Completely agree with all your answers. I absolutely love sitting on the terrace and people watching too. One of my favorite things to do here in France.
@@thierrymorales9797 Maybe her name... litteraly "Greenwood". Obsession/ appetite to learn can be silly motivated... i started learn russian & russian culture... & i was just wanting to learn their aplhabet.
It's funny that you've been called out for still having an accent after 10 years. In the U.S., we like people to have an accent, it's charming. But my French family thinks that my goal should be to have a French accent. I agree that the French don't hate Americans. I've been there for long visits after many different events (9/11, the second Gulf War, etc.) and the French love to discuss the events but always make it clear that even if they don't agree with what our government does, they still like the American people.
People in france love accents too ! I think your french family wanted to help you aiming to speak the best french possible, but this is a weird goal. Foreign accents are cute, don't loose it
@Michael Except that nobody was arrested for posting critical articles about Charles de Gaulle. I'm an old man now and I don't want to criticise your father but that's just not true. The TV, which had at the time 1 or 2 channels, was "supervised", especially the news, that's true in his first mandate at least, but no one has been sent to a goulag. You might mistake France for the Soviet Union
For the last point, i grew up in the Loire Valley (Blois) so i can definitely say yes ! In any small village, you were sure to find 5 things : a bakery, a bar/tabac, a church, a castle and usually a post office
As someone who has studied, worked and holidayed in France and loves the country, the only stereotype that I think is true about French people (who, after all, could be from immigrant families) is that good food is taken seriously. School children are exposed to foods with a variety of smells and tastes. It's part of their education. In the Anglo Saxon world, food is to fill the stomach, at least for young people.
My wife and I purchased a house in Sancerre and moved there in June. Currently I’m back in the SanFrancisco area and going home tomorrow. I’m glad to visit but I already feel that Sancerre is home. I’m going to take French lessons in our town to meet some new people. My wife is a native French speaker but I’ve been able to communicate, with my phone app, and everyone is helpful and it usually is a good experience and sometimes fun! It helps to make fun of myself and have a laugh. I’m liking France!…..and your videos!
Sure you will find some morons that will make fun of you talking french or just be dismissing, but most frenchies will instantly fall in love with a foreigner speaking french, even if he is struggling. Maybe even more if he is struggling.
Some of them are in such a state of ruin that they would litteraly be called archeological sites. They are just 3 remaining blocks of stone scattered in the middle of a forest, and particularly hard to find if you don't know where to look.
French (politicised) guy here, about the US/French relationship : Picture Game of Thrones : yes the Stark (French) & the Baratheon (US) are close, they foughts many wars together, they're obviously friends (Season 1 here, before Cersei...), the Stark are part of the 7 kingdoms (Occident/Nato).... But they have their independance. They are their own people, with their own culture, and hate when the South (US) trie to force its way on the North (France) That's the one thing I think many americans missunderstand. After WW2, there was 2 sides : East/West, Moscow/Washington, USSR/Nato... and everyone pretty much bent the knee to one master or the other... And then France. No US bases in France, No culture invasion ("cultural exception policy"), in NATO but with its own nuke program & its own command, etc. It was obviously frustrating for politicians in the US, and a source of pride for politicians in France, and since Politics = media = culture, it's a rivalry since the 50''. It's like : Yeah, we're friends, we agree on 80% of the things, but i'll still be on my own path... and in the recent years, obviously the "you're either with us or against us" (#famouspresident) & few other things (lets stay civil...) got a lot of people riled up... But's it about policies and french are VERY political people. Outside that, well to give you perspective, out of the 10 best box Office success in france, 7 are from Hollywood, and we have the 2d highest density of Mcdonalds per citizen (and the biggest one)
She didn’t say that food wasn’t good in those countries. She didn’t even mention those countries, nor say that French cuisine is the best in the world. She was just comparing French and American food.
France as a real high tier food quality even for junk food. For example mcdonald's is forced to use french produced meat and a lot of foreigners says that french's mcdonald's have really good meat
How do you find eye contact in France vs. the U.S.? Basically, when you are out and about, etc., how is the everyday eye contact? Oh, 2nd question: Do the French drink iced tea much and/or much at all?
Hey, I m french ! I love Iced tea, we drink a lot of different one, we have a great variety. The most common one in France is peach, and in Spain Lemon. But we are drinking a lot of different sodas and juices (Iced tea is probably in the top 3 with coke and orange juice) However during meals it's mostly water (parents are forbidding sodas because of health). Sodas are for apertizer, parties ...
Unfortunately I'm not on Instagram, and have no intentions that way, so here's my question, having spent quality time in France: Do you think that the bureaucracy is worse than in America? My own experience tells me that there are definitely ways in which the French are much more fussy than the Americans. But since you've lived there for quite awhile what's your feeling?
I've never been a foreigner in the US so I think I'm not comparing exactly the same experience BUT I would say with 99% certainty that the bureaucracy in france is more complicated. But for the simple reason that the french arent organized whatsoever when it comes to admin tasks. You bring the documents someone asks....all of a sudden the list is missing two things you need and it's your fault you didnt bring them so make a new appointment. Or the opening hours were 8 am to 3 pm but were closed today for a parade so make a new appt and of course I didnt warn you of the closing so you showed up for nothing. I think you must go through LOADS of paperwork and hoops as a foreigner in the US too, but the process seems to be more organized from what people tell me. Other point, the french constantly complain about bureaucracy. Yes the french complain all the time in general, but if the french thinks it sucks, it probably really does. 😁
@@UnintentionallyFrenchified My sister lives in France while her son lives in California, and I can tell you that when for example she sends a French bank check to her son, he has every time a hard time cashing it !
The smoking in France kinda surprises me because, y'know, socialized medicine. You’d figure that in a country where the public sector pays most medical bills, there’d be a lot of public pressure on everyone to adopt healthy habits and drop bad ones. But logical though that seems on paper, it doesn't track in the real world at all. Pressure to have better health habits doesn't seem to differ greatly between the US and France.
We Arabs associate “anything French” with style, sophistication and class. I can’t really have an opinion, because I’ve not been with French ppl! And if u speak French, u r on a higher level. We r like : o wow, really?!! But I don’t know how much this French sophistication is real! Any clarifications ?! Merci bien’
It probably used to be true. People used to be more classy. Not so much anymore. Now you see plenty of bling bling people. They speak in a shitty way (tone of voice, bad words), sound and are probably uneducated. People used to like minimal make up. Now you see plenty of fake nails, fake lashes and all the tackiness associated to it 🤷♀️ the influence of reality TV on young people...
@@Le.dictateur.africain Et en Afrique les Maris ont 2 -3 bureaux (femmes) et une vingtaine d'enfants dont ils s'occupent jamais ! combien de femmes sont mutilées . court ? les deux mains sont couper à la machette ; long ? c'est les deux bras ; la boutonnière = l'éventration . c 'est romantique , Non ; mais pourtant la triste réalité
@Y Breton Et en Afrique les Maris ont 2 -3 bureaux (femmes) et une vingtaine d'enfants dont ils s'occupent jamais ! combien de femmes sont mutilées . court ? les deux mains sont couper à la machette ; long ? c'est les deux bras ; la boutonnière = l'éventration . c 'est romantique , Non ; mais pourtant la triste réalité Cela justifierait donc le comportement des français à l’égard de leurs épouses / concubines ? C’est assez curieux comme point de vue... pour un pays qui a pratiqué la colonisation massive en justifiant ses actes "civilisateurs" en opposition à la "sauvagerie" des natifs locaux, nous n’avons pas vraiment de leçons à donner aux autres. Tuer quelqu’un reste un crime et nous n’avons vraiment pas de quoi être fier d’en être encore là en 2021. Par ailleurs, ce n’est pas parce que la polygamie est interdite en France, qu’elle n’est pas pratiquée. Ca s’appelle "avoir un(e) maîtresse / amant et ce n’est pas plus acceptable socialement. Encore une fois , quoique nos ancêtres et vieille génération a essayé de nous faire croire pour justifier ces comportement en les mettant sur le compte d’une culture plus "libre", ça n’en reste pas moins de l’infidélité ! C’est comme ses vieux dégoûtants dans les années 80 qui passaient à la télé chez Pivot pour raconter leurs exploits pédophiles en Thaïlande ou ailleurs. Ce n’est pas parce que la société se voile la face que c’est acceptable.
They are many bullies in school that judge your language in french like if you don't know french they will treat you bad and rudely all the time bullies me
I think the accent thing you'll always have someone say something matter the country or language, I'm French but I'm pretty good at english and compare to most French people have noticeably less of an accent simply from learning it pretty young (13-14yo) but there will always be an american to mention "French accent omg that's adorable" or try mimicking it like.. I'm trying my best their speak your language and it feels incredibly patronizing to get babies or made fun of for it lol I think I've just accepted at this point that unless it's for swears I'll always have an accent and people will point it out. (One of my best friend from America is always jokingly laughing about how for certain words I have the most default American accent when I usually have more British English with slight french accent but it's mostly just swear words bahaha) Edit: when I was in highschool I'm not even joking when I say during winter I couldnt even see the door of the building because of the air condensation added with all the smoke from the students, to be fair a lot of people go out with their smoker friend in front of the building without smoking themselves and I asked once this question to a teacher but because it's not illegal and its outside the building it's not their responsibility so they let it happen (and yes it includes smoking stuffs other than cigarette)
3 remarks for the last ones you said : +++ cheese in fridge +++ for families that likes STRONG cheeses and do not put it in proper container, yes if you open the fridge it can smell. But you cannot say it s a rule or something. because then basically a lot of European fridge will smell with a strong food of any sort if you do not store the food in proper way (example not cooked fish!). So is it a cliché/stereotype of the French ? no come on ... it s like me telling 'is it true to find cold pizza (left over) on any American sofa" +++ about the hate that FR have for the USA +++: I agree with you, we do not have bad feeling about USA or Americans - However it is not uncommon to hear from *many American smart asses* to tell as 'a joke' that we are running away or surrendering all the time ... It is completely stupid : we do not run away from battles - we did surrender to the AXIS during the WWII ... but like almost all European nations. British troops even lost, and needed to evacuate in precipitation (no run away joke here, lol ?) during the battle of Dunkirk leaving alone the French army defending the retreating allies. What saved them at the time it was the fact they were isolated on an island. It made easier to defend. (well thanks god! and I don't want to denigrate the sacrifice of the allies soldiers did during WWII!) The US version of History tend to be a bit bias that it is quite amazing ... fortunately not all Americans think like that, but the pop culture kind of depict us(the French) bad (sometimes I feel we have more mocking than the nazis ...is not nasty?) ... that's so incredible for a friendly and ally nation, no? +++ For the Castle I wld tend to say yes +++ Of course, you will not have one in a tiny villages but there are around 45000 castles in France. Not all are 'public' so you may not be able to visit them. but it s probably one of the place in Europe (the world?) where you may have the most chance to enjoy different types of castle. castletourist.com/how-many-castles-are-in-france/ BTW about castles, there a nice experience currently running about building a real castle with the tools and techs of the time ! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cJibYZfn4Bo.html&ab_channel=DWEuromaxx
Hello, I'm French, I really like your videos! You are very nice, open-minded and caring! I will give you my personal French opinion. It's true that we love our food, culture etc. and we are proud of it but all countries are proud of their specificity. The French people I know are not snobbish. We do not consider ourselves superior to other countries. As for religion, I would say that the French are more humanist than religious. For cheese, most French people like cheese but many French people don't like strong smelling cheeses. That's my case. I don't like it at all and I never buy it.❤
10:48 Oh, come on! No! The smell of cheese is completely different from the smell of a corpse! Keep a corpse in your fridge and you'll soon smell the difference! 😂 Whatever, if you can't recognize the type of cheese by its smell, you don't know what it smells like.
French language is complicated af . Most french people doesn't even talks/writes french correctly so we doesn't mocks people about their french level because we know how hardcore it is to learn it
However, we ALWAYS will correct a person making a mistake. Not to be petty, not to make them feel bad, but because it is culturally hardwired in us. We correct each-other as french people all the time, from childhood to the very end of our life, because french is indeed a very difficult language at times with so many exceptions or weird rules that we never get our head out of the water. So don't feel bad if we correct you. We are NOT belittling you. It is a cultural, conditioned behavior.
French aren't religious, only those who are religious say that I guess ! Religion is treated same as a private matter, then we don't display much about it, we also tolerate non believer. easily. No one says, so I have to dare !! It's not that we don't like american (people) but we don't like much the hegemony of US culture and business way. Yes, we like to save / keep our specificities. And it sucks really to hear someone hardly beliving his country is number one, saying it loudly, comparing local things as lower than in his ownplace etc ... If someone thinks french are smokers, then I invite you to visit Japan or China, your judgement will change !! :-D
As far as making fun of language and speech.....I'm from Michigan and that is people's favorite thing in Florida to do is interrupt me and ask me where I'm from.
What I don't like about the smokers in France is how they just light up wherever they feel like it and do it while walking and blow it in people's faces and do it in outdoor public areas where it says no smoking. I lived in Korea for 5 years, where it arguably has a higher population of smokers, but you rarely felt it for the most part because Koreans will 90% of the time only smoke in designated areas, so like say if you past one of those areas, you'd have to hold your breath for 10 seconds or so until your past, but then it was over. I just don't feel like French smokers are that considerate.
we DID NOT help each other in our revolutionary wars, hahahahahhah. The US promised to help in a future war, but it was the French monarchy that helped with the US revolution, not the revolutionaries, and when the revolutionaries came calling and saying "well we helped you" the US turned them away. I mean there were a bunch of other factors why and a lot had to do with money, but yeah, it wasn't reciprocated at all, lol
I agree. I’m from the US and it’s considered very rude for your smoke to intrude someone else’s space, but Europeans just view it as a normal & harmless thing.
The french dont follow rules very well so I'm not surprised that in Korea you dont feel the smokers as much as in France! Also do agree that walking to work in the morning and sucking in smoke when you dont expect it is not delightful 🤣
Point taken. But for the most part, france and the US have been allies more than not and it shows in diplomatic relations even when we dont agree with each other.
6:50 It's part of the national identity since centuries, based on an interpretation of what happened in the period between antique and medieval times. Peuple Franc -> Francie -> France -> Français "Franc-parler": the fact to be direct "parler franchement": to be honest Not that the French are necessarily all honest and always forthright, but most would feel literally oppressed if they were deprived of what they consider to be a right and, for some, a moral duty. Note that they consider it to be *a universal moral obligation or a human right rather than a french privilege.* They expect any human to do the same, and might be disappointed by people who don't. They might consider it to be the sign this person has something to hide and therefore trust her or him less.
The French don't hate Americans in my experience. They hate some American behaviors (when Americans are rude). Some French hate some American politcs & politicians. Of course they also hate some of their own politics & politicians (strikes are a fact of life in France) & just as in America they have their fair share of bad actors who set off bombs or shoot people they disagree with. It's always a good idea when making an assumption to self reflect. One finger may be pointing at the object of your assumption but 3 fingers are pointing back at you. In general I have found the French & most other people (including New Yorkers)to be friendly, helpful & kind when I am friendly, helpful & kind. La Politesse goes a long way in smoothing out any wrinkles.
depuis quand nous déclenchons des bombes et nous tirons sur ceux qui ne sont pas d'accord . vous voulez parler des attentats commis par les extrémistes islamistes
Before the pandemic, I go to France every summer for vacation. As an American, I get treated very well because I understand the culture. (I know you have a video on this.) I have come across anti American sentiment , but that really has to do with buttholes and that is universal. I really love France. It’s always refreshing to see people who care about their appearance and I admire the French for their etiquette and customs. I love all of your videos! Thank you!
je suis Anglais et français et je vas en France don le vacances ! Et je vais renconte mon grandmere et mon grandpere et je parle pas beaucoup do français et je suis desolie pour mon sentance *je sais c'est pas tres bein 💞🇫🇷😂
les américains ont même dieu sur leurs billets de banque je pensais que le dieu des américains était le dollar ? Oups ! grande découverte en Amérique du Nord : Dieu serait le billet vert !
En 1905, les députés français ont voté une loi instituant la LAÏCITE. La religion n'a pas à intervenir dans la vie publique. L'état n'a pas à intervenir dans la vie religieuse. Chaque personne peut pratiquer la religion de son choix, ou ne pratiquer aucune religion, Personne ne peut être contraint de pratiquer une religion, on peut changer de religion, on a le droit de blasphème mais pas celui de critiquer ou discriminer un croyant en temps que personne. C'est un équilibre subtil que certaines personnes ne comprennent pas ou n'admettent pas d'où les problèmes avec certains musulmans. En France, la loi prime sur la foi. C'est comme cela. Ca ne se discute pas. On ne jure pas sur la bible, un président ne prête pas serment sur la bible, ce ne serait pas toléré par les français en général et cela pourrait déplaire aux musulmans et aux juifs ce qui est logique. Pourquoi une préférence ? Pas de signes religieux à l'école, dans les services publics non plus. Pas de crèche dans une mairie. Il y a une raison à tout ceci, pendant des siècles le pouvoir royal s'est maintenu grâce au soutien de l'église et vice versa. A la révolution, les révolutionnaires ont détruit cette alliance des nobles et du clergé associés contre le peuple. In 1905, the French deputies voted a law establishing SECALITY. Religion should not interfere in public life. The state does not have to intervene in religious life. Each person can practice the religion of their choice, or not practice any religion, No one can be forced to practice a religion, one can change religion, one has the right to blasphemy but not the right to criticize or discriminate against a believer as person. It's a fine balance that some people don't understand or admit, hence the problems with some Muslims. In France, the law takes precedence over faith. It's like that. It can't be discussed. We do not swear on the Bible, a president does not take an oath on the Bible, it would not be tolerated by the French in general and it could displease Muslims and Jews, which is logical. Why a preference? No religious signs at school, in public services either. No crèche in a town hall. There is a reason for all this, for centuries the royal power was maintained thanks to the support of the church and vice versa. In the revolution, the revolutionaries destroyed this alliance of associated nobles and clergy against the people.
"French refrigerators smell because of the cheese". I disagree, it's generalization. I'm French and an old man now and honestly I've never faced this situation within my family or with my friends (and I'm sensitive to cheese smell since I hate it ...). I don't say it's not true but definitely not as frequent as you suggest it. I presume you were living in Paris where everything is different.
Moi je suis Québécois.. et cest pas mal drôle quand les français de France essayent de sacrer en québécois..... un autre staréotype..Cest qu'il parlent comme ils sont très éduqué lol c'est un ti peu tannant mais on aime ben gros les français de France quand même 😉 J'ai eu le premier commentaire haha
"un ti peu tannant" En fait est-ce que tu sais que les Wallisiens, de Wallis et Futuna, disent aussi "Tabernacle!" "câlice", etc??? En fait c'est juste du "vieux français"...
