Things the French excel at

Shaking hands – it takes half an hour to start work because you need to shake hands with all your colleagues that you haven’t seen since yesterday

Spending the whole work day talking so you have to stay late to finish your work.

Talking very quietly on mobile phones on trains.

Engrenages

Going on holiday , Close your shutters to let the local neds know you are away on holiday and now would be a good time to break in

Hmmm. This used to worry me when I holidayed here. But, since living here, I really don’t think most Brits understand shuttering. It is not used for security, well certainly not in SW France, it is used for shade. And it really is needed in Summer and Winter.

Shaking hands – it takes half an hour to start work because you need to shake hands with all your colleagues that you haven’t seen since yesterday

This is funny and true to a point (IMHE) but staying late is not the result that I have witnessed. The handshake is just part of the respect shown to everyone you know. And yes it takes time, but I would argue that once work is embarked on, the French labourers are every bit as productive as the (for example) Brits.

Seasons, they have sun in the summer and cold and snow in the winter.

2 hour lunch breaks.
Joking aside, their education and healthcare are both excellent.

Having a health service that delivers the goodS.

…and some pretty good climbers.

**** it. Let’s invade…

I love shutters. They’re brilliant – especially when you’ve forgotten the stick-on-blackout-blind-that-always-falls-off for your youngster’s bedroom. 🙂

They’re a right pain to keep in good condition….

…and some pretty good climbers.

Oh yes.

Bianchi-Boy – Member
The handshake is just part of the respect shown to everyone you know. And yes it takes time, but I would argue that once work is embarked on, the French labourers are every bit as productive as the (for example) Brits.

Productivity in France is actually quite a lot higher than in the UK. 23% to be precise so the handshake thing might event be a catalyst.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/05/weak-productivity-leaves-uk-trailing-other-g7-nations

https://www.ft.com/content/f372cbb8-4a96-11e7-a3f4-c742b9791d43

Ski resorts.
Motorway services, and surfaces.
Calling a shop huit a huit, but I’ve yet to find one open 8 till 8 without some significant break, or closing before 8!
Amazing scenery that’s not been overly touristed, i.e. expensive gift shops and no access unless you buy a ticket.
Champagne.
It’s the work life balance I envy the most though.

The handshake is just part of the respect shown to everyone you know.

I don’t disagree with that. As a French colleague explained it, how can I work with someone if I don’t recognise them as a person?

Supermarkets.

I’ve always been impressed by the way they get on with engineering projects. Need a new Autoroute complete with massive bridges and tunnels? Done.

POST
molgrips – Member

It’s really not them, it’s you. You think you’re saying it right, but you’re really not. Your ears just hear things differently.

Dessus/dessous

I’m very much aware that my French is terrible, but I’m more or less as terrible as lots of other non-french people who try.
If the French want other people to speak their language, then *they* are going to have to get used to hearing it spoken badly.

Or not, it’s up to them. I work with lots of people from all over the world. We’re used to hearing *really* bad English (and that’s from the natives, b’dum tish)

The word Epic is overused, but this is Epic and French.

And they are not confined to tradition forms of architecture either..

And my last on this thread..

Appellation d’origine contrôlée

They care about food, where and why it’s grown and protect the individual nature of their products.

Splendid, what a beautiful country.

If the French want other people to speak their language, then *they* are going to have to get used to hearing it spoken badly.

I can make myself understood in French. Because I make the effort to get it right. You can’t blurt out nonsense that YOU think is right and expect it to be understood just because you know what you were going for.

Something to do with how their brains learn to focus on certain vowel intonations and sounds that don’t even form part of our soundscape.

Building and operating the finest high speed rail network in the world.

Hiding the fact that they have the slowest, most infrequent and most unreliable regional rail network in the world.

Building and successfully operating out-there theme parks such as Puy du Fou and Futuroscope.

Rioting, they are bloody brilliant at rioting.
Having Audrey Fleurot – the most beautiful woman on the planet 😳

Investing in and protecting their national interests, language and culture.

Answering questions by going “Pfft!”

to be fair the Millau viaduc was designed by Norman Foster .

I see it everyday and ride next to it at least 2 or 3 times a week . it is a beauty .

The word Epic is overused, but this is Epic and French.

I think the first 3, designs from Britain, America and Japan. Though all credit to France for commissioning and building them 🙂

I reckon it’s the perfect country for cycle touring.

bb got to disagree with you there

Appellation d’origine contrôlée

has some very obvious benefits, but it’s also one of the great limiters. It restricts imagination, it conveys on an AOC the power of a brand without matching it with consistency of quality (they regulate the process, but they dont pass judgement on the output).

There’s loads wrong with AOC (go and buy a “Sancerre” and tell me you know why you paid so much for it) but its late. Its not unique to Fr though.

Way late to the thread. Not reading back. Has complaining been said yet?

has some very obvious benefits, but it’s also one of the great limiters. It restricts imagination, it conveys on an AOC the power of a brand without matching it with consistency of quality (they regulate the process, but they dont pass judgement on the output).

See the Super Tuscans which couldn’t originally qualify under the Chianti DOC

Starting meetings late. I worked for Bouygues for 2 years and never had a meeting start on time when the upper management were involved.

Cool footballers

No such thing as that.

Theyr’e good at having eating places that aren’t open when I’m **** hungry that’s for sure. I’m sure that the only sodding place that was open one afternoon around 3pm in Montpellier was bastid McFeckinDonalds.
So I waited.

On the subject of football, we were staying in Gassin where M. Ginola was born.

TGV Atlantique is a beautiful thing.

I worked in Rousset sur Arc in 1990 for SGS Thomson and I loved the handshake /kiss thing.

If the French want other people to speak their language, then *they* are going to have to get used to hearing it spoken badly.

au contraire – they bloody love it when you have a go, IME. I once got a 25% discount off a pair of ski gloves because I asked for them in French

(course, there’s nothing sexier than a northern englishman speaking french – that probably helped)

(course, there’s nothing sexierfunnier than a northern englishman speaking french – that probably helped)

FTFY

Owning our:
Train Operating Companies
Bus companies
Electricity Companies
Quite a number of our construction companies
Dairy companies

Being the butt of Little Inglander’s jokes.

I love how this started off as “I’m not racist but…” then turned into an overwhelming celebration!

Asked my wife and MIL for their list, quite the same as on here with addition of

Variety of their regions and pride in local produce
Geographical and climate diversity of the country

Language, they have given us some words and phrases in common use like

cul-de-sac
deja vu
double entendres
cliché

been meaning to make a list, there must be others

Have we had blockading our beef trucks?

and being very quick to forget that if it wasn’t for my grandad they’d all be speaking german by now..

(course, there’s nothing sexier than a northern englishman speaking french – that probably helped)

Except possibly a northern englishman taught french bay a northern irish school teacher.

“ooo est la gaaaare?”

tpbiker – Member
and being very quick to forget that if it wasn’t for my grandad they’d all be speaking german by now..

No they haven’t forgotten – they are not just tedious enough to go on about all the time it after 70 years.

And to be fair my grandad helped too, and he was French – it was a wide ranging European/Global war so he probably help prevent YOU from speaking german too.

He saved a number of British paras in the occupied zone and got his Legion D’Honneur given to him by De Gaule himself as a result, so there. 😉