'Why are they always on strike?' – and other things the world wants to know about the French
What does the world really want to know about France? The most frequently Googled questions about the country reveal some obvious queries – as well as a few oddities.
Why is France so popular?
We’re assuming this is a reference to the fact that France is the most visited country in the world. Around 84 million travellers went there in 2015, putting it ahead of the US, on 78 million, and Spain, on 69 million.
Where to start? It shares borders with eight different nations (while Britons need only hop on the Eurostar, rather than fly), making trips there a simple proposition for millions. It has a mild climate, making beach holidays possible in spring, summer and autumn. It has a remarkable 42 World Heritage Sites, from Mont Saint-Michel to the Palace of Versailles. There’s the food and wine (more on that below), of course. It’s got some of the best ski resorts in the world. But its sheer diversity is perhaps its biggest selling point.
“France is the whole of Europe in one country,” says our expert, Anthony Peregrine. “Travel from Strasbourg in the far north-east, with its choucroute, beer, riesling and outrageous head-gear (black bows like crows pinned to young girls’ heads) all the way to Basque Bayonne in the deep south-west, full of stuffed squid, cured ham, berets and fellows in white playing pelota – and you’ve experienced more brands of foreignness than any other European country can provide.”
Why is France always on strike?
After the good comes the bad. The French are renowned for downing tools at the slightest provocation. “Imbued with the sans-culottes spirit of 1789 – one which holds that protest is good of itself – the French strike first and talk only (much) later, leaving you seething on the platform, at the departure gate, or the bottom of the Eiffel Tower,” explains Anthony Peregrine.
But is the stereotype based on fact? Evidence suggests the French actually occupy the middle of the pack when it comes to days lost due to strikes (67 between 1996 and 2000, for example, compared to 296 for Denmark), while other reports suggest they are taking industrial action far less frequently. So why the misconception? Because when the French strike, historian Stéphane Sirot says, they do it loudly and visibly.
Why are the French so arrogant?
Another lingering stereotype – and popular search term – relates to the supposedly rude and condescending nature of the French. Bizarrely, this is something many French people agree with, if the results of a 2013 survey are to be believed. The Washington DC-based Pew Research Centre quizzed more than 7,600 people in nine European countries (Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland, and the Czech Republic) about their attitudes towards themselves and their neighbours. When asked to named the most “arrogant” nation, France was the top pick for respondents from Britain, Germany – and France.
Why are French waiters so rude?
Anthony Peregrine has also spoken frequently on this matter. “I never really bought the idea of snooty French waiters,” he wrote last year. “Over decades living in France, I’ve come across remarkably few (and, as an Englishman, can out-snoot them effortlessly). The misconception arises because French waiters are not, as in Britain, youths filling in time until their real lives begin. They are professionals pursuing a profession considered worthy of respect. This is evident in the aprons, bow-ties and ages of the practitioners. That’s why French service outstrips our own. These fellows (they are generally men) can take an order for 15 different drinks, deliver them on one tray, shout at a passing taxi, give directions to the Centre Pompidou and still get the change right.”
Why is France so bad at war?
French soldiers rarely put up a fight and would rather drink rosé in the sun. So goes the cliche.
But history suggests otherwise. French armies were the scourge of Europe for most of the 17th century, when Louis XIV knew quite a few things about winning battles – and then came the 18th and 19th centuries, and a chap called Napoleon.
Where in France is Beauty and the Beast set?
Enough callous stereotypes. Time for some Disney. The original Beauty and the Beast fairytale doesn’t specify a geographical location, but the 1991 animated version was said to have taken inspiration from the Chateau de Chambord in the Loire Valley. And while last year’s remake, starring Emma Watson, was shot at Shepperton Studios, designers used the town of Conques as a blueprint.
Where in France is the First Dates Hotel?
The TV series took a holiday to Le Vieux Castillon earlier this year, in the Langeudoc-Roussillon region of France.
Why is France called France?
It comes from the Latin Francia, meaning land of the Franks. It was previously known as Gaul, and the English still talk of Gallic pride. Greeks, meanwhile, still refer to France as Γαλλία (Gallia).
Why is France so secular?
France militantly insists on the separation of church and state, which helps explain why Islamic headscarves and Christian crosses are banned from its schools. The policy underpinned the French Revolution, and the Enlightenment, and has been fundamental to the country ever since.
Why is French food so good?
The French, led by Auguste Escoffier, invented haute cuisine, and today the country boasts more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other (600 at the last country, ahead of Japan in second place with 419). The country is home to a staggering array of wonderful wines and cheeses, and is the undisputed king when it comes to baking. “In France, the food chain starts on land, on sea and with animals, in all their gory detail,” says Anthony Peregrine. “There’s the pig-killing and mushroom-hunting, and everyone’s an expert and may discuss the nuances of a coq-au-vin until you pass out. But it is this culture which informs chefs and which they must satisfy. Nowhere else do you eat so well up and down the scale because nowhere else has such unbroken links with a culinary heritage.”
Others disagree, however.
Lizzie Porter, writing for Telegraph Travel in 2014, said: “Inspecting a restaurant menu in London is a delight: do I go for aubergine with za’atar, a modern Sunday roast, or suckling pig with piquillo peppers? In Paris, it’s a bore: you know there will be the same tired offering of magret de canard, steak frites, and limp salmon with overcooked green beans nigh on everywhere you go.”
It’s hardly an appealing destinations for vegetarians, either. Let us not forget that this is the home of foie gras, escargot, frogs’ legs, andouillette and, er, cheval.
Why are the French so thin?
We think French fashion designers and their stick-thin models might have something to do with this perception. The French are, statistically-speaking, no skinnier than their neighbours. Around 18.2 per cent them are obese, in fact, accord to WHO statistics. That’s fewer portly residents than the UK (26.9 per cent) and the US (33 per cent). But that percentage is comparable to Switzerland (17.5 per cent), Italy (19.8 per cent) and Belgium (22.1 per cent), and far higher than most of Asia and Africa.
What is France's national animal?
The rooster.
Why are French roads so smooth?
Compared to UK roads, Europe’s highways are dream to drive or cycle on. Why? Some say that the UK climate is conducive to deterioration, but it seem far more likely that we just don’t spend enough money building or repairing them.
What is France in French?
It’s la France. And as all Pulp Fiction fans know, Big Mac is Le Big Mac.
