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I'm an Irish guy living in France. I like music, books, creative writing, art, history, vegetarianism, people, and chocolate.

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Sunday 1 March 2009

I heart France


I just noticed that whenever I blog about France or the French, the post usually takes the form of an ugly rant. That's probably because I only post about France when something about the country has just cheesed me off (pun intented). My apologies. I actually really love living here. Since I don't want to give the wrong impression, here's a list of some of the things I love about this country and its people (no order of preference):











  • France has many beautiful and very diverse landscapes
  • France has a fascinating history
  • the French are rarely superficial
  • the French are less materialistic than people in anglo-saxon countries (no matter what people say)
  • France is a republic. We have no useless monarch. (But plenty of useless politicians).
  • the French language is beautiful (when spoken properly)
  • France hasn't fallen for the extreme political correctness of some anglo-saxon countries (though sadly that's changing)
  • France has had some great poets, writers and artists
  • the French are always ready to question the authorities and stand up for their rights
  • the wine (no further comment needed!)
  • the food, especially the many different salads and cheeses
  • the weather (in general)
  • the urban French usually have a good dress sense
  • the French have a cute accent when they speak English
  • in France it isn't embarassing or socially abnormal for a man to cook or be interested in gastronomy
  • ordinary French people are interested in politics
  • it's a secular state ; no link between church and state
  • many French people are pacifists and are anti-war
  • the French kiss to greet one another (how better can it get?)
  • the French use their hands when they speak
  • in France, you can put your hands on the table when you eat
  • French markets aren't only full of hip bourgeois people
  • the French dig the Irish
  • José Bové (I don't know whether it's his moustache or his alter-globalism which I like best)
  • the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
  • the French are almost as cynical as I am
  • the French are into home-made cooking rather than ready-made meals
  • in cases of emergencies, men can pee in women's loos, without being shot down (mentally) by the muttawa
  • junk food is considered uncool
  • on a religious note (sorry peeps, I had to get this one out), French Christians generally don't give in to the Christian Right-type nonsense about politics and end-times theology that you often find in the US and in Norn Iron

(Dedicated to Camille)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

hihihi tu essaies de te faire pardonner! ;-)
Dommage que je connaisse pas assez bien les irlandais pour pouvoir me venger :-p.
Au fait, Lydia va mieux?

shamrock said...

Voilà, t'as tout compris! lol. D'ailleurs je te dédicace ce post!
Oui, Lydia est revenu d'outre-tombe. Mais ça lui a pris du temps!

Unknown said...

Merdeuuu ! J'arrive pas à trouver un truc drôle à dire. Hey! I know! The french have the word "Merde". Is that good ?

shamrock said...

Haha. France has so many purty words (rose, étoile, rivage, fleuve, océan...) but you just need to hear a word as abrasive as "merde" to guess what it means... I love the way people actually grimace and scowl when they say it!

Unknown said...

I love the way you can add some extra accentuation with the 'eu' sound!

Merdeeuuuuuu !



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