Thinking about the French, or perhaps you’re even going to #France? What pops into your mind? Berets, baguettes and wine, all served up with an outrageous accent?
The most fascinating stereotypes are those that just might be real, at least a little. How about zat accent, hawh hawh, coming through ze nose, uh? But is this a good or accurate picture?
Perhaps not! C’mon, do you really think that if you tried speaking French you’d sound like a native? I don’t think so, mon ami!
Francophile or Francophobe?
The real point of our exposé is, “Do you love’em or hate ‘em?” Ask a lover of all things French and the answer is likely to be an over-the-top gush about, well, everything. Cheese! Wine! Paris! The Louvre! Ah, a thing of beauty.
Ask someone who’s not a fan and we’d get a much less rosy picture.
The stereotypical Frenchman is rude and sports a thick mustache, a striped tee-shirt and beret. He’s polished off a liter of wine by lunch and that’s just a beginning. He’s carrying a long, crunchy baguette and dinner plans include runny, stinking cheese and snails. He gets around by bike and every day makes love to several women. And he doesn’t shower after.
Hmmm… Perhaps we should steer back toward a love of all things French.
Stereotypes, love them or hate them, are widely held shortcut descriptions; but a lot of things we assume to be generally true are totally false. Check out this humorous roundup of the 10 most fascinating stereotypes about French people:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERD2TnMNH98
And if you’re planning on visiting France, here’s a little guide on how to fake French when you don't know how to speak it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edYHlnhxyOI
Salut !
PS: For more hilariously wrong stereotypes about France and the French people, check out my latest post > https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@vincent-m/oulala-steemit-just-landed-in-france