France, oh, beautiful France! For years, the home of the famous Eiffel Tower has been the promised land, the dream place, for many travelers and young people with a thirst for love, beauty, adventure and wine. That is why, amid so much admiration, the myths about the French and their lifestyle did not take long.
Don’t they really bathe? Do they only eat snails or strange foods? Don’t you like foreigners? Many of the strangest myths you have ever heard have been born around this culture and the time has finally come for you to know the truth.
Here are the 6 wrong beliefs that are held by the French .
6 myths about the French
1. All French women are elegant
Yes, it is certainly the capital of European fashion. Yes, certainly many of those who live in Paris lead a luxurious and very chic lifestyle, but that does not mean that every single French woman is a fashionista . There is much more France than the big cities and, although it is not so glamorous, it is worth visiting.
There are many French women who live in smaller cities and towns in the countryside who have no major interest in their clothes beyond their usability.
2. They don’t like Americans
The problem of the French is not with the Americans or the United States in general, but with pride. Given the fact that the English language is the universal language, some Americans assume that everyone around the globe speaks English, so when they visit a foreign country they do not try to learn any of the language of that country.
The French resent this attitude, and they become frustrated when an American approaches to speak to them in English without even a: ” parlez vous anglais?” (Speak English?).
It is these erroneous beliefs about the French that more than once make them look closed and / or unfriendly to foreigners. In any case, that is not true. It’s all, as always, a matter of perspective.
3. French men are effeminate
The first thing to be clear about is the following distinction: being effeminate has nothing to do with having an excellent sense of style and exquisite taste. Yes, in France there is a lot of that. Many men enjoy and care about looking good, but that does not mean that they are not masculine.
One of the most common examples is the scarf: French men use it very commonly, almost like socks or a tie. In the United States, scarves are seen as an accessory worn more by women than by men. In France, on the other hand, they are unisex. As simple as that.
Just because you wouldn’t see French men in basketball shorts and T-shirts doesn’t mean they are less masculine. In the 21st century, with technology more and more evolved, it is necessary for people to do it too: we must abandon the erroneous beliefs of a culture as rich as the French .
4. They are lazy
As is often the case with myths and wrong beliefs, the whole statement is out of context. Although there is the Loi Aubry , according to which the standard working day is 35 hours per week, this does not mean that the French are lazy people or work.
Over the years, this Law has undergone various changes, so that at present it is nothing more than a starting point or minimum number of hours for workers that, once exceeded, leads employers to pay overtime. .
Furthermore, according to The Guardian , France is now more productive than Britain and Germany and the number of hours the French have worked in recent years has increased. In 2012, full-time employees in France worked an average of 39.5 hours per week.
5. They only eat snails and strange foods
You have to stop believing everything you see in the movies. No, the French don’t just dress in black and white striped clothing and wear berets. No, they don’t wear perfume to hide body odor, because they don’t bathe. And no, they definitely don’t just eat frog legs and snails. Its typical menu goes far beyond reptiles and garden animals.
In fact, French gastronomy has dishes that would make any foreigner’s mouth water: meat and chips, grilled ham, delicious cheese sandwiches, chocolate croissants and much, much more. Delicious, right?
But then… what about grilled frog legs? We can almost always leave that off the menu. Frogs look prettier happily jumping into the lake.
6. They are unfriendly
From the outset, we must assume that in many cases cultural differences make relationships with foreigners a bit more complicated. It is precisely there that the old belief that the French are not nice is born. However, it is a matter of putting things in perspective.
It is not that the French or Germans are unfriendly or obnoxious, but that they are a little more closed. They like to keep their distance in everyday life, but with the people they love and with whom they are close, the story is very different.
While the French take their time to open up to people, when they do, you can be sure it’s genuine.
References
- Schmalbruch, S. 8 things people get wrong about the French, for Business Insider [Reviewed July 2017].
