NationStates Jolt Archive

There are a lot of criticisms of the French, most of which are based around their collapse in World War II. Jokes have spawned about arrogance, snobbery, and military imbecility.

There's another side to this, though. Some aura (whether unholy or not has yet to be determined) has kept them a major force. Consider:

1. France still controls its Guiana, Polynesia, and other various territories.

2. It still receives, if not the most, then a significant amount of tourism (and a significant amount of American tourism).

3. Their landmark, a giant and plain oil derrick, has become perhaps the most recognizable structures in the world and a synonym for culture.

4. While there are exceptions, France has a history coming out of major wars smelling like roses. Three examples:
4a. World War I ended with Germany ceding the disputed Alsace-Lorraine areas back to France. These had been part of Germany since 1871, and, when Germany surrendered in World War I, the armies were still in French territory. But France won, right? No big deal. However...
4b. World War II ended with France being given back the disputed Alsace-Lorraine area, its entire empire, and an occupation zone in Germany (along with USA, UK, and USSR). It had de jure "major power" status.
4c. The Napoleonic Wars, after which a militaristic, expansionistic France was spectacularly defeated by a coalition of powers (sound familiar?) ended with Talleyrand securing all of France's initial territory. If I'm not mistaken, France only lost the lands that Napoleon conquered, and they were still allowed to be a great power, even after all the trouble they caused.

5. Though French is officially spoken in very, very few regions of the world when compared to its competitors (e.g. Spanish), it has still managed to become the official language of the Olympic Games along with English.

6. French is still considered the language of love, despite legitimate competition (e.g. Spanish).

7. Even in our own precious English language, French spies attempt to coup us, and any attempt to remove them forcefully (a metaphoric melee, if you will) only ends in a cul-de-sac. The language maintains with a remarkable sang-froid.

8. France was one of the first nations to attain the atom bomb, if I'm not mistaken.

These are a few assertions of French cultural and diplomatic power. And I don't think it's dumb luck; there's got to be some sort of mass hypnotism going on, right?

people just love wine i suppose

France has better films than Britain. We kind of borrowed their film-making formula in the 1960's. The 1960's also started at an earlier time in France than anywhere else... in the mid 50's. France has a reputation for some fine electronic music (along with Germany). I can't stand their president though and their current love affair with Islam and while their government is better than ours, that's just not good enough.

I can't stand their current love affair with Islam .

10% of the population is a significant minority. Wouldn't be a liberal democracy if they just ignored them.

France's WW2 record was not entirely shameful, as common attitudes would suggest.
Their mititary force at the time could not have withstood any serious attention from the German army. Assistance from their allies could not have arrived in time to change this. Because of this, France conceded defeat.
They then sent vast numbers of soldiers and civilians into the 'underground resistance' that likely inflicted far more damage than they could have through conventional warfare.
Many battles in France later in the war would have seen the outright slaughter of Allied forces without the help of the underground resistance.

This strategy was even tabled by the British during the Battle of Britain and many soldiers were trained in guerilla tactics in case Britain was ever invaded.
The difference between Britain and France? In the case of the Battle of Britain, preperations, including assistance from other allied nations, were already in place, and more assistance had been guaranteed.

5. Though French is officially spoken in very, very few regions of the world when compared to its competitors (e.g. Spanish), it has still managed to become the official language of the Olympic Games along with English.


Africa? Arabia? Indochina?

It's a world language. The reason I chose French over Spanish to learn is that if a person doesn't know English, there's a greater probablility they'll know French than anything else (besides their native language).

Don't forget how popular France is compared to the United states.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0930/p01s04-woeu.html

5. Though French is officially spoken in very, very few regions of the world when compared to its competitors (e.g. Spanish)

France is an/the official and/or national language in France, the DRC, Canada, Madagascar, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Belgium, Chad, Rwanda, Haiti, Switzerland, Benin, Burundi, Togo, the CAR, the Congo (Republic), Gabon, Mauritius, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Djibouti, Luxembourg, Vanuatu, the Seychelles, Monaco, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Andorra.

That's 34 countries, to which you have to add the French dependencies (Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, French Guiana, Wallis & Futuna, and St-Pierre & Miquelon). To that, you also have to add the British islands of Jersey and Guernsey, the Indian region of Pondicherry, the US State of Louisiana, and the Italian region of Aosta Valley.

And that's only countries and regions where French is officially recognised. To all that, you have to add the numerous French speakers in Egypt, Cambodia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Israel, Laos, Mauritania, and at least 27 States of the US (not counting Louisiana).

(Source: Wikipedia)

Okay, I misspoke. French has quite a few regions of influence. But, as far as raw numbers go, how does the language ranking go? Is it something like Mandarin, English, Spanish, and Russian all before French?

8. France was one of the first nations to attain the atom bomb, if I'm not mistaken.

4th, which is still a pretty good number, especially being the first nation to really get the bomb without US help(Russia spies and British scientists... French were kept out of the loop of the bomb).

The French are far superior to any other nation or race on this planet, accept it and stop whining...

The French are far superior to any other nation or race on this planet, accept it and stop whining...

Deal.

Okay, I misspoke. French has quite a few regions of influence. But, as far as raw numbers go, how does the language ranking go? Is it something like Mandarin, English, Spanish, and Russian all before French?

Mandarin, Spanish (by native speakers), English, and the French. It is one of the top five languages in the world.

Diplomatic Masterminds might be a bit far, but you have to admit that France has fairly successfully kept a position of power, even though the 20th century wasn't its lucky day.

The fact that France is still up there is probably due to deGaulle's idea of being a 3rd power, not joining NATO fully, in other words, staying independent.

So now it's got more freedom to pursue its own policy goals than for example Germany, or even Britain. Problem is of course that in the current economic situation the French military is not getting as much money as it used to, and so the weight of its words will suffer at some point.
Nonetheless, if France manages to help turn the EU into the new power player, similar to the US or China, I would say that would conclude a brilliant diplomatic achievement, one that rivals pretty much everything ever done. (Bar the creation of the second German empire of course... ;) )

5. Though French is officially spoken in very, very few regions of the world when compared to its competitors (e.g. Spanish), it has still managed to become the official language of the Olympic Games along with English.
Where do you think the term lingua franca came from in the first place. ;) Actually, until very recently (the rise of the Britsh Empire and America as a world power), French was the language of diplomacy. It's one of the reason's the French are pissed off, English is now the dominate language of the planet (and the one most widely spoken).

7. Even in our own precious English language, French spies attempt to coup us, and any attempt to remove them forcefully (a metaphoric melee, if you will) only ends in a cul-de-sac. The language maintains with a remarkable sang-froid.
Getting beaten by the French then having your king, court, and nobles speak it for a couple hundred years will do that do you. ;) It adds zest to English, not to mention makes the language very complicated and loads of fun to teach to non-native speakers.

Student: Which is better, beef or meat?
Me: Well, both are ok. One's French and the other is English.
Student: HUH?!

There are a lot of criticisms of the French, most of which are based around their collapse in World War II. Jokes have spawned about arrogance, snobbery, and military imbecility.

There's another side to this, though. Some aura (whether unholy or not has yet to be determined) has kept them a major force. Consider:

1. France still controls its Guiana, Polynesia, and other various territories.

2. It still receives, if not the most, then a significant amount of tourism (and a significant amount of American tourism).

3. Their landmark, a giant and plain oil derrick, has become perhaps the most recognizable structures in the world and a synonym for culture.

4. While there are exceptions, France has a history coming out of major wars smelling like roses. Three examples:
4a. World War I ended with Germany ceding the disputed Alsace-Lorraine areas back to France. These had been part of Germany since 1871, and, when Germany surrendered in World War I, the armies were still in French territory. But France won, right? No big deal. However...
4b. World War II ended with France being given back the disputed Alsace-Lorraine area, its entire empire, and an occupation zone in Germany (along with USA, UK, and USSR). It had de jure "major power" status.
4c. The Napoleonic Wars, after which a militaristic, expansionistic France was spectacularly defeated by a coalition of powers (sound familiar?) ended with Talleyrand securing all of France's initial territory. If I'm not mistaken, France only lost the lands that Napoleon conquered, and they were still allowed to be a great power, even after all the trouble they caused.

5. Though French is officially spoken in very, very few regions of the world when compared to its competitors (e.g. Spanish), it has still managed to become the official language of the Olympic Games along with English.

6. French is still considered the language of love, despite legitimate competition (e.g. Spanish).

7. Even in our own precious English language, French spies attempt to coup us, and any attempt to remove them forcefully (a metaphoric melee, if you will) only ends in a cul-de-sac. The language maintains with a remarkable sang-froid.

8. France was one of the first nations to attain the atom bomb, if I'm not mistaken.

These are a few assertions of French cultural and diplomatic power. And I don't think it's dumb luck; there's got to be some sort of mass hypnotism going on, right?


What's the difference between toast and the French?
You can make soldiers out of toast!

Sorry, I had to post that, but you do have a point, especially about the English language.
Maybe it has something to do with the rivalry between England and France. Since England had such a major influence over the world that rivalry was passed on to the colonies. Or maybe they really are just annoying - take your pick.

3. Their landmark, a giant and plain oil derrick, has become perhaps the most recognizable structures in the world and a synonym for culture.
They also made your Statue of Liberty for you if I'm not mistaken, and that is seen as one of the most enduring icons of freedom and justice in the world. Not to mention their other grand achievements in architecture (the Palace at Marsaille, the Louve, among others).

Their pretty cultured I'd say, and definately fun to party with, especially if you happen to be in Paris when they win the World Cup. =P