people who live there have made it so: fast, clean and punctual modern railways, fantastic, excellent and well-designed motorways, clean and litter free cities with interesting and wide-ranging architecture, all sorts of artifacts and things to admire wherever you go, lovingly tended and varied countryside, a fashion sense and a cuisine that are world famous. Hardly a country run by "black bashing surrender monkeys"...

Cabal

Rather tiring, and I agree with both Wise Owl and Rillifane. I try to accept criticism of my country when done in good faith (yes, we do have very dark parts in our history and yes we like to have our nose rubbed in them as little as anyone else) but the bashing is just insults hurled at us, most of the time under the pretext of joking. The 'French wave' for example, with which a friend of mine was greeted every day at his office in New York. When he complained he was told that he couldn't take a joke.

The latest wave was nurtured and spread by the Republican government of Bush when France led a revolt against the Iraq invasion and all those lies are now so much ingrained in the mind of most people that they don't even question them anymore. They KNOW that the French are.... (insert insult). That is the great propaganda power of television and of the Bush government and it will take a very long time for the lies to be forgotten.

My own answer to that kind of talk is to accuse the person of racism. And when my insulter protests that it is only a joke/truth/gentle teasing I ask him to put Black instead of French. The resulting look on his face is always very entertaining.

On the other hand, I have been hurling stereotypes with my British and US colleagues for years now, and we get a good laugh out of it, especially during soccer or rugby season. Being called a frog eater is way less insulting that being called a coward cheese eating surrender monkey.

angelguy_paris

It's most an Anglo Saxon problem..this is due to our old competion with the English for many century..for the rest you will find people who will hate other people anywhere in the world...

Suanna

If you think it is bad in France, don't ever visit western Canada then. The French in the east who live in Canada are hated worse than the devil himself in this part of the world. Don't worry, there is always somebody in society worse off than you.

Anthon A

they hurt black people so french bashing is cool with me

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