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How do les Anglais Make You Wince?


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Are there behavioural characteristics of les Anglais which make you wince?

Giving some of our French friends English tea, during Paques, replete with Hot Cross Buns, bread and jam and decent tea (which they like!) in conversation it came out that apparently a new game for the young, idiotic and well-heeled, is to drive their Ferraris, rorty Beemas etc from Calais to Monte Carlo at the fastest possible speeds, endeavouring to be the fastest.

Apparently the gendarmerie were nicking many of them around St. Omar, not long after they debouched from the Shuttle.

This sort of behaviour does make me cringe, when I am trying to integrate and build bridges with locals.

What gets your rag? [:@]

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People who shout into their end of a mobile phone. An English chap did this in a small, quiet restaurant near my place last year. I didn't introduce myself as a fellow brit (but I was tempted to get my phone out and shout at it in English even though I wasn't making a call).
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Any nationality can display some pretty objectionable behaviour. I am thinking in particular of two bus loads of French school kids on the ferry on Thursday, and their teachers in the restaurant were no better. And a party of Americans who took over the first class section of the train from Gatwick yesterday (without the necessary tickets as it turned out) and were loud and brash even by US standards.

I wonder though why the question referred only to English? I often find that embarrassing Anglophones in our bit of France turn out to be Welsh. Sorry for the Anne Robinson moment, I am sure there are some very nice Welsh people in France (I do know one) but it's purely personal experience.

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[quote user="zeb100"]

Hello

People trying their best to have a good time by driving their cars through France certainly does not make me cringe. I do it frequently, my best time was 5hrs 30mins Mullhouse to Carcassonne inc breakfast and fuel stops and still managed 17mpg.

Pip Pip[:)]

 

[/quote]

Ummm..............how do you miss the radar traps, Zeb?

The point about this was that like their earlier brethren, the Yuppies of the 80s', who tried to set the fastest time for circumnavigation of the then new M25 in their Porsches, these people apparently have no regard for speed limits and road safety.

Please don't misunderstand me: I used to drive extremely fast (very illegally in fact!), in some very esoteric cars, however, road conditions have changed quite a bit. Our French friends were not impressed. What came over instead, was rather their being under-whelmed by such an overt display of ostentatious wealth and an arrogant disregard for the laws of another country, that's all. Oh and they are not physical wimps or fuddy duddies BTW, both mountain climbers of some repute and excellent skiiers to boot.

Will:  Of course I do agree about all races. My use of les Anglais, was meant to be from the French perspective, since whether we are Scots, Welsh, Irish or in fact English, we are all les Anglais to them!

 

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I know I'll get stick about this, but I agree about the Welsh. About a year ago my wife and I went into the restaurant on the Mont St Michel. The waiter sat us down next to a table of four people who were speaking English. As soon as Julie and I spoke English the people on the next table switched to Welsh. Now either they were discussing state secrets or that was an incredibly crass and rude thing to do, and calculated to insult. And so it so often goes...

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One thing that I find irritating from any nationality is when “abroad” they treat their language as totally private. When people assume that because everybody else speaks “foreign”, nobody can understand them so they can say what they like in secret.

British (or English speakers) are certainly not alone in doing this – and these days with the number of people that understand enough foreign language it’s a pretty unwise thing to do – but people still do it. I suppose I notice English language speakers doing it more because living in France and with English being my main language it is those people I can understand doing it. German, Spanish, Dutch, etc. may also be doing exactly the same and I would not have any idea about it.

Ian

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[quote user="Dick Smith"]I know I'll get stick about this, but I agree about the Welsh. About a year ago my wife and I went into the restaurant on the Mont St Michel. The waiter sat us down next to a table of four people who were speaking English. As soon as Julie and I spoke English the people on the next table switched to Welsh. Now either they were discussing state secrets or that was an incredibly crass and rude thing to do, and calculated to insult. And so it so often goes...
[/quote]

I am the only Welsh girl in the village!

I have been for the last 17 years and the ongoing joke with people new to the village is "Go and ask Nicky where in England she's from"  They know that I am proud of my "roots" and that NOBODY should call me an 'Anglaise'. 

 There are many English people living here and also visiting during the Summer, and they are noticible by the distance they put between themselves and the locals.  However the Welsh embrace the village life and are warm and friendly.   I apologise for the idiots you and Julie dined next to.

  I'm sure there are some very nice English people living in France but they are a rarity in these parts.

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The English in my local Carrefour always make me laugh, esp the holiday makers with there trolleys full of cornflakes, white sliced bread' Englsh Breakfast Tea'. You would think that are laying in for a seige. I also know a very nice Dutch couple from a nearby village to come done 4-5 times a year and always bring a car load of Dutch food. They even have an ice box with all the frsh meats and cheese.

Doing the French Run' Well even French drivers do this. I have done the Barcelona to Monte Carlo once and the Monte Carlo to Milano dash. Boys ( and a few girls) and there toys :-)

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As you say, Twinkie, you are a Galloise (Gauloise?) - so why do people from the Principality do the language thing? It is so utterly insulting - especially when you walk into a shop in Wales and all the language switches. A tourist shop...

A young man I worked with reckoned that it was just a middle class identity thing.

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A few years ago, I was national chairman of the executive board of something which is not important.

I came in on a reforming ticket and made no secret of this when I was nominated.

There were a number of Indian gentlemen involved and let's just say that certain naughty things were going on.

At board board meetings these conspirators ('cos that's what they were) would talk across the table, in Indian dialect. very rude and very stupid.

The recently appointed CEO (by me) and I used a wonderful ploy: we then started speaking loudly in French whilst we ignored the others!

And using "Franglais" words which could leave no doubt as to their meaning: one of these gentlemen's imminent enforced er, retirement. (he was a full time employee of the body).

That brought 'em up short![6]

 

 

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[quote user="Dick Smith"]As you say, Twinkie, you are a Galloise (Gauloise?) - so why do people from the Principality do the language thing? It is so utterly insulting - especially when you walk into a shop in Wales and all the language switches. A tourist shop...

A young man I worked with reckoned that it was just a middle class identity thing.
[/quote]I think its because they can, Dick.  I went out with a guy from North Wales when I was working there years and years ago.  All his friends knew I was English and used to talk to him in Welsh deliberately, knowing I couldn't understand a word - and do the switching thing if they happened to be talking English and an English person came on the scene.  They also used to talk (I mean full conversations) in Welsh to friends who went to the English school - and the friends would reply in English.  He said it was to make a point that they were very proud of their language.  They resented the fact that all road signs would be in English (I don't know if this still happens but the signs were often defaced and the language 'corrected' to Welsh).  There were also 'jokes' about burning holiday homes owned by the English.  When I commented - "hey hang on a minute, I'm English!" - I was told I wasn't really - I was just like a Welsh girl.  The English they referred to were the rich, posh people from the South of England who bought up their homes, caused the prices to be out of reach of the locals and acted in a very arrogant manner when they arrived for their holidays.  (Could you be taken to be this 'type' Dick, if only by your accent??)  Incidentally, I married a Scotsman and found much the same attitude in Scotland!  Including the bit about me being 'just like a Scottish girl'!  Let's face it, there is (or has been, at least - I'm out of date so I don't know if it's still the same) lots of anti-English feeling against this mysterious stereotypical English person, even within the UK, so why not in France??
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I wonder why race attaches itself to the problem of second homes within the United Kingdom ? It’s very difficult for local people to find affordable housing in many of the beautiful areas of England and yet the problem there is not attributed to race

I’m in sympathy with your irritation over the Welsh language Dick. I used to love holidaying in Wales, but the language change thing happened just once too often, which is why I now choose to spend my money in France.

Hoddy

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The northern Welsh are known for being rude. We used to live in Cheshire and barbed wire and machine gun nests were suggested to keep the Welsh out! I know someone who worked in Aberdeen area and when entering a pub/bar the locals changed from Gaelic to English as it would have been rude not to have done. Take note you Welsh.
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This has to be a first; I agree with Zeb100.

The reason why we notice Brits behaving badly, for the most part, is that we understand what they are saying without having to think about it. Only someone who speaks fluent French would fully understand some of the bad behaviour that goes on in supermarkets etc.

The rest of it is just a bad experience with someone who happened to be of a certain nationality.

You just didn't meet/sitnext to the right people, and that's sad, because I am sure more people are good, than bad.

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I'm not sure they are racist (though I admit I thought about it) I think they are pointing out a characteristic of a particular group which people have experienced. Which may make them racist. Or not. If I was to say that I have seen large groups of [insert ethnic group of choice] boys being boisterous and noisy in the streets that wouldn't be racist, but to say ALL [group] are noisy, boisterous etc would be stereotyping in a way based on race. Which probably would be.

Either way you would have to be pretty sensitive to be offended by them.

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But Wen aren't we also thought of as wearing corks on our hats,  and lying on Bondi Beach all year round, heavy drinkers, sports mad um come to think of it tomorrow is Anzac Day, we are off to the beach, will have a barbie, drink some beer and wine, don't know about the corks on the hat, give me some aeroguard anyday, but will probably watch some footy!!!
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[quote user="Dick Smith"]I'm not sure they are racist (though I admit I thought about it) I think they are pointing out a characteristic of a particular group which people have experienced. Which may make them racist. Or not. If I was to say that I have seen large groups of [insert ethnic group of choice] boys being boisterous and noisy in the streets that wouldn't be racist, but to say ALL [group] are noisy, boisterous etc would be stereotyping in a way based on race. Which probably would be.

Either way you would have to be pretty sensitive to be offended by them.
[/quote]

It doesn't count as racism because it's English talking about English.  But it is picking out the bad behaviour of a specific group of people.

I see/hear more arabes than English round here, but I wouldn't be allowed to start a thread called "10 things about arabes that really piss me off", yet many of the criticisms are they same, especially that they speak loudly in their own language in public.  Oh, and how they do insist on dressing differently.  And they don't eat pork, a staple of the French diet.  And they all live in enclaves - or is it ghettoes? 

You see, it's just not right, is it?   What's good for the goose is good for the gander.        

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Dick,  I didn't say I was 'offended' by them.  Sometimes I am, but a better word would be bored, or irked . [6]

Mostly It's just people behaving badly, or not.

Here,  sometimes we just think they are, because we either can or can't understand what they are saying.  I have found it so difficult to get used to the non verbal behaviour here for instance, that what I thought was 'rude' behaviour by French people two years ago, I now see as just different N.V communication. With English people yelling their heads off in the shops, I think I just hear them because they are speaking English. French people are at it too.[:)]

I am extremely sensitive about these things though. It's not the first time that has been pointed out here on the forum [:D]

If someone says anything like 'I've noticed 'this' about...' (insert nationality or race) I start thinking, have you met them all then?

That's me, and I have been like that for many years now; I try not to go on with myself, or get riled, but I think I'm stuck with it.

Or rather you lot are [6]

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