Ask the stereotypical Frenchman why they think all Americans are uncouth slobs. The mutual disdain has not just arisen from France's decision not to participate in the Iraq war. It goes back many many years. Personally, I think it stems from the pounding French pride took in the two world wars, and particularly their dependence on Marshall Plan dollars from the US.
I have not personally been to France, but I've had several close relatives and friends who went. Their experiences were mixed. Some French people were wonderful. Some were incredibly rude when they didn't realize my friend spoke excellent French, and thought they could get away with it. Some were incredibly rude anyway. In more than one instance, a waiter refused to bring butter to the table when requested, because apparently to put butter on French bread is an insult and not to be tolerated.
Certainly not all French people are like that towards Americans. Certainly not all Americans hate all French people. But they can only call Americans as a group uncultured oafs for so long before we begin to think they as a group are snobby bastards.
I would not disagree that these sterotypes exist, what I have an issue with is that they are rarely correct.
One could argue that the same stereotyping exists of the English (from the US), in that I have read many an article in US motoring magazines that read as if the UK is stuck in a bizzare version of the '50's.
Thats not to say that I have not read similarly silly stereotypes in publications in the UK.
Make way for another American:
It isn't that I hate the French, its more that I don't care much for them. We've had French foreign exchange kids stay with us before, I've been in classes with them at school, and I deal with them on a regular baisis through my job (tourists).
They often say that Americans are arrogant and cocky? Same goes with the French from my perspective, plain and simple. I do my best to be nice, ask where they are from, talk about France, etc. but everything often ends up getting weird, and I don't know which one of us screwed it up... And it is often the French Male kids that cause the problems, not the females... Again, I don't know why.
Thats just teenage boys for you, not much different regardless of the country you are in (my step-brother is going through this at the moment).
Politically speaking, I don't care much for the French either. They don't support their allies, they often go around their allies' backs, have an incredibly stupid political system that is afraid of some punk-ass kids who don't want to work hard, etc.
The're kinda like "Bizzaro America," maybe thats why we don't like them?
I have to say that some of your comments above (particularly the one in regard to punk-ass kids) shows a huge level of ignorance in regard to that particular situation. Paris and its suburbs has a huge problem with unemployment and far from being lazy, the law proposed by the French government would have made job security for anyone under a certain age non-existent (as a basic background to soem of the issues in the Paris suburbs I recomend you watch a film called La Haine).
As far as supporting allies, well thats a charge (if you are refering to Iraq) you could level at almost all of Europe.
The French goverment is (in my opinion) corrupt, in-effective and ignorant of its peoples needs and desires; that is however no reason to level the same charge at the whole population.
There have been many times in which my family has talked about going to France on holiday, and every time I put up a fuss. I don't want to support an anti-American government with my money in their country, much less do I want to deal with the occasionally negative folks of which I cannot understand what they are saying, as I don't speak French.
I didn't speak Italian when I first went to Italy, nor did I speak Arabic when I went to Tunisia, however it did make both countries very enjoyable to visit.
I also think that you will find negative folk everywere you go, and that certain does include the UK, here you may well meet people who will dislike you simply for being American (which is a stupid as disliking someone because the are French).
On a side note, there is always the talk about the various wars here with "who owes who what" in America. They helped us with the American Revolution, we paid them back with WWI and most certainly WWII.
My Grandparents still hold WWII as the "payback" situation with anything, and to some extent they are right. If we (the Americans) and the British wouldn't have helped out, chances are France would still be speaking German, and that Citroen C6? Yeah, all black, with a big silver arrow on the hood.
I must confess that attitudes of this nature do somewhat surprise me, the entire attitude could just as easily be leveled at
every European country with the exception of the UK, yet France is alway singled out.
On my many visits to France I have spoken people and seen memorials to the huge number of French men and women who risked (and often lost) their lives fighting in the underground during the occupation. was it the fault of the entire French people that its goverment was totaly unprepared for the German invasion? No, of course not; yet this entire 'cheese eating surrender monkey' attitude still exists today.
I can assure you that French soldiers fought bravely in both wars and during WW2 did a significant amount to ensure the German occupation was never easy.
You may want to take a look at French casualty figures before dismissing what they did so easily.
BTW - The above is not a slight on the brave work carried out by North American soldiers during both wars, but more an alternative view on an often misheld set of opinions on the French.
Regards
Scaff
. In the end, it's all about Politics. Now excuse me while I drive down to Buffalo to order some Freedom Fries.
