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What do you like / hate most about the French?

Posted in France forum

As a French girl myself, I'm interested in what people from other countries think about us ;)

So: What do you like (or hate) most about French people?

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  • Paul Raphael

    posted by  in France forum 

    Bonjour comment allez vous? I am going France for a holiday. I think Marseille is a good city to visit. Je parle francaise. Au revoir.

  • Nico Bettencourt

    The French exception

    posted by  Nico Bettencourt in France forum 

    I am french. Let me explain to you why we don't speak english AS GOOG AS YOU EXPECT WE SHOULD DO (because, among youngers, many can speak english nowadays) :

    First, not all french people speak english. And many have a very average level. Others are not very proud of their speaking's level, even if it's not bad at all. And you may know that taking risks is not the main quality of the french people :) (although this is changing A LOT currently).

    Second reason : like it has already been said in this topic, some people are not inclined to make efforts in front of foreigners which aren't doing any effort too.

    Thrid reason : This is not a french exception. I don't think italian and spanish people are particulary good english speakers. And so we could say about japanese, chinese, russian and all latin people. A thing you have to know is french is a latin language, and it's very different way of speaking (and pronounciation), although many words are similar (because of the french influence in Britain during Middle-Age). The counterpart, is french people are far stronger in spanish for exemple than english natives. So please consider the advantage of all nothern europeans countries over latin countries in speaking english before any judgement.

    The last (but not the least) reason : There is, in the end, one french exception. It's the ancestral rivalry between France and England. We have been in war so many times during the last 1000 years that it's a part of the french memory. Even if we are allies since last century, something is still here, accentuated by our different way of living (but I am sure french people doen't hate english as much as english people hate french). Besides this, you must add the fact that english culture is flooding the world through business exchanges, TV and movies, since the industrial revolution, with a big acceleration thanks to the USA supremacy during last 60 years and the emergence of the medias. Many people of the world, particulary the french (for the reasons I've explained), are over saturated by this "invasion". They are very aware that english and american people doesn't take other cultures into consideration (I talk about our music, films, and so on). And I am sure many french are not very happy to see that english, particullary this tongue, is becoming the "international language".

    For english natives, it's a HUGE advantage to speak a language considered as the "international langage". Why bothering learning other tongues ? That's why they are the worst speakers of other language in the world. That's not me, that's statistics.

    If you combine all these reasons, you may understand why France is not the best choice if you want to speak english when travelling. But it is not the worst too ;)

  • Go to Tama tama's profile

    posted by  in France forum 

    things i kinda dislike about french people, they are easily got stress out just because of little things... maybe because of the ancestors, i don't know. they got a lotta rules and i think it's all too much :s . too uptight. but there always a good thing to learn anyway. but i really think that french peeps goota learn how to relax a bit and not easily get angry just because we misplaced a fork in spoon tiroir. ça m'enerve! lol
    but i love france. live here since dec 2008. been in south for 2 months and rite now i'm in nord.

  • Z S

    RE: CMPOL CMPOL

    posted by  Z S in France forum 

    ... Je suis plus que d'accord - exactement mes mots ...

    Did I at least said it right? :-D

  • Go to CMPOL CMPOL's profile

    posted by  in France forum 

    That's very interesting to read yo all.
    I am french myself living abroad.

    I think that french aren't less welcoming than the other nationalities except maybe in Paris during the rush times.

    People doesn't expect you to speak perfect language but dont't use the words "Hello", "Sorry" and "thank you" in english.

    I have heard too many times british starting to ask something by Hello ... which sounds rude and snotty and I personally don't want to answer when I hear that.
    I don't generalise but once I saw some englsih guys in Spain talking to a old guy in a shop like a dog cause he didn't speak english.

    When I go abroad I make (the litlle) effort to learn a few words to avoid to speak only in english and I never had any problems.

    Make the effort to learn "Bonjour", "Merci" et "Au revoir" to show you care a bit about the culture and you are not only there for the sun and the hotell and I am sure you will get back next time.

  • Z S

    About the main topic WHAT I LIKE AND WHAT I DONT

    posted by  Z S in France forum 

    - I like the way french people live, their priorities for life (considering what I have experienced) - I love the language (gosh it is not easy one) and the "friendliness" ..

    - I dont like that there is a part of French people who consider other nations "lower class" - maybe that is personal but thats how I got treated by some selfclassified-higherclass french people /./././

  • Z S

    french not speaking english

    posted by  Z S in France forum 

    ... Hi, just to share my experience ...

    I lived in Paris couple of years and met people of many "faces" - consider when I arrived to France I could say only Salut ...
    Anyway for the discussion - in France you meet 3 kind of people:
    1) those who know english and spoke to me english - so no comment - at the end I was foreigner trying to communicate
    2) those who didnt speak at all - however depending on the person - some tried to help - some just couldnt
    3) those who know english but refused to spoke - I guess that was a bit ignorant.

    I believe - no one should walk in to the foreign country and be ignorant thinking that only English can help. Common, does it kill to learn couple of words - carry small language dictionary and ask in the shop for "fraises" instead of ignorantly trying to convince the sales person that the red thing is called strawberry? ...
    People do get nicer and do get more friendly when one tries to speak their native language ... at the end, thats the beauty of europe - 1 hour fligh and you get different culture, different language ..

    In any case, to summarize - what I would like to say is that it is very personal. And that goes not only for French people, but anywhere in the world.

  • LILUOSH LILUOSH

    philippe ur right

    posted by  LILUOSH LILUOSH in France forum 

    i think the same my english is very bad but i can hendle with what i know the most important its what u have inside and i accept everybody except if they r like me live their life without to search alot of problems

  • LILUOSH LILUOSH

    posted by  in France forum 

    WHEN I WAS IN FRANCE THEY WERE NICE WITH ME AND SPOKE ENGLISH TOO SO I DONT KNOW WHAT U TALK ABOUT MAYBE BECAUSE IM JEWISH:)
    we dont judge people and im sure when ill be there again they r going to act the same its depend how u take it good luck

  • Franch people

    posted by Deleted user in France forum 

    Hey Philippe, I can totally agree to what you said.
    Still it's kind of sad to hear that so many French guys refuse speaking English to foreigners, even if they would understand it...

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