NationStates Jolt Archive

How many of you actually have been to France?

Poll coming.

I forgot to say. I've been there......

I've been there twice. I have relatives in and around Metz.

EDIT: I don't really bash them. I just point out that they've made their share of mistakes and harmlessly poke fun at them from time to time.

How many of you actually have been to France?

Poll coming.
I went to Paris once... half the city smelled like human piss and most of the people were rude to me simply because I'm American. My friend that was with me started telling people he was Canadian as an experiment. I mainly got treated like shit and he was treated nicely, simply because of where we said we were from.

I don't know about the rest of France, but FUCK Paris.

My whole attitude about the French (from France) have changed...my hot French prof converted me. That and great French cinema. I would very much like to visit France...and I just think all the French-bashing is hilarious in its stupidity.

"Oooh...we won the war, they should be grateful...oooh..."

Been a few times, seemed like a nice place to me. Well compared to Britain which to be honest is a bit grubby, not to mention full of idiots.

Want proof that the UK is full of idiots? Our current number 1 single is The Crazy Frog vs. Axel F. I have lost faith. Vive La France! Though I have no clue whats top of the pops over there.

I went to Paris once... half the city smelled like human piss and most of the people were rude to me simply because I'm American. My friend that was with me started telling people he was Canadian as an experiment. I mainly got treated like shit and he was treated nicely, simply because of where we said we were from.

I don't know about the rest of France, but FUCK Paris.
HA! You'll find that it isn't just the French who do this...and DOUBLE HA!

Been a few times, seemed like a nice place to me. Well compared to Britain which to be honest is a bit grubby, not to mention full of idiots.

Want proof that the UK is full of idiots? Our current number 1 single is The Crazy Frog vs. Axel F. I have lost faith. Vive La France! Though I have no clue whats top of the pops over there.
That's awfull considering that they've got access to great music like "Your Mother's Got a Penis" by the GLC.

I went to Paris once... half the city smelled like human piss and most of the people were rude to me simply because I'm American. My friend that was with me started telling people he was Canadian as an experiment. I mainly got treated like shit and he was treated nicely, simply because of where we said we were from.

I don't know about the rest of France, but FUCK Paris.

Paris is indeed the epitome of rude.

I bash the French and have been to France on numerous occasions, but when I bash I'm mostly joking or grumbling about their constant strikes.

I went to Paris once... half the city smelled like human piss and most of the people were rude to me simply because I'm American. My friend that was with me started telling people he was Canadian as an experiment. I mainly got treated like shit and he was treated nicely, simply because of where we said we were from.

I don't know about the rest of France, but FUCK Paris.

Ahhh Parisians are in a class by themselves. ;)

My driver in the UK is Scottish. In one shop, he was getting the evil eye and nasty comments about the English. He finally said Madam, I am Scottish; Not English!

She hugged him after that.

France is good, but Paris is over-rated. I don't bash the French, and to me they are still French Fries (well, chips actually).

I don't bash the French, nor have I been to France. I think it's insane to paint a country with a wide brush. Not everyone in France believes the same thing, nor is that the same in any other country.

HA! You'll find that it isn't just the French who do this...and DOUBLE HA!
You must be French Canadian.

:p

I think cities are a bit sucky anyway, rude people or not. They're all made of concrete, have tons of traffic on the roads and litter all over the streets.

Only been to strasbourg but I definitely like the people there. I especially like the guy who tried to pick my pocket. He was very nice about it and everything. Way better than getting mugged like mostly happens here

My sister said that Paris smelled of piss and that the people hated her on the sole basis that she was American. (I told her that she should have pretended to be Canadian.)

However, she loved Cannes and Versailles. So, I think it's more a problem with people disliking Parisians, not the French. They just generalize too much.

Been to France, even Paris.

French people are one HELL of a lot nicer if you even attempt to speak French. Most of them recognize your American accent and reply in English politely - even in Paris!

The only problem I have with France is that it is a Vegan's nightmare. I'll have salad please... without dressing...

Paris is friendly if you're not a stereotype.

It really depends on what part of France you're talking about. Normandy and Britanny are pretty spiffy and generally friendly.

France the country has pulled some pretty idiotic stunts in the past, such as DeGaulle's pandering to the French Communists and the USSR by pulling out of NATO's military command.

DeGaulle was generally an arrogant bum anyway. He was a disservice to the French Resistance in WWII.

What does visiting france have to do with being critical of France's poor political decisions?

Are you suggesting only people who have been in the military are qualified to be critical of it? Only people who have been to guantanomo? Maybe only people who know Bernie Ebbers?

Your point is moot.

I've been to France a few times & I love it. I'm going back there in September. I speak the language reasonably well, which I think helps enormously. Also, they don't seem to have any animosity towards Australians, the way that some do towards the English & Americans.

a lot of you americans tend to be quite arrogant while debating other people affairs, i`ve been to france and i am an admirer of the french culture, i`m also a member of the E.U.(from portugal)and consider that the french(and now the netherlands)have taken the most important step in years regarding the clarification of the feelings of the large majority of europes people, yes we want a united europe, NO we dont want it like some polititians were proposing, but be shure that with extensive dialog betwen all nations we will come to an agreement. are you people at all aware of what we are debating in europe?its not the end of economical union but the bases for a political united europe, and thats very BIG and needs wide debate over it dont you all think?
france just said no, they didnt elect g.w.bush or anything like it...

I don't bash the French, nor have I been to France. I think it's insane to paint a country with a wide brush. Not everyone in France believes the same thing, nor is that the same in any other country.

i am guilty of bashing the french i must admit,and i haven't been there.no inclination to go either.
i must also admit when i was of college age,i had a romantic idea of france....art,culture and what i thought was a tolerance to people different .
however,in my admittidly cynical later years(sorry about the terrible spelling)i have lost most of my interest in art...booo,family demands and all.however,the advantage of being older is i have a wide circle of friends from many different areas of society.and without exception...every one of them that has been to france said(unless female)that they were treated like dirt because they were american.of coarse women never really get treated shabbily by men anywere..
it strikes me as the height of hypocracy..for not just the french,but all countries...to treat americans like shit.because of our asshole government.most americans i know are very peace loving and accepting of others.we have helped so many less fortunate peoples...from our wallets..not our gov. and yet it is acceptable for the average citizen of the world..particularly the french...to treat an american that never harmed them in any way,like dirt...yet...god forbid an american gets pissed about it.
i guess whats good for the gooose,aint good for the gander.
hell,after 911,since we are such out of control rube cowboys,there should have been lynchings on every street of any arabs.in fact,there were maybe a handfull of abuses,and for a country this size,thats pretty tolerant if you ask me.
but it is acceptable for innocent american tourists(or at least exscused..americans oppressed poor...so and so..they are just lashing out)to murder and kill an american with his family just because they are americans.flip that logic...and half the middle east would be rubble if we used the same rationalizations.
but back to the french..i dislike france(in general)because of the hypocracy they show.they claim we are war mongers(the iraq thing)yet the main reason they did not support the war was they had mad ..off the books deals with saddam.but they were there for the first one...i guess it's ok for saddam to murder his own people...but not kuwaitis...or maybe the french had deals with the kuwaitis,like we did.
it is always about money and oil,for all governments,but america is the evil one..so it's ok to treat us like shit,for our governments sins,that most gov's commit just like ours.yes we have the most power now,and how did the british empire treat people..or the french colonials..when they were the dominant power?i guess,following the hate american people folks out there...we should hate and murder french and british people for past wrongs...
i could go on,but this is tiresome..i read this daily america bash..and the stink of hypocracy is to much.sometimes i wish we would just turn inward and screw the world...bad tsunami...bummer...u hate us anyway,why help...saddam is gassing people left and right(we gave the dirtbag the crap..just like most of europe did)too bad..aint our problem.
for the record...i despise bush..i think he is evil incarnate,like most of these right wing religous nuts that support him,they are worse then what they point there crooked fingers at...sorry for the rant

I'm just trying to remember how many times I've been to France... four, I think. It's okay.

I think cities are a bit sucky anyway, rude people or not. They're all made of concrete, have tons of traffic on the roads and litter all over the streets.

US cities are like that except with more Concrete and Traffic and less litter.

I went to Paris once... half the city smelled like human piss and most of the people were rude to me simply because I'm American. My friend that was with me started telling people he was Canadian as an experiment. I mainly got treated like shit and he was treated nicely, simply because of where we said we were from.

I don't know about the rest of France, but FUCK Paris.

Agreed. I had the same exact expierence (And it's not me. I'm always respectful and friendly. I had no problem in any other country). I tell you: I'm not going back. (And why the HECK do you have to PAY to use public bathrooms?! Not only do they make money off of nervous people, but it also would be considered discrimating against those with bladder disfuncitons!)

It is traditional for the British to bash the French and for the French to bash the British. We've been doing it for years, and who am I to argue with tradition?

Now the main French dislike of Americans comes from the claims from some Americans that they would have won the independance war without French help, and the Americans don't like the French because the French keep reminding them that they wouldn't have won their independance without their help:)

But anyway, have you ever used a french Portaloo(or Portapotty as they are know in the US)? It just has two small raised platforms for your feet, no bowl and a big hole.....

a lot of you americans tend to be quite arrogant while debating other people affairs, i`ve been to france and i am an admirer of the french culture, i`m also a member of the E.U.(from portugal)and consider that the french(and now the netherlands)have taken the most important step in years regarding the clarification of the feelings of the large majority of europes people, yes we want a united europe, NO we dont want it like some polititians were proposing, but be shure that with extensive dialog betwen all nations we will come to an agreement. are you people at all aware of what we are debating in europe?its not the end of economical union but the bases for a political united europe, and thats very BIG and needs wide debate over it dont you all think?
france just said no, they didnt elect g.w.bush or anything like it...

Portugal still exists? Sarcasm

What does visiting france have to do with being critical of France's poor political decisions?

Are you suggesting only people who have been in the military are qualified to be critical of it? Only people who have been to guantanomo? Maybe only people who know Bernie Ebbers?

Your point is moot.


Did I mention politics? Did I say the French Goverment?

I have hear many American say rather nasty things about the French and yet they know very little of the people. That is called ignorance.

More or less I bash the French's luck when it comes to war. :)

Never the less, they donated shit during the tsunami relief thing, and WE had to pay a shitload.

Paris is friendly if you're not a stereotype.

as in a smelly,obnoxious,rude and lazy cheese eatin stereotype.
oh that's rite...americans can be stereotyped....but it is not applicable to anyone else. :confused:

Been there. France is a third world country that happens to be in Europe. It has an incredibly low standard of living compared to its neighbors. The people are proud of a past that shouldn't evoke much pride at all, frankly. The French government, while it clames to be for the people, has the worst health care system in Europe, worse by far than the United States (why else would 10,000 of its citizens die when there's a heat wave?) Tell me where else that happens! The French are proud of their over-priced wines, but won't tell you that nearly all of the vines in that country were imported from California after disease wiped out nearly their entire industry. Yes, the French are proud of what they did to help the United States during its revolution. But they don't say that they lost World War 2 twice: once to Germany, then to the Allies (as Vichy France). I am tired of some 4th rate country trying to tell everyone else to fall in behind them - but they don't have any real strength. The only military force that is worth mentioning is the Foreign Legion - full of non-French thugs and criminals. The French units have a reputation for being wimps. I can't wait until the French president leaves office. Maybe they'll change the laws so he can finally be prosecuted for his corruption - Charges cannot be broght against a sitting French president, which is the only thing that is saving his arrogant butt. That country is a joke.

I think cities are a bit sucky anyway, rude people or not. They're all made of concrete, have tons of traffic on the roads and litter all over the streets.

Technically all the cities in Canada are the cleanest crap you'll EVER see

Seriously, its like New York, without all the traffic, the noise, and the garbage and piss all over the place....Canada's great...but creepy...

More or less I bash the French's luck when it comes to war. :)

Never the less, they donated shit during the tsunami relief thing, and WE had to pay a shitload.

Actually I saw a recent blip that much of the money hasn't made it over there yet.

I bash france on occasion. Nothing like the sqealing tarts in here bash the US.
I've been there and experienced their snooty attitude first hand.
I've run into french here on vacation and experienced it too.
My friends that have travelled all over the world and are more open minded than anyone I know have been there and said they dont feel any need to return.
My wife went on a class trip in high school and had her camera stolen on day one and her wallet stolen out of her purse on day three. What a waste-there is so much more to see here.
I know New York City has a tough reputation, but I've spent a lot of time there and still havent been a victim.
I feel I've given them enough of a chance. So,when the opporotunity presents itself, yeah-I have no problem telling you what I think about france.
You may love france and the french and thats fine-to each his own.

I have nothing against them personally, just find it rather humorous as they are so insignificant to me.

"Oooh...we won the war, they should be grateful...oooh..."

I think we had to pay them back for some help around 1776-1781 or so.

But they do need to be poked for the Maginot Line.....

Hmm never got on with any french person ever. Once went to Le Mans area and found the people obnoxious and generally snooty.

I have no reason for ever going there ever again...meet more French people after my visit and again found them pretty aweful...far far far too proud. Some think that their empire was the more powerful than the British empire...i found that funny even if i am totally ashamed of the British empire.

Really i find their attitude something close to that of those dumb ass "america is the greatest nation in the world" people...totally ignorent to their problems and blame it all on outsiders...forgetting of course the entire continent has to suffer when a French group throws some babyish tantrum when they don't get their way.

Oh god what else? Oh their food isn't the great in the world, i think it's massively over rated, with Italian being the best.

Can't think of anythng else i just really dislike the country and it's people.

Oh just for giggles. I saw a French world war two rifle for sale on ebay the discription wrote "one rifle for sale, perfect condition, never fired, dropped once" :D

I don't bash them and I have been there.

I went to Paris once... half the city smelled like human piss and most of the people were rude to me simply because I'm American.
That's Paris for you. They're reknowned for being far more obnoxious than the French average.

What does visiting france have to do with being critical of France's poor political decisions?

Are you suggesting only people who have been in the military are qualified to be critical of it? Only people who have been to guantanomo? Maybe only people who know Bernie Ebbers?

Your point is moot.
Bad comparison. An equivalent to the anti-French feeling in the USA are those people who judge the entire USA by what your government does in Guantanamo Bay.

One thing that I've noticed from this thread is that people find the French impolite. I have personally never experienced this, despite going there several times (And again this summer! Yay!). They have always seemed very helpful.

And to that earlier poster who I can't be bothered to quote, Portugal is still there.

i am guilty of bashing the french i must admit,and i haven't been there.no inclination to go either.
i must also admit when i was of college age,i had a romantic idea of france....art,culture and what i thought was a tolerance to people different .
however,in my admittidly cynical later years(sorry about the terrible spelling)i have lost most of my interest in art...
(snip)


punctuation marks do not make spaces optional.
[/grammarnazi]

Bad comparison. An equivalent to the anti-French feeling in the USA are those people who judge the entire USA by what your government does in Guantanamo Bay.

And considering none of them actually know what really IS going on in Gitmo only validates my point.

How many of you actually have been to France?

Poll coming.

I forgot to say. I've been there......

I know many people who've been there, and they were all treated horribly.

I went to Paris once... half the city smelled like human piss and most of the people were rude to me simply because I'm American. My friend that was with me started telling people he was Canadian as an experiment. I mainly got treated like shit and he was treated nicely, simply because of where we said we were from.

I don't know about the rest of France, but FUCK Paris.

Lol, as far as I know the rest of France dislikes Paris because of the bad reputation it's people give.

I go to France every year and believe it is one of the world's greatest countries.

I've never been to France myself, but I have a few family members who have been and they've all said that France is more like America than any other country they've seen. None of them went to Paris though...

I love France, but Paris is a bit iffy; truly a great city in a lot of ways, but the people there really don't put up with any bullshit, and some people's definition of bullshit involves obnoxious foreign tourist. I was in France once as an exchange student, and hanging out with a crowd of French kids and seeing tourists really changes your perspective. 90% of tourists are f*cking unbearable, no matter what country they are from. I screamed at some tourists who happened to be from Spain one day because they were awkward idiots who didn't speak the language and were making me late for class. The French anger at Americans personally is usually at their behavior as tourists and their anger at Americans generally is usually directed at the government and (rarely) culture, not the people.

I don't usually bash France, maybe a joke hear and there. However I have aquired a dislike of France; its not the country's fault though. One of my friends went to Paris over spring break and after she came back she wouldn't shut up about it. I comment on a quaint book store, she starts raving about how the bookstores in France are better. I say a city has great architecture. She starts to go on about Paris like every building in it has the artistic value of a Picasso painting. I say a bakery has good pastries; she claims the bakeries in Paris are ten times better. A person can take only so much of this.
So, I have developed a slight bitterness towards France. maybe this summer I'll go to Florence just to shut her up.

And considering none of them actually know what really IS going on in Gitmo only validates my point.nobody knew what was going on at the nazi Gulags either.

Actually I saw a recent blip that much of the money hasn't made it over there yet.
Depends who you gave it to. Quite a few of the independent charities have been doing work there, but little of the money given to the UN(surprise) has gotten there. There are also some rather unscrupulous private charities as well but if you are careful in your research that's not really a problem.

I say a city has great architecture. She starts to go on about Paris like every building in it has the artistic value of a Picasso painting.
Yep, there's some pretty nice architecture in Paris.
I say a bakery has good pastries; she claims the bakeries in Paris are ten times better.
See, French pastries are infinitely better than North American ones...

Paris is indeed the epitome of rude.

Ever been to New York buddy? if you're a foreigner in New York, forget About hospitality! And if you're FRENCH and you go to New York, expect more than subversive rudeness. Paris is actually less rude and condescending towards Americain travellers than Switzerland. Particularly in Zurich.

More or less I bash the French's luck when it comes to war. :)

Never the less, they donated shit during the tsunami relief thing, and WE had to pay a shitload.


we HAD to pay all of those DONATIONS???
I was pressured, but i didn't know it was mandatory? :eek:

Yep, there's some pretty nice architecture in Paris.

See, French pastries are infinitely better than North American ones...
But the point is we weren't in France. I have only been in France once when I was 6 and it was in the mountains. It feels like in slap in the face whenever she does that like she's saying "this place can't be good because theres somthing infinitley better out there." It can get really annoying.

I've been to France...was in Paris for a little less than a week and lived with a family in St. Raphael (maybe 15 minutes outside Monaco, half hour from Cannes)

The family was wonderful...they were some of the nicest people I've met...opened their house to 3 teenage boys for 4 days.

Paris, I personally loved. We were an American delegation, and therefore had to identify as American...but we were polite and tried some french, and they treated us well.

Oh, and every major city smells like piss. American, European, Canadian...they all have their areas

I have been there. Have family from around Paris. People are ok at best. Some good but more negative people that I have run accross. But again its really gone down hill since The Mayor of Paris is running the show.

I went to Paris once... half the city smelled like human piss and most of the people were rude to me simply because I'm American. My friend that was with me started telling people he was Canadian as an experiment. I mainly got treated like shit and he was treated nicely, simply because of where we said we were from.

My experience has been that the French treat you well as long as you make some effort to speak French and don't assume that they will speak English to you.

Since most Americans fail to do so, they get treated poorly.

They only treat Canadians better because either 1) we speak French, 2) we try to, or 3) they assume we do.

Seriously ... go to New York (or any other American city for that matter), try speaking French to the locals, and see how well you are received.

What does visiting france have to do with being critical of France's poor political decisions?

Are you suggesting only people who have been in the military are qualified to be critical of it? Only people who have been to guantanomo? Maybe only people who know Bernie Ebbers?

Your point is moot.

I think the problem is that many people were already French bashing before they even rejected the European Constitution - so they were French bashing even before the poor political decision happened

What does visiting france have to do with being critical of France's poor political decisions?

Are you suggesting only people who have been in the military are qualified to be critical of it? Only people who have been to guantanomo? Maybe only people who know Bernie Ebbers?

Your point is moot.
Agreed. I bash France especially for their foreign policy*, nuclear tests, banning religious items in schools etc.

I've never been in the country but that doesn't mean that I know nothing of it. I have several French friends, I love French cinema (well..the contemporary cinema is not THAT great... ;) ) I will be going there later this year but I don't think my ideas will change.

*for many many many many reasons...I think France is the biggest crook in western Europe.

Edit....just to make it very clear: I don't bash the French in general. The people in general are very nice. I bash the few bastards who make bad decicions. And the one most annoying prof ever from one of the many universities in Paris. What a bitch. :D

i'm french and i won't say that french are ot arrogants but i just wan't to tell everybody that a part of french( those who live in farms) still think taht all germans are nazis and russians are all communists. I'm okay to say that DeGaulle was arrogant but his policy was unfortunately necessary for french: they had been defeated by germans and their freedom was won by Allies so they ad to thought that they were a great nation even if they lost the war.
And i would also like to say that americans tourists are sometimes not better than french you bash. i said sometimes...

nobody knew what was going on at the nazi Gulags either.


???

I went to Paris once... half the city smelled like human piss and most of the people were rude to me simply because I'm American. My friend that was with me started telling people he was Canadian as an experiment. I mainly got treated like shit and he was treated nicely, simply because of where we said we were from.

I don't know about the rest of France, but FUCK Paris.

I had a very interesting experience in Paris as well. Mine however was enlightening in reference to the ranking of French prejudice. I had been living a while in England before going to Paris. When I stopped into a French cafe I was treated very rudely. At one point my nationality came into question. They had assumed I was from England. Once they realized I was an American they treated me much better. So... what I gathered was that being an American was bad but being English was worse... at least to the French. In the French countryside however the service and condiseration I was given was outstanding. Also I had many very good experiences in Lyon and Nice. So maybe it is mainly a Paris thing.

I hichhiked around France once, but never went to Paris. I found that the people were either moderately nice or extremely rude, and that's with me speaking good French and on my best manners. Overall I'd give them a C- for courtesy.

I don't have warm memories of the place, though the countryside is beautiful.

I think one thing people are angry about are when they go to France and they don't speak French, they find that people snub them, but what the difference between that and Americans that snub people for not speaking English? It rubs both ways.

As usual, I think people in cities all aroudn the world tend to be rude, even in Japan, where people consider everyone to be so polite.

I don't bash the French, never been to France, never really had a great desire to go to France, but I definitely wouldn't rule it out.

I believe that in France when the landscape is fine the people aren't.

The french that have the best reputation for courtesy are those from the north. That's a cold and industrial place, but they are not obnoxious (at least for the majority of them)
And they don't have any prejudice against english people.

Paris is indeed a bunch of ecocentric bunch of wankers: every years I visit this one of themost beautiful cities of Europe when the French have their vacation: then it's actually nice and quiet (not really).

The remainder of France is nice to visit and my number one touristic attraction. My favorite place is Normandy for reasons WW2-like.

I am German, I bash the French and I have been there.

I believe that in France when the landscape is fine the people aren't.

The french that have the best reputation for courtesy are those from the north. That's a cold and industrial place, but they are not obnoxious (at least for the majority of them)
And they don't have any prejudice against english people.

Um, i'm sorry, but please don't say things just for the sake of saying them, northern France is notorious for hostility to travelers and in particular Englishmen. Paris included, it's provence and the south in general where you will find the majority of the populous welcoming and pleasant, even if your French is shaky. I visit France yearly, on the first occasion i traveled from London to Paris, where i was suprised to see just how exagerated the stories of rude parissienes were. I took the train to Lyons, where i was even more surprised to see how hospitable the city dwellers were, even though i spoke only a few words of French the people were more than happy to try to help me get around the city, a few of them even went out of their way to make my time in Lyons easier, a man i met on the train actually physically guided me to my hotel, and even offered to have his wife make me dinner, saying the hotel dinners were overpriced. Anyway, i rant....

The South i find to be much more pleasant than the North, though i still maintain that the rudeness is exhagerated.

I went to Paris once... half the city smelled like human piss and most of the people were rude to me simply because I'm American. My friend that was with me started telling people he was Canadian as an experiment. I mainly got treated like shit and he was treated nicely, simply because of where we said we were from.

I don't know about the rest of France, but FUCK Paris.


Ouch. :(

I goto france regularly, i work with at least 4 french ppl, they arent rude as such, they just hav a different culture, americans and brits tend to be a little more 'tactful' i find europeans are just more blunt and to the point. If your not nice to them they willnt make any attempt to be good to you. i mean if some one waltzs in ur hotel and say 'excuse me im french you see'(in french) u wouldnt like them.