I generally don’t go in much for culture-bashing. The whole French-US cultural disconnect has always seemed a bit petty to me. From Freedom Fries to the boycotting of McDonalds it all seems more like children’s antics than anything. After all, Paris and New York are both amazing cities…perhaps the two best in the world.
But I have to say I read with some amusement this piece on how the rest of Europe views France (hint: not good). Or at least this is one poll’s results as to how they are viewed by their neighbors. The French, the author states, are “crazy drivers, strangers to customer service, obsessed by sex and food and devoid of a sense of humor.” Devoid of a sense of humor?! What about Jerry Lewis! But more, say the Germans, the French are “pretentious, offhand and frivolous”. AND, say the Swedes, they are “disobedient, immoral, disorganized, neo-colonialist and dirty”. Disobediant?
Anyway, even if you don’t care much about such name-calling, at least it’s nice to have the spotlight, if just for a moment, shined on someone else.