How is France and its culture seen by Americans ?
Posted by Exootil93200@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 56 comments
thoughts on the France
Posted by Exootil93200@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 56 comments
thoughts on the France
pawsplay36@reddit
I hear they still smoke, which I find unappealing.
I like how they riot in the streets when the government sucks ass. We could learn from that.
ConsumptionofClocks@reddit
The smoking problem is definitely NOT limited to just France. It's all of Europe.
shessocold1969@reddit
Yes. Lots of smoking in Greece. It didn’t bother me in the slightest. It isn’t allowed in restaurants but Greeks don’t care. I kinda of liked the rebellious attitude.
ConsumptionofClocks@reddit
Honestly of the European countries I've been to, the Greeks smoked the least. The Swedes were definitely the worst imo.
shessocold1969@reddit
Really? The others must smoke a lot. My memory could be clouded and a lot of the smokers were probably European tourists. So far I’ve only been to Greece so I have nothing to compare it to.
ConsumptionofClocks@reddit
I've only been to 3 so I don't have a lot of comparisons. But I distinctly remember getting out of a Swedish train and thinking "damn it smells like cigarettes" multiple times.
droid_mike@reddit
It doesn't ever actually work, though, so just performative bullshit to make the masses feel better. Nothing they riot about actually gets changed by anyone. Just like here.
pawsplay36@reddit
Oh, did they repeal healthcare in France? Union protections?
droid_mike@reddit
The last riots were about pension reform, and no, the government just let the people have their little tantrum and changed nothing
eyetracker@reddit
April 26, 1992. There was a riot on the streets, tell me where were you?
pawsplay36@reddit
What a weird comment.
shessocold1969@reddit
Sophisticated, they enjoy life, good food and good wine. Maybe a little snobby, but that’s fine. I went to a Caribbean resort, a small boutique one, about half the guests were French. Zero eye contact from them, which is very different for Americans. We usually like to exchange pleasantries at the very least. It didn’t bother me, it was just different. There was one friendly woman and I asked her for directions to the spa. I don’t speak French but I figured everyone knows the word “spa”. She did and directed me with a little English and pointing. I said “ merci” and she laughed at me, which was funny. I tried.
Accomplished_Will226@reddit
I know it’s a stereotype but when I imagine France I think well dressed, incredibly rude, chain smoking, wine drinking people eating horrible things with fancy names like escargot, fois gras and ris de veau.
AskAnAmerican-ModTeam@reddit
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This_is_fine0_0@reddit
“But I am le tired”
Ok_Gas5386@reddit
“How can you govern a country that 246 varieties of cheese?”
The French are so stubborn and riotous that they have managed to be the only industrialized country to still have a peasant character. That’s admirable.
thingsbetw1xt@reddit
Mostly stereotypes about fashion and food, making fun of the language, and making fun of them for surrendering in WW2.
KillBologna@reddit
Cool country if Paris didn’t exist. Parisians are very rude.
drumzandice@reddit
Personally, I find this to be such a tired stereotype. Granted, I’ve only been there once, but I did not find that to be true whatsoever.
revengeappendage@reddit
I have personally found the Parisians to be deeply unhappy people which results in rudeness.
Traditional-Let9530@reddit
Kind of a mix of admiration and stereotypes, like people romanticize the food, fashion, and history but also joke about the attitude and stubbornness, so it’s basically “we love what you’ve got, we just think you’re a bit dramatic about it.”
Radiant_Music3698@reddit
The French Navy’s final Morse code message on January 31, 1997, "Calling all. This is our last cry before our eternal silence".
This signaled the official switch to modern digital distress systems (GMDSS), closing a century of maritime telegraphy, though some commercial stations continued for a few more years
the-tea-ster@reddit
This is how I talk to my wife before I go to bed 20 minutes earlier than normal
eyetracker@reddit
France got rid of terminal-based text internet (Minitel) in 2012.
nuglasses@reddit
Buncha frogs, I tell ya.
🤣
JuliusTweezer@reddit
Don’t ever think about France or their culture except when questions like this arise.
Scrappy_The_Crow@reddit
Expect this question to be removed due to Rule 8:
CupBeEmpty@reddit
It got flagged for exactly this but I’m feeling very oppositional and defiant today so it’s staying up.
The rule is for preventing massive constant shitposting with “what do you think of x people/country?”
We haven’t had a France one asked jn a bit and op seems earnest.
Love you scrappy but not today.
Scrappy_The_Crow@reddit
No worries, this isn't something I took personally.
sendme_your_cats@reddit
France is a beautiful coutnry, shame that there's French people living in it though
Snawer_brillant@reddit
It’s hard to like France when u guys are basically discriminating the Muslims there.
curiousleen@reddit
I loved the idea of France my entire life. I visited on a work trip and it felt like every time I spoke English, I felt was hit with a “fucking Americans” and a glare. I don’t love being in places I’m not wanted. But also, as a woman of color, I struggle with people making me feel like I don’t belong.
So… I’ll probably never return, but I will always wish my desire matched my reality.
daveescaped@reddit
Can’t speak for everyone but I massively admire French culture; Food, movies, comics, art, music.
The things is the French also massively admire their culture.
CosyBeluga@reddit
Other than French film, which I like, I don't really know or care about France.
Less-Load-8856@reddit
HonHonHon
Less-Load-8856@reddit
I love France and French culture and almost all of the French people I've ever met, actually, and I have visited most of the northern 2/3rds or so of the country, over a few trips there.
MsPooka@reddit
What you see in the news in general is bad. So just like you generally see bad news about the US, we generally see bad news about France, especially policies that we would consider racist or bigoted. Like policing what people wear at the beach, not allowing hijabs, and basically forcing assimilation instead of fostering coexistence. I very much disagree with this French model on moral grounds. I think most non-bigot Americans would agree with me.
Otherwise, I don't have a bad opinion of France. I've never been, so my opinions are limited. It's an extremely beautiful country, all French people that I've met in the US have been very nice. Some of the stereotypes for rudeness etc I'm sure are just that, but I do think it's true that French people would rather speak broken English rather than to listen to a fluent French speaker who doesn't speak with a perfect accent. FYI, French people have an extremely strong accent in English but I'm yet to hear anyone complain about it.
It is kind of wild how many of you guys still smoke and the amount of alcohol you consume. You otherwise seem health focused so I honestly don't understand it.
Dazzling-Climate-318@reddit
On an individual basis my interactions with French people have been polite and decent.
I know a bit of history of France and its policies and have found them annoying.
The need for dominance and control by some of its Citizens in particular has piqued my curiosity.
Overall, I find it an interesting and curious bit of programming, but not one I’d have designed.
Patient_Duck123@reddit
It's probably the most romanticized country/culture in the world.
Curvy_Raven@reddit
When I think of France I think of a slower pace than the US. I think of people who find a bit more meaning in the every day things, and enjoy the quiet as much as the buslting parts.
I think of beauty, art, food, countrysides, vineyards, old architecture, stone walls, charm, history, old world and new world coming together.
I think of a country that takes pride and care into their products and their food. I picture women who are polished and well put together, and other women who are bohemian and free. I also picture a vibrant youth, intellectuals of all ages, and everyday people all living in a beautiful landscape.
Oh, and baguettes.
7empestSpiralout@reddit
It’s not even thought about tbh
CupBeEmpty@reddit
Which is a wild statement given how much we owe to French history and influence.
Break out a history book and talk about France for at least a hot second.
overlord_cow@reddit
As a Cajun man I wonder the same about how you’d think of us. My grandparents first language was Cajun French, I have a French last name and I can trace my lineage directly back to France.
But as far as how we feel about y’all just a kind of distant appreciation of y’all being our “homeland” in a way. That and the average stereotypes associated with France (fashion, snootiness, baguettes or something).
DameWhen@reddit
Like New York, but more haughty.
Icy-Commission-8068@reddit
Hmmm…I’ve heard Parisian’s are really rude but most of France isn’t. I’ve heard smoking is a bigger thing there so that’s gross.
Blutrumpeter@reddit
From what I've seen in my one visit, most French people feel rude compared to what we're used to in America until you get to know each other. Meanwhile Parisians are mean to everyone even their friends
Acrobatic_Box9087@reddit
We love French culture, it is tres magnefique. We love French wine. We love French women, and like to make love to them.
The only thing we don't like about France is the way you spell the name Raul as Raoul, instead of Raul.
DrBlankslate@reddit
We rarely talk about France. It’s not something that’s important to us. We know about you mostly from history books.
toomuchpercyjackson@reddit
French culture (parisian culture) is very romanticized but French people (parisian people) are made fun of because we find them to be overly rude and pretentious, especially because they have a reputation for ruthlessly mocking us whenever an American trying to learn French pronounces a word wrong.
I don't think most Americans realize that French culture and French people are very different outside of Paris because Paris is mostly what we see in our media.
Pleasant-Pattern7748@reddit
It varies person to person. Il y a beaucoup de francophiles ici, mais there’s probably more people who are indifferent or hold unflattering stereotypical views toward France.
Entropy907@reddit
Isn’t it all mimes on unicycles smoking while holding loaves of freshly baked bread?
SubstanceNo1544@reddit
I would say that an actual American doesn't give 2 flying fucks where you are from.
Most of us go by the "are you cool" factor.
A LOT of the implied racism thats supposed to exist here, is nonexistent where I live.
Unusual_Soup@reddit
Pretentious
pickledplumber@reddit
I'd love to visit. I have known some French people who have moved to the states and they have all been very nice.
I don't really get the unfettered migration but what do I know
Appropriate-Food1757@reddit
France is rad IMO
RioTheLeoo@reddit
Two diametrically opposed things come to mind
-luxurious, chic, the finer things
-smelly, rude, arrogant