Hi from France

[André]

Hello,

We're a group of french students who are working on an essay which will

determinates our admission to College. Our subject is : "How France is

seen by anglo-saxon people thru the specialized press".

We just want your opinion about that. Do you have some helpfull coments ?

One more thing, what's the first thing coming to your mind when someone is talking about France to you ?

    Thanks.

Best regards.

             Vincent, Audrey, Jean-Baptiste.

[Benjamin]

Hello André

Welcome to you and your friends. We hope this won't be the only question you ask and that you'll continue contributing even after your thread is answered.

Can you define specialized press a little more please? I notice you use the American spelling of specialized.

Benjamin

[Renaud]

 André - The first thing that came to me was driving on country roads that are almost devoid of traffic, then through villages that seem equally deserted.

Through the press in general I get a picture of the French being far better than the British at getting what they want from the EU.

Not sure what you mean buy the 'specialised press' but from the magazines aimed at selling property to the British - I get an impression of a sunny country filled with old farm houses waiting to be renovated by the British who will paint the shutters blue and where some of the locals amazingly do not speak English.

[Missy]

[quote user="Benjamin"]........... I notice you use the American spelling of specialized.  [/quote]

 

and of thru.... in proper english : through!

[Hoddy]

While we're correcting you Anglo-Saxon takes capital letters.

The first thing that comes to my mind about France is quiet roads.

The second is a less cut-throat attitude to money.

Hoddy

[Missy]

[quote user="André"] ...... what's the first thing coming to your mind when someone is talking about France to you ?   .... [/quote]

When someone talking about France first thing in mind in NO particular order :

cheap wine but very good wines, lovely food and utmost love of cooking good food with next to nothing, perceived relax way of living, ooo la la! girls with poodles, Paris, Eiffel tower, for ever sunny countryside, white low houses with blue shutters in idyllic rural settings, french strippey jumpers worn by men with bérets on their head and a gitane cigarette stuck to their lips,Bernard Henry Lévy, Sartre et Beauvoir, Jean Cocteau, Zola, Victor Hugo, Chanel No5, Dior, haute couture, Citroen and Renault cars, Amélie/Audrey Tautou, François Truffaut, Serge Gainsbourg and his most famous song!, the Tricolore at the Arc de Triomphe, Mr Chirac, accordéon music, French rugby, je ne sais quoi...attitude to run away with murder, ways of getting round the EU laws and getting away with it with no more than a shoulder shrug,  Inspector Clousot, Jacques Cousteau, unfathomable character of a french person and its relationship with its political, administrative, literary class...... et bien bien d'autres...............

mais comme je suis Française habitant en GB, ce sont les idées les plus perçues de la France parmi mes amis, la famille de mon époux et les gens de mon voisinage dans ma petite ville.

[Jonzjob]

HI Missy, I am VERY surprised that you mentioned the 'rugby'??????? Poor France, they deserved better than that!

Missy also missed out  :  almost total lack of signals from French drivers, going ALL the way round a roundabout in the outermost traffic lane and turning, again, with no signals, a lovely friendly and generous manner towards English folks who live in their villages, but total agresion behind the steering wheel, driving very close behind with no intention of going past. Also  the wonderful open roads with only a small amount of traffic, as has been said before and  very best of all      Priority a Droite!!![:-))]

[Hoddy]

Jonzjob wrote,

"driving very close behind with no intention of going past."

If I had to say I love France but - that would be my thing. It drives me mad, even the gendarmes do it.

Hoddy

[André]

Thanks for the correction. I'm sorry if I speak in an "american english". By specialized press, I didn't mean the magazine that aimed to sell property in france, but magazine talking about france like france magazine (it seems that several magazine like that exists). And, yes, we have a lot of other questions, but we're not sure this is the best place to post it.

Thanks for all your quick answers.

[Jonzjob]

Don't worry too much about using American spelling. This is my language and my spelling is terrible anyway.

The best way to find out if this is a good place for your questions is to try them. If it isn't then we will try to put you in the right direction... As a matter of interest if you speak of another language, like English, it carries a capital letter. A strange, for me, difference in the 2 languages.

Good luck.

[André]

Hi everyone !

We've read your asnwers and we want to thank you a lot because you gave us some idees on our work so we made up a list of questions and we'll soon post it. So, we are hoping you could take a few minutes to asnwer it. Thanks again.

 

   Audrey, Jean-Baptiste, Vincent.

[André]

We made the list of question and it is now available on your forum. We created a new topic, it will be easier to collect your answers this way.

Thanks a lot.

JB, Audrey & Vincent